“All right. Sorry. It’s just so…unbelievable.”
“Which is why I downplay my abilities.”
Still reeling from his casual revelation, Devon pushed her chair back and stood. Ian was a dragon-shifter. The fact ricocheted around in her brain as she struggled to absorb what that meant. She’d been surrounded by shapeshifters all her life, yet cougars and tigers seemed insignificant when compared to a dragon.
“Go on. I’m listening.” She retrieved the wine bottle from the kitchen counter then motioned toward the refrigerator. “Do you want another beer?”
“Sure.” He waited until she returned to the table with the beverages before he went on. “I told you about Boudicca.”
“She was the reason the amulets were created and Omni Primes are only able to absorb six animal natures.”
“Correct. Her descendants learned from her mistakes and played by the rules. The Omni Prime balanced the male dominated councils until late in the eleventh century. Then a lion-shifter named Audelon resented the Omni Prime and rallied the Prime Council to take back control of the Therian nation.”
He spoke of treason as if it held little consequence. No, that wasn’t fair. He was trying to keep the events compact and clear so she didn’t drift off on tangents. “Did you learn of these events or did you witness them?”
“I was there.” He paused for a drink and tension crept into his voice. “Much to my shame.”
“What happened?”
“Her name was Esmah. She was pure and clever and incredibly beautiful.”
She heard the wistful catch in his voice and narrowed her gaze. “Did you love her?”
“Yes.”
No elaboration, just the single word. Tension banded her chest, making it hard to breathe. “Did she return your affection?”
“My feelings are not the issue. Audelon wanted her and she spurned him, so he vowed to destroy her.”
His evasion hurt even more than an admission, but she chose not to belabor the point. “She was an Omni Prime. Couldn’t she kick his ass?”
“It sounds obscene now, but she was barely thirteen when Audelon began his pursuit of her.” Ian cleared his throat and continued in a stronger tone. “Her parents tried to protect her, as did I. But Audelon was evil and ruthless.” His shoulders squared and his speech became more formal as the story progressed. “Audelon carefully laid his trap and sprang it so well and so quickly that we were powerless to prevent the tragedy. He gathered six cowardly males from minor clans and they defined Esmah by force.”
Devon’s stomach clenched and she tasted bile in the back of her throat. She could imagine a terrified girl of thirteen being forced to drink the blood of six strangers. Cradling her wineglass between her palms, she silently waited for the rest of the story.
“Her spirit was broken that night and her powers were nearly neutralized.” He stared past her, his expression tormented. Faint pulses of grief and guilt echoed through her mind and she realized they were coming across their link. “I searched everywhere and used every ability I possessed, but Audelon was powerful and determined. He stayed a step ahead of me long enough to get her with child. He had forced a mating bond, so by law I was not allowed to interfere.”
“But it’s your job to protect the Omni Prime.”
“Times were different back then. No female needed protection from her mate. As soon as their bond was formed, any action on my part became forbidden.”
“You killed him, didn’t you?” It wasn’t much of a leap. It was what she would have done.
He waited until she looked at him to say, “I did and I was outcast because of it. I knew what I was doing was against the Charter and I killed him anyway.”
“He deserved to die.”
“Perhaps.”
The story seemed incomplete, but she didn’t want to pressure him. He’d already revealed something personal and painful. She moved to the chair beside his and reached for his hand. He stared straight ahead, allowing her touch yet not responding.
“Herbert, Audelon’s son, pledged to complete what his father had started.”
“But Esmah was already defined and pregnant. What more was there?”
“Audelon had crippled the current Omni Prime. Herbert vowed to destroy them for all time.”
“And he must have succeeded because I believed it was a legend until a few days ago.” She shook her head, wanting more information, yet hesitant to ask questions.
“Four months after Esmah gave birth, she ‘jumped’ from the castle tower. Herbert insisted that she had gone mad and that her bloodline was now tainted. A few days later, Herbert claimed to have had a vision. He said Khonish could not allow madwomen to wield such power, so he was going to choose another bloodline for the next Omni Prime.”