by Donna Grant
“Con might verra well throw you out.”
Let him try, Rhi thought. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe Rhys would allow that to happen. Rhys was grasping at anything to get her to open her eyes.
“Dammit,” Rhys grumbled. “There’s no reason for you to no’ wake other than you’re scared. When have you ever been scared?”
Every damn day. But Rhys didn’t need to know that. They all thought her strong and undeterred by things. They were all wrong. She was just a very good actress.
“Is it Balladyn? Is he pressing you into becoming Dark? I’ll be happy to kill him.”
“You’ll have to stand in line behind me.”
Phelan. Of course he would come. How could she withstand both Phelan and Rhys? They were like brothers, and in some ways closer to her than her own brother had been.
There was movement on her other side and someone took her hand. Phelan. He gave her hand a squeeze. “What have you told her?” he asked Rhys.
“To wake her skinny arse up,” Rhys stated.
Phelan chuckled softly. “You think that’ll work? The Rhi who goes against any kind of order?”
Rhys grunted and said, “We’ve tried sweet-talking her, cajoling her, bribing her, and even ignoring her. I figure this was the only option left.”
“There’s another one.”
No. Rhi knew what Phelan was thinking. All she could do was pray that Rhys wouldn’t let the secret out.
“What’s that?” Rhys asked.
“Bring her lover to her.”
No. Nononononononoooooooooooo.
There was a long pause before Rhys said, “I willna. She’d never forgive me.”
“But she would wake.”
“Maybe. Maybe no’. Too much has happened, Phelan. Rhi isna the same Fae from even a month ago. With the way she’s been experiencing things, she might verra well sink further into the sleep instead of waking. Besides, she’d skin me alive if I let the name slip to you.”
Phelan snorted. “He’s been here, hasn’t he?”
“Let it go.”
“It was worth a try to discover who the asshole is. Why will none of you tell me?”
“Because Rhi doesna want you to know.”
Phelan’s grip on her hand tightened. “Why is that exactly?”
“You’d try to kill him, which you know is futile.”
“So I’ve met him?”
There was a creak from a chair as Rhys stood. “Does it matter?”
“It does. He hurt Rhi. He continues to hurt her.”
“Until she moves on.”
There was a beat of silence. Phelan’s voice was laced with surprise when he asked, “Is she moving on?”
“Many of us have urged her to do so.”
“Because there’s no hope of her lover returning to her?”
Rhys tugged on her hair. “Because unrequited love can kill, and Rhi is too important for that to happen. I’d like nothing more than for the fucktard to realize he lost something precious, but I think for Rhi’s peace of mind she should stop loving him.”
“I could never stop loving Aisley. Never,” Phelan said.
“She’s gone several thousands of years without her love being reciprocated. That changes a person, especially someone like Rhi. She feels things deeper than most. She’s one of the most giving individuals I’ve ever met, and she deserves happiness.”
“And if that happiness is with Ulrik?”
Was that a growl she heard from Rhys? Most definitely it was.
“She’s no’ that stupid.”
Phelan made a sound at the back of his throat. “It was Ulrik that carried her out of Balladyn’s dungeon. She’s gone to see him a few times as well. Tell me you’re no’ worried there’s something there.”
“Aye. I’m no longer concerned about Henry though. He’ll have his heart broken, but he’ll find someone else eventually.”
“Like Rhi?” Phelan asked. “What about Balladyn? Rhi told me that he loves her.”
“I believe he does. He’s the one I’m really worried about. They had a close connection before, during, and after Rhi’s lover. I doona think it’s coincidence Balladyn has come back into her life now.”
Rhi hated to admit it, but she agreed. Why after all those millennia had she found Balladyn? Why had he just sought her out? There was no such thing as flukes, of that she was certain.
“He’s Dark,” Phelan stated.
“Tell me something I doona know,” Rhys said sarcastically.
“If she goes with him, she’ll turn Dark.”
“There’s a chance of that, aye, but she has you and me. There are others who could help pull her back from that.”
“Nay, Rhys. I’m no’ comfortable pushing her toward Balladyn.”
“There may no’ be a choice for us. Rhi desperately wants to be loved and have that love returned. Balladyn is giving her that love. I doona believe any of us could withstand him if we were in her position.”
Wow. So that’s what they thought of her. Rhi wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or not. One moment they were saying she was strong, and the next that she was too weak to withstand Balladyn.
Never mind the fact that she hadn’t thought about resisting him. That wasn’t true. She had—briefly. It just felt so nice to have someone’s arm around her, to see desire in a male’s gaze, and to be wanted.
“I’ll talk to her.”
Rhys chuckled and resumed his seat. “We can talk until the sun explodes, but it willna do any good. Rhi has a mind of her own. She’ll do whatever she wants.”
“I can no’ lose her.”
“Neither can I. None of us can. I’m no’ sure she knows that.”
Rhi hadn’t comprehended the depth of Rhys and Phelan’s friendship until that moment. She wanted to sit up and hug them simultaneously.
It was too much for her to take. She sank further into the darkness and let the sleep take her, because she knew it wouldn’t be long before she had no choice but to wake.
Not yet though. Not yet.
Phelan gazed down at Rhi sleeping and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Do you think her being here is causing this?”
Rhys raised his aqua ringed dark blue eyes to his. “I think if we brought her anywhere else Balladyn would be there in a second. Or Ulrik.”
“Can any magic reach Rhi where she’s at?”
“I’ve tried. If it is, she’s no’ responding.” Rhys sat back in the chair and stared at Rhi.
“I’m no’ going to sit and watch her any longer. I need to do something.”
“You are. You’re here for her.”
Phelan raised a brow. “And that has done so verra much.”
“More than you know. Rhi has been on her own for a while. She claims to like it that way, but how often is she at Dreagan? I know she visits me at least once a week. How about you? How often do you see her?”
Phelan thought back over the last few months. “More now than before. The last time I saw her, she just hugged me. I knew something was wrong, but she wouldna tell me all of it.”
“The fact she came to you says a lot. Rhi isna one to open up easily.”
“So we wait?”
Rhys nodded. “We wait.”
Phelan released Rhi’s hand and pulled another chair closer. “I’ll stay with her for a bit. Return to Lily.”
Rhys rose and strode toward the entrance. He looked back at Rhi once before he stepped through the doorway and closed it behind him.
Phelan leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Balladyn, Rhi? Really? Is it because he’s told you he loves you? Should you turn to the first one who says that? After you’ve experienced the kind of love I have with Aisley, how can you settle for anything less?”
He sank down farther in the chair and laced his fingers over his stomach. “Then again, I suppose Balladyn could be another such love. I just hate the thought of him with you after he tortured you. I also hate the King who rejected your
love so harshly. I hope one day you tell me who he is. I’d really love to punch him.
“No’ that you’ll ever tell me. Hell, Rhys wouldna even share the name. I’m beginning to think everyone is keeping it from me because of how I’ll react. Which means I’ve already met the wanker. Just please tell me it isna Con. The way you two hate each other leads me to think it’s him.
“But the shared loathing could have to do with your lover. Con might have talked your lover into letting you go. If you discovered that, you would turn the full force of your ire on him.”
Phelan blew out a breath. “I just wish I knew which it was.”
* * *
Ulrik was in the hospital a mere ten minutes before he discovered Sophie had the day off. He was on his way out when he heard a whistle behind him. Ulrik halted and slowly turned around to find Sophie’s blond friend smiling at him.
“Are you the one?” she asked.
Ulrik cocked his head to the side and smiled. “I’m a great many things, lass. Which are you referring to?”
She laughed and closed the distance between them. “I overheard you asking the nurses about Sophie. I saw you in here the other day with her. I’m wondering if you’re the one who has been rocking her world, if you get my meaning.”
“I understand you,” he replied with his best smile. “What makes you think it’s me?”
“Besides the fact you can wear a suit like nobody’s business and you’re incredibly good looking? You came here for her again.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Claire, by the way.”
He took her hand in his and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Claire. I’m Ulrik.”
Her hand returned to her side. “I know it’s you. I just wanted to thank you for putting the smile on her face.”
“Does she come in smiling often?”
“A few weeks ago she did, and you must be doing something right, because she did yesterday as well. I’m curious as to why you didn’t know she was off today?”
“I got the days mixed up,” Ulrik hurried to lie. “I must have written it down on my agenda wrong.”
“Then you best get to her soon. I want another smile on her face the next time she comes in,” Claire said with a wink and walked away.
Ulrik stalked out of the hospital with a smile. Soon Dr. Sophie Martin would be his, and Darius would watch another woman of his die.
Chapter Seventeen
Darius wanted to get out and track down Ulrik himself. But he also wanted to remain beside Sophie. He wasn’t sure which one would be the best alternative to end the current situation.
Ulrik wouldn’t fight him. Not really. Ulrik wanted Con, but along the way he would hurt as many Dragon Kings as he could. As well as anyone connected to them.
Darius looked at Sophie sitting on the couch surfing the telly. She looked bored. How many times had she checked the clock in the last half hour? At least a dozen, if not more.
“I hate days off,” she said.
Darius pushed away from leaning against the wall near her windows so he could look out without being seen. “We all need them.”
“Not me.” She turned off the TV and tossed the remote onto her coffee table. “I have to be occupied, or I go a little daft.”
“How much do you work?” he asked.
She shrugged and turned so that she was leaning her arm against the back of the couch to look at him. “I work all of my shifts.”
“Which are?”
“Twelve to fourteen hours. Then I pick up others when I can. Every couple months I’m forced to take a few days off, because apparently it’s not normal for a person to work several weeks in a row without a day off.”
Darius walked to the couch and sat on the opposite end. Sophie turned with him, her expression telling him she was waiting for him to say something.
He considered her a moment. “All you want to do is work?”
“It fills the time better than watching a movie.”
“When was the last time you watched a movie?” Darius himself might have only caught one or two since he walked from his mountain, but he’d enjoyed them.
Sophie looked at the ceiling and bit her lip. Then she said, “I know it’s been four, possibly five, years.”
Darius was shocked. Wasn’t that abnormal for a human? Sure, some liked more leisure time than others, but to want none? There had to be a reason for that.
“I’ve astounded you,” Sophie said with a laugh.
Darius rested his arm on the back of the sofa, bringing his fingers close to touching her. “That you have.”
“So tell me something about you, since we’re sharing.”
Darius wasn’t finished discussing her need to work every hour of every day. He wouldn’t give up easily on it. She would find that out quickly enough. “What you see is what you get.”
She barked with laughter. “I highly doubt that.”
“You didna tell me anything I couldna have found out from someone at the hospital.”
She narrowed her gaze teasingly before she smiled. “All right. I hate downtime of any kind. I don’t exactly have insomnia, but I can only sleep for about four hours before I’m wide awake.”
“You slept last night,” he told her with a grin.
Sophie glanced away as she smiled. “That’s because someone exhausted me.”
“Perhaps that’s what you need every night.”
“I might never want to leave the bed.”
Darius didn’t think that would be a bad thing. In fact, the idea of having her in his bed every day appealed to him much more than he was comfortable with.
“I’m still waiting to hear something about you,” she said.
He rubbed his jaw. What did he tell her? What could he tell her?
“Oh, come on. There has to be something,” she teased.
Darius shook his head. “I love thunderstorms. I feel … free when they come.” Or he used to. Even that had been curbed recently.
“Thunderstorms, huh?” she said, looking at him with interest. “I can see that.”
There was a knock on her door that had Darius on his feet in a second. Sophie stood and put her hand out to halt him.
“It’s all right. It’s my friend, Claire. She always stops by on my days off.”
He jumped to his feet and hurried around the sofa. “Doona tell her I’m here.”
“What?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
Darius looked pointedly at the window. “You’re being watched. No one knows I’m here.”
“Right,” she said, worry filling her gaze.
Darius walked to the bedroom closet and pulled the door closed behind him. He left it open just enough that he could see out.
Sophie watched the door to her closet close before she opened the door.
“You are here,” Claire said in surprise. “I thought you might be out, but I thought I’d drop by anyway.”
Sophie moved aside to let Claire in. “Nope. I’m here. I’m always here. Why would you think I’d be out?”
“Because I met him. And let me tell you, Soph, he’s gorgeous!”
Sophie pulled her gaze from her bedroom, her stomach falling to her feet. She knew Claire wasn’t referring to Darius. She prayed it wasn’t Ulrik. “Met who?”
“Seriously?” Claire asked as she barked with laughter. “You’re going to play that card? The guy who’s been wearing you out with that great sex you’ve been having.”
Sophie’s stomach clutched painfully. Oh God, no. “When?”
“This morning.”
“What did he look like?” she asked hurriedly.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Girl, please. He’s the drop-dead gorgeous guy who wears a suit better than a GQ model. With that long black hair and those gold eyes … yum is all I can say. You couldn’t have picked a better-looking guy.”
Actually she could have—Darius. But Sophie didn’t say that. She didn’t want to alert Claire that she had just described Ulrik in case it put her friend in danger.
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“Don’t you have anything to say?” Claire asked suspiciously. “Or are you angry at him for not remembering it was your day off?”
Shit. The situation just kept getting worse. “I’m not angry.” Sophie hated lying to Claire, and she would tell her everything once Ulrik was out of her life. Until then, she would lie as much as she had to for Claire to be safe.
Claire nodded with a knowing smile. “You’re going to make him pay for forgetting, aren’t you? I’m also surprised he’s not here. Do y’all have any plans tonight?”
“We play it by ear.”
“That can be good,” Claire said as she began to gather her things. “I know you’ve kept guys at arm’s length, Soph, but it’s good to see you getting out there again. It’s been years.”
She said the last word in a whisper, as if it was some great secret.
Sophie fought to keep her smile in place. Claire knew the reasons, but her friend had still constantly pushed her to forget the past. It was the past that had shaped Sophie into who she was now. It couldn’t simply be forgotten like last week’s lasagna.
“You’re going to end it.” Claire rolled her eyes, her lips pinched together. “Why? It might actually go somewhere. You just can’t let go of the past and what that prick did to you.”
Sophie often wondered how quickly Claire’s mind could jump from one thought to another, but it was the perfect solution. “Yeah, I am. He’s not right for me.”
“First lay you’ve had in years.” Claire looked her up and down, her hand on her hip. “I know you all too well, Soph. You’ll send him packing before there’s even a chance you might have feelings for him.”
Sophie shrugged, not sure what to say. She wanted Ulrik to stay away from Claire. Sophie wondered if it would be better to tell Claire he was dangerous, but then if Ulrik returned to the hospital, Claire might act differently and alert Ulrik. More importantly, it might draw Ulrik’s attention to her.
And if Ulrik was as threatening as Darius said, then that’s the last thing Sophie wanted to do to her friend.
Claire looked away, her eyes bright with tears. “I worry about you, you know. You’ve no idea the men that look at you when you walk down the halls of the hospital. You could have any one of them, and I can’t get a guy who isn’t scum to look my way. Men are waiting for you to pay them the least little bit of attention.”
