Burning Desire

by Donna Grant

  “Speaking of plans,” Balladyn said as he closed the door. “I hear a rumor Farrell has some of his own.”

  “Farrell always has some kind of plan,” she said offhandedly.

  “I’ll be visiting Cork soon to see what’s going on. These rumors have reached Taraeth, and he isn’t pleased.”

  Shara turned to face Balladyn. He was leaning back against the door, blocking her way out. Had Balladyn been playing her all along? Did he only want information about her family? Anxiety soured her stomach. “If you have a question for me, ask. I’ll answer.”

  “Did Farrell send you here?”

  She laughed, and then hastily cut off the sound when Balladyn frowned. “Apologies. If you knew our relationship, then you would know that I try hard to do the exact opposite of what Farrell wants. I’m sure when he discovers where I am, he’ll be furious.”

  “I’ll take care of that. Are the rumors true that Farrell is going to capture a Dragon King?”

  Shara prayed she kept the surprise from showing on her face. “As I said, Farrell always has some plan he’s talking about. He’s ambitious. He wants to be in a position of authority as my father is.”

  Balladyn rubbed his chin. “I’m not going to Cork just for your brother.”

  Shara’s heart began a slow, sickening thump in her chest. She wasn’t good at hiding her emotions, which meant her fear showed plainly. She had to think of something to explain it. “Is it because I came here?”

  “Nay.” Balladyn’s face broke out in a smile. “Though I will include a stop at your house for a chat with your father. If that’s what you want.”

  Was it? This was her last chance to change her mind. “I do.”

  “I want you by my side while I’m in Cork.”

  Damn. How would she explain to Kiril? Would she even get a chance to? “Of course,” she said when she saw his expectant look.

  “My main reason for going is because of the Dragon King who has dared to come to our land.”

  Shara grabbed ahold of one of the posts of the bed to keep herself standing. She didn’t want Kiril caught any more than she wanted to be locked away again.

  Balladyn took a step toward her, but stopped when a knock sounded on the door. He threw it open angrily. “It’ll have to wait.”

  “Forgive me,” one of his men said as he glanced past Balladyn to her. “You said to remind you of the time no matter what you were doing. It’s time for another interaction with your prisoner.”

  Balladyn sighed and looked over his shoulder at her. “I won’t be gone long. There’s an old … friend … I must have another chat with.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Perth, Scotland

  The Silver Dragon

  Rhys glanced at the sign above the store with an exact drawing of the Silvers kept at Dreagan.

  “Even in exile he flaunts who he is,” Hal said with a wry twist of his lips.

  Ryder shrugged. “I’d do the same.”

  “We all would,” Rhys said as he crossed the street and walked to the door. He opened it and stepped inside the store, his gaze scanning the room until he spotted Ulrik behind the counter toward the back of the store. Behind Rhys, Hal and Ryder entered and moved to either side of him. Ulrik lifted a brow and set down some papers he had been reading.

  “I told Banan that none of you were welcome here,” he stated and riffled through more papers.

  His dismissive attitude didn’t surprise Rhys. “I wouldna want to see us either. We’ve no’ visited.”

  “I’ve no’ thought much about it.”

  “Liar,” Ryder said.

  Ulrik’s head slowly lifted to pin Ryder with a withering look. “What is it you three want?”

  Hal stepped forward and inspected a painting that sat on an easel near the door. “I wanted to see you.”

  “Forgive me if I doona believe you,” Ulrik stated sarcastically.

  “It’s true.” Hal turned to face him. “Whether you believe it or no’, I’ve stayed away for you.”

  Rhys watched the way Ulrik’s face lost all emotion, as if he had just erected some wall around him.

  “I didna want to rub it in your face of what you had lost,” Hal continued. “I know now it was wrong. I’m sorry.”

  “You’ve had your say. Now get out.” Ulrik once more went back to his papers.

  Rhys drew in a deep breath and released it. “Are you conspiring with the Dark Fae against us?”

  “Ah,” Ulrik said with a chuckle. “So the real reason comes out.”

  Ryder walked to the counter and slammed his hand on the papers Ulrik was looking over. “Look at us!”

  That got Ulrik’s attention. His golden gaze fastened on Ryder. “Or what? You’ll kill me? Is that no’ what you’ve come to do?”

  Ryder reared back, affronted. “Nay.”

  “Con can be such the coward. He should be here himself.”

  Rhys remained by the door. Ulrik might no longer have his magic, but he wasn’t going to underestimate him. Whether he was the mastermind of the plot to bring them down or not, Ulrik was never one to be misjudged. “If Con wants you dead, he’ll have to do it himself. I’m no’ here for that. None of us are.”

  Ulrik looked at each one of them. “What do you want?”

  “If it is you conspiring with the Dark, MI5, the Mob, or whoever, we’re asking you to stop,” Ryder said.

  Hal moved to the next painting and glanced at Ulrik. “We’re no’ saying it’s you, but we’re asking that if it is, you give it up. Nothing good can come of what is happening.”

  “We know you want your revenge,” Rhys said. “You’ve a right to it after what we did.”

  Ulrik’s smile was cold. “Is that right?”

  “We’re your brethren,” Ryder said.

  “Brethren,” Ulrik repeated. “Where were you when I needed you? Where were you when Con deceived me and killed my woman, which was my right after what she’d done? Where were you when the humans were killing our dragons, and I was the only one who retaliated?”

  “You were no’ the only one,” Ryder said softly.

  Rhys and Hal exchanged a look as Ulrik chuckled.

  “One battle, Ryder. That’s all you lasted before Con convinced you to turn against me.”

  “It wasna against you. We vowed to protect the humans,” Ryder argued.

  Ulrik’s brows rose. “Protect the very beings who were killing us, slaughtering us? All of you are all right with that? Is that why so many Kings still sleep in the mountains?”

  “Enough,” Rhys said. “You’ve made your point, Ulrik. We’ve all made mistakes. Hold on to your hate, let it eat away at you. You want your revenge on us, then come at us.”

  “Oh, I want my revenge, and I will have it,” Ulrik stated calmly. “Con might want me dead, but I want to see the breath leave his body as well.”

  Hal shook his head. “You two were as close as brothers.”

  “Aye, and that’s why his betrayal cut so deep.” Ulrik’s gold eyes flashed angrily.

  “He’s looking for a reason to come here,” Ryder said.

  Ulrik merely smiled. “Let him come. He knows where I am with all the cameras watching me and following me.”

  Rhys ran a hand down his face. “If it isna you trying to reveal us to the world, would you consider helping us?”

  “You have a lot of nerve.” Ulrik made a sound at the back of his throat. “I didna come to any of you when I was alone, without my magic, and unable to shift into my true form. Doona come to me now looking for help. I’ve none to give.”

  Ryder said not another word as he stormed out of the store. Hal followed a moment later, leaving Rhys. He and Ulrik locked gazes, both refusing to look away.

  “A war is coming.”

  Ulrik lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s inevitable.”

  “Dragon Kings could die.”

  “Why do you care? You know you’ll never see your dragons again. Are you truly happy here without them? Watchi
ng over humans who would rather kill you than live with you?”

  Rhys knew it was pointless to continue the conversation. He turned on his heel and walked out, but he couldn’t forget Ulrik’s words.

  Mostly because he had already thought of them himself.

  * * *

  Kiril woke and opened his eyes. The CD had finally stopped playing sometime in the middle of the night, and silence met him. He would prefer to remain in dragon form for the rest of the day. Yet there were things he needed to see to, and with his mind clear once more, he could focus as he was supposed to.

  He grudgingly shifted back into human form and walked naked up the stairs into the main house. Dawn was just creeping over the horizon when he went upstairs. He turned on the water to the shower. While he waited for it to heat, he looked out his window to where he knew the Dark watched.

  It was time he rattled them a bit, just as he had flustered Farrell the night before. Kiril was smiling when he stepped under the water and began to wash. By the time he stepped out of the shower, he was putting a plan together. The first part would bring him to Cork for the entire day—and night.

  He was buttoning his shirt when he felt Con push against his mind. It was time for their daily talk. Kiril knew that to ignore him would send Con and other Dragon Kings straight to Ireland, but he also couldn’t let Con know his plans.

  “Con,” he said after he opened his mind to the King of Kings.

  “I understand Phelan has taken to sightseeing in Ireland.”

  “Aye.”

  “And you didna send him away?”

  Kiril stared at his reflection in the mirror. “Why? He wouldna have left anyway.”

  “You’ve been there long enough putting yourself in danger. It’s time for you to return to Dreagan.”

  “I’ve no’ learned anything about Rhi yet since the night she was taken.”

  “And you probably willna,” Con replied wearily.

  Kiril frowned and set his hands on the top of the dresser. “So you’ve given up? I know you hate her, but after all she’s done to help us, you’re just going to leave her? With them?”

  “A Light Fae doesna come back from that. If she’s no’ dead, they will turn her into a Dark.”

  “It’s no’ right, Con.”

  “What’s more important? A Fae, or ending our enemies who are trying to expose us to the world?”

  Kiril turned away from the mirror. Damn him for making it as simple as that. “You’re one cold son of a bitch, Constantine.”

  “Someone has to be.”

  “Phelan willna turn away from looking for Rhi. I’m no’ going to tell him that we’ve given up.”

  There was a stretch of silence before Con said, “Phelan can no’ be caught by the Dark. If they learn he’s half Fae and a prince to the Light, they’ll take him in an instant.”

  Kiril had been so caught up in his own problems with Shara that he hadn’t thought much about what it could mean if Phelan was caught. “Give us two days. No matter what, I’ll have him back by then.”

  “Two days.”

  Kiril blew out a breath when the conversation ended and Con’s voice was no longer in his mind. He had just two days. Two days to discover if Shara was lying or not. Two days to find out anything about Rhi.

  It wasn’t nearly long enough.

  He wasn’t worried about himself. The Dark couldn’t kill him no matter what they did, and he’d be damned if he allowed them to mess with his mind as they had others. Phelan, however, was different. If Rhi were there, she’d have Kiril’s head on a platter for involving her prince.

  “Dammit, Rhi. Why did you have to get taken? And who is the ass who took you?”

  Kiril ran a hand through his hair and gathered the length at the back of his neck. He wrapped a piece of leather around it to secure it and grabbed his jacket. He slid his arms in the coat and shrugged it on. After adjusting it with a shift of his shoulders, Kiril walked downstairs to the entryway and grabbed his keys.

  With a firm tug, the door slammed shut behind him. He got behind the wheel of the Mercedes and put the roof down. A moment later and the car roared to life as he drove down the drive and through the iron gate that closed automatically behind him.

  A calm settled over him that morning once he’d decided on his course of action. First things first. He needed to get word to Phelan to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Since he had no idea where Phelan was, that wasn’t going to be easy. Then again, when was anything?

  He reached Cork and chose to park along the street away from an Doras. Eventually that night he would end up at the pub. Until then, he would stay away. Kiril exited the car and stood on the sidewalk looking at the businesses around him. Humans had no idea they walked, lived, and worked alongside the pure evil of Dark Fae. There were parts of Cork that the Dark tended to prefer, but they infested every inch of the city in some way.

  It was going to take most of the day to get the address he wanted, but Kiril didn’t mind. He liked stirring the pot, especially when it involved Farrell.

  He went into the first business he came to and left almost immediately when he didn’t see any Dark working. Business after business, building after building, Kiril walked the streets making a mental note of where the Dark congregated and where there were none.

  By noon he had only covered half the city. He was looking in the window of a jewelry store when he spotted the two Dark Fae males following him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. Phelan was sitting on a bench talking to an elderly lady. His gaze lit on Kiril for just a moment, but that’s all Kiril needed to know that Phelan was also following him.

  Kiril turned and crossed the street into a pub for lunch. He chose a table in the back that gave him a clear view of the door. After placing his order, Kiril saw Phelan walk into the pub alone. Phelan smiled and leaned on the bar to talk to a pretty bartender while other customers came in and began to fill up the tables. Phelan’s conversation was brief however. He straightened and ambled over to the only table available—the one behind Kiril.

  Kiril spun the cocktail napkin on the table as he listened to Phelan place his order. The many conversations made the atmosphere loud and difficult to hear. Unless you were a Dragon King or a Warrior.

  “What are you up to?” Phelan whispered as he leaned back in his chair, nearly touching Kiril’s.

  Kiril didn’t see a single Dark in the pub, but that didn’t mean there weren’t humans willing to spy for them. He wasn’t sure what made him think it was a possibility. Perhaps it was the way a man in his late twenties furtively looked at Kiril.

  “I’m searching for someone,” Kiril said.

  Phelan snorted. “You’re stirring shit.”

  Kiril bit back a smile. “That, too.”

  “Two Dark are trailing you.”

  “Spotted them already. By the way, you need to be ready to leave Ireland.”

  Phelan set all four legs of his chair back on the floor. “Why? Have you learned something?”

  “That’s what today is about. It willna be long before they realize who you are.”

  “It’s a chance we take.”

  Kiril smiled to the waitress as she brought his sandwich. He waited until she walked away before he said, “I refuse to face Aisley because you were an idiot.”

  “You think I want to be the one to tell Con you were captured?”

  Kiril bit into his sandwich and swallowed. The human male’s gaze was on him again. Kiril returned the stare until the human quickly looked away. “Under no circumstances let yourself be discovered by the Dark.”

  Phelan’s food arrived. He chatted with the waitress, making her blush. She looked back at him when she walked away. When she was occupied with another customer, Phelan said, “Ditto. Except you can no’ get taken.”

  “That’s no’ my plan.” But it might very well come to that. How else was Kiril going to learn what he needed? “If I am, contact Rhys first.”

  “Fuck,” Phelan
murmured.

  There was nothing else to say. Kiril ate his meal, not tasting anything as his mind was on something else entirely—Shara. Even while he slept in dragon form, he had thought of her. She hadn’t come to him last night. There were numerous reasons as to what could have kept her away, but he continued to think of the worst ones.

  Assuming she wasn’t lying to him and she didn’t want to have him captured by the Dark.

  Then again, she could be the ultimate seductress by using timidity mixed with her sweet allure. It could all be an act to pull him completely under her spell. And damn her, it was working.

  “Watch yourself,” Phelan whispered as he tossed down some money and walked out of the pub.

  Kiril ordered a mug of ale and decided to remain in the pub for a little longer. He got a pen from the waitress when she brought his drink and used the back of the cocktail napkin to draw a map of Cork.

  He marked with an X the places where he’d found more than two Dark. What it showed more clearly than anything was how the Dark weren’t just living in Cork—they were taking over.

  Several businesses were owned by the Dark, and several more had Dark working amid humans. Why? Why would the Dark who think of humans as toys put themselves so close to them?

  Kiril remained in the pub until he finished his ale. He then paid his bill and left, stuffing the napkin in his pocket. He turned to the left and continued his exploration of the city. Except this time he wasn’t just studying things.

  Four Dark looked up as he walked into a souvenir shop. Kiril gave them an aloof smile. “Who can point me to the home of the Blackwoods?”

  Their eyes went wide at the mention of Blackwood. Just as he’d expected. Shara’s family was as powerful as she’d led him to believe.

  “Nothing?” he asked.

  When they only stared at him blankly with their red eyes, Kiril walked out and went into the next building. There was only one Dark inside, and she was shopping. With a nod at the human owner, Kiril went to the next shop.

  Every time he encountered Dark that were working at the businesses, he asked about Blackwood, and each time he got the same response—fear. A few Dark dared to look at him as if he were digging a hole for himself. They had no idea who he was. Kiril was fine with that. The fewer Dark who realized he was a Dragon King the better.