Soul Scorched

by Donna Grant

  “I didna have any doubts. What information have you gleaned?”

  “None.”

  There was a long stretch of silence. Then Con said, “None? Why?”

  “Perhaps because we’ve been battling the Dark all day.”

  “You’ve never been one to talk a lot, Warrick, but apparently you have something to say. So out with it.”

  Warrick held Darcy tighter as she slept. “There is more than Ulrik in this battle, Con. Keep that in mind.”

  “I have.”

  “Nay. You’re blinded by your hate. The fact that your first question was about what Darcy might have shared regarding Ulrik instead of asking if she was still alive or how Thorn and I were holding up against the Dark is telling.”

  “Then tell me what happened.”

  Warrick wasn’t deceived. Con was placating him, and it infuriated Warrick. “I did. I was attacked.”

  “That’s no’ a surprise. The Dark will attack you to get to the Druid.”

  “Thirty of them? Out on the streets? With only the rain to hide us?”

  There was a pause, and Warrick could practically see Con frowning.

  “Thirty?” Con asked.

  “That were just the ones who surrounded me and were visible. There were more that I couldna take time to count.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “A few hours ago.”

  “And you’re just now telling me?” Con shouted.

  Warrick hadn’t been thinking of reporting to Con. His thoughts had been centered on Darcy. “Aye.”

  “You were wounded.”

  It wasn’t a question. “As I said, they surrounded me when I tried to return to Darcy’s shop. I blocked most of their magic, but some got through.”

  “At least they didna take you.”

  “They didna want me. They were too focused on Darcy. She was inside the shop watching. They hurt me to get her to come out since Thorn and I used magic on her building and the Dark couldna get to her.”

  “How is Thorn?”

  At least that was one thing Warrick didn’t have to worry about. “Thorn has remained hidden. The Dark doona even know he’s here. It’s allowed him to kill them without being seen by the others.”

  “I didna have any doubt.”

  “You should also know that the Dark didna just attack us today. They went after humans as well.”

  “They know we protect the mortals,” Con said. “They’ll try to divide your attention between the Druid and the mortals. Perhaps I should send Kiril and Rhys back to Edinburgh.”

  “I doona think that would be a good idea. The Dark were blatant in their attack today, and that was just with me. If they knew Thorn or any other Kings were here, I’m afraid we wouldna be keeping our secret from the humans any longer.”

  “The Dark are that intent on taking Darcy?”

  “Aye. They busted through her magic quickly enough. It was only our dragon magic that held them.”

  “Then they willna stop until they have her. It’s just a matter of time before they get to her.”

  “Unless she’s on Dreagan.” Warrick had no idea where that thought came from. Once said, however, he knew it was the only place for Darcy.

  His mind was going through how to get her to Dreagan when Warrick realized Con hadn’t uttered another word. That’s when Warrick comprehended that if Darcy was at Dreagan, she would be at the mercy of Con, and he would pester her for any and all information about Ulrik.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” Con said.

  Warrick closed his eyes. “You need to know now that Darcy willna give us anything on Ulrik.”

  “She sides with him?” Con asked coldly.

  “She doesna side with anyone. Ulrik didna try to turn her to his side. The fact we are makes him look good, and doesna shed us in a pleasant light.”

  “Have you learned anything from her?”

  “I know she saw his memories.”

  “Saw?”

  Was that a note of anxiety in Con’s voice? “Aye. She saw what happened when we banished him and bound his magic.”

  “Of course Ulrik would willingly share such things.”

  “He had no idea. He still doesna. Darcy saw more than that as well.”

  “It looks like the best place for the Druid is on Dreagan. Get her here as soon as you can.”

  Warrick knew it was the only safe place for her, but that didn’t mean Darcy would readily go. Even with sixty thousand acres, it was still a sort of prison. Not to mention there was Con.

  But all of that paled with the knowledge that she would be out of reach of the Dark.

  “Warrick?” Con asked.

  “I heard you.”

  “But?”

  “Nothing.” There was no point in asking Con why he wanted Darcy at Dreagan. Warrick knew it was because of her association with Ulrik, and the fact she’d seen Ulrik’s memories.

  “I’ll see you soon then,” Con said and terminated the link.

  Warrick opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling again while he tried to figure out a way to give Con limited access to Darcy. Every plan fell apart, because Con wasn’t the only King who wanted to bring Ulrik down. Warrick would be up against most of the Kings.

  It put him in a difficult place, because he didn’t want to help Ulrik. Yet in order to protect Darcy, Warrick was doing just that.

  * * *

  Rhi knew she was going to get shit from Thorn and Warrick for not coming when they called. She would take whatever they had to say, because they couldn’t know where she had been.

  She was still veiled when she found Thorn on the roof of a building across the street from Darcy’s shop. Rhi dropped the veil and squatted beside Thorn.

  He jerked his head to her and glared. “You’re a little late.”

  “It’s called fashionably late,” she retorted and tossed her hair over her shoulder dramatically. Anything to keep him from asking what she had been doing.

  Thorn grunted. “Whatever. We could’ve used your help when the Dark attacked.”

  “Again? How many this time?”

  “I stopped counting at forty-eight.”

  Rhi met his dark gaze, her stomach falling to her feet. He wasn’t just angry that she was late. He was pissed because something had occurred. “What happened?”

  “Last night the Dark arrived and surrounded the shop and set up along Darcy’s route home so that we couldna get her out.”

  Now Rhi felt badly for not ensuring the shop was as protected as Darcy’s flat. “I’ll make the shop safe.”

  “We already have,” Thorn said icily.

  Rhi looked down at the shop to see the door precariously hanging on one set of hinges and one of the windows busted. “It seems to have worked.”

  “Aye. Right up until Warrick left to get Darcy food. The Dark began attacking the shop, and when Warrick returned, they went after him.”

  “Where is Warrick?” she asked as worry set in.

  “With Darcy.” Thorn kept to the shadows as he rose and jumped from one rooftop to another. “Do you think I’d be the only King here if the Dark took him?”

  Rhi followed Thorn, deftly landing on her four-inch heels. She once more sidled next to Thorn and followed his gaze to a small group of Dark who stood staring at Darcy’s shop.

  “Was Warrick injured?”

  Thorn shrugged. “Nothing a bit of time couldna heal.”

  “You’re angry with me.”

  He turned the full force of his fury on her then and looked her up and down as if she was the lowest of the low. “I suppose you only come when Rhys calls. It’s a good thing the Dark were no’ interested in kidnapping another King, Rhi, because thirty of them surrounded him, pounding Warrick with their magic.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Doona tell me,” he replied irritably. “You need to say that to Warrick.”

  Rhi immediately teleported away.

  Thorn rolled his eyes. “Just another reason why the Kings s
hould cut all ties with the Fae. They can no’ be trusted.”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  No matter how Warrick looked at it, there was no other way to ensure that Darcy was kept out of the Dark’s hands than to take her to Dreagan. He wasn’t so sure she was going to agree, however.

  It wasn’t just her life on the line either. There was the fact that the Dark were walking the streets of Edinburgh, and the Kings had yet to do anything.

  Warrick gently turned Darcy onto her other side and rose. He pulled on his jeans, buttoning them as he walked to the front of the store and looked out the windows as dawn lightened the sky. Two Dark Fae stood on the opposite side of the street staring at him. Their smug smiles made him itch to wipe them from their faces. Forcefully.

  If something wasn’t done as retaliation, then the Dark would know they could come into Scotland any time they wanted. It was bad enough they roamed far and wide in Ireland.

  Scotland was the land of the Dragon Kings.

  Warrick grabbed the broken door and swung it open. He ignored the bite of glass in his bare feet as he stepped across the threshold.

  There was a forceful push against his mind as well as Thorn’s voice shouting his name. Warrick opened the link. “What?”

  “I know that look. Whatever you have planned, count me in. I’m sick of watching these fuckers think they can do whatever they want.”

  Just what Warrick was hoping Thorn would say. “Con wants me to bring Darcy to Dreagan.”

  “I know. Con told me to make sure that I do whatever it takes to help you.”

  “I willna force her,” Warrick stated.

  “Neither will I.”

  Warrick didn’t question Thorn. He knew Thorn was a man of his word. “The Dark are no’ supposed to be in Scotland. They’ve had the run of Edinburgh for too long already.”

  “It’ll mean leaving Darcy on her own.”

  “Our magic will hold.”

  “You really want to take that chance?”

  Warrick sighed heavily. He didn’t, but it went against everything he was to allow the Dark to get away with such atrocities.

  “I didna think so,” Thorn said. “There’s no rain today, War. We can no’ fight them now.”

  “They’ll attack again.”

  “That’s what I thought all night, but they didna. What are they waiting on?”

  That was a good question. War turned his head to the left and spotted another three Dark. When he looked right, he saw five. How many more were at the back and hiding along the street?

  The only way to get Darcy out was by flying her to Dreagan, which meant taking a chance of someone in the city seeing him.

  “Darcy can no’ stay here another day. We have to do something,” Warrick said.

  Thorn gave a wry laugh. “Good luck with that, mate. She leaves that building, then you might as well say farewell, because you’ll never see her again.”

  “I can use my power.”

  “Your protection?” Thorn asked. “It could work. Have you ever held it up under the onslaught of Dark magic?”

  “I’ve never needed to.”

  “You’ll be taking a chance, War. If your power fails and Darcy is taken, will you be able to live with that?”

  “Nay, but I doona see another alternative. We get to Darcy’s flat, and then we think of a way to Dreagan.”

  “You mean you’ll talk her into going to Dreagan,” Thorn said with a laugh.

  Warrick severed the link in the middle of Thorn’s laugh. He turned and walked back into the building.

  * * *

  Darcy woke shivering, and realized instantly that Warrick was no longer beside her. She sat up, feeling the slight pulling between her legs. A smile broke as she remembered their lovemaking.

  She rose and looked around for her clothing. Her jeans and shirt were salvageable, but her bra and panties were done. With her clothes in her hand, she walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Darcy winced when she looked in the mirror.

  “It could be worse,” she said as she tugged on some curls.

  She splashed water on her face and patted it dry. Then she dampened the hand towel and wiped herself down. She was soon shivering and grabbed a fresh hand towel to dry off.

  A hot shower sounded heavenly. At least she had the small powder room in which to freshen up. Darcy remembered the pair of sweats she kept for the times she worked with the plants. She rose up on her tiptoes and opened the cabinet door to pull them out. If she survived this, she was going to add underwear to the stash.

  After her shirt was back on, she fished out the toothpaste and toothbrush she always kept at the shop and brushed her teeth.

  She valiantly tried to use her fingers to comb through her curls, but her hair was too knotted to do any good. The frizz didn’t help either. With no other choice, she pulled it into a messy bun and pinned it in place.

  A quick look in the mirror showed that she was at least presentable, even if she felt odd not having any panties on. Darcy opened the door and stepped out.

  She expected to see Warrick, but he wasn’t in sight. A quick look in the back showed that he wasn’t there either. She then went to the front and found him inside staring out the broken window.

  “I hope I didna wake you,” he said without turning to look at her.

  There was something about the way he was standing that set warning bells off in her head. She followed his gaze to the two Dark across the street. “You didn’t,” she answered. “What’s going on?”

  Before he could answer, her stomach gave a loud rumble.

  “There isna much left of the food I gathered for you yesterday, but I know Thorn brought it to you. You should eat.”

  She wasn’t fooled by the change of subject. “I’ll eat if you tell me what’s going on.”

  “Get the food. Then we’ll talk.”

  Darcy didn’t think there was a man alive as stubborn as Warrick. She pivoted and immediately winced when something pierced her foot. She stopped and leaned a hand against the wall as she lifted her injured foot. There was a small shard of glass buried deep in her foot.

  “You should be more careful,” Warrick said as he bent over her foot and gently removed the glass.

  “You’re barefoot.” As soon as it came out, Darcy knew how petulant it sounded.

  One side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “Aye, so I am. Let’s get our shoes on.”

  Darcy was still looking for a boot when Warrick walked to the back. She was on the floor, slipping on her shoe when he returned with the broken plastic basket of food. She grabbed it from his hand and opened a bottle of water. After downing half of it, she tore open a bag of cookies and stuffed one in her mouth.

  That’s when she glanced up and found him watching her with a strange look on his face. “What?” she asked around the cookie.

  “I like watching the joy on your face.”

  It wasn’t the first time she’d caught Warrick watching her as if studying her, but this was the first time he gave any sort of explanation. She found it … endearing.

  Darcy swallowed her bite. “We’re not so different than you.”

  “Och, but you are,” he said. “You’ve seen Ulrik’s memories. You’ve seen us in our true forms.”

  “Yes. I’ll admit that you all are terrifying. But in human form, you’re like us, right?”

  “In some aspects, I suppose we are.”

  “Then why do you look at me like that?” she asked.

  He glanced at the floor and shrugged. “From the moment humans arrived in this realm, I’ve been fascinated by you.”

  “I’d think we’re pretty boring,” she said with a laugh.

  “There are some who are brilliant, as well as amazingly talented.”

  “Like who?” she asked not expecting to get an answer of someone she knew. But she should’ve known better.

  Warrick reached for another bottle of water. “I particularly liked Leonardo da Vinci. His ideas were e
xtraordinary.”

  Darcy watched his eyes take on a faraway look as if he were remembering something. “Da Vinci? The da Vinci?”

  “Aye,” Warrick said, affronted. “I wouldna lie. I kept my distance for a while, but he was just too interesting. We struck up a friendship of sorts.”

  “Did he know what you were?”

  Warrick looked away. “He had a verra sharp mind. I didna realize that the times he seemed to ask mundane questions that he was actually learning me.”

  Darcy’s eyes went wide. “Are you telling me he figured it out?”

  “He guessed I wasna human,” Warrick said and sat in her office chair. “It didna take him long to figure things out from there.”

  “What did Con say?”

  Warrick laughed, his cobalt gaze meeting hers. “He didna know.”

  “How many others did you get to know?”

  His smile dropped as he sat back. “No’ many. With more and more humans populating the realm, it grew more difficult to hide who we were. Then when technology came and now with everyone walking around with a camera on their mobile phones, we really have to be careful.”

  “You have Dreagan.”

  “That we do. It’s no’ just our home. It’s our refuge.” He paused, his gaze intensifying. “It’s also one of the few places a Dark Fae can no’ get into.”

  Darcy knew where he was going with this. Two days ago, she would have flat-out refused his offer. Now? Well, after the battle yesterday her mind had been changed about several things.

  “Dreagan, huh?” she asked.

  “You’d be safe. The Dark couldna reach you there.”

  She nodded, knowing it was the only option left open to her. “What do we do?”

  “You mean, you’ll come?”

  The surprise on his face almost made her laugh. “Am I that difficult?”

  “You just know your mind.”

  “In other words, I’m difficult.”

  His smile was back, making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “You doona hear me complaining.”

  If he continued to be so charming, there was no way Darcy wouldn’t fall for him. A Dragon King.

  A dragon!

  She’d seen a glimpse of him in the dark, but she couldn’t wait to see him in the day.