by Donna Grant
“I have for a while now.”
“You hid it on purpose, then. How did Mikkel find out?”
“He followed me.” Something Ulrik had prepared for, but destroying the building in his battle with Asher had ruined his closely guarded secret.
Muriel leaned back and shifted to the side to face Ulrik, tucking her legs against her. “Mikkel doesn’t seem worried at all.”
“He has a Druid at his disposal. Stupid fool thinks a Druid can actually do anything against me.”
Muriel’s smile held a wealth of confidence. “A Druid’s magic can’t even harm us.”
“I’m no longer worried about Mikkel.”
“You should kill him now. The longer he’s around, the more problems he can cause.”
Ulrik rested one arm along the back of the sofa. “Oh, I plan to kill him. However, he’s still part of my plans right now.”
“Be careful. I don’t trust him.”
“No one does. How’s Sinny?”
Muriel shrugged, though the worry was there in her gaze. “My sister is holding up. Your uncle takes his anger out on her, and Taraeth has given her orders that she can’t protect herself against Mikkel.”
“I’m surprised Mikkel hasn’t moved on to another.”
“He has, but he still likes to have Sinny around.”
Ulrik met Muriel’s gaze. “It willna be long now.”
She glanced down at the wide silver bracelet on his wrist. “Has anyone noticed?”
“I make sure they doona. Your gift is our secret.”
“If Taraeth finds out, he’ll kill me.”
“He’ll never know of this.”
She nodded, but he could see that she wasn’t entirely convinced. His relationship with Muriel had been one of many in this chess game he played. She hadn’t betrayed him or let him down.
And she was the only person he even came close to trusting.
Not that he would ever trust anyone fully again. That part of him had been ripped out and had shriveled to nothing long, long ago.
“You’re here to see Taraeth, aren’t you?” she asked.
He let her believe what she would. It was that trust issue again, but no one could know all that he was doing. “I’d better be going. I’ll return soon.”
“You sure you don’t have time to stay?” she asked and shoved the thin straps of the gown she wore off her shoulders to reveal her breasts.
Ulrik leaned down and softly licked one pert nipple. “If only I had the time.”
“Make sure you do next time.”
“Of course.”
He left Muriel’s chamber with regret and made his way down the corridor, his thoughts on his uncle. Mikkel was a devious bastard. Though he hated to admit it, Mikkel was also smart.
Tugging his shirt and suit jacket sleeve down to cover the bracelet that allowed him to teleport wherever he wanted to go, Ulrik turned the corner. And came to a stop.
Balladyn was across the way, standing with his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze locked on him. Ulrik walked to Taraeth’s lieutenant and stopped a few feet away.
“Have a nice visit?” Balladyn asked.
Ulrik looked over the black pants and silk button-down shirt the Dark Fae wore. Balladyn’s long silver and black hair was pulled back in a queue at the base of his neck. “I did, actually.”
“Mikkel has already been to see the king today.”
“That’s nice.” It was also expected after his uncle had seen him shift. No doubt Mikkel was trying to convince Taraeth to go against him. Ulrik would have to keep a close eye on the Dark King.
Balladyn dropped his arms and took a step closer. “What are you waiting for? You have your magic. Take Dreagan.”
“It’s no’ just about taking Dreagan.”
“Right,” Balladyn said with a roll of his red eyes. “You want to kill Con.”
Ulrik smiled. “I’m no’ the only one plotting a coup.”
Balladyn’s eyes narrowed. “Watch yourself. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“My mistake. I was obviously wrong.”
Ulrik had known for some time that Balladyn would end Taraeth’s reign. No one had been so close to the king in a long time, and, oddly enough, Taraeth trusted Balladyn. The fool.
That trust was going to get Taraeth killed. Though perhaps it was time for the Dark to have a new ruler. Ulrik had thought the same about the Light for the last century.
They stared at each other for a long minute before Balladyn said, “Your uncle seems pretty confident that he can beat you and Con.”
“Is that so?”
Balladyn’s red eyes burned brightly. “Taraeth has agreed to lead the Dark army to Dreagan alongside Mikkel.”
“When?” Ulrik demanded. This new development changed everything.
“I don’t know. Tell me how Mikkel thinks he can best you and go after Con.”
Oddly enough, he almost told Balladyn about the Druid. “He thinks he can position me so that he determines when I attack Con.”
“If you win, you’ll be King of Kings. Mikkel still wouldn’t be able to kill you.”
Ulrik’s mind went through every scenario—and each time, it came back to the Druid. That was Mikkel’s trump card. “He obviously believes he can.”
“So why not go after Con himself and kill you now?”
He frowned at Balladyn’s words as a new scenario played out in his mind. “With the Dark army behind him, Mikkel can keep the Kings occupied and isolate Con.”
“Only a Dragon King can kill another Dragon King.”
“As part of my clan, he can challenge me for the right to be King of the Silvers. Which is why he’ll have to kill me first.”
“That can’t happen.”
What a curious development. Ulrik looked at the Dark Fae with new eyes. “I didna know you cared.”
Balladyn’s face scrunched in revulsion. “Don’t make me gag. I simply chose the better of the two options.”
“Me?” Ulrik was astounded.
“You’re the rightful King of Silvers. Mikkel had his chance, but you were chosen over him.”
Ulrik was beginning to wonder if he could have another ally in the Dark court besides Muriel. “Some would say that if Mikkel were stronger, he’d win.”
“That’s not how it works with the Kings.”
“That’s right,” he said. “You know a lot about us from Rhi.”
A muscle ticked in Balladyn’s jaw. “I also learned a lot here.”
“And Con? How do you feel about him?”
“I want to see him burn,” Balladyn said through clenched teeth.
Ulrik’s smile was slow. “I see we want the same things.”
“I believe we do.”
“So where does that leave us?”
Balladyn’s chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath. “It means we have to trust each other.”
“That isna something I do.”
“Me either.”
Ulrik lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Then I suppose we’re at an impasse.”
“Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re going to need me.”
“I have a massive network of individuals who I can call on for help.”
“Not here,” Balladyn said with a cocky smile.
Damn if the Dark didn’t have a point. Ulrik might get information from Muriel and her sister, but that was limited only to Mikkel. Balladyn would know the inner workings of the Dark court as well as Taraeth’s plans.
“It galls you, doesn’t it?” Balladyn asked.
He met the Dark’s gaze. “I do what has to be done.”
“Good. I also think I have a solution for our trust issue.”
Ulrik raised a brow. “What’s that?”
“Rhi.”
The Fae was a constant source of surprise. Ulrik was intrigued. Had the beautiful Rhi finally let go of her King and moved on?
By the look on Balladyn’s face, and his certainty that Rhi would help them,
Ulrik determined the two were lovers. No surprise since Balladyn had been in love with Rhi for eons.
But did Rhi love Balladyn?
“Is she up for this?” Ulrik asked.
Balladyn gave a single nod. “I think so.”
“You think she’ll willingly go against everyone at Dreagan, those who she’s risked her life for again and again? I doona think you know her as well as you believe you do.”
Balladyn closed the distance between them until they were nose to nose. “What I know is that Rhi will help take down Mikkel.”
“You want her in such a battle?”
The Dark took two steps back, his brow deeply furrowed. “No.”
“None of the Light Fae or the Kings know of Mikkel. I’d like to keep it that way.” Ulrik paused as he considered Balladyn’s proposal and then followed his gut. “Leave Rhi out of this. We’ll muddle through this trust thing on our own.”
Balladyn’s quick agreement told him that the Fae hadn’t thought about what Rhi’s involvement could mean—or how it might affect her—until that moment.
“There is a cabin in the hills of Italy. It’s isolated. It used to be Rhi’s.”
Balladyn’s demeanor changed as he raised his red eyes to glare at Ulrik. “You took over Rhi’s sanctuary?”
“She abandoned it. Besides, no one else will know of it.”
“And Rhi will never go back,” Balladyn said, nodding.
Ulrik held out his hand. “To our new partnership.”
“To getting rid of the past,” Balladyn said, clasping Ulrik’s hand.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Snow flurries danced in the air like little fairies while Faith pressed her back against a tree as her breath billowed around her.
She closed her eyes and pressed her palms to the tree’s bark. It bit into her skin, grounding her to the here and now. Something that was becoming an issue.
One moment, she knew exactly who she was and what she was doing, and the next, she wasn’t certain of anything. Something had been done to her, of that she was certain.
She lifted her left hand and looked at it. Nothing was broken. So had she dreamed that Dmitri crushed it? Had she imagined the bones snapping in half?
“No,” she whispered.
It had happened. Though she had no explanation for how she’d healed. Dmitri had been certain on Fair Isle that she possessed no magic, and she knew he was right.
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of him. She squeezed her eyes closed, but the tears gathered and fell anyway. How could she have finally opened herself to someone only to have it be him?!
One of the Dragon Kings. The ones who would rain death and destruction down upon all humanity. The ones who were supposed to have fled this world.
The ones who would enslave mankind.
She opened her eyes and angrily dashed away her tears. He wasn’t worth crying over. No man—or dragon—was.
Faith pushed away from the tree and started running. The woods would give her cover, but she was only a mortal who had no defense other than her mind and determination.
“It’ll get me home.”
She wasn’t sure what would happen after that, but she knew she had to get off Dreagan quickly and back to Houston. With her arms pumping, she jumped over a fallen tree and maneuvered the rocky, sloping ground.
Since she spent the majority of her time in a sedate lifestyle, this exertion was taking a toll on her. Every few minutes, she had to stop and catch her breath.
She hid behind another tree and braced her hands on her knees as she drew in deep gulps of air. A stitch had started in her side.
How long would it take for them to notice that she was gone? She didn’t hear any alarms being raised. Then she recalled the MI5 agents. It was too bad she hadn’t gone to one of them. She could’ve led them straight into the mountain and to the Silvers, giving them what the agents hoped to find.
It’s what the Kings deserved.
In the back of her mind, she heard a faint, “No.”
Where had that come from? There was no answer, which only made her more apprehensive. The only way to stop all of it was to get away from the magic.
She started running again, blinking rapidly as the flurries landed on her eyelashes. With the stitch getting worse, she held her side and ran faster.
The forest seemed to go on forever, and the darkness was making it difficult to see. She tripped over a root and fell face-first onto the cold, hard ground with a grunt.
Taking stock of her body, she pushed up on her hands and knees in the snow before getting to her feet. She was going to have to stop soon since she couldn’t see.
She raised her gaze to the sky, hoping for a full moon. Instead, she saw only a half moon and too many clouds to help her.
This had to be the Dragon Kings’ fault. They were using magic somehow to keep her in the forest, unable to get away.
It didn’t matter if she was blinded, she would go on. She took a deep breath and started running again.
* * *
Dmitri found Faith’s tracks easily enough. She appeared to move quickly and rest often. It would take him no time to catch up with her, but he wasn’t sure what he might find when he did.
“Doona approach Faith,” he told Roman through their link.
He had no idea where Rhi was, but he knew the Light Fae would alert him if she came upon Faith first. At least, he hoped Rhi would.
They still didn’t know what had affected them, or why it continued to do so. Or why Shara had been knocked unconscious. He was truly frightened of what was going on.
To be taken over by something and have no memory of it was terrifying. The amount of magic that would take was staggering. Faith running away made her look guilty.
But if it was her, why hadn’t he been affected on Fair Isle? Why had the magic waited until Dreagan? The realization dawned like a knife to his heart—whoever or whatever it was wanted to make sure the magic reached as many Kings as possible.
Dmitri slowed to a jog and then to a walk. Had Faith really done that to him? To his brothers? Was it permanent? Not that it mattered, they would fight with every bit of power and dragon magic they had to counter it.
Ulrik was a devious son of a bitch, but this was a new low. He was giving them no choice. Instead, Ulrik had decided to use magic to turn them all to his way of thinking.
The humans didn’t stand a chance. Ulrik was getting everything he wanted without having to lift a finger. Dmitri had to give him credit. It was a brilliant move. A shitty one, but brilliant all the same.
Dmitri was glad it was night. It would disorient Faith and give him one more advantage on top of his enhanced senses, speed, and magic.
He stood atop the hill and looked down into the valley below, his gaze locking on a form. Faith was moving close to the trees and holding her side. Roman walked up on Dmitri’s left seconds before Rhi stood to his right.
“We need to surround her,” Dmitri said.
Roman jerked his chin toward his side of the forest. “There’s a good spot to corner her.”
Dmitri nodded as he remembered it. “We need to move her in that direction.”
“Easy enough,” Rhi said. But she wasn’t wearing a smile.
He looked at her, worried. “What is it?”
“Something I’ll deal with once this thing with Faith is over.”
It had to be serious to affect Rhi in such a way. She’d had that look in her eye since she’d remembered something in his room.
“Let’s get going,” Roman said and started running.
Rhi teleported away, leaving Dmitri alone. He walked down the hill, keeping his eyes on Faith. He knew the moment she realized she was being followed because she ran faster.
He left it up to Rhi and Roman to direct Faith toward the semi-circle mountain wall. It was a sheer barrier, connecting two of the mountains. She ran, stumbling right in the direction they wanted.
Dmitri was the one who entered the area after
her. It was going to be up to him to talk her down. If he couldn’t, he would have no choice but to use his power.
* * *
Faith couldn’t believe she was trapped. They had maneuvered her right to this point, and she’d let them. This was her own damn fault.
She looked up at the vertical wall of mountain. There was no climbing it. A look on either side of her showed how it made a semi-circle shape. It was a perfect spot to corner someone.
There was no need to look behind her. She knew Dmitri would be there. No doubt, he would tell her everything was in her mind. But she knew the truth.
“Faith.”
The sound of her name on his lips made her sigh. Then she reminded herself that he wasn’t the man she thought he was. It was the image of him killing humans that she needed to keep in her mind.
She frowned, wondering when she had seen such a thing.
“Faith.”
“What?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Look at me.”
That was going to be a mistake. She knew it even before she did it. Yet she turned to him. All she saw was his shape in the darkness. She couldn’t see his face or his eyes.
Then a soft blue light flared off to her left. It rose, growing larger as it moved to hang above them. When she looked back at Dmitri, his face was visible.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “About your hand. You may no’ believe me, but I doona remember any of it.”
She fisted her cold hands and put them in the pockets of her coat. Her fingers brushed against the wooden dragon. She wrapped her fingers around it, holding it tightly. “So that did happen.”
He nodded solemnly, his face contorted with anguish. “I’m ashamed to say that it did. Con healed you.”
“At least there’s that.”
Dmitri swallowed and glanced down at the ground. “Something happened to me, Rhys, Kiril, and Con. We think it might have to do with the skeleton.”
“You’re lying,” she said with a laugh. She wasn’t sure how she knew, she just did.
“I’m no’. I hope it’s the bones because the other alternative is that you’re working with Ulrik.”
At this, she started laughing. “Everything always comes back to him, doesn’t it? You told me you had several enemies, and yet anytime something happens to you Kings, you immediately point to Ulrik.”
