Passion Ignites

by Donna Grant

  He cupped her face with both hands and tilted her head back so that she looked into his eyes. “I’ll no’ leave like that ever again. You have my word.”

  She was completely taken by his declaration. He infuriated her at one turn, and the next he made her heart mush.

  It was no wonder she fell so hard for him.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-NINE

  Ulrik finished reading the news coming out of Edinburgh on his iPad. The number of deaths every night now had an international spotlight on the city.

  The country was trying to keep things calm by not allowing the death tolls in other U.K. cities to be reported. But it was only a matter of time before the information leaked.

  This wasn’t how he would’ve gone about things, but it would help him reach his end goal—which was all that mattered.

  He closed his eyes and expanded his dragon magic to make sure his uncle didn’t have anyone or anything near watching him. Ulrik did this several times a day, but it was necessary with a man like Mikkel who couldn’t be trusted with anything.

  Once he was sure no one was watching or listening, Ulrik opened his eyes and reached for the bottom right drawer of his desk. Inside there was nothing but files. He pushed them to one side and sent a small burst of his magic toward the bottom.

  A Dragon King’s magic was as singular as a fingerprint. Even if someone found the hidden panel, they would never be able to open it.

  A small wooden door popped up slightly. Ulrik lifted it and took out a black file folder. Centuries of looking over his shoulder had made him cautious.

  Out of all the people within his organization, he was the only one who knew every pie he had his hand in, every person who worked for him, and every plan he had going.

  This black file, however, was all about Mikkel. As soon as Ulrik discovered his uncle had been on the realm since the dragons were sent away, he began investigating. Ulrik had to be careful and not alert Mikkel to what was going on. Which is why Ulrik hired over a dozen people investigating—each with a specific goal.

  Mikkel’s arrival helped Ulrik in one instance, but Mikkel also screwed him in many regards. The fact Mikkel was keeping the Kings busy made Ulrik smile. For once Con wasn’t in the lead. He was trailing—badly.

  Ulrik pushed aside thoughts of Con for the moment. New information had arrived on Mikkel the night before. Since Ulrik had been with his uncle celebrating with Taraeth over the Dark’s insurgence in Scotland, he hadn’t been able to read it.

  He opened his laptop and went to a special Web site he had created for just such instances. It appeared as an e-mail, but with the right code to decipher the message, it went from being an article on a seventeenth-century oil painting to the report on Mikkel.

  In moments, the entire message was deciphered. Ulrik read over the report listing all the companies in Mikkel’s name, as well as shell companies.

  It was one more piece of information Ulrik had. He added it to the listings of cars and homes Mikkel owned. With the new software he designed, it created a map of everywhere Mikkel went.

  Ulrik was looking over the map, noticing that while Mikkel went all over the world, his concentrated visits were in Scotland.

  Of course it made sense. Mikkel intended to kill all the Kings and take over Dreagan, as well as everything else. All of that hinged on Ulrik, because though Muriel told him Mikkel had stated he was going to kill Con, Ulrik knew the truth.

  Mikkel liked to talk big. He also wanted to see what would get back to Ulrik. Mikkel might like to think he was mighty enough to take on Con, but both of them knew he didn’t stand a chance.

  Ulrik leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He and Mikkel were playing a game of deception with the other. Mikkel had laid all the cards out on the table, but Ulrik knew there was one or two hidden up his sleeve.

  Just as he was hiding from his uncle the fact that he had all his magic returned. Ulrik could take on Con that day, though it wasn’t yet time. Con needed to see his world crumbling around him before Ulrik issued a challenge.

  The interesting part would be how Mikkel intended to kill him. Ulrik had come up with a couple of ideas, but one stuck out as something Mikkel would think he could carry out.

  The timing would have to be perfect. Everything would have to fall in Mikkel’s favor once Ulrik defeated Con. Because the battle with Con wouldn’t be easy, Ulrik assumed he would be injured, leaving him in a weakened state.

  Supposing Mikkel also thought of that scenario, it would be the perfect time for him to attack Ulrik. The only crimp in the plan was Ulrik’s magic. Mikkel would realize within moments of the battle that Ulrik had all of his magic.

  What steps would his uncle take once he realized that regardless of who won between him and Con, Mikkel would never be a Dragon King?

  Already his uncle had put things into action that disturbed Ulrik. Hitting Rhys with dragon and Dark magic so that he couldn’t shift was one of the biggest.

  Ulrik knew exactly what Rhys had gone through. The only difference was that Rhys had those at Dreagan. Ulrik had been utterly alone.

  He hadn’t trusted the humans to help him. So he had gone into the mountains and—for a time—went bat shit crazy. Those were the darkest centuries of Ulrik’s life, and ones he vowed never to repeat.

  Ulrik closed the folder and pulled out another. This one wasn’t just about Mikkel. It also had to do with Dreagan. Ever since he discovered Mikkel had a spy at Dreagan, Ulrik had been focused on uncovering who it was—and then turning them to his side.

  He ran his hand over the file before he opened it. It was taking longer than he wanted, but he was getting close to learning who at Dreagan was working for Mikkel. The list had been trimmed to ten names. Tomorrow Ulrik would narrow it even more.

  Suddenly an image of Rhi flashed in his head a second before she appeared in front of his desk. The best thing he ever did was cast the spell to alert him when someone entered his store and home. The only one who had gotten through was Mikkel, but even that had been remedied.

  “Stop them,” Rhi demanded, her chest heaving.

  He raised a brow as he looked her over. She was dressed for battle in all black with spikes coming out of her heeled boots, but leave it to Rhi to look elegant and beautiful doing it. “I take it you mean the Dark in Scotland.”

  “I do. Stop them.”

  “I can no’,” he said and closed the file before she saw anything. With one push of a button, the e-mail went back to its original form.

  Rhi put her hands on her hips and glared. “You can.”

  “Apparently you believe I hold more sway with Taraeth than I do.” Ulrik rose and walked around the desk to her. “You’re joining the fight, I presume.”

  “I’ve already killed several.”

  “I think it’s a mistake.”

  She looked at him as if she didn’t know him, which she really didn’t. “This is your home the Dark are taking over. Doesn’t that matter to you?”

  “This realm was the dragons’ long before mortals came. Now they get to live freely while the dragons languish on some other realm? I’ve long wanted the humans gone.”

  “And the mates to the Kings?”

  Ulrik shrugged and leaned a hip on his desk. “That’s no’ my worry.”

  “I thought…” she trailed off.

  “Thought what?” he pressed.

  Rhi’s silver eyes were filled with doubt. “You helped Rhys. You brought Lily back from the dead.”

  “Are you sure I was helping Rhys?”

  She took a step back. “It wasn’t that long ago you assisted Warrick in protecting Darcy. Or so I thought. I heard you tried to kill her.”

  Ulrik smiled coldly even as a faint glow began to surround Rhi. “I stabbed her and left her for dead.”

  Rhi flew at him, the force of her magic knocking him in the chest. He tumbled head over heels backward and landed on his back with Rhi straddling him as light emanated from her, blinding him.r />
  “Why?” she demanded in a voice filled with fury.

  Rhi wanted to control her voice, but the word came out as a yell. She was rage, she was darkness.

  Even though she knew she was glowing and that at any moment she could destroy the entire realm of Earth, she couldn’t rein it in.

  Did she even want to?

  Was this her punishment for ignoring Warrick’s call and sending in the Warriors and Druids? She was sick to her stomach for abandoning the Kings before, and the need to take it out on someone was strong. Too strong.

  “The darkness within you has grown since the last time we spoke.” Ulrik’s voice was soft, calm.

  She noticed then that he wasn’t fighting her, but merely lying on the floor with his hands by his head waiting for her to do whatever she would.

  His words penetrated her mind, and it was like a fire being doused with water. All the anger went right out of her.

  Rhi turned her head away and climbed off Ulrik. She leaned her back against his desk, hating her new self. It was like she no longer had control of who she was becoming.

  Worse, she wasn’t sure she could determine when the darkness was taking over and making decisions. The Light inside her was dimming.

  “Look at me.”

  She blinked and found Ulrik squatting before her. His face was set in hard lines, his gold eyes glittering with anger.

  “Get your arse up,” he ordered.

  Rhi frowned, not sure why he was talking to her in such a way. “Why?”

  “Now!”

  She climbed to her feet. He stood before her with his long black hair falling to his shoulders. The sleeves of his tan sweater were pushed up to his elbows, and he was barefoot in his jeans.

  “You’re a Fae,” Ulrik said as he stared at her as if she were gum on the bottom of his shoe. “Act like it. I’ve told you from the beginning that you have the ability to determine if the darkness remains or no’. Make the choice. Either accept it—as well as what you’ll become—or cut it from you.”

  “You make it sound as if I haven’t tried to get rid of it,” she argued. Rhi tried to turn away, but he spun her back around.

  His gold eyes pierced her. “You have no’. It’s as simple as that.”

  “I don’t want the darkness. I want it gone.”

  “Then let it go.”

  Rhi threw up her hands. “I’m trying!”

  Ulrik’s smile was cold, hard. “You forget, Rhi. I know how powerful you are. If you didna want that darkness, it would be gone in a blink. You doona want to let it go. Whether it’s because it allows you to think and do things you wouldna normally do, or if there is some other reason, it doesna matter.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head as if that would make what Ulrik was saying a lie.

  His eyes narrowed for a second. “Or are you holding on to the darkness because it gives you the strength to let him go?”

  She turned away. Why did Ulrik have to bring up her lover?

  “As I thought.” Ulrik came up behind her. He didn’t touch her as he lowered his mouth next to her ear and whispered, “You’re strong enough to cut out the darkness and let him go.”

  “Am I?”

  Rhi waited for him to respond. When he didn’t she looked over her shoulder to find herself alone. If she didn’t watch it, there wasn’t going to be anywhere she belonged.

  She teleported from the store back to Edinburgh. It was time to take out her anger on the Dark.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY

  Halloween dawned with Lexi doing whatever she could to help. She cooked, she washed, and felt as useless as mud.

  The Warriors healed almost immediately, and the Druids were able to repair themselves of any injury with their magic. It proved to Lexi just how inept and inadequate she was in this war.

  She kept them fed and gave them a place to rest, but that wasn’t even hers. She was a squatter in the flat. That was never more apparent than when she was alone like now.

  Thorn left not long after dinner the night before, and he hadn’t been back. None of the Kings had, actually. It was through Thorn that she discovered Con and Guy remained in the city to help.

  Lexi walked to the window, her arms wrapped around her. She had promised to stay in the flat, but she was tired of being in the same clothes.

  There was only so much cooking, baking, and cleaning a person could do before they went crazy. Lexi was nearly at that point.

  She had no idea what was going on out there. While the others risked their lives, she was safe in the apartment watching the horrors below.

  If only she could help somehow. But she wasn’t immortal and she didn’t have magic. She would only be a hindrance.

  Lexi tried to dispel the anxiety that had gripped her in the middle of the night. She had sent off texts to Jessica and Crystal about steering clear of anyone with red eyes.

  She should’ve called them, but she didn’t want a lecture from them on returning home. But Crystal’s response to the text with “LOL” proved that her friends weren’t taking this as seriously as they should.

  There was nothing she could do. All the warnings in the world couldn’t make someone realize they were in danger if they didn’t want to see it. She hadn’t seen it until it had almost been too late.

  Lexi’s hand went to the glass when she spotted Thorn at the entrance to an alley. He looked up at her and nodded. A smile pulled at her lips. Seeing him had done wonders to help push away the ominous feeling.

  Then she frowned. His shirt was gone. Blood and grime covered much of his bare chest, and his jeans had holes burned in them.

  “Thorn!” she said through the glass.

  With a wave, he was gone.

  Lexi lowered her forehead to the glass and closed her eyes. She was going nuts not being able to help and not knowing about Thorn.

  How long was she going to have to remain here? She turned and looked at her phone. She could call the spa and tell them she wasn’t coming back, but what about her apartment? What about all her things?

  And that was assuming Thorn wanted her to stay.

  She could always get a job in the city—if the city survived. Her faith was in Thorn and the Kings, but the Dark were many.

  Then there was the fact that Thorn never told her he wanted her to stay. There hadn’t been any time alone to talk of their night together and where they might be headed. If they were headed anywhere.

  Lexi wished she had some semblance of answers to her questions. She couldn’t remain here much longer. Not just because she was going nuts in the flat, but because she had a life in South Carolina.

  Granted, it wasn’t much of a life. She had work and her friends, and that was about it. They were the things she knew and understood.

  She had a crash course in immortals, dragons, and Fae. There had been little time for her to process any of it, and now that she was alone, it wasn’t exactly a good thing.

  It was Thorn and that kiss that brought her back to the city. But with every hour that passed, it felt more and more like a mistake.

  Lexi curled up on the couch and grabbed her cell phone. She played a couple of games of backgammon before she checked her e-mails. As soon as she saw one from her boss, her heart sank.

  Her finger hesitated over the e-mail before she clicked it. Lexi scanned the message, not surprised to discover they were telling her all her vacation had been used and they were docking her pay for every day she wasn’t there.

  She immediately dialed her boss’s cell phone. Becky answered with, “It’s about time. Is everything all right?”

  Lexi dropped her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. “No, everything is far from all right.”

  “I heard about Christina,” Becky said. “It’s been in the papers. I’m sorry, Lexi.”

  “I was with her.” Lexi covered her eyes as she began to cry. “I let her walk out of that pub with that guy, and she died.”

  Becky sighed. “It’s not your fault.”


  “It is,” she said with a sniff. “I knew there was something fishy about him. I should’ve stopped her.”

  “Christina was an adult. She made her own decisions. Now,” Becky said in her most motherly voice. “When did you get back in town?”

  This was the part Lexi had been dreading. She blinked, drying her tears as she was able to focus on something else. “I’m still in Scotland.”

  “What? Why? Jessica and Crystal are already back.”

  “I had to stay. I wanted to find the guy. I was the only one who could ID him.” Lexi looked at the ceiling. “I owe it to my friend.”

  Becky made a sound over the phone. “You’re one of my youngest masseuses, but you have seniority. I’ll keep your position open for now.”

  “Thank you. It means a lot.”

  “When do you fly home?”

  Lexi cringed. “Well, that’s the thing. I was supposed to have been on the flight the day before yesterday. I checked in at the airline and everything, but I couldn’t leave. My luggage should be there already.”

  “I don’t like you there alone.”

  “I met some people. They’re helping me.” That’s all Lexi would tell her. The less Becky—or anyone—knew, the better.

  Becky said, “You know, I do watch the news. I know there’s some bad stuff going on in Scotland. You don’t belong there.”

  “I’m safe. Do me a favor. If you see anyone with red eyes, stay away from them.”

  “Red eyes?” Becky laughed. “Bless your heart, honey. There’s no one here with red eyes.”

  Lexi really hoped it stayed that way. After another few minutes of assuring Becky she was fine, Lexi ended the call.

  All of that took less than forty minutes. The day was going to pass at a very slow rate if this kept up.

  * * *

  Thorn slashed the back of a Dark’s knee with his knife and flipped the Fae on his back. Then he drove the knife in the Dark’s heart and moved on to the next. He managed to look in on Lexi, but that’s all he had time for. At least she had been at the window as he had hoped.

  It eased him to see her and know that she was away from the danger that seemed to swell and expand with every hour. No matter how many Dark were killed, they weren’t fazed.