by Donna Grant
“Dragon Kings, Fae, Druids, and now Warriors. Are there any others?” she asked.
“No’ that I’m aware of.”
Bernadette nodded slowly. “All right. Has Usaeil been able to hide herself like this before?”
“We’re no’ sure. We’ve never tried to look for her before. Con devised a trap using himself as bait to lure her out. It worked perfectly. Right up until she managed to kidnap him.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“She did what?” Bernadette was too shocked to think beyond that point.
Keltan glanced at her over his shoulder as he continued picking up one item after another. Bernadette wasn’t even sure what he was making, and she didn’t care at this point. Her attention was focused solely on the story.
“I’m pretty sure we all wore that exact same expression you’re wearing now,” he said ruefully. “There’s a debate between us. Some of us believe Con has the power to break free of Usaeil, but is biding his time until he finds out what he wants to know. Others think that Usaeil’s magic has increased to the point that she can hold Con.”
Bernadette swallowed and touched her throat. Before she could even ask for a glass of water, Keltan set one before her. She drank deeply, but nothing could stop the dread that continued filling her stomach.
Finally, she finished the water and set aside the glass. “I know nothing about magic, so I’m not sure I could tell you anything. I know Usaeil is fixated on all of you. She never let on that she knew Con, but then again, why would she?”
“Verra true, lass.”
“You’re telling me that Con’s gone? That Usaeil has him?”
“I am,” he said with a nod.
Bernadette hadn’t even met Con, but she knew from Keltan’s story that he was important to the Dragon Kings. A part of her wondered if she could believe Keltan. In all actuality, he could be lying to her, as well.
She didn’t consider herself able to read people. In fact, she had been played by others a time or two when she hadn’t listened to her intuition. The feeling of unease she’d gotten from Usaeil hadn’t been felt around Keltan. She couldn’t swear on it, but Bernadette felt that he was telling her the truth.
“In other words, Usaeil isn’t what she led me to believe she is?” Bernadette asked.
“It’s worse than that. Usaeil killed her family in order to take the throne. Rhi’s best friend and leader of the Light Army, Balladyn, was betrayed by Usaeil to the Dark. Usaeil left him for dead on the battlefield, believing that the King of the Dark would honor their deal and kill Balladyn. What he did was turn Balladyn Dark. And now, Balladyn is the King of the Dark.”
“I didn’t see that coming,” Bernadette said with a shake of her head.
“Neither did Usaeil. She’s no’ happy about it at all.”
“I bet not.” Bernadette licked her lips and put the minced garlic into one of the small bowls before reaching for the onion. “She really killed her entire family?”
Keltan nodded and wiped off his hands before facing her. “Aye.”
“Wouldn’t that make her a Dark?”
“That it does, lass. Fae have the ability to use glamour to change their appearance. Usaeil has been using it for quite some time, I believe. Normally, we can see through a Fae’s glamour, but for whatever reason, we can no’ with her.”
Bernadette frowned, a shiver racing down her spine. “That’s not good. I could be her for all you know.”
“You’re no’,” he replied with a lopsided smile. “We have spells in place that prevent her from coming here, remember? Even if she did use glamour, our magic would stop her.”
Well, that was good to know. Bernadette filed that knowledge away. She shifted, suddenly not feeling all that well. It was probably because she hadn’t eaten properly in several hours. She ignored the discomfort and went on chopping. “You said something about Con and Rhi attacking Usaeil. Are you all still going to do that?”
Keltan stared at her silently for a long time.
Bernadette laughed and nodded. “And here I thought you trusted me.”
“I do. To a point,” Keltan said.
“I understand. I could be working for Usaeil, taking this information back to her.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “You want to know if we intend to attack her? Aye, we do. And we willna be alone.”
A part of Bernadette realized that something was off for Keltan to suddenly tell her such details. That’s when it hit her. The Dragon Kings had magic. No doubt they could make sure she didn’t remember anything once she ate or drank something here. Or it could be just a little swish of their finger to wipe her mind. Either way, it was the same result.
She set down the knife. “I wasn’t sure why you were so ready to tell me so many of your secrets. I thought maybe it was because you trusted me, but that’s difficult to do when I’m not exactly giving you the same courtesy. But now I know. I won’t leave here remembering anything about our conversation.”
Keltan walked to her and pulled the cutting board to him. In seconds, he had chopped the whole onion and put it in the second bowl. Then he took the bowls of garlic an onion and turned to walk to the counter.
She continued watching him, waiting for him to tell her she was wrong. The fact that several minutes passed without him doing such a thing gave her all the answers she needed. She thought she should be angry at something like that being done against her will, but instead, she was sad. Because she wanted to remember all of this. Otherwise, she would always be curious about the Dragon Kings.
She shook her head as the truth of it hit her. They wouldn’t just wipe her mind of what she learned today. They would take everything she knew about them, Usaeil, and anything to do with magic. Maybe that would be for the best. If she wasn’t so obsessed, then she might be able to get her old life back.
That thought didn’t appeal to her as much as she’d thought it would. Actually, it made her break out in a sweat. She’d been living in a dream world most of her life. It was just this past year that she had been woken enough to see everything without a filter.
It was terrifying and horrible and beautiful. And she couldn’t imagine life without the knowledge she’d gained.
“It’s for your safety as well as ours,” Keltan finally said.
The irritation in her abdomen increased enough to make her shift in the chair. She grew nauseated and scooted down in the seat so she was half-reclining, which helped to ease the discomfort.
Keltan faced her as he wiped his hands. “You do understand that, I hope.”
“Usaeil could find me again and tell me everything once more. For all I know, this has happened multiple times,” she argued.
He grinned and used his arm to move the hair back from his face. “I promise, lass, that isna the case.” He frowned as he looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I think I’m just tired. I drove all night and only slept for a few hours in my car.”
“When was the last time you had a good meal?”
She shrugged. “Sometime yesterday.”
He jerked his chin to the cheese. “Eat some of that while this finishes. Would you like some tea?”
“That sounds great, actually.”
Bernadette closed her eyes as she munched on the cheese and crackers. Her belly began to feel better, which she was happy about. It never took much to upset her stomach, but to do it today when she was at Dreagan was more than embarrassing. But with all the anxiety and stress, she wasn’t at all surprised.
To her further embarrassment, she jerked awake at the sound of the kettle. She hadn’t even realized she’d drifted off. She hadn’t thought she was that tired, but obviously, she was.
Bernadette straightened in the chair and ate another piece of cheese as Keltan brought her a cup of tea. She declined the sugar but said yes to the milk. The first sip was just what she needed to bolster herself.
“Better?” Keltan asked.
She flashed him
a bright smile. “Much. Thank you.”
“We’ve plenty of rooms if you need to lie down for a bit.”
Bernadette waved off his words. “I’ll be fine.”
He sighed and returned to the oven where he checked on the salmon. “I would’ve thought you’d argue with me about leaving here without the knowledge of us.”
“What good would it do? You have magic. I don’t. It doesn’t matter what I want. You’ll do whatever you feel you must.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I doona like erasing your memories.”
She held back her wince as he took out a pan and put it on the stove. It didn’t take her long to realize he was making risotto, one of her favorite dishes. “That does help some.”
“Your life was disrupted, Bernadette. That wasna fair to you.”
“Maybe. I could argue that I’ve woken up or pulled the covers down or whatever analogy you’d like to use. Knowing about the Dragon Kings, Druids, and the rest is…” She paused, searching for the right word. “Sublime. There is so much more to this world I live in. It’s been going on all around me this entire time, and now that I’ve seen it, I don’t want to be left out of it.”
Keltan stirred the rice as he turned to look at her. “You’ve only seen the good parts. You’ve no’ had to witness the horrible side, and I honestly hope you never do. The destruction, the betrayals, the … deaths.”
“In case you’ve missed it, you just described life. All life. Look at the wars we humans engage in. It’s in real life as well as our entertainment. It has desensitized most people to what war really is. And don’t even get me started on betrayals.”
“Bernadette,” he said softly. “You’re comparing human war to our wars. It’s no’ the same. You can no’ comprehend what it’s like. The Dark Fae use orbs of magic. Think of it as a ball of acid. It burns through anything it touches.”
“Have you seen what some of our weapons can do?” she countered.
He didn’t reply. “And if a Dark takes you, they’ll torture you, slowly killing you all the while.”
Bernadette didn’t bother to say that at least she’d feel pleasure, but that wasn’t really an argument.
His amber eyes locked on hers. “Think of the most horrifying thing you’ve seen on the tele or heard about during a war and multiply that by a hundred. Nay, a thousand. Then you can understand what our war is.”
“You’re immortal, so you can survive it. Do the others?” she asked.
He lowered his eyes to the pot. “The Warriors are immortal unless you take their heads. But the Fae and Druids can be killed.”
“And any mortal that’s around will be in the way.”
“It’s no’ that.” He swiveled his head to her. “We protect you, so we would spend our time shielding any and all humans that were near us instead of fighting. That would allow our enemies to get the upper hand.”
Bernadette wrapped both hands around the mug of tea. “And Usaeil knows this, doesn’t she?” At Keltan’s nod, she said, “Then the queen will use that against you.”
“She’ll try.”
“I’d offer to help, but I know you won’t take it.”
His smile was soft and genuine. “I appreciate you saying that. If there was even a hint that you could help, we would take you up on the offer.”
That made her feel better. Bernadette drew in a breath and grinned. “My mouth is watering from the smells coming my way.”
“It’s nearly done. Just a couple more minutes.”
“Can I get the plates or anything?”
Keltan shook his head of dark blond hair. “You stay right there, lass.”
Bernadette had no problem doing that. She quite liked watching him move around the kitchen with such skill. Not to mention the sight of all his hard sinew shifting beneath his tight shirt. He was certainly handsome.
It was easy to see how someone would think the Dragon Kings weren’t dangerous in such a setting. But if the image Usaeil had crafted for her was anything even remotely close to what a Dragon King actually looked like, then the world would tremble before them.
And yet they hadn’t wiped out the mortals. They probably should have. It didn’t matter why they didn’t, and she didn’t think the fact that they’d sent their dragons away made them weak. In fact, their actions proved just how strong they were.
Which is why she couldn’t understand how stupid Usaeil was, going up against them.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It was good to have Bernadette like his food. Keltan watched as she devoured the salmon and risotto on her plate. He liked that she dug in and didn’t pick at her food.
“This is delicious,” she said after swallowing another bite. “You should be a chef.”
He shrugged, not bothering to tell her that a few hundred years ago, he’d done just that. “I like cooking for those here.”
“Do you do all the cooking?”
Keltan finished off the last of his salmon and risotto. “No’ all of it. I like it, so I do the majority, but several of the mates also enjoy being in the kitchen.”
Bernadette smiled after cleaning her plate. She sat back and blew out a breath. “Is it difficult to prepare a meal for so many? And that begs the question, how many Kings are there?”
He hesitated.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “You’re wiping my memories anyway. What does it matter if I know?”
“True. It doesna matter. There are twenty-three mated Kings.”
Her jade eyes widened. Bernadette shoved a black lock behind her ear. “Just those Kings and their mates make forty-six. That’s not including you or Con. And I suspect there are others.”
“It’s rare when we all sit down to eat together. There’s just too many.”
“And you’d be in the kitchen all day. Then again, I get the feeling you enjoy it.”
Keltan grinned, unable to deny it. “I do. Every Dragon King has a specialty.”
“Yours is cooking?” She let out a soft whistle. “Wow.”
He had to laugh out loud at her impressed look. “It’s no’ that great. Con can heal anything but death. Ryder can hack any computer and work or build anything electronic in his sleep. Vaughn knows all legal systems like the back of his hand.”
“Those sound nice, but you can feed people. Have you never heard that there is no more sincere love than that of food?”
“As a matter of fact, I have.”
Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. “What’s that little smirk for? Don’t tell me.…” Her eyes suddenly widened. “You coined that phrase, didn’t you?”
“Does it matter who said it first?”
She placed her hands together on the table. “I suppose not.”
“So, Dr. Bernadette Davies, I’ve told you a great many of our stories. I think it’s your turn to share.”
Bernadette glanced down nervously and cleared her throat. “I already told you.”
“A fraction of it, but I’ll no’ push you.” He didn’t need to hear anything from her. He knew most of it from the deep dive Ryder and Kinsey had done on her, but that didn’t mean Keltan didn’t want Bernadette to tell him something herself.
“No, no. You’re right. I should share. You bared your soul. Though, I’m not sure I can really say that if I’m not going to remember any of it.”
She laughed, but Keltan didn’t. It bothered him that she was taking it so well that her memories would be wiped. For a moment, he’d thought she had magic that would prevent Guy from taking the memories. But that worry didn’t last long.
Her smile died, along with her laughter. “You want to know why I’m not angry about it.”
“You already told me.”
“But you still don’t understand.”
He shook his head. “Nay, I doona.”
“What good would it do for me to fight the inevitable? All that would happen would be an ending to this day. I may not remember what you’ve told me or anything about the supernatural world arou
nd me, yet I believe that somewhere inside me, the things we’ve shared will live on somehow. I might not remember your face, your words, or the sound of your voice, but deep inside my soul, I’ll always remember that I had a special day with someone.”
Keltan leaned back in his chair, one arm on the table. “If there was another way…” he began.
She lifted a hand, halting him. “You don’t need to say it. Whether you’re sincere or not, I appreciate the sentiment. You welcomed me into your home and your world for a few hours. Whatever happens, I’m grateful for that. I also want you to know that I realize now why everyone here is so secretive. There will be others out there that look into you and Dreagan in the future.”
“We know.”
“You might find out about some. Others you won’t. You can only hide for so long.”
Keltan looked down. He fisted his hand before flexing his fingers and resting his palm back on the table. Then he raised his gaze to her. “What do you think would happen if the world found out about us?”
“I could sit here and tell you lies. I could say that you’d be welcomed, but you know better than that. All you have to do is look back through history to see what we’d do. Humans have a nasty habit of searching for something new, then instead of trying to understand it or learn from it, we destroy it because we fear it.”
“We willna engage in another war with mortals.”
“No matter how hard you try, no matter what kind of magic you use, eventually, you’ll be found out.”
“Let’s hope that by then, we can all share this world.”
Bernadette gave him a sad smile. “We both know that will never happen.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Keltan was curious as to what solution she might come up with.
