Smoke and Fire:

by Donna Grant

  “What if Ulrik’s magic is unbound? What if he’s faking it?”

  Taraeth laughed loudly. “Look at Ulrik, Balladyn. He was King of the Silvers for thousands of years. Do you really believe he’d sit by and continue to allow Mikkel to use him if he had his magic? More than that, do you really believe Ulrik wouldn’t attack Con right away?”

  “He’s waited thousands of years for his retribution. I think he’s planned it down to the last detail.”

  “Without a doubt. It’s going to be a glorious war, and we have front row seats.”

  It was Taraeth’s certainty that he would remain king of the Dark, as well as his conviction that he didn’t have to choose between Ulrik and Mikkel that told Balladyn it was nearly his time to take over.

  An image of Rhi flashed in his mind.

  His hands clenched as he recalled how he’d held her body against his, caressing and stroking. Her cries of pleasure still echoed in his mind. Just as he would never forget how it felt to slide inside her.

  He wanted her as his queen. Rhi would be an amazing queen. But she would never turn Dark.

  And he was Dark.

  Balladyn blinked, focusing on Taraeth’s face that was inches from his as he snapped his fingers next to Balladyn’s ear. He held back his natural reflex to knock Taraeth away.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Taraeth asked with a sneer. “I’ve been talking to you, but you wouldn’t answer.”

  Balladyn held himself still until Taraeth straightened and returned to the opposite sofa. Only then did he respond. “I was thinking about the upcoming battle with Ulrik and Con.”

  “Oh, yes. I know how much you hate the Dragon Kings.”

  Apparently not all of them. Balladyn was beginning to like Ulrik. “I want to be there to watch it unfold.”

  “You will be,” Taraeth assured him.

  By that time, Balladyn fully intended to be king of the Darks. The entire force of Dark Fae would be at the disposal of one entity—him.

  It would be at his leisure to choose if they aided Ulrik or not. And knowing Ulrik, the Dragon King wouldn’t need anyone’s help.

  As for Mikkel … that was another matter entirely.

  “You still have Sinny spying on Mikkel?”

  Taraeth nodded absently as he eyed a mortal who was being carried into the chamber. Her red hair was long and bright, just as Taraeth liked it.

  She was young, her body lithe and supple as she lay naked in the arms of one of Taraeth’s guards. He motioned to the guard to take the human to his bed in the next room.

  “Sinny will continue to spy on Mikkel just as her sister, Muriel, is spying on Ulrik.” Taraeth stood with an excited smile as he faced his bedroom. “We’ll finish this later. It’s time for my snack.”

  Balladyn rose to his feet and walked out with the loud moans of the female following him. He strode down the hallway thinking of all the mortals he’d taken after he became Dark. There were so many he couldn’t recall all of them.

  Rhi wouldn’t approve.

  He made his way to a doorway and immediately went to Rhi’s island. He needed to have her arms around him, to know that she was his.

  But the island was deserted.

  Balladyn stood in the sun with the water a few feet away. It was the spot where he had made love to Rhi. He removed his clothes and walked into the water.

  The sun, the bright flowers, the beautiful water, they were all things a Light Fae needed. He didn’t need them anymore, but yet there he was.

  Balladyn dove under the water trying to imagine what Rhi saw as she swam with the brightly colored fish and coral. He could imagine her smiling as the fish darted around her.

  It wasn’t until he walked out of the water an hour later that Balladyn realized how long he’d remained at the island. He halted at the shore, his chest tightening.

  He enjoyed it. All of it. The sand, the water, the fish. The sun.

  His gaze landed on the hammock, and for just a moment, he contemplated remaining. Then he remembered his plans. He had a throne to claim and a king to kill.

  Balladyn scrunched his toes, the wet sand sinking between them, clinging to his skin as the water rolled in and out. The wind glided across his damp skin and caused the palm trees to sway, their fronds rubbing against each other.

  It was so peaceful. No wonder Rhi had chosen it. It was secluded as well, which suited her. More and more she was pulling away from everyone.

  It seemed both of them were in the midst of change. Though Balladyn now knew that Rhi would fight the darkness inside her with everything that she was.

  She didn’t even know that yet. It made him smile, because it proved how strong she was. Not just her magic, but her character, her spirit.

  Her essence.

  She feared the darkness was taking over when in fact her light was drowning the darkness. The darkness clung to her, trying to sway Rhi and tempt her. A few times it even came close.

  But each time her light killed it.

  How could he have ever imagined that he could turn her Dark? Even in the thrall of rage and revenge, he should’ve seen the sheer might of her.

  Instead, he’d been blinded by the darkness within him. The one person in all the realms he’d never wanted to hurt, he had done just that. And she forgave him.

  She was the very best of the Fae. How did no one else see that?

  Balladyn snapped his fingers as he walked out of the water. His clothes and shoes were back on, and all traces of his time in the water were gone.

  He teleported to Cork and an Doras. As soon as he walked into the pub, a hush fell over the crowd of Fae. It was a Dark Fae holding, but the occasional Light would make an appearance.

  Balladyn walked to an empty stool and sat at the bar. The barkeep walked up with a glass of whisky in hand. As soon as he set the glass down, Balladyn’s hand wrapped around his wrist.

  Wide red eyes looked at Balladyn. “I’ve paid my rent and taxes.”

  “I don’t take care of such things.” The male began to tremble in Balladyn’s hold. “I want information.”

  “Wh-what kind?” the Dark stuttered.

  “Tell me all you’ve heard of the Reapers recently.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ryder was attuned to every sound, every movement that Kinsey made. He found it nearly impossible to focus on anything except her.

  With his mind constantly bombarded with questions from the other Dragon Kings, he found himself ignoring their verbal calls on occasion.

  The hours crawled by until lunch. Kinsey didn’t so much as look his way again as she went about her work. Ryder attempted to come up with reasons to ask her questions, but it didn’t take long for her to realize what he was doing.

  As soon as Dmitri walked into the computer room, Ryder jumped up from his chair. “I’ll be back,” he told Dmitri.

  Ryder ignored his name being called as he lengthened his strides. He hurried down the three flights of stairs and bumped into Arian as he made his way to the hidden doorway from the manor that connected to the mountain.

  Once Ryder was in the mountain, he kept walking. He didn’t know where he was going. Only that he had to put some distance between him and Kinsey so he could get himself under control.

  Ryder soon found himself standing in the large cavern staring at the black bars of the massive cage that held the four sleeping Silver dragons.

  The cavern had only a few torches scattered around the perimeter. A ball of magic swirled above the cage, casting a faint white light over the dragons.

  Ryder walked to the cage and placed his hand upon the dragon nearest him. These weren’t his dragons, but they were dragons. Right now he needed to remember who he was.

  Because every moment he couldn’t have Kinsey was tearing him apart.

  He hadn’t realized how much he hungered, craved her until she was within arm’s reach. She was closer than she had been in years, but yet she was further away than ever before.

  Ryder rested hi
s forehead on the bars and focused on the dragons’ breathing. These were the last four dragons on the realm. Every time he came to see them, it made Ryder sad. They should be flying, their wings outstretched and the sun upon their scales.

  He closed his eyes and thought back to his Greys. How he loved to rub their single horn that projected above their noses. They had made a sound at the back of their throats that rumbled in their chests, which sounded very much like a purr.

  Ryder smiled at the memory. His dragons always brought him comfort, even when it was just a memory of them. There was only one other thing that could do that to him—Kinsey.

  His smile vanished. Kinsey. What a fool he’d been to take for granted the time they shared. How easily she once walked into his arms, lifting her face for a kiss.

  How they had laughed and talked, walking arm in arm down the street.

  What Ryder wouldn’t do to have that time back. He told Dmitri last night he was willing to fight for Kinsey. Sleeping beside her had only solidified his decision.

  But the longer she was around him, the more distant she became.

  Ryder petted the Silver as he wondered what prompted Kinsey to act as she did. When she first arrived at Dreagan she was shocked and angered to find him there. Now, she appeared as indifferent to him as she was to everything else.

  His hand paused and his eyes flew open. Indifferent? Kinsey wasn’t indifferent. She was afraid. What she was doing was attempting to erect a wall between them that would keep Ryder out forever.

  The only problem with that was that Kinsey had no idea how determined a Dragon King could be.

  Ryder made his way to each of the Silvers and petted them while he began to decide how to bust through Kinsey’s wall. She had to still feel something for him. Why else would there have been such anger the day before?

  Touching the Silvers helped Ryder to sort his way through his thoughts, but he wished he could shift and take to the skies. He needed to fly.

  To dive through clouds, turning over and over again, wrapping the clouds around him. There was something beautiful and amazing about looking down at the earth through his dragon eyes.

  Hopefully they would find Ulrik soon and put a stop to this nonsense. The one thing Ryder was grateful for was that Kinsey was at Dreagan. Security—really their dragon magic—was heightened to ensure that no Dark could venture onto the land.

  Unbeknownst to every human who entered Dreagan, they were being scanned by Ryder. He couldn’t tell who was working for Ulrik—yet. But every face, every voice was being logged into a database along with where the person went and how long they were at Dreagan.

  The mates were watched by multiple Kings at any given time. So if Kinsey had to be anywhere, Dreagan was the best place to be. No matter who was using her or why, Ryder knew she would be safe.

  Which allowed him to think of how he could break down her barriers and get her back in his arms again.

  * * *

  Ulrik stood in the shadows of the cavern until Ryder walked out, his boots making a slight echo on the stones. Ulrik slid his gaze to his Silvers. He counted five Kings who came to see his Silvers in the last two hours.

  All this time he’d thought his dragons were the ones trapped, but he was beginning to see that the Kings were as well. They needed his Silvers, whether they knew it or not.

  Did the Kings even realize how often they visited his dragons? How many times they touched the scales, caressing them? Some simply stood in the cavern staring at the Silvers.

  Ulrik didn’t need magic to know those Kings were thinking of their own dragons. Up until he was able to get part of his dragon magic back, Ulrik had gone mad several times over wondering about his dragons.

  The first time he snuck onto Dreagan, he spent an entire day with his Silvers without a single King knowing about it. It almost killed Ulrik to leave them, but each day drew him closer to the time he could awaken them and rid the world of the humans.

  Ulrik came as often as he dared to Dreagan. It amused him how many times he stood near Con in the shadows of the cavern. The almighty Con hadn’t even been aware his enemy could’ve killed him a hundred times over.

  That had tempted Ulrik on several occasions. To end Con and take over as King of Kings. Everything he’d dreamed of and worked toward could come to fruition.

  There had even been one instance when Ulrik nearly gave in to that desire and killed Con while he looked upon the Silvers. Being stabbed in the back was just what Con deserved after all he’d done to Ulrik.

  But that wasn’t who Ulrik was. He wanted Con to know he attacked him. He needed Con to know that he was going to lose—and die.

  Only then would Ulrik get his satisfaction and his vengeance. Only then would he be able to face the future without the cloud of anger and resentment weighing him down.

  When he was King of Kings, Ulrik would remove every last human from the realm and then he would return the dragons. He smiled as he thought of the Fae. With the mortals gone, the Fae would have no reason to remain.

  The earth could return to what it was always meant to be—a dragon realm.

  It was a dream Ulrik had held onto for thousands of years. He couldn’t believe how close he was to fulfilling it. All that had gone wrong so long ago would be set right.

  Ulrik searched for a twinge of remorse at the thought of killing Con, but there was nothing there. Whatever had bonded him and Con together millions of years ago had been severed with Con’s betrayal.

  Con had been part of his family at one time. Ulrik would’ve died for Con. How had he not seen the true Constantine?

  That was because Con was a great actor. He pushed all his emotions aside. He shut down and refused to let anyone in. Con was a master at it.

  All too soon the peace that Con built around himself would be shattered. Ulrik had refused to fight him when Con became King of Kings. It was a mistake Ulrik had made because of love. He’d loved Con as a brother then.

  That ridiculous emotion changed Ulrik’s life forever. It made him an outcast, banished from his home and his brethren.

  Con used to tell him not to allow emotions to rule his life. It took the treachery of his most trusted friend for Ulrik to see how true Con’s words were.

  All emotion but one was erased within Ulrik. He lived, breathed, and cultivated the resentment housed inside him. It pulled him past the brink of madness.

  It focused him.

  For tens of thousands of years Ulrik had been setting a plan in motion. And it was going beautifully.

  Ulrik walked from the shadows to his Silvers. “Hear me,” he whispered.

  He didn’t need to speak to them. Their link was mental, but they liked the sound of his voice. In response, the one closest to him moved his front limb.

  “A wee bit longer,” he soothed. “Then you’ll be free of this cage and the sleep. We’ll bring our own brand of justice down upon the mortals. And this time nothing will stop us.”

  Ulrik walked to each of the dragons, whispering their names as he touched them. Being near them gave him strength, reminded him of how important it was that he win.

  He would win. Of that he had no doubt. Ulrik had known from the beginning he could beat Con. He hadn’t wanted to before. Now was a different story.

  Ulrik returned to the shadows. Just as he was about to teleport away, he heard voices. His enhanced hearing picked up Dmitri’s and Thorn’s voices.

  “He wants her,” Dmitri said.

  Thorn chuckled. “Of course Ryder does. It’s obvious in the way he looks at her.”

  “She’s verra beautiful.”

  “I’m just thankful she’s on Dreagan.”

  “I’d feel better if we could locate Ulrik,” Dmitri said.

  They walked into the cavern and stood beside the cage looking at the Silvers. Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “After the last run-in we had with Ulrik, I think it’s imperative we know where he is at all times.”

  “He must’ve been watching all of us f
or years. How much did we give away without knowing?”

  Thorn exchanged a look with Dmitri. “Probably too much. I believe Ryder is the only one being targeted right now.”

  “Can we assume that? With the network Ulrik has, he could be aiming his malicious intent at any number of us at once.”

  “With MI5 crawling over Dreagan, there isna much Ulrik can do without exposing himself as well.”

  Dmitri squatted down and rubbed the forehead of one of the Silvers. “Do you really think that will stop him? He wants the humans gone. This is the perfect time for him to strike, because he knows we willna do anything.”

  Ulrik smiled knowingly. Everything was lining up. There were just a few more critical things that needed to happen before he could challenge Con.

  “You sided with Ulrik before,” Thorn said. “Will you again?”

  Dmitri blew out a breath. “The truth is, I’m tired of hiding who I am. We’ve done it for so long that we’ve accepted the invisible chains around us. This was our realm, Thorn.”

  “Then we agreed to share it.”

  Dmitri gave a shake of his head. “Did we? Or were the mortals put here for us to annihilate? Did any of us ever consider that?”

  “I’m mated to one of those humans,” Thorn said in a low voice.

  Dmitri held his gaze. “You’ll no’ find me taking one into my bed. It’s why I’ve always chosen the Light Fae. I’m glad you and the others have found love, but can you really trust your women? Look what Ulrik’s woman did. It’ll happen again, Thorn. Mark my words.”

  Ulrik’s smile grew. This discord within the Dragon Kings was growing, just as he knew it would.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ryder picked up a jelly donut and bit into it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kinsey glance his way. Since his return from visiting the Silvers, Ryder had ignored her.

  And she didn’t like it.

  He found her looking his way every so often with a side glance. She hadn’t said a word, but her constant shifting in her chair was giving her away.

  Ryder clicked a tab on the computer and music filled the air. Seether’s “Words as Weapons” began to play. Ryder set the playlist to shuffle and repeat before he checked on the scans of Ireland.