by Donna Grant
“Ask me,” Usaeil urged.
The courage Shara had found earlier evaporated as if it had never been. The thought of looking into the mirror and seeing her red eyes again would be too much. Instead, she said, “Tell me why you really brought me here.”
“Should I have left you with the Dark for them to kill you? Or perhaps I should’ve returned you to your family and let them torture you for a few thousand years,” Usaeil stated icily.
“I meant no offense.”
“You didn’t. Unlike the Dark, we Light don’t punish for such things.” The queen sighed dramatically. Then she grinned. “If we did, I’d forever be punishing Rhi.”
Shara felt as if she would never have her feet beneath her again. She had no idea what was going on or how she should feel about any of it. She dared not to hope for anything. That had happened once already, and she’d watched Kiril slip through her fingers like grains of sand.
It was too painful to go through again. Hope might strengthen, but loss destroyed.
“I can bring you to Dreagan,” Usaeil offered, her voice soft once more. “You can explain everything to Kiril.”
“So he did get out of Balladyn’s fortress?” she asked, one knot in her stomach unwinding.
Usaeil nodded. “That he did. As did the other Dragon Kings and Phelan, who you met.”
“And Rhi?”
Usaeil quickly looked away. “She’s no longer in Balladyn’s grasp, but she’s not with us.”
“Is she with her lover once more?”
Usaeil’s gaze turned back to her with a smile. “Ah, what a romantic you are.”
It was true. She was a romantic. She hadn’t realized it until she met Kiril. Shara looked down at her lap and licked her lips. “Thank you for the offer, but I can’t go to Dreagan.”
“Kiril scoured Balladyn’s compound for you.”
Shara smiled and felt the tears threaten again. Somehow she wasn’t surprised Kiril had done that. He was that type of man. “That is the reason I can’t go to him.”
“Because he’s looking for you?” the queen asked.
“Because I don’t deserve him.” She lifted her gaze to the queen and wiped away the tears that had fallen. “If I hadn’t been born Dark, I would fight for him.”
Usaeil raised a black brow and cocked her head to the side. “You come from one of the strongest Dark families. Are you going to let something like your birth, which you had no control over, stop you from taking what you want?”
Shara parted her lips to answer, but found she couldn’t put a voice to them.
“You saw Kiril in his true form,” Usaeil continued. “Did you find him difficult to gaze upon?”
“Far from it. I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was awe-inspiring, beautiful, and spectacular.”
Usaeil’s lips lifted in a grin. “Those were almost the exact words Rhi used to describe her lover.”
Shara couldn’t sit any longer. She rose and paced, her mind racing with questions she couldn’t begin to answer. It was all too much, and yet not enough.
“What is it?” the queen asked.
Shara halted while wringing her hands. “Fear has ahold of me. Fear to dare to dream of something I don’t deserve.”
“And?”
“Fear that if I don’t try for that dream then I’ll be filled with misery the rest of my days.”
Usaeil came to stand beside her. “In the end, we only regret the chances we don’t take.”
“What if he doesn’t want me?”
“You can’t know the answer until you speak to him.”
Shara faced the queen. “And if I don’t? Can I remain here?”
“This is where you belong. You’ll always be welcome here.”
“Even though I’m Dark?”
Usaeil’s smile was mysterious. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty damn positive.”
The queen turned to walk away, and as she did, she waved her hand. Shara stepped back as a large square mirror appeared in front of her, hanging at eye level. Her gaze locked on that thick stripe of silver that fell by her cheek. She could use glamour to hide it, but she wouldn’t be able to conceal it from Kiril.
She was about to turn away when she looked into her own eyes—eyes that were no longer red but … silver.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Shara quickly turned away from the mirror. She was breathing hard as confusion swarmed her. Her gaze latched on Usaeil with a fierce glower.
“I know I’m a Dark, but it doesn’t give you the right to trick me like this. Do you think it’s funny to give me something I desperately want, and then watch as I learn it isn’t real?”
“Whoever said it wasn’t real?” the queen asked in a calm voice. She bent over and smiled down at a bright pink flower, her fingers reverently touching the petals. “There are many things that separate the Light from the Dark. Trickery is one of them.”
Shara refused to believe what she saw in the mirror. It hurt too much. “This could all be a trick played by Balladyn.”
The queen’s cool façade vanished as she whirled around, her silver eyes shooting daggers. “When have you ever seen a Dark attempt to re-create the Light?”
“Never, but then I was born into a Dark family.”
Usaeil folded her arms across her chest as she stared hard at her. “I deal in truths, Shara. You can either accept that or you can’t. Make your decision now.”
She wanted to turn away from Usaeil and demand to see the truth, but there was the tiniest thread of doubt that what she saw was reality.
“Hope is one of the most powerful weapons to have. Love is the other,” Usaeil said evenly.
Instead of turning away, Shara took a deep breath. “How are my red eyes gone?”
“It’s true the Dark tell their own that once a Fae turns to the Dark there is no turning back. The fact is, it’s a lie. Not everyone knows that, and most times I tell others that it can’t happen. Before you ask, I’ve my own reasons for that.”
Shara grabbed her stomach as if someone had just punched her. Was everything she had been led to believe a lie? Her world was spiraling out of control, and she needed something to hold onto. She needed Kiril.
“Doubt undermines the truth your heart senses.”
Shara fell to her knees. She grasped for breath, to steady the world that was rapidly falling away. Truth. What was the truth? Could she recognize it after a lifetime of lies?
Usaeil knelt beside her, her arms going around Shara as she did. “Search your heart,” she whispered. “The answers are there, waiting. You have to be brave enough to see them.”
Shara squeezed her eyes closed and rested her forehead on the cool white tiles of the floor. If Kiril were beside her she could do it. If Kiril were there, she could face anything.
He is here, within you.
She stilled. The realization that Kiril had left a part of himself with her was like stepping into the sun and being surrounded by warmth and light. Shara grabbed Usaeil’s hand, and with the part of her that Kiril had changed irrevocably, she searched her heart. She was hesitant at first, afraid of what she might find.
Then the truth fell over her one drop at a time until it was raining down upon her in a shower that cleansed her, graced her.
She sucked in a mouthful of air as she sat up. Her eyes opened and she saw the magnificent room with new eyes, eyes not blinded by lies and deceptions. The flowers were richer, the light warmer. Everything felt right, as if she had finally found somewhere she belonged. She turned her head to Usaeil to see the queen smiling brightly.
“I knew you could do it, Shara. You’re special.”
“What just happened?”
The queen helped her to her feet and guided her back to the chairs. Once Shara was sitting, Usaeil resumed her own seat. “I could’ve brought you here anytime I wanted, and you could’ve left at any time. I watched you as a child. I watched as you decided to end the suffering of the humans you kidnapped for your family, bu
t you weren’t ready yet. Then I saw you with Kiril. I saw how you looked at him, how you touched him. I saw your love.”
Shara folded her hands together. “How do you know it’s love? I’m not even certain.”
“Yes, you are,” she said with a wink. “Otherwise, why would you have been ready to give your own life for him? That’s what changed your eyes, Shara.”
She touched the corner of one eye timidly. “Because I loved him?”
Usaeil gave a little wave of her hand. “That was part of it. Anyone can love. You loved your parents, your family, and yet that didn’t alter you. Your love for Kiril opened your heart and your world. Your willingness to give your life for his is what ultimately changed you.”
“I did … awful things before. How can all of it be wiped away so simply?”
“It isn’t simple. I don’t think you understand how love can heal. And forgive.”
Shara rose and walked to the mirror once more. She stared into her reflection, trying to recognize herself. “So this is me now?”
“This is you. If you want it to be you.”
Shara smiled, giddiness making her want to dance. “Oh, yes.”
“Good. Now. Let’s talk Kiril.”
* * *
It had taken Kiril and the others in dragon form to move Rhys into the mountain so he would be hidden. With every minute that ticked by and he didn’t heal, Kiril could see more and more of the Kings blame Ulrik.
The blame couldn’t lay at another’s feet. The Dragon Kings that were awake had all been accounted for, and the ones still sleeping in the mountains had remained asleep. And yet it didn’t make sense. Why would Ulrik attack Rhys? His hatred was focused on one individual—Constantine.
“He’ll heal,” Kellan said from beside him as they gazed at Rhys. “Con had a similar wound once.”
Kiril turned his head to him. “When? I don’t remember that.”
“Few know of it. He’s had two such wounds. One when he fought the King of Kings for the throne. The second was when he and Ulrik fought before Ulrik was banished.”
Kiril shook his head in confusion and took a step back. “I might be old and my memories many, but I would recall if Con had been injured.”
“Nay, you wouldna,” Kellan said cryptically.
Kiril grabbed Kellan’s shoulder and spun him around. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that Ulrik and Con had a confrontation before Ulrik’s magic was taken from him. They fought. Both were injured severely.”
“How did I no’ know of this?”
Kellan shrugged. “Con didna want anyone to know. Neither of them did. It’s why they fought well away from any one of us seeing them.”
“Why tell me now?”
“I probably would’ve shared it sooner had I no’ been sleeping for thirteen hundred years.”
“There were millennia before that you could’ve told us.”
Kellan looked away, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I was dealing with other things.”
His revelation was so perplexing that Kiril almost forgot the first part of it. “You said Con was injured like this twice.”
“Did you ever want to be King of Kings?”
Kiril scrunched up his face. “Never. I had enough to deal with with my dragons.”
“Most Kings have felt the same, but a few coveted that crown. A select few have it in their destiny.”
Kiril thought back to Con’s predecessors. “In all our time, we’ve only had five take the throne.”
“Aye.”
“What are you no’ telling me?”
Kellan clamped a hand on his shoulder and changed the subject. “Have you heard anything about Shara’s whereabouts?”
“Nothing, and it’s driving me insane.” Kiril knew he had changed the subject on purpose, and he would allow it for now because his mind was full of her.
“There is someone who can help.”
“Broc.” The Warrior could use the god inside him to find anyone, anywhere.
Kellan nodded and dropped his hand to his side. “It’s a thought.”
“What’s a thought?” Tristan asked as he walked up and peered at Rhys’s wound. “I do believe it’s gotten a little better.”
Kellan grinned at Kiril and strode away. Kiril watched him walk to his mate, Denae, and the two of them disappeared deep into the mountain, arm in arm.
“He’s more mysterious at times than Con,” Tristan grumbled.
Kiril chuckled and faced the newest Dragon King. Tristan had once been a Warrior with his twin, Ian. All the Warriors thought Tristan had died, but he had been reborn as a Dragon King.
“He mentioned I could ask Broc to find Shara,” Kiril explained.
Tristan stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Aye, you could. Broc would be willing to help, I’m sure of it. Shall I contact him?”
Kiril shook his head, his gaze on Rhys. “Shara is a survivor. I’ll search for her once Rhys is once more himself.”
“And if Balladyn has her?”
“He doesna.” At least Kiril prayed he didn’t. “If he did, Balladyn would’ve let me know to rub it in.”
Rhys moved, a rumble of a moan coming from him. Kiril looked at his scales to see the yellow wasn’t as bright as before.
“It’s been hours,” Tristan said. “He should’ve healed by now.”
“You’ve no’ had to fight other Dragon Kings so you doona know how deadly one blast of our magic can be. We’re powerful creatures, and it’s why only another Dragon King can kill us.”
“And it takes longer to heal from such a wound?”
Kiril placed a hand on Rhys’s shoulder near his large dragon head. “Aye.”
He removed his hand and began to turn away when Tristan stopped him with a firm grip on his arm.
“Look,” Tristan said as his gaze focused on Rhys.
Kiril followed his gaze to Rhys’s wound. He frowned as he saw it heal a fraction. Kiril touched Rhys again, and to his surprise, the wound healed once more.
He dropped his hand and told Tristan, “You try it.”
Tristan put his hand on Rhys, and a moment later the injury shrank.
“I’ll be damned,” Kiril mumbled. He looked at Tristan. “Find as many of us as you can.”
Tristan ran off as Kiril put his hand on Rhys. “Come on, old friend. It’s time you woke.”
“What’s going on?” Con asked as he entered with the others.
Tristan returned to Kiril’s side and put his hands on Rhys. Hal, Guy, Kellan, Banan, and Laith did the same.
Con stopped on Kiril’s other side. “Kiril?”
“We touched Rhys and he healed,” he explained.
Kellan’s forehead creased. “We’ve never had to heal one of our own, but if it works, who are we to complain?”
“Since when can we heal our own?” Hal asked.
Kiril looked at each of them. “What does it matter? The past is the past. We’re dealing with enemies on every side. Let’s look to the future.”
“All right,” Con said and put his hand on Rhys. He leaned close to Kiril and whispered, “That was some speech.”
“Whatever works, aye?”
Kiril looked up and found Kellan staring at him from the other side of Rhys’s dragon form. Kellan’s celadon eyes were watchful, vigilant, but he had a feeling he wasn’t the one Kellan was watching. That it was Con.
“It’s working!” Guy yelled with a whoop.
Kiril forgot about Kellan and Con as he turned his focus to Rhys’s injury as they all watched it shrink and then disappear entirely. It was a heartbeat later that Rhys opened his orange dragon eyes and then shifted into human form. He braced one arm on the ground as he reclined and frowned up at all of them. “What the hell is everyone looking at?”
The cheer was deafening. Kiril held out his hand and helped Rhys to his feet as they slapped each other on the back.
“I was dying, Kiril,” Rhys whispered in his ear before he turne
d away with a too-bright smile for the others.
Kiril’s smile faded. It seemed their list of enemies just gotten longer and even more mysterious.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Two days later Shara was standing beside Usaeil on the edge of Dreagan land. The previous days had been spent at Usaeil’s side talking of Kiril, but also of the role she would have with the Light.
“The treaty says we can’t go onto Dreagan land,” Shara said anxiously.
Usaeil gave her a gentle push over the invisible boundary. “They offered you sanctuary and protection, Shara. They don’t go back on their word.”
“What if Kiril doesn’t want to see me?” she asked as she looked over her shoulder at the queen.
Usaeil’s smile made her eyes twinkle with merriment. “You won’t know that until you go to him. His room is on the second floor at the west corner of the manor. Good luck.”
Shara glanced away, and when she looked back, Usaeil was gone. “Wonderful. I get to do this alone.”
She rolled her eyes as she talked to herself. Not a good way to start things. Then again, was there a good way to approach a lover who thought you’d betrayed him? Shara could face her family and even Balladyn, but she didn’t think she would ever be ready for Kiril to turn away from her.
You don’t know that he will.
It was true, she didn’t, but there was a very good chance he would. She went over the speech she’d prepared the day before and repeated it countless times. It wasn’t really a speech so much as a detailed explanation.
Shara watched the sun sink farther and farther into the horizon until it disappeared behind the mountains, and still she remained where she was. A distant sound had her looking to the sky where she caught the shape of a dragon amid the darkening sky and clouds. The darkness hid the color of the scales, so she didn’t know if it was Kiril, but she suspected it was.
Shara used her magic to teleport to the top of a mountain deeper onto Dreagan so she could get a better look at the dragon. When she looked up, she realized the dragon wasn’t alone. She counted at least six of them as they glided effortlessly between the clouds, their massive wings spread wide.
She sat and simply watched them, recalling how Kiril had spoken of a time when they had filled the skies. Shara would have loved to have seen that. The fact that the Dragon Kings remained secret made her sad.
