Page 32 of Reflections of Peonies
“Darling, I didn’t realize that you didn’t understand,” he said, his tone a mixture of horrified and apologetic. “This was something we willingly agreed to some lifetimes ago.”
“Why?” I had never thought to press this subject before, but now it felt urgent.
Damen turned and placed his hands over my shoulders. “It was a suggestion presented to the Council that stated that we cannot enter into a marriage or have children.”
“What kind of idiot came up with that?” My voice squeaked. Was that really what it said? It wasn’t like I wanted any of those things, but still. “What business of theirs is it that—”
“Darling.” Julian pressed his finger to my lip, silencing me. “This was your idea.”
Surprise pushed away my shock, and I blinked at him. “What?”
“You’rethe one who went to the Council,” Julian said. “You helped write it. There are a number of arguments for it, all of which are very sound. At the time, it made sense, and the Council agreed. In those days, we had issues with our direct descendants. Then there was a prophecy that had the Council concerned.”
“We’ve always planned on revisiting the idea at a later date,” Damen said. “We needed to come up with something more permanent. But part of the agreement is that only you can change the rule.”
“A certain number of votes is also required.” Julian glanced at Damen. “But that’s not going to happen now.”
Damen rolled his eyes. “There’s no merit to that bogus prophecy. I’ve already poured countless hours of research into it.”
“What prophecy?” I looked toward Damen.
“Divination isn’t an exact science,” he said as he touched his glasses, and the light reflected off the lenses as he looked away. “I’ve never seen—”
“What’s the prophecy?” I interrupted him, turning my attention back to Julian. He would tell me. “What is it?”
Julian sighed, then led me back to the bed. Bryce was only mildly watching the conversation, so I assumed he knew about the topic already.
Julian sat beside me and held my hand. “Titus was the only one of us who never had children. Even now he…” Julian paused, glancing at Damen.
Damen pulled up one of the chairs, answering as he sat. “He’s a virgin,” he stated, completely unfazed.
My face heated at his words. Titus? Once I got over them not being monks, I had assumed…
AndTitus, the one who most closely resembled a living sex god?
Titus with his long, flowing hair and Adonis physique?
“How?” I asked. “He said thatForbes—”
“He’s always had admirers in all his lives.” Julian shot Damen a disapproving look. “That includes this life. But he’s also a dragon. He’s focused and possessive, and in terms of romance, he’s not interested in anything less than full commitment. A mate.”
“Titus has never had a mate,” Damen broke in, a curious expression on his face. “Mates have to be of similar strength. And no one has ever been at our level, and his full attention has always been on you, in any lifetime.”
I blinked at him, unsure if I understood. “But—”
“Shifter forms are inherited through the father. There has never been another dragon outside of Jin. Besides that, out of all of us, a dragon would be the most difficult to kill. Shifters are nothuman,” Julian said, touching my shoulder. “Any of his children would be terrifyingly strong.”
“There was a famous onmyoji who had a vision that was submitted to the Council, and they will do anything they can to make sure Titus can’t procreate,” Julian said.
“But they can’t killhim,” Damen interjected, and the way his voice had deepened caused my heart to race. “It’s practically impossible to get past a shifter’s defenses.”
“But—” I began again. “What is the prophecy?”
“It states that Titus will have a mate and, when the dragon hive is formed, the winged demons will lead to the destruction of the world,” he said.
“But…” I glanced between the two of them. “You said no one has been able to reach Titus’s level. So it won’t happen.”
“None of us had been female before,” Julian said slowly. “When the law was made, the possibility wasn’t even considered. The Council thought a talented Er Bashou might qualify, even if it were unlikely.”
