RPOV

I was putting on some of the clothes Viktoria had brought. She had given me some general items but also some training gear. I suppose I would need those. Her training gear was a little long in the legs and arms, but they were surprisingly snug on the chest.

After I had changed and turned around to Dimitri he growled, no doubt noticing the tight shirt. I giggled a little but put one hand on my hip, cocking it a bit as the other hand was in front of me waving my finger at him.

"None of that Comrade. We really do need to train before I blow up again."

He pulled me close and let his hands roam the tight shirt, but his hands did stay out of dangerous waters.

"Oh, I will make you blow again after training. But you won't hurt anyone again. Not like that. I'll make sure of it. But yeah, I need to prepare you."

The playful Dimitri was gone and before me stood General Dimitri the Honorable, his back straighter, his face sterner and his eyes hard and calculating. Suddenly, I felt the impact of what we were training me for. He needed to prepare me… for war.

We walked the short distance to a courtyard. People were staring as we passed by. Everyone was in Dragon form. I realized Dimitri being in his human form was a courtesy to me. I looked down at my feet. I didn't have a Dragon form. If we made it through this, and we could finally be together the way we wanted to, he would have to be human most of the time. Was I literally forcing him into a life not his own?

"You don't have to stay human on my account. I am fine if you want to be your true self."

He smiled at me.

"I will once we get to the training ground. You need to learn how to fight a Dragon. But Roza, this is my true self. And I have started to love my human form a lot more since I met you. Really, the only things I miss are my wings."

He wiggled the muscles on his back, right at the spot where his wings would be in his Dragon form. I missed them too. Flying with him was amazing. Maybe he could be in his Dragon form a lot around me? I loved sleeping against his warm scales and flying on his back. Really the only thing we couldn't do when he was Dragon was have sex and I had half a mind to experiment with that too. Although I hadn't really seen his junk yet when he was in Dragon form. I suppose it was nicely tucked between his hind legs.

We made it to the courtyard, and I realized it wasn't empty. Two Dragons were there as well. A light brown one and a red one. They greeted Dimitri with respect but were looking very curiously at me.

"Recruits. This is Rose; she will be training with us from now on."

Both Dragons looked at each other and then back to Dimitri. The question was on their lips, but they wisely held their tongue.

"Rose, this is Mason the red and Eddie the gold. They have recently joined my squad and have a lot to learn. They will be joining us for some of our training. Recruits, this is Rose, she is a hybrid and will be coming to war with us to fight the Snow Dragons."

This seemed to cause an even bigger reaction from the boys, but they still kept quiet.

I wanted to greet them properly, but while I wanted to outstretch my hand, I didn't know if shaking hands, or in this case talon and hand, would really work. So I opted for a hi by raising my hand.

Dimitri walked towards the bench not far away and stripped down. I was trying very hard not to blush or moan or jump him. I suspect the latter was frowned upon in training. But Dimitri did tell me being naked was different for Dragons, and Eddie and Mason didn't seem to be bothered by his clothesless physique.

The flames erupted from his body, and he grew at least tenfold until the Brown Dragon was standing in front of me. I had seen it before, but I think I would have to get used to it a little while longer.

"Today, I want to start on simple fire-breathing exercises and do some combat training. Rose, Christian will work with you on some specific exercises, but today I want you to focus on creating fire, any way you can. Dragons breathe fire, but it would probably work differently for you. You need to figure out how."

I nodded but was deeply afraid. I knew Dragons could handle more in terms of fire than Viktor or a field of corn. But I wish Dimitri had started with just the two of us. I was afraid I would hurt someone in the crossfire. I realized that is exactly why Dimitri had invited Eddie and Mason. He trusted me to control myself. And with extra people, I would try my hardest not to let the flame win.

"Show me how you do it," I asked him.

He nodded and took a deep breath. I saw the skin underneath the scales on his chest light up, and when he opened his mouth towards the sky, a powerful flame erupted and temporarily blinded me. I looked over to the two younger Dragons, and they also seemed to be impressed.

"Eddie, Mason, show me what you got," Dimitri instructed.

The boys looked at each other a little hesitantly but obeyed. They mimicked his movements and let out a stream of fire. Not as powerful as Dimitri's, but still impressive.

"Well, I am not sure what you want me to do Comrade? I am not sure where my fire should come out of me, and I am not looking forward to it blowing out of my ass."

That made the two boys laugh until Dimitri silenced them with a look. He looked at me a little annoyed and sighed deeply. Apparently, General Dimitri didn't have as much of a sense of humor as my Comrade did. But the small pull of his lips betrayed him.

"Just try Rose. Feel where the fire comes from and then just let it out."

I closed my eyes and looked within myself. With the binding spell gone, I should be able to feel it. I had felt the embers of my fire when I was Dimitri. I thought of him touching me, and I felt my skin heat up. I thought back to when I looked into the flame and felt that connection - that need to be closer to it. I purposely didn't think about the night with Viktor. I could never let that kind of power out again.

I felt a tingle inside of me and knew I had found it. I just didn't know how to bring it out. I started by concentrating on expanding the spark, as I had done with so many fires in my life. I had always been good at making fires; I realized this one wasn't any different. A fire needed fuel and air to grow, so I breathed in to give it air, and I lent my body for it to burn.

I looked down at my hands, and I saw it. My hands were on fire, but it didn't burn. I felt the fire spread towards my arms and all over my body. The flames almost seemed alive. It was like they were talking to me. Telling me it will be alright. Telling me I was their master, and in that moment I felt it. I felt control over them. I let them grow and grow until I felt Dimitri and the recruits step back.

"Roza?"

His voice snapped me out of my trance, and I stared at him. Eddie and Mason were further away than they had been a moment ago and they were shielding themselves from the heat I was emanating. They simply stared at me. Eddie seemed to be mostly in shock whereas Mason seemed to run his eyes up and down my body. I wondered why, until I looked down and realized I had burned my clothes off. I suppose I was fireproof, but unfortunately, my clothes were not. That could be a problem.

Dimitri came rushing towards me with his shirt, and I had to giggle as I let go of the flames, leaving completely naked and exposed.

"Roza, are you alright?"

I nodded.

"Yeah great. Just naked."

He chuckled a little.

"Run back inside and get another set of clothes. I think we will keep the fire practice for when Christian is around."

I nodded. I was about to walk back to his chambers when I turned around and asked him a question.

"I didn't notice. Where is it coming from? It isn't really coming out of my ass is it?"

He laughed, a full belly laugh.

"No Roza, it is coming from everywhere, you really are fire itself." His eyes locked with mine and I saw how he saw me, as powerful, as beautiful, as dangerous.

It took me about half an hour to come back and saw judging by the torched stuff around the courtyard, the boys had kept practicing.

"Okay, let's move on to some combat moves. Why don't you two spar for a bit so I can instruct Rose on a few things."

Combat technique. He wanted me to physically fight a Dragon? Fighting them with Magic was one thing, but fighting them head-on, with my hands, my tiny tiny hands?

"So I am not sure how I can really fight a Dragon with punches and kicks. I doubt they would even feel it."

He smiled.

"You being a lot smaller than a Dragon might be a disadvantage, but it could also be useful. Being smaller means you are harder to catch. They won't expect you, so they won't be looking for a small human trying to kill them. They will be looking for large Dragons, looking towards the sky, so you will always have the element of surprise. It also means it is easier for you to evade their moves."

He bent down a little and hit, or tried to hit a spot on the back of his neck.

"This is a spot that is very vulnerable in Dragons. We can't reach there, not with our arms or our wings. If you can get there, you can sever the spine and kill a Dragon instantly. This will be your main target."

He stood back up and handed me a dull blade.

"You will still need to cut underneath the scales, but that is a matter of a proper weapon. Now try and evade my moves and reach that spot."

I looked like he was crazy.

"Don't worry Roza; we will take it slow."

I nodded and squared off.

He lashed out at me, and I evaded. I knew he was taking it slow, but I also realized that I was used to human Dimitri. And being smaller did mean being faster. So Dragon Dimitri was much slower than his human counterpart. I sidestepped him and got hit in the ass. Okay yeah, Dragons have a larger reach too. So I need to cover more distance to get away than I would have when he was human.

I tried again. He charged and I ducked under his wing. I saw Dimitri had trouble keeping an eye on me, and I filed that away in my head as a blind spot for Dragons. Then I jumped his shoulder and launched myself onto his back. Well tried to anyway. I fell short and plummeted to the earth. And it was a long way from such a big Dragon.

I rubbed my ass as I stood up.

"Almost Rose. You need to work on your jump, but once you get there you will be safe, and the Dragon will be dead."

I nodded.

So the entire afternoon I tried to maneuver myself on his back. Eddie and Mason started to help, and by the end, I had been able to 'kill' Mason and Eddie once each, but Dimitri was just too damn tall.

"How tall are Snow Dragons anyway?"

Dimitri seemed to understand my question but wasn't pleased I asked it.

"It doesn't matter, you should be able to kill any Dragon that threatens you, even the freakishly tall ones."

Did he just call himself freakishly tall? And I did notice he said Dragons, as in any Dragon in general, not just Snow Dragons.

"I know, but I am just wondering, statistic wise, how likely I am to die."

I heard Eddie and Mason snicker from behind Dimitri. I saw his scowl increase. He seemed to like my sassiness in the sack but not in the field, especially in front of his recruits. But he could take it or leave it. I was Rose all the time.

"I think we should call it a day. We worked hard today."

Eddie and Mason seemed to grow under his praise and I realized these boys practically worshipped him as their leader.

To my surprise, Eddie and Mason transformed into humans and put on some clothes as we walked back to the Dragon stronghold. I think they did it out of respect for me and I appreciated it.

"So see you again tomorrow Rose?" Mason asked as we parted ways on a cross-section.

Was it my imagination, or was he hopeful he would?

"Well, that would depend on General 'No Fun' over there."

They both stifled a laugh. I winked at them as Dimitri approached. Once they saw Dimitri heading this way, they straightened up and bid me a formal farewell.

Dimitri steered me towards his chambers.

When I walked in, I was immediately tackled by a blonde with a small frame. She hugged me so tight I actually gasped for air.

"Lissa?"

"Rose!"

"Can't breathe."

"Oh."

She let go, and I took in a nice gulp of fresh air.

"I was so worried about you Rose. Christian told me you were with Dimitri, but other than that he didn't know anything more."

She glanced back towards Christian, and I saw her cheeks blush, and I saw a gentle smile on Christian's face. They'd only spent two days with each other, but I could already tell something was going on.

"What happened Rose?"

I looked over to Dimitri, and he nodded as he led Christian out of his chambers, giving Lissa and I some privacy.

"Did Christian say anything?" I asked. I wondered if Christian knew I was a hybrid. He had seen the devastation in the cornfield, but I wondered if he knew I had caused it.

Lissa shook her head. I sat down next to Lissa on our rock/bed. I took a deep breath and explained about the night I was no longer human.

"When Dimitri and I talked that night, it wasn't just about me forgiving him. He had come to explain himself, but he had also come to tell me something he'd learned about me."

I looked at the ceiling, making a point of not looking at Lissa.

"I lied to you. Those markings weren't on the cave walls; they were on me."

Lissa seemed confused as she scrunched up her nose.

"Why would a Dragon binding spell be on you?"

"To bind my Dragon half. I am a hybrid, Liss. My father is a Dragon. Actually, he is the merchant, Abe Mazur. He is my father. It is how he knew about the markings. He is the one that put them on me in the first place."

I looked over to Lissa trying to see if she would freak out, or yell, or scream. I suddenly felt the same anticipation Dimitri must have had when I first saw his Dragon form. I kept waiting for her to scream and run, but she didn't. She didn't even flinch. She just looked serene and regal as she brushed some dirt off of her dress.

"Well, that makes sense."

That is it? Yeah, it felt like I finally had that missing piece of the puzzle I had been searching for my entire life. I finally felt whole, now that my powers were no longer bound. But I didn't think Lissa would understand so easily.

"Is that why you are here? Because you want to be closer to your people? To him?"

She was fidgeting with her dress. She was afraid I would leave her. Leave her for Dimitri. I wondered if Dimitri had a similar fear of me leaving him for Lissa. It really didn't matter right now anyway. The choice was made for me.

I had always been there for Lissa as long as I remembered. She was my family, my sister. But I had no choice but to leave her now. And I think it was more than just protecting her from me. I also needed to figure out who I was without her. I hadn't just been there for Lissa. I had lived for Lissa and now the universe had all but forced me to live for myself. And I knew I needed time to figure out who hybrid Rose was. Human Rose had no life of her own, always putting Lissa's needs in front of her own. But hybrid Rose simply couldn't do that. I had to separate myself a little from Lissa to be able to be my own person and to discover who I really am. But even if I knew all these things, I couldn't help feeling like I was abandoning her. She was my responsibility, and although I knew Viktoria would be able to protect her, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her.

"No, Lissa. Right now I need to be here to learn to control myself. The night Viktor took you, the binding spell broke, and without it, I can be volatile. I can't be around you or any other human right now. I might hurt them."

She got up and actually looked a little-pissed off.

"But who is going to protect me when you are not there, Rose? I don't want a stranger guarding me."

I rolled my eyes. I was an explosion hazard and she was worried how it might affect her?

"I took care of it, Lissa, like I always do. Dimitri's sister is going to guard you. You will like her. She is chatty and loves dress shopping. I know you two will hit it off."

She didn't seem very happy, but she sat down anyway and nodded solemnly. Something occurred to her then as we were discussing that night.

"What happened to Viktor?"

I felt my breath hitch in my chest. How could I tell her that the man that had been like an uncle to her, was dead because of me? But then again her image of Viktor had shattered that night anyway.

"I killed him, Liss. I pretty much…"

I made a gesture with my hands mimicking an explosion. She simply gasped.

"That is why I can't be around you, or any human right now. What Viktor did was wrong, but he didn't deserve that."

She really couldn't look at me. I didn't know if she blamed me, or was simply mourning him, or the man she thought he was. Or maybe she was upset because she lost the last connection she had to her parents?

"When will you come back?"

I didn't know. Not only did I need to learn to control this but I was also going to be going to war, and something told me Dragon wars lasted a bit longer than human wars. Would it take months, years, centuries? But I knew I couldn't be around Lissa before I had full control over my powers.

"I don't know Liss, but I will try and hurry up."

I winked, trying to keep the topic light and not a farewell to the only friend I had ever known.

"So tell me about you and Christian. What is going on there?"

She blushed and told me in intricate detail, much to my dismay, how they had fallen in love and how she had given her maidenhood to Christian. I can't believe she did that. But somehow it felt strangely fitting we lost both of our virginities, almost simultaneously, and both to Dragons. It would make for good gossip. But I realized where Dimitri and I had centuries to spend together and could plan a future if we survived that is, Lissa had a much shorter lifespan with Christian, and he would be going to war soon too.

Sorry, I was a bit sick this weekend. Here the belated update