Smoke and Fire

by Donna Grant

  “You actually think it would?” Taraeth asked with a laugh. He held up his only hand and looked around. “In my palace?”

  “You’ve allowed Dark to be recruited by them. Him,” Balladyn quickly corrected himself.

  Them? That hadn’t been a slip of the tongue. Balladyn knew something he hadn’t bothered to share with her. Because she hadn’t asked the right questions.

  Now she would.

  Taraeth walked in a circle around Balladyn, the robe flowing behind him dramatically. Rhi rolled her eyes. “The Dark would never follow him. They know who their true master is. I could call them back any time.”

  “The longer they’re with him, the more he feels as if he’s in control.”

  “I’ll set him straight soon enough.”

  Balladyn clenched his jaw. “And if he wins? He’ll wipe the world of the mortals, thereby driving us out of this realm.”

  “We won’t be leaving this realm.”

  “It’s a possibility. Regardless of what he’s promised.”

  Taraeth took a deep breath and stopped before Balladyn. “This is your reasoning for acting so different these past few months?”

  “Of course. You may believe the word of a Dragon King, but I don’t. I’m going to make sure that regardless of the outcome that this place is protected.”

  Rhi nearly laughed. Taraeth was so full of himself he’d missed Balladyn’s choice of words. No doubt Balladyn was going to protect the palace—for himself. He wasn’t doing anything to protect Taraeth.

  Without a word, Taraeth walked away, leaving Balladyn in the corridor. Balladyn looked to where she was standing and gave her a curt look.

  Rhi gave him a flat look. If he only knew how long she’d been in the palace, then he might have a reason to be angry.

  She followed him down the hallway to a Fae doorway. As soon as she stepped through, she recognized his compound. It was no longer in ruins. Rhi waited until her watcher was with her before she continued after Balladyn.

  Once she was in Balladyn’s chamber, she pushed the door closed and unveiled herself. Balladyn had her pressed against the wall a second later.

  “Have you lost your damn mind?” he demanded, anger and worry filling his gaze. “Do you know what Taraeth would do to you if he ever got his hands on you? I can’t believe you were so reckless.”

  Rhi tried repeatedly to get a word in edgewise, but Balladyn was having none of it.

  “It was beyond stupid for you to go there. You shouldn’t even be here with me,” Balladyn said and whirled around. He ran a hand through his long hair and paced the width of his chamber.

  “I was veiled.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. His head jerked to her as he gave her a fierce glare. “I can sense you, Rhi. If I can, others could as well.”

  But he didn’t sense her watcher. Ever. It was more that he was attuned to her, which was why he was able to sense her. Yet Rhi decided to keep that tidbit to herself. With the mood Balladyn was in, he wouldn’t want to hear any of it.

  “Taraeth still believes I’m searching for you to turn you Dark,” he said with a snort.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “And whose fault is that? You’re the one who kidnapped me in the first place.”

  “Don’t remind me.” He put his hands on his hips and hung his head. “I can’t take that back, but I can keep you away from him. If you’d only cooperate.”

  Rhi dropped her arms and walked to him. She stopped before him and put her hands on his face, bending her knees so she could tilt her head to the side and see his face. With a smile, she lifted his head so she could stand straight. “I know what I’m doing.”

  “You’re good and lucky. Don’t get cocky.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  That made him grin. His red eyes softened as he gazed down at her. “Now that I like coming from your lips.”

  “Don’t get used to it,” she warned with a wink.

  Balladyn wrapped his arms around her, bringing her against him. “You’d never let me.”

  Rhi rested her head on his chest for just a moment. It felt good to have someone again. She closed her eyes and savored the moment—because it couldn’t last long.

  “Why were you at the palace?”

  Rhi lifted her head and stepped out of his arms. “I wanted to see what the Dark were saying about the Reapers.”

  “And you couldn’t ask me?”

  “Yes, but I wanted to hear it from them.”

  Balladyn shook his head “Rhi.”

  “I was hoping to run into you though.”

  “To see my library and what I found on the Reapers, right?”

  She flashed him a smile. “You’re so smart.”

  “This way,” he said and turned on his heel.

  Rhi could feel her watcher’s displeasure increase the moment they left the Dark palace and arrived at Balladyn’s compound. Well, in truth, he hadn’t been pleased to be at the Dark palace to begin with.

  “I could’ve brought these to you,” Balladyn said. “It would’ve been better than you coming here and chance being seen.”

  Rhi lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

  “The Fae have said that around the humans so often that it’s become one of the mortals’ favorite phrases.”

  They walked through a large arched doorway from his chamber. Rhi smiled when she saw the sheer number of bookshelves and books lining the walls.

  A massive light hung from the ceiling with what appeared to be candles, but Balladyn was obsessive about his books. He’d never let fire anywhere near them.

  There were standing candelabras all around the room. They brightened as Balladyn walked past, alighting the chamber in a warm glow.

  Balladyn strode to a large table where books were stacked and others lay open. There was a tablet of paper with his writing on it.

  “This is everything I found,” he said. “And I looked through every book I have.”

  Rhi took another look around the room and the mind-boggling number of books. It must have taken him days to go through each one while continuing his duties as Taraeth’s right hand.

  She came to stand beside him. “Take me through what you found.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Kinsey was never happier to see the sun setting behind the mountains than she was then. Another day passed without any answers. She and Ryder weren’t the only ones frustrated.

  Even Thorn and Dmitri were agitated since they were in the room and learned whenever they got close—then found nothing.

  Although Ryder never discarded anything. Whatever they found—however inconsequential—he kept, tucked away in case they needed it later.

  There were dozens of those kinds of finds. Anything that caught Ryder’s eye was put into a file. Kinsey tried to discern what he was seeing that she wasn’t, but she had yet to figure it out.

  Ryder was gifted with all things electrical and even mechanical. She was still awed by the fact he’d built every camera used on Dreagan. They were so small and obscure, hidden so that no one ever saw them, and yet showed the most amazingly detailed pictures on the screens.

  Kinsey looked around the computer room. Everything in there Ryder had built. Did any of the other Kings even realize how astonishingly gifted he was? Did they have a clue how fortunate they were that he was able to do all he did?

  Ryder kept Dreagan ahead of even the prototypes coming out of big corporations without stealing from or spying on them. This was all in his head.

  How the hell had Kinsey not seen this when they were together?

  The answer to that was easy—she’d been in love. She’d been too engrossed in her feelings and being with him. She hadn’t looked for secrets or anything.

  As if realizing she was staring at him, Ryder shifted his head toward her. “We’ve done enough for the day.”

  Which meant he was sending her off while he kept working. Not this time. “I’m fine. I just
need a little break.”

  “As do I,” Dmitri said. “Dinner is nearly ready.”

  Kinsey glanced at Dmitri as both he and Thorn stood and walked from the room. They were leaving as if everyone was gathering together. For the past few nights, she and Ryder had taken their meals in the computer room.

  “It’s fine,” Ryder said. “I keep a recording of the cameras and will go back over it later.”

  She nodded, listening with half an ear.

  “You ready to go down?”

  Her eyes jerked to him. Go down? That’s what he’d just asked, right? Surely he didn’t mean that they were going to sit around a table like one big happy family.

  Right?

  Ryder chuckled as he leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair and scratched his chin. “It’s no’ as bad as it sounds.”

  “Which part? I’m assuming everyone will be there.”

  “No’ all of us. Some are still patrolling, just no longer from the air. Concessions needed to be made with MI5 here.”

  “You have the cameras though.”

  He shrugged and motioned to the monitors Dmitri had been staring at. “Cameras and our magic only do so much. Our barrier of magic keeps out nearly all humans as well as causing the Dark considerable pain if they pass through it. Anyone or anything that ventures onto our land through the magic and we’re alerted.”

  “I gather you don’t chase after every rabbit?” she asked with a smile.

  Ryder laughed as he pushed back his chair and got to his feet. “Our magic lets us know when it’s an animal or not.”

  “Are the Dark able to shift into animal form?”

  “Thankfully, no,” he said as he held out his hand for her.

  Kinsey took it and let him pull her to her feet. They walked slowly around the monitors to the door. “That’s a plus. Now, you said nearly all humans.”

  “There are rare instances, like with Grace. She saw right through our magic and entered Arian’s mountain unaware of where she was. Though we have no’ found anything, I suspect she has enough magic from an ancestor that gave her the ability to look past ours.”

  “Was she interrogated?” Kinsey asked with a side look.

  Ryder’s face lost his smile. “At length.”

  Wow. Well, she had asked. Perhaps Kinsey was lucky in getting to search for those responsible for putting her at Dreagan. Or maybe she should really be thanking her stars that she knew Ryder, otherwise she might be questioned like Grace or Esther. Which reminded her …

  “Where’s Esther?”

  Ryder put his hand on her back as they descended the stairs. “Still being kept isolated for the time being. She gave up a name, and though I think it’s relevant, we need proof.”

  Kinsey heard the sound of voices before they reached the bottom. She slowed, her heart beating fast. Then she halted altogether.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Ryder assured her. “You’ve already met several of us.”

  “Why now?”

  Ryder waved to a man with long black hair and the most amazing pale blue eyes she’d ever seen. The man gave her a nod and kept walking.

  “This occurs most nights. I didna want to force everyone on you your first or second night.”

  “But my third sounded good?” she asked with a knowing grin.

  Ryder lifted one shoulder. “I couldna put it off any longer. Several of the mates have already talked to you. Everyone else wants to meet you.”

  “And how is Con with this?”

  Ryder laughed before he gave her a slight push to get her moving again. “Con is Con.”

  As if that explained everything. And in a way, perhaps it did. Kinsey decided to go with the flow, even as her stomach felt as if a flock of birds had taken up residence.

  Each time she walked through the manor, Kinsey took in as much as she could. It had an understated elegance. You knew whoever lived there had money, but it wasn’t the gaudy extravagant décor some people decorated with.

  Dreagan felt homey—despite its size, location, wealth, and the fact it was home to Dragon Kings.

  She gawked at the glimpse of a library as they walked down a wide hallway. From what she saw with one peek, wealth lined every bookshelf. But it was the kind of wealth she could appreciate.

  The paintings, some well over seven feet in height and ten feet wide, were placed periodically throughout the manor. They passed one such piece with a gold dragon that had a row of quills running down its back and tail. The dragon had two horns extending forward from its forehead. Royal purple eyes seemed to pierce her as it flew from the sky right toward her.

  The sight of the dragon nearly made her miss the backdrop of the mountains and the sun breaking through the clouds. It was obvious that whoever painted this wanted the viewer to see the dragon first and foremost.

  “What do you think?” Con asked as he came to stand beside her.

  Kinsey hadn’t realized she’d stopped until that moment. Ryder was silent beside her, letting her take it all in. She returned her attention to the gold dragon. “He looks aggressive.”

  “Most would believe all dragons look that way,” Con said.

  She tilted her head to the side. “I’m not an art enthusiast, so I don’t know the correct words.”

  “Just say how the painting makes you feel,” Ryder urged.

  That she could do. Kinsey took a deep breath and released it. “I get the sense the artist wanted me to feel the dragon’s power, his might. The intensity of the dragon’s gaze is undeniable. It’s as if he’s homed in on a target. His supremacy is unquestionable.”

  “Does this frighten you?” Con asked.

  “Yes, but not as before.”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Con turn his head toward her. “Meaning?”

  “I no longer fear that a dragon is coming for me.”

  “But,” Con urged.

  She licked her lips and moved closer to the painting. “What scares me is that all of you are like caged animals. You have sixty thousand acres, but it’s still a cage. Now MI5 has closed you in even more.”

  Kinsey started to touch the dragon, but stopped herself before she did. She turned to face Ryder and Con. “When cornered, animals lash out. It’s simply a matter of time before the Dark, Ulrik, MI5, or even humans force such a situation.”

  “And you doona think we can control ourselves?” Ryder questioned her.

  She shook her head, trying to think of a way to reword her thoughts. “Not at all. You could’ve wiped us out thousands of years ago. You didn’t.”

  “You worry we’ll have no choice, leaving us only one option—showing ourselves to the world,” Con stated.

  Kinsey swallowed before she nodded. “How long do you think the Kings will remain on Dreagan unable to shift or fly? I see Ryder looking out the window to the sky all the time. Same with Thorn and Dmitri. They don’t even know they do it. There is a longing within them, a yearning they’re having to control.”

  “They’ve no’ had to control that yearning in a very long time.” Con blew out a breath. “Aye, Kinsey, I’ve seen what you’ve seen. Your worry is one of my own.”

  A slight frown lined Ryder’s brow. “We’re all doing fine. We’ve been in this situation before. We’ll get through this one.”

  “This isna like before,” Con said. “And I know none of you are fine. The episode this morning proved that.”

  Episode? Kinsey saw the look pass between Con and Ryder. Something had happened involving Ryder. She wanted—no, she needed—to know what it was.

  “This isna the time for this conversation,” Ryder said, his voice pitching low in warning to Con.

  If Kinsey waited, chances are Ryder wouldn’t tell her what had happened. Now, with Con, she might have an ally. “Since you and Con know what occurred, it’s me who you don’t want to find out.”

  “Kins,” Ryder began before he blew out a breath. “It’s nothing.”

  “Then tell me,” she pleaded. She wasn’t sure how
she knew that it was important. Maybe it was the way Con spoke about it or how Ryder wanted to quickly discard any mention of it.

  It might have been three years since she and Ryder were together, but she realized he was still very much the same man she remembered. Whenever he didn’t want to talk about something, he pretended it didn’t matter.

  “You used to do this,” she said. “Whenever I’d ask about your family or your past, you would pretend that it was no big deal and change the subject. Remember the times I caught you staring at the night sky? I’d ask what was wrong. You would tell me you were just fine. But you weren’t. Just as you aren’t now.”

  Ryder briefly closed his eyes. “All of us go to the mountain to shift from time to time. We need to feel our true forms.”

  “Do you go every morning?”

  He shook his head.

  But this morning, after a night in her bed when she said she wasn’t sure if she could forgive him? Did she send him to the mountain? Did her words cut him that deep?

  She could barely draw in a breath at the thought. Kinsey didn’t want to hurt him. One night in his arms and everything changed.

  No, that wasn’t true. She’d always been in love with him. Her anger had carried her through the last three years, but as soon as she saw him, she was his once more. She just hadn’t been able to admit it.

  Until now.

  “Things aren’t all right, Ryder,” she said and walked to him. She put her hand on his chest, over his heart. “You and the other Kings have been in control for a long time, but Ulrik has changed the game. It’s okay to admit it.”

  Ryder’s gold, green, and blue eyes held hers. “Nay, it’s no’ all right to admit.”

  “You can’t tackle a problem properly without at first admitting there is a problem.”

  “We all know who the problem is. Ulrik. The Dark,” Ryder stated angrily.

  “And your problem? What’s bothering you?”

  He made a face. “I doona have a problem.”

  “We all have problems. You’re a Dragon King. You can admit your problem.”

  Ryder started to turn away, then stopped. “You! You, Kinsey Burns, are my problem. Because I can no’ have you.”