Anger by Viola Grace

the forge had caused it to catch fire. Fortunate that her body was impervious to fire.
    "Uh, how large a family is there? Devon and Marcus I have met." She looked worried.
    "You haven't met Sirius, their father, Ki, their mother, and Shayr, their sister. Shayr is married to Councilor Thoran. An extremely large family for a dragon clan." Lia grinned ruefully. "And Marcus is planning as many kids as we can have."
    * * * *
    "Do you want to have more? These two seem quite a handful." Alethea was beginning to think of having her own children, a thought that chilled her to the bone. 60
    Wardstone: Anger [Seven Sins and Virtue Series]
    by Grace Viola
    "Yes, the children have to be five years apart, but that time is almost up. I don't look forward to that damned bite, though." Lia winced in memory.
    "What bite? What the hell are you talking about?" Lia turned to the maid hovering nearby. "Dora, please take the little imps to Marcus. He needs the exercise." She turned and gave Alethea a very searching look. "What do you know of dragon reproduction?"
    "I thought they just did it the regular way. Having sex."
    "Not quite. There is a little more to it." She stared at the ceiling as she searched for the words. "When a female dragon comes into heat, her mate can tell. If they wish children, he will take her while in his warrior form. While in that form, he will bite her where the neck meets the shoulder. He has a venom sac in his mouth that pumps a toxin into his mate and also causes a ring of blue to trace around her neck."
    "It is thought that the venom and his seed are both needed to facilitate the conception. Once he has bitten you, you will feel a stimulation of your senses you couldn't imagine. And once you are pregnant, your power will be at its peak."
    Alethea was stunned. Rhys had not bitten her, yet.
    "What happens if he bites and impregnates a woman not a dragon."
    "In that case, usually the pregnancy is fine, but the woman usually is unable to have more children. She does not have enough energy left." Lia sat for a moment then said, "My own mother was a normal human woman, but she had dragon 61
    Wardstone: Anger [Seven Sins and Virtue Series]
    by Grace Viola
    blood at least a generation back. She lived until my twentieth year."
    "How did she die?"
    "In a raider attack spurred on by a rival dragon lord. He only wanted my father, but he also wanted to raze the village to the ground. My mother would have saved my father, but they killed her and him. Mala is named after her grandmother." Lia smiled. "And every time I look at her, I see my mother's eyes."
    Alethea blurted out, "I never knew my mother." Compassion filled Lia. "I know. Your grandmother told me. She was very beautiful and very kind. It was horrible, what was done to her. But the past only shapes the future, it does not set it in stone."
    They sat in silence for minutes that stretched into hours, each woman lost in a world of her own thoughts. Rhys arrived and found them. He cleared his throat.
    "It is time for dinner, you missed lunch." They shook themselves and turned to him, smiles lighting their faces.
    "It was thoughtful of you to come get us," Alethea said.
    "Is that your new dress?" He gestured to the alluring gown of jewel blue wrapping her lovingly from breast to hip. The sleeves flowed wide, and the skirt swept the floor.
    "I guess it is." She turned to Lia. "When did they put this on me?"
    "Three hours ago. Don't worry, they are used to dressing women in trances. They do it all the time to me." She grinned and swept out of the room, heading for the dining hall. 62
    Wardstone: Anger [Seven Sins and Virtue Series]
    by Grace Viola
    "I should change before I go to dinner. What time are we leaving tomorrow?" She stepped behind the privacy screen and began to remove her new gown, only to realize that she couldn't. "Rhys? Could you help me with this?"
    "Of course." His voice was far too close for him to have been on the other side of the screen. She turned in a swirl