by Donna Grant
“Right,” Sabina said as she dressed.
“And we know that magic was used on him. Until we have Tristan delve into V’s mind, we willna know what kind of magic, but my guess is that it was the same Druid and Fae mix as the wooden dragon.”
Sabina fastened her bra and looked at him. “That’s obvious by the drawings.”
“Perhaps. I know the drawings are significant, as is what has happened to us while we’ve been in this cave. I’ve no doubt that things willna get easier as we get closer to the sword.”
He finished dressing and waited until she put on her last boot and straightened. Then he said, “I believe that whatever you did about V’s sword, you did it to help us and protect him.”
“I was protecting you, as well. You didn’t hear the fear in Iacob’s voice, Roman. They were terrified of the Others.”
“We assumed your ancestors left in fear of V’s reprisal. No doubt they feared the Others, as well.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “But nothing happened to my family. They weren’t harmed by V or the Others.”
“Are you sure? If the Others are the Druids and Fae—and I believe they are—they’ve done horrific things to us. What do you think they’d do to the family who thwarted their plans?”
Her face paled. “But wouldn’t someone have noticed?”
“Look how long it’s taken the Others to get to us.”
The breath left her in a whoosh. “Dear God.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Dreagan
Con stood inside the mountain connected to the manor, staring at the four sleeping silver dragons. He came to see them every day. Mostly to remember his past. Because it was becoming harder and harder to recall the time when the dragons ruled.
He didn’t move when he heard someone approach. Con wasn’t surprised to see Ulrik. The Silvers were of his clan, after all. Con kept his gaze on the dragons.
“Care to share what’s on your mind?” Ulrik asked as he came to stand beside him.
Con gripped the pocket watch in his trouser pocket. “No’ really.”
“I know that look, old friend. Something troubles you, deeply.”
“If you had the chance, would you wake your Silvers and release them?”
There was a beat of silence. Out of the corner of Con’s eye, he saw Ulrik face him. He could well imagine the thoughts going through his friend’s mind.
“After thousands of years of trying to stop me from doing that verra thing, I want to know why you ask me this now?” Ulrik demanded.
Con looked at the floor and shook his head. “It’s just a question.”
“There’s quite a lot of shite going on at the moment,” Ulrik said. “Henry, along with Esther and Nikolai are on Eigg, digging deeper into Henry’s and Esther’s Druid roots. Dorian is in New York, tracking down the relic Ryder discovered. And then there’s V and Roman, searching for V’s sword.”
Con stepped closer to the cage containing the dragons and put his hand on a bar. “That’s only a drop in the bucket.”
“I wasna going to bring up Usaeil, the Dark Fae, the missing weapon, or the wooden dragon again.”
“We should’ve left with our dragons.”
Those words had been rattling around in Con’s head for over a year, and he finally spoke them. When silence met his statement, he turned his head and found Ulrik’s gold eyes trained on him.
“This is our land, our home,” Ulrik stated.
Con shrugged one shoulder as he dropped his hand. “Then we should’ve wiped out the humans.”
“Where is this coming from?”
“Too many years of thinking and wondering.”
Ulrik leaned a shoulder against the bars. “We’re no’ killers. It’s why all the Kings agreed to protect the mortals.”
“They destroyed us. We were vast in number and mighty in strength, and now it’s all gone.”
“It’s no’.”
Con raised a brow. “Really? What do you think will happen if V finds his sword? That we’ll check on our dragons and that’ll be it? What if they’re dead? What if they’re all gone?”
“What if they’re no’?” Ulrik countered.
Con nodded, a rueful smile twisting his lips. “Aye. What if they’re no’? Do we leave them there? We certainly can no’ bring them home.”
Ulrik looked away and sighed. “We can no’ change the past.”
“But we can stop making the same choices.”
Ulrik’s head snapped back to him. “Meaning?”
“If V reclaims his sword and the dragons are alive, I think we should go to them.”
There were several beats of silence as Ulrik stared at him. Then he pushed away from the bars. “What of Eilish and the other mates? You want them to leave their people?”
“We sent our dragons away for the mortals. We’ve lived thousands upon thousands of years, hiding who we are while fighting to keep the mortals safe. And for what? They’ll hunt us if they discover who we are.”
“No’ all of them,” Ulrik argued.
“Some would. And you know it.” Con walked around the cage until he stood opposite Ulrik. “I doona expect that all the Kings will agree with my decision. But think about this, Ulrik, if you had the chance to wake these last remaining dragons before you, those of your clan, and let them live free with the others, would you?”
Ulrik gave a single nod. “You know I would.”
“I truly believed that one day we could resolve our issues with the mortals and return the dragons. It was a foolish dream, one that you knew would never happen from the start.”
Ulrik strode around the cage to stop beside him. “This is more than what’s going on. What have you found out?”
There was no use hiding it from Ulrik or the others. Con twisted the dragon head cufflink at his wrist. “Roman contacted me.”
“Good,” Ulrik said. “I knew one of them would. Are they close?”
“I doona believe so. I let Roman know that you and Dmitri had filled me in on what had been going on. But it seems that both he and V were no’ exactly forthcoming in what they shared with you.”
Ulrik raised a black brow. “Meaning?”
“There is a verra real possibility that the Druids and Fae are also responsible for manipulating the humans to take V’s sword.”
“Bloody hell,” Ulrik murmured.
Con glanced at the Silvers. “Both Roman and V are sure that the same group of Druids and Fae put a spell on V so he couldna remember where he was when his sword was taken.”
“Why would it matter if he remembered where he was, though?”
“Because he would then link it to the mortal thieves.”
“And then to Sabina’s ancestors,” Ulrik said, nodding.
Con dropped his hands to his sides. “Roman said that V touched the female. Both became unconscious, but Camlo was insistent that his sister and V be separated.”
“Has either Sabina or V regained consciousness?”
“V willna respond to me,” Con said. “Then again, it isna the first time he’s done that.”
Ulrik shrugged. “Then I will go to find him.”
“Whatever spell was put on V, it was unlocked as soon as they entered the mountain. Sabina was nearly killed by an invisible force that tried to suffocate her. V’s and Roman’s magic stopped it, but it was close from what Roman said.”
“And Roman?”
Con raked a hand through his hair. “He’s no’ checked back in with me yet. He intends to continue looking for the sword. He believes it’s better if V isna with them.”
“V willna like that.”
Con looked at the ceiling over the cavern and blew out a breath as he put his hands in his pockets, his fingers grazing the pocket watch again. “Take all of this, coupled with the drawings they found in the mountain, and what does it tell you?”
“That the Fae and Druids have been working together for a long time.”
“Aye. Why? When the mortals wer
e first here, there were no Fae.”
“Obviously, there were.”
Con shook his head, not liking that statement. “Then why return much later and pretend as if they just discovered this realm?”
“Maybe only a few Fae visited,” Ulrik offered.
“And they decided to team up with Druids? We’re missing something.”
Ulrik scratched his jaw. “Aye, but we willna find it standing here. Or by leaving this realm.”
Con cut his eyes to Ulrik. “You think to change my mind?”
“You’ve never backed down from a challenge. Why start now?”
“Because we’ve lost everything.”
Ulrik stared at him a long moment. “No’ everything.”
“You want to continue living like this? What about the mates going insane? Thanks to you, they all know that now.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Con felt the anger he kept tightly leashed bubbling inside him. “As soon as Hal took Cassie as his mate, we came to that bridge. You saw Rhys when he thought Lily was dead. Magnify that a hundredfold when one of you have to decide whether to let your mate continue living in madness or take their lives.”
“Neither Hal nor Ryder were the first to fall in love,” Ulrik said, looking pointedly at Con. “Besides, the Druids at MacLeod Castle are handling it fine.”
“Doona attempt to argue this with me. You know how true your words were when you told Darius that the mates would go insane.”
Ulrik snorted as he shook his head in exasperation. “And you think taking the mates from their realm will help? Being away from their kind will only bring on the madness sooner.”
“I know.”
Ulrik’s brows knotted as he took a step back. “We can no’ wipe out the mortals and take back our realm either.”
“I know.” This was something Con had been aware of for eons.
“You still doona think we should’ve taken mortals as mates.”
Con slowly shook his head. “You’ve found happiness, but how long will it last? The devastation of losing your mate will destroy you.”
“I doona intend to lose Eilish.”
Con didn’t want to argue because only time would bring the answers each of them sought. He turned on his heel and started walking away.
But Ulrik’s voice stopped him cold.
“You loved once, too.”
Con looked over his shoulder at Ulrik. “And look how that turned out.”
“That was your fault.”
“Aye.”
Surprise crossed Ulrik’s face as he walked to Con. “You admit it?”
“I always have.”
“But … why?”
“Leave it, old friend.”
Ulrik glared, his gold eyes blazing. “I know you, remember? You wanted the same happiness I have, but you didna believe you could have it and be King of Kings.”
Con held his gaze, not bothering to reply. There was no need to talk about any of this. What was done was done. And there was no going back to change any of it.
No matter how much Con might wish otherwise.
How different things would be if Con could. The Dragon Kings weren’t killers, no. But had they refused the humans, things would be very different.
No doubt another Dragon King would have defeated him eventually. But he would’ve ruled the Kings. And maybe he would’ve found a dragon for a mate. Con wondered if he would’ve had children.
Life would have gone on as it had for millions of years. None of the Kings would’ve had the need to shift again, and none of the horrors they were facing now would’ve come to pass.
No doubt the Fae would still have come, but they wouldn’t have stayed long. And Con never would have gotten mixed up with Usaeil, which had to be his biggest mistake.
V wouldn’t have had to spend so much time sleeping because his sword would never have been taken because they wouldn’t have had to use it to open the dragon bridge.
If only Con could go back and change that one important decision to open their home to the mortals.
“I’m right,” Ulrik said.
Con lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “That had a lot to do with my resolve to remain alone.”
“Are you sure it wasna because you were scared? Afraid of how it felt to be in love? To love so deeply that nothing else mattered—including us or Dreagan?”
“I’ve no’ thought about that in eons,” Con lied and walked away before Ulrik could ask any more questions.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“V?”
No matter how many times Roman called out to his friend, V didn’t respond. Roman could only hope that V was still unconscious and not ignoring him as was his friend’s habit.
“You want to go back, don’t you?”
Roman turned his head to Sabina as she finished the last of the peanut butter and chocolate protein bar. After the realization that her family could still feel the retribution of the Others, Sabina had grown quiet as she shifted to internal thoughts.
He gave her the space because he had his own things to sort through. Namely, V and what to do.
“Aye,” he replied.
“Then go. I’ll wait.”
He shot her a dark look. “No’ going to happen.”
“You’ve been trying to reach him through your mental thing, right?”
Roman grinned as he nodded. “Aye.”
“And I take it he isn’t responding.”
“V can be stubborn that way. When we woke him from his dragon sleep months ago, he left Dreagan without telling any of us to look for his sword. We couldna find him, and he wouldna answer us. No’ even Con.”
Sabina walked to him and put a hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine.”
“I doona want to test that theory. Nothing happened when we first arrived either.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her hip cocking out to the side as she gave him a stern look. “You can either go back to V, or we go forward, but sitting idle isn’t doing anyone any good.”
“You’re quite bossy.”
“You like it,” she said with a wink.
In fact, he did. His arm snaked out and pulled her against him. He gave her a long kiss before he said, “V can always catch up with us.”
“Yep.”
“Are you worried about your brother?”
She glanced away, licking her lips. “Yeah.”
“Want to go back?”
Sabina hesitated. “Yep.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
She stopped him when he made to move. “Camlo wouldn’t have made you take me away if it wasn’t important. I don’t understand how my brother knows these things, but he’s never wrong. I have to trust that V will take care of him. And despite Camlo’s mental challenges, he gets by pretty good.”
Roman could tell she was struggling with leaving her brother. Roman couldn’t imagine what she must be going through, and it was one of the reasons he was trying to get V to answer him. He was also concerned about Camlo.
“It’ll be okay,” Sabina said, turning her face away. “It has to.”
He put a finger under her chin and moved her head so she looked at him. “It will be. Trust me?”
She smiled softly. “Yes.”
“Good. Then onward we go. It’s going to get colder outside of this chamber.”
“Romania isn’t exactly the tropics. I can handle it. If it gets too bad, I’ll let you know.” He made to argue, but she said, “Dragon Kings don’t use magic like that, remember?”
He quirked a brow. “Aye, lass, but we do protect mortals.”
The bright smile she gave him made him wish they had more time to spend at the hot spring.
Roman took her hand and led her from the chamber back into the tunnel. He might not be affected, but he felt the change in temperature as they entered the tunnel. He glanced back at Sabina to find her grinning at him.
“I’m fine,” she assured him
.
He continued onward, keeping the ball of light over her so she could see. The passageway was as black as pitch, and he didn’t want her tripping.
As they walked, he opened the mental link and tried V again. When his friend didn’t answer, Roman then called to Ulrik.
“Are you all right?” Ulrik asked.
“I take that to mean Con told you?”
“Aye.” Ulrik sighed loudly. “He’s … no’ himself.”
“I knew I shouldna have told him.”
“No,” Ulrik hastened to say. “You did the right thing. He can handle it.”
That made Roman frown. He hid it while he jumped down a small drop and then reached for Sabina. “You just said he wasna himself.”
“He’s regretting everything. He’s talking about leaving Earth when we find the dragons.”
“Fuck me.”
“He’s shouldering the responsibility for everything.”
Roman didn’t like the concern he detected in Ulrik’s voice. “You’re going to watch him, right?”
“Con doesna need a babysitter. He willna accept what it is he really needs.”
“You mean—”
“Aye,” Ulrik interrupted him. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Do you think he’ll do it?”
“No’ in a million years.”
Roman hesitated, hating having to bring up the reason he’d contacted Ulrik. “You know we’ll return as soon as we’re able.”
“I know. I gather you didna call to check up on Con? What can I help with?”
“It’s V.”
“You have no’ been able to reach him either?”
“No.” Roman looked back at Sabina. She gave him a thumbs-up then pointed ahead, silently telling him to stop checking on her.
“You want me to go to him?”
“You still have the bracelet, right? I thought you could pop in and see if he’s awake. Camlo, Sabina’s brother is with him.”
“She’s worried about Camlo?”
“I am, too. I’m no’ sure what V’s going to do when he wakes.”
Ulrik made a sound. “Why do you think that? Shite, Roman. Have you found out something more since you spoke to Con?”
“Aye,” he said, inwardly grimacing. “When V and Sabina touched, I told Con that V began hollering before fainting as Sabina did. I didna know until Sabina woke that she was transported back in time. To V’s cave the night his sword was stolen.”
