Smoldering Hunger

by Donna Grant

  There was only one other time Con had been backed in such a way, and Ulrik’s banishment and the binding of his dragon magic had been a result.

  What would happen this time?

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-TWO

  Con set his fingers on his glass of whisky and looked across the table at Ulrik. “You came.”

  “As if I wouldna.”

  Dozens of millennia had passed since he’d seen Ulrik other than just in pictures. But his old friend hadn’t changed. He still looked as roguish and clever as ever.

  Con used to envy Ulrik his easygoing nature, but now all Con wanted was to put an end to Ulrik’s reign of terror.

  With his black suit jacket open to reveal a deep red shirt, and his black hair long and loose, Ulrik looked as devilish as Con knew him to be.

  Ulrik chuckled and took a drink of whisky. He slowly set the glass down, a small smile playing about his mouth. “We can sit all night staring at each other, dreaming of what we’ll do when the time comes for us to battle. Or you can spit out whatever it is you want to say.”

  “Leave Edinburgh.”

  Ulrik’s black brows rose on his forehead. “No’ going to happen.”

  “I can force you.”

  “You actually think you can. How … cute.”

  Every time Ulrik laughed, it felt like talons flaying Con’s back. He was King of Kings. Ulrik needed to be reminded of that. Now.

  Just before Con stood and showed Ulrik who was in charge, a woman’s laugh from across the room broke into his cloud of fury, reminding him where he was. Muscle by muscle, Con relaxed.

  “I bet that was difficult,” Ulrik said before taking another drink. “You’re the one who wanted a public place. I would’ve been happy to meet you out in a field somewhere.”

  “Really?” It was Con’s turn to smirk. “I didna think it was good timing with your plans and all.”

  “At this point, I figure what the hell. It’s going to happen one way or another.”

  “Aye. It is.” Con fisted his left hand that was beneath the table. The urge to reach across and punch Ulrik was strong. Very strong.

  “Am I late?”

  Just when Con didn’t think the night could get any worse. He glared to his left where Rhi stood in a slinky burgundy dress that molded to her curves. Her black hair was pulled up in some kind of messy do that looked as if it had been carelessly thrown up. A few waves framed her face, giving her a sensual look that had every eye in the bar drawn to her.

  Her silver Fae eyes cut to Con. “Thank you for healing my wound.”

  “When did you wake?”

  She feigned a bright smile and lowered her voice. “You’re welcome, Rhi. I was happy to help since you risked your own ass to help us yet again.”

  “Rhi,” Ulrik interrupted as he stood and pulled out her chair.

  Con didn’t miss the way Ulrik looked at her or how fidgety Rhi became under his gaze. He began to wonder if the two of them were lovers.

  As much as Rhi knew about the goings-on at Dreagan, she could be the mole leaking information to Ulrik. Then again, it was Ulrik’s magic that had nearly killed her in the last battle.

  There was a missing part here. Con could sense it, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He’d suspected it for some time, but now he had confirmation of it.

  “You nearly killed Rhi,” Con said. “How can you smile at her now as if it never happened?”

  Ulrik took his seat once more and waved over a waiter for Rhi’s drink order. “Do you really need to ask that?”

  “I’m alive,” Rhi stated calmly before Con could say anything else. “I have one of you to thank for the wound, and another for the healing. Let’s move on.”

  Con waited until the attendant set a French martini in front of Rhi before he asked, “What are you doing here, Rhi?”

  “I called her,” Ulrik said. “I thought it only fair we have a mediator. Or at the verra least, someone who can attest to what is said tonight. I know how you … twist … things to suit you.”

  Con was growing more irate as the minutes passed. “This was between the two of us.”

  “No’ true. The Keeper of History has knowledge of this, even as we speak. Kellan writes the truth as it happens because he’s compelled to.”

  “Kellan would never try to hide anything. And neither would I.”

  Ulrik shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

  Rhi rolled her eyes. “Both of you have tried to injure me. Both of you have tried to recruit me. I help who I want, when I want. Just think of me as Switzerland.”

  “I can do that,” Ulrik stated.

  Con bowed his head in agreement when Rhi looked his way.

  “Great. Then get on with it,” she said as she leaned back in her chair with her drink.

  Con and Ulrik stared at each other in silence for several minutes. Rhi’s gaze was either on her drink or looking around the room.

  “Why did you want this meeting?” Ulrik asked again.

  Con drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “You used to be honorable.”

  “And you used to be a good guy.”

  “You used to think of others.”

  “You used to have my back,” Ulrik said. “We can do this all night.”

  Con tried another tack. “You want to take out your vengeance on me. Then focus. On me.”

  “Oh, I am focused. You’re usually much sharper than this. Is it the bad fortune that’s now hovering over Dreagan?”

  “Leave the Kings and humans out of our war.”

  Ulrik’s smile was cold and furious. “Did you leave them out when you killed her? Did you leave them out when you bound my magic and banished me?”

  “You left me no choice.”

  “You always had a choice,” Ulrik said with a sneer. “You made the wrong ones, and now you’ll pay for it. All of you.”

  Whether Ulrik wanted to or not, he’d let a bit of his plan slip. “What’s your endgame? You want your revenge. Let’s say you get it and become King of Kings. Will you forgive the others? Or will you kill them as well?”

  “Does it really matter? If I win, you’ll be dead and unable to do anything. If you win, I’ll be dead and nothing changes.”

  “Leave the Kings alone.”

  Ulrik sat forward in his chair to lean both forearms on the table. His was smiling, but there was no humor in his gaze. “I hurt them, and it in turn hurts you. Have you no’ figured it out yet, old friend? I’m going to rip your world apart bit by bit. I’m going to take away everything you hold dear and count on, everything you look to in order to get through each day until there is nothing left.”

  Con had suspected as much.

  “I want nothing more than for you to walk this world for millennia in human form, unable to shift, as I did. But I’m no’ that stupid as to leave you alive. I’m going to sever your head from your body and take the position I should’ve taken from you long ago,” Ulrik said in a low tone.

  Con shook his head in a slow motion. “I ordered you to fight me when I claimed the position. You were too afraid.”

  At this, Ulrik let out a loud laugh that had everyone in the bar area turning to them. Con remained where he was, his gaze never leaving Ulrik.

  When Ulrik quit laughing, he ran a hand over his mouth and pinned Con with a look. “I find it amusing how you remember things. I wasna afraid of fighting you. I was afraid of beating you, you insufferable, conceited bastard. I didna want to be King of Kings, but you so feared I’d change my mind that you tried to order me to challenge you. Tell me, Constantine, who was afraid of what?”

  There was no sense in answering. No matter what Con said, Ulrik would never admit that he was wrong and Con was right. “I learned long ago it doesna pay to argue with a madman.”

  “Madman?” Ulrik said, looking amused. “When this is all over, we’ll see who the real madman is. If all you wanted was to tell me to stay away from the Kings, then you’ve wasted your time and allowed me to k
now that you care about them so much you’ll set up a meeting with me.”

  He rose to leave, but Con wasn’t finished. He asked, “If you wanted to hurt them, why did you save Lily?”

  That stopped Ulrik in his tracks. He swung his gaze back to Con and snorted. “You think I saved her? Do you honestly believe that a life with a Dragon King is better than death?”

  “I think you didna want Rhys to suffer as you did.”

  Ulrik’s silver gaze hardened. “Doona pretend to understand what I endured. I know better than anyone that there is no soul mate out there for us. Humans and dragons were no’ meant to be together. The mortals who mated with the Kings will learn soon enough how long the years become. What will you do, Con, when the mates begin to go insane from the endlessness of time?”

  It was a question Con had been asking himself from the moment Hal took Cassie as his mate, and again each time a King found love.

  He had no doubt the Kings loved. But the humans? Did they love like a Dragon King? The mortals proved time and again that they married and loved as easily as they divorced and cheated. Few took vows seriously, and he feared that all of his Dragon Kings who mated would discover that for themselves.

  “Ah,” Ulrik said as he put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “You’ll do what you do best, will you no’? You’ll kill the mates, saving the Kings from having to do it themselves.”

  Con lifted his chin. “I always do the difficult tasks.”

  “Nay. You take the easy way out. You did it with me, and you’ve done it with the others at Dreagan. You allow them to mate the humans, knowing what’s ahead. Instead of telling them what could happen, you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

  “I’m a King.”

  “You’re shit on the bottom of a shoe,” Ulrik said contemptuously. “A real leader would’ve told them the truth. A true leader would’ve forbid the mating until the mortals had been with the Kings for several years to understand what life was like.”

  Con wasn’t going to justify his actions to anyone, least of all Ulrik. Con had his reasons for the decisions he made, and in the end, he’d be the one to answer for all of them—good and bad.

  “And what of Rhi?” Ulrik asked.

  Con ground his teeth together. Why did Ulrik have to bring her into it? It was bad enough she was at the table listening to their conversation, her gaze moving between the two of them.

  “Nope, handsome,” Rhi told Ulrik as she finished her drink and set it on the table. “Leave me out of it. I can handle my own with Con. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me.”

  As if he hadn’t heard her, Ulrik ask, “Did you know he was in Balladyn’s dungeon? He saw you chained and looking like death, but he didna release you.”

  Rhi’s gaze narrowed on Con as she smiled tightly. “That’s not surprising.”

  Ulrik straightened and buttoned his suit jacket. Without another word he walked away.

  Con waited until Ulrik was out of earshot before he looked at Rhi. “Why did you answer his summons?”

  “Summons?” she repeated with a laugh that held a heavy dose of sarcasm. “You have so much to learn about me if you think I can be summoned.”

  “That’s right. You only answer certain people at certain times.”

  She looked away, a flash of pain on her face. Con wanted to hurt her, and he had. It should make him feel better. Then again, Ulrik always brought out the worst in him.

  “Ulrik wanted the conversation on record,” Rhi said. “I thought it was a good idea. It doesn’t matter who wins between the two of you, now the Kings will know what happened here.”

  “And you’ll be willing to state the truth?” he asked doubtfully.

  Rhi uncrossed her legs and gave him a smile. “I don’t do it for you or Ulrik. I do it for the other Kings who are my friends.”

  “He was wrong, by the way. I was coming to help you in the dungeon.”

  Rhi pushed back her chair from the table. “I know you want nothing more than to never see me again. Perhaps you’ll get your wish one day.”

  As she walked away Con tossed back his whisky. None of this had gone as he intended. It felt as if everything and everyone now stood against him.

  But then again, Con had always been alone—standing against evil and those who would hurt the Kings.

  He rose, intending to return to his suite. Except when he looked up Darius stood before him.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  Darius didn’t know what to say at first. To watch Ulrik, Con, and Rhi all sit at a table and talk without anyone getting killed seemed almost surreal.

  “Darius,” Con said and resumed his seat. He motioned to one of the other chairs. “I didna know you were here.”

  “I called to you.” Darius took the chair Ulrik vacated and pushed aside the empty glass. Darius shook his head when a waiter began to walk up.

  Con nodded as if he just now remembered. “I was focused on my meeting.”

  “And if it had been important?” Darius asked. “Say, that the Dark surround the hotel?”

  Con’s black gaze grew cold. “I would’ve handled it.”

  “You ignored me when I was trying to tell you I was tracking Ulrik.”

  Con blew out a breath. “The simple truth is that I didna want anyone to know I was meeting with Ulrik. I wanted to talk him out of coming after all of you and focus on me.”

  That sounded exactly like something Con would do. Darius looked around the room at all the mortals going about their everyday, mundane lives. “He’s no’ going to do that.”

  “Nay, he’s no’. He knows by hurting all of you, it upsets me. He wants to rip away my world.”

  Darius rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “That means Dreagan.”

  “Aye. I ken.”

  He lifted his head and looked at Con. “What are we going to do?”

  “Prepare. We’re dragons, Darius. They can no’ kill us. We’ve hidden for so long and gotten away with our secret. But,” he said, pausing for a heartbeat. “We may be heading to a time where we can no longer hide.”

  “We’ll never be able to leave Dreagan. We’ll have to remain and keep others out.”

  Con shrugged and lifted his empty glass to the waitress for another. “We do what we must. The Dark have outed us. Some of the humans doona believe the video, but others do.”

  “Those that want proof.”

  Con gave a nod to the attendant when a new glass of whisky was set in front of him. Once she was gone, he said, “We might as well get used to the attention, but I’m beginning to think we look beyond that.”

  Darius, like the rest of the Kings, had been so wrapped up in not being able to shift and fly that they nearly missed the obvious. “Ulrik wants our attention diverted.”

  “Precisely. I wanted a face-to-face with him to see if he’d divulge anything.”

  “Did he?”

  Con’s lips twisted. “Of course no’. But what he didna say was almost as good. I wasna able to get him to leave all of you alone, but we did learn this part.”

  “That gives us an edge. It’s only a wee bit, but it’s still an edge.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Darius eyed Con. “And what was Rhi doing here?”

  “Ulrik asked her to come as a mediator of sorts. She listened and will be able to call either one of us a liar if we say something that isna true.”

  Darius ran a hand through his hair. “That could benefit us.”

  Con merely made a sound at the back of his throat.

  “You shouldna have been here alone. You should’ve let me know what was happening.”

  “I’m King of Kings. I doona need a babysitter,” Con stated.

  Darius blew out a breath, his thoughts turning back to Sophie.

  “What is it?” Con asked.

  Darius sat back in his chair. “Ulrik sent Sophie a letter tonight asking her to dinner tomorrow.”

  “He wants
her alone.”

  “I think so. He went to the hospital today looking for her, but she wasna there.”

  Con nodded, a frown forming. “Ulrik most likely wants to see if you’ll show up, but his target is still Sophie.”

  “He wants to hurt her as he has tried with the others.”

  “And nearly succeeded with Darcy.”

  “Why do that after saving Lily?” It was the subtle tightening in Con’s shoulders that told Darius something was wrong. “We all know he was the one who saved her.”

  Con waved away his words. “Ulrik’s behavior suggests that he’s lost his mind.”

  “No’ the man I spoke with today or the day before. What are you no’ telling me?”

  “Nothing,” Con said. “Let’s get back to the letter. Are you going to send Sophie?”

  Darius shook his head. “I’ll no’ use her as bait. It could backfire. I’ll no’ take that chance.”

  “We might find out something useful.”

  “No’ going to happen,” Darius stated with finality. He wasn’t going to put Sophie’s life in any more jeopardy than it already was.

  “She could learn something that saves us.”

  “Most likely he’ll either kill her or turn her. Whatever information we find we do it ourselves either by overhearing something or by Ryder doing his magic with the computers.”

  “Tell me about Sophie,” Con commanded.

  Darius lifted a shoulder. “She was hurt years ago. I suspect it happened when she still lived in London. She doesna date, and she has only one friend that I know of.”

  “She keeps people at a distance.”

  He looked up at Con. “Aye.”

  “Much like you.”

  “I keep humans at arm’s length, and you know why.”

  Con cocked his head to the side. “All of this can easily be discovered. All we need to do is have Ryder dig into Sophie’s past.”

  “Nay.” Darius was surprised at the vehemence with which the word flew from his mouth.

  Con raised a brow. “Why?”

  “There’s no need. I doona require her history.”

  “Maybe no’, but it makes things easier.”