I am here, my love. Join with me. Feel it, Tempest. Feel the dragon power.

And she could feel it. She felt stronger than she had ever felt before. Tiny shivers chased themselves up and down her spine as her skin became coa.r.s.e, then smooth, then pliant. And she grew. She felt larger than life, filled with life. 'Twas good, very, very good.

T'mpest reached out, touched A'dryan's mind, touched his heart, his soul. G.o.ddess, could she feel it! Deep within her she felt the power grow, not witch's power, nothing like witch's power. This was dragon power, the strongest of all.

This time she was not frightened as her body began to

change. This time A'dryan was with her, guiding, helping, protecting. She relished the feeling of strength as she felt her scales form, felt her wings sprout and, like a newly emerging b.u.t.terfly, she left the coc.o.o.n of her human body.

The smells! She could smell every wildflower, every tiny new blade of gra.s.s. She could smell the trees, their needles, their leaves.

The sounds! She could hear the trees whispering to each other, hear the sap flow. She heard the rustle of tiny mouse feet running across the clearing. She heard the sound of newly hatched birds as they broke through their sh.e.l.ls to freedom.

She tasted the wind, the scents surrounding her, and she cried out in wonder and joy. She heard her voice, deep, melodious, strong.

She lifted her wings and felt the touch of a gentle puff of air as it playfully batted at her leathery wings.

Tempest opened her eyes. A'dryan was with her. L'sira was with her. Tristan and Damien stood on the steps of the cottage.

They looked so small! Light surrounded them. Tristan's light was pale blue, almost white as it glowed and pulsed. Damien was surrounded by a brilliant golden light. Tiny pinpoints of color danced merrily through his aura.

And she tasted freedom. A freedom such as she had never known. Freedom to be, to fly, to soar the skies with her love.

Laughter bubbled up from deep within her. She cried golden tears of pure joy as she looked at A'dryan. Come fly with me, my love, her mind called to him.

They flew. They danced the heavens in exultation, dove, soared, proclaimed their love and joy to the world below.

T'mpest and A'dryan...golden dragons...mated pair... forever.

"So beautiful," the woman sighed as she leaned back in her golden chair. "Such a great love."

"As great as ours, my sweet Angeline?" T'bor raised her hand to his lips.

"You great beast," Angeline smiled in reply. "Never has there been a love such as ours. But did we do right by them?

The Prophesy...we were not given the task of fulfilling the prophesy."

"Not to worry, dearest. Who ever pays attention to us anyway? I am..." Thunder interrupted him as it roiled across the heavens, shaking their heavy chairs, nearly throwing Angeline to the green-tiled floor in its fury.

A blinding light filled the room, and they had to look away, unable to tolerate its brilliance.

"I PAY ATTENTION." The heavy masculine voice boomed in their ears. "AND I AM NOT HAPPY."

"K'ronos? We...ahh..." T'bor tried to speak in their defense.

"SILENCE!" roared K'ronos, shaking the heavens with his wrath. "YOU HAVE MEDDLED ONCE TOO OFTEN.

THERE WILL BE PAYMENT FOR THIS MISDEED. ONLY I.

MAY CREATE A DRAGON.".

"But we were just trying to help," Angeline squeaked in terror. "We..." Her lips moved, but words failed. She tried to swallow to relieve the sudden dryness in her mouth. Tears cascaded down her porcelain cheeks, and her body began to tremble.

T'bor tried valiantly to reach out to her, to offer her comfort, but he could not move, so great was his trepidation. He watched in horror as her body began to waver and slowly fade from sight.

"NAAAY..." His scream of despair echoed through the chamber as, he too, began to shimmer, then fade.

Silence reined in the empty chamber. K'ronos, the first dragon, the dragon of time, of infinity, spoke softly from within a luminous golden light. "You are the most beloved of my children. Your punishment must be a lesson to all. 'Tis unfortunate you did not realize the story has two parts-The Legend and The Prophesy-and the wheel of time must always turn."

The light faded and was gone. The chess pieces turned to dust. The chessboard and table fragmented, became cinders which drifted slowly to the floor. The heavy gold chairs faded and were soon gone from sight.

The lonely crystal orb danced in midair then turned to ebony blackness. Lightning flashed from its center as starlight coruscated through the darkness. The crystal flashed a bright silver and was no more.

'Twas a time before time. A time before humans strode boldly upon the earth, a time when dragons reigned supreme.

Deep in the mountain caves of Ashtorath, the huge golden dragon lay dying amid the ruins of her clutch. Her unborn hatchlings had been destroyed by a rampaging black dragon, intent upon wiping out the last of the golden dragons.

But the black had failed in his evil task. One egg, smaller than the rest, moved, then cracked open as a tiny newborn dragon emerged. His mother reached out one wicked-looking claw toward him, lovingly caressed his golden head, whispered the name 'T'bor', then quietly left the mortal realms.

T'bor screamed his rage at the world around him, but there was no answer in that cold cave of death.

'Twas a time of peace and strife, a time of long before.

In the tiny village of Northmarch, a girl-child came screaming her anger into the world.

"Angeline," her mother crooned, then smiled tenderly as she put her newborn daughter to her breast. "My sweet Angeline." She gently caressed the downy black hair on the babe's head.

Thunder laughed in gleeful abandon as it tumbled its way across the heavens, then all was silent.

EPILOGUE.

Tristan watched Adrian pace the floor. "You are going to wear a path into the flagstones," he said with a grin. "'Twas the same four years ago when Rowan was born. Tempest will be fine, Adrian. Lysira is a good midwife."

"Aye," Adrian answered as he stopped and stared out the window. "But I do worry over her." The wail of a newborn filled the air, and he hurried from the room with Tristan close behind.

They found Tempest ensconced in the big four-poster bed with her baby cradled in her arms. She smiled at him. "We have a daughter, my love," she said proudly as she peeled the blanket from the babe's face Adrian sat on the bed, took Tempest's hand in his and kissed the palm. "You are well?" he asked with a worried frown.

"It took so long this time." He reached over and tenderly brushed her hair back from her cheek.

"It took Rowan longer to enter the world," she answered as she kissed his fingers. "You worry over much, husband.

Look at her. Is she not beautiful?".

Tristan quietly left the room. Tempest had fared well, and she and Adrian needed this time for each other and the new babe. He would visit them later.

Sitting alone in the Great Hall, Tristan raised his flagon of mead in a silent toast to his sister and her family. He was glad he had stayed for the birth of their second child. A girl this time and a truly beautiful babe. Would she be like her brother, Rowan, he wondered, changing from human to dragon and back again on a whim, mercurial, quick to laugh, slow to anger, like

his father? Or would she be sweet and loving, like her mother, changing into a dragon only when the need arose? Only time would tell.

Would his child have been like its mother-blond and beautiful? Nay, he would not think of Marisa; even after four years, the pain was too intense. Marisa-would he never stop missing her? He quietly closed that door into his mind; it would not do to dwell on the past. That way led only to misery and heartache.

"Tempest wishes to see you, Tristan," Lysira said, touching his shoulder to get his attention. She was wearing her cloak, and he knew she would soon be returning to Damien. "Adrian has taken Rowan to his room, so you can have a quiet visit with her. That boy can be rather trying at times." She smiled to soften her words. Lysira and Damien were very doting grandparents, spoiling Rowan as often as they could get the chance. She would do the same with her new granddaughter.

Tempest had just finished feeding the babe when Tristan entered the room. She gave him a quick smile and patted the edge of the bed in invitation for him to sit. "She is already fast asleep," she said quietly. "Would you put her in her cradle for me?"

He carefully carried the baby to her cradle, laid her down and carefully covered her. He watched her sleep for a long moment and smiled as her tiny lips twitched in a smile. Just like her mother, he thought.

"Tris," said Tempest. "Come talk with me. It has been so long."

Tristan settled back on the foot of the bed, leaning against the tall post. "Aye. Another year has pa.s.sed much too quickly.

I have missed you and Adrian."

"Rowan, too?" she asked with a big grin "I am certain you also missed my wild, half-dragon son."

"Aye," he laughed. "Even him."

They sat for a while in companionable silence, listening to the new babe smack her tiny lips while she slept.. "'Tis a shame Christiana has refused to see her grandchildren," Tristan finally said. "Mayhap they would bring some joy into her life. She

has become a hopeless shrew since you married Adrian."

"She never forgave me for using my magic against her.

She was ill for a long time after that. I regret what I did to her but..." She sighed, a look of deep sorrow on her face.

"You only did what you deemed necessary," he said. "And she did recover with time. Besides, she was often cruel to you.

'Twas no less than she deserved."

"No one deserves what I did, Tris."

"Do you remember the look of shock on her face the first time she saw you turn into a dragon? I had a difficult time hiding my laughter. 'Twas nice to see her speechless. That does not happen often enough. I wish she had not banned you from the castle, though. It still angers me that Father conceded to her will. He does that all too often now."

"He loves her, Tris. Mayhap he hopes she will return to being the woman he first married. He is getting older, and I know he does not wish to be alone. Besides, I have my own life to lead now-far away from Windhaven. And you know how happy I am."

"Still, he misses you dreadfully, Tempest. In the past five years he has aged so much and is almost feeble now. The only times he shows any liveliness is when we make the trip to Lysira's cottage for a visit; or when we come here to Dragon's Dome." Wendall had not been able to come this time. He had not been strong enough. Tristan wondered if his father would ever make the trip again.

"I am so glad that Father has finally acknowledged you as his son and heir. 'Tis a shame Mother had to throw such a tantrum when she discovered what he planned. I know it must have taken much of your joy when she did it."

Tristan smiled at the memory. "I survived it intact, which is more than everyone thought Father would do. Christiana screamed and raved and threw everything she could get her hands on. Everyone had to run for cover until Father could calm her down. But her tantrum accomplished nothing. In that matter Wendall was firm. "He told her I was his son and that he needed a male heir.. He even told her I would see to it that she was well taken care of after he is gone."

Tempest giggled. "Did she throw another tantrum when he said that? Tell me what they said. Every single word."

Tristan laughed as he repeated what he had heard: "'I can see to myself,' she shrieked. 'I do not want your b.a.s.t.a.r.d living in my castle.'

" 'Tis my castle, Christiana, and 'twill be as I say.' he told her. Then he led me before his people and made his proclamation. Then I left to come here."

"I hope she calms down before you return, at least for Father's sake."

"Aye, but I did so miss you, little sister and, I wanted to see the new babe."

"I am so happy that you came, Tris.. But you need to get back to Father before Mother pulls Windhaven down around him. Just make sure you come back before another year has pa.s.sed this time."

"You will tell Adrian and Rowan farewell for me?" He rose from the bed, gave her a kiss and a long hug.

Tempest wiped tears from her eyes. "Of course I will. Now go before I really do start crying."

Tristan left quickly. He could not stand to see a woman cry-especially his beloved sister. He envied Tempest. It was obvious she and Adrian loved each other very much. If he and Marisa had only had a chance. If she had lived...

He had been riding through the deep forest for about an hour when something caught his eye. It was lying in the middle of the path, glittering in the warm, summer sunlight. He dismounted and walked over to it, drawn by the shiny object.

Bones. But bones did not reflect the sunlight. There it was.

A ring. He picked it up and held it in his hand. There was a large bone through the center of the ring, and he strained to remove it, but he could not separate the ring from the bone.

'Twas too large to be a finger bone. Why was the bone so hard to remove? If it had been a finger, there would have been flesh and muscle on it. The ring would have slipped easily from the bone when there was no longer any flesh on it.

He tugged harder, then tried tapping the bone on a large

stone lying beside the trail. Still the ring would not budge. He tried to snap the bone, but 'twas as though it were made of iron. It would not break. Was this some kind of magic?