Torched

by Donna Grant

  And she had to know more about this man who enticed her so.

  “You obviously left the cave,” she said.

  “I did and found more mortals than ever before. I was naked and filthy, and the people I encountered laughed at and scorned me. I stole clothes and bathed. The next day, I went back to the village and was amused at how differently they treated me. That very day, I put my plans of revenge into motion.”

  She frowned. “That was … eons ago.”

  “Aye,” Ulrik said with a smile.

  But it didn’t reach his eyes. They were cold and calculating as they watched her. He was within reach, but she didn’t dare touch him.

  Not because she feared him, but because she was afraid she might like it. There was much about Ulrik that appealed to her, but there was a dark side to him, one that called to her in a way that made her eager and apprehensive at the same time.

  “You’ve proven how strong you are,” she said.

  He merely stared at her.

  Eilish realized that to remain any longer was folly. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to trust that he would find the information about her mother.

  “I should go,” she said and began to walk away.

  Ulrik sidestepped in front of her. “Did my story entertain?”

  There was a note of violence in his voice, a subtle warning that she took to heart. “Mikkel skimmed over most of it, and I can tell you, there is much he doesn’t know. Entertain? No. It did help to clarify some things, however.”

  “Is that so?” he asked with a raised brow. “Do you normally take the time to get to know those you’re sent to kill?”

  “No.”

  “Then why me?” he demanded and took a step closer.

  She involuntarily retreated, coming up against the wall. “I don’t know.”

  “For a moment, I believed you.”

  “What?” she asked in angry disbelief.

  He put a hand next to her head and leaned close. “Do you know what I discovered, Druid? That to trust is to forfeit your life. It’s made me question everything and everyone. Countless times, Mikkel has tried to put spies among my people. I always spot them.”

  For a second, she couldn’t speak, she was so stunned. “You think I’m a spy?”

  “A beautiful, clever one.”

  She didn’t want to think about the warm feeling that filled her at him calling her pretty. “I’m not a spy.”

  “Did Mikkel actually think I’d fall for your beauty and vulnerability? You both played a daring game, but I’m on to you.”

  Without thinking, Eilish shoved against his chest, barely moving him. “I’m not a damn spy!”

  Rage filled his face as he glared at her. “No Druid with your power would willingly submit to anyone, much less someone like Mikkel.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  She tried to move around him, but he blocked her. She tried a second time with the same results. With no other recourse, she gathered her magic and shoved it into his chest. The force of it sent a small shockwave through the cottage, knocking over chairs and lamps.

  But it did nothing to Ulrik.

  He glanced down at his body and then up at her. “You’ll have to do better than that, Druid.”

  “I’m not a fucking spy,” she said and tried to punch his face.

  He dodged her blow, his hand ensnaring her wrist easily. He then pinned it against the wall. Without blinking, he captured her other hand and restrained it.

  She fought against him, using her magic as best she could. But nothing seemed to work. Ulrik was undeniably strong. Worse, he seemed to know exactly how she would use her magic and blocked it with his own.

  “If you’re going to kill me, you’ll have to do better than this,” he taunted.

  She didn’t want to kill him, just as she hadn’t wanted to hurt Gianna in Venice. Eilish had been able to hide her failure to carry out Mikkel’s order for Gianna, but she wouldn’t be able to do that with Ulrik.

  “Enough!” she shouted. “Let me go.”

  “No.”

  She lifted her knee, trying to connect with his body, but once more, he proved his quickness. Next, she tried kicking, but it was evident that she was powerless when it came to Ulrik holding her.

  Dropping her head back against the wall, she tried to catch her breath as she eyed him. “What do you want?”

  A brief frown flashed over his features. “There’s nothing I told you this night that is secret. I do no’ care who knows. Run back to Mikkel and retell the entire story.”

  “This was for me,” she said through clenched teeth. “Why can’t you understand that?”

  “Because everyone betrays me!”

  His outburst caused both of them to still. She became all too conscious of how near he was. How much his power and strength were doing wonderful, crazy things to her body and mind.

  How she felt the heat of him—and craved more.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth, and her stomach fluttered with anticipation and a need so fierce and carnal that it caused her knees to go weak. She stared at him, anxiously waiting for him to do something.

  His head lowered gradually, as if he debated with himself the entire time. The next thing she knew, his mouth was on hers. For a heartbeat, neither moved. Then his lips began to slide seductively, sensually over hers.

  She responded without a second thought. The taste of him was sexy and exotic. His tongue swept into her mouth to dance with hers. He sought, he claimed. And she greedily returned the ravenous kiss. She felt his hunger, tasted his desire.

  Shared his passion.

  His body pressed hers against the wall, holding her as he plundered her mouth until she was breathless and shaking for more.

  And just as quickly as it began, the kiss was over.

  She blinked to focus her eyes while her chest rose and fell with labored breaths. Her gaze landed on Ulrik, who looked at her as if he weren’t sure what to do. He released her and stepped back. Then, without a word, he vanished.

  Eilish flattened her hands against the wall, her mind a whirl of desire and surprise. Her hand shook as she brought it to her mouth and touched her lips.

  The kiss had been … epic.

  It had bared her soul and showed her what she truly craved—Ulrik. Then the kiss had brought out a wanton, carnal side of her that she hadn’t known existed.

  The one thing she was certain of was that she couldn’t—wouldn’t—kill Ulrik. She’d known that for some time, but the kiss had exposed all the secrets and wishes she kept shoved into the dark corners of her heart.

  She pushed away from the wall, but she couldn’t make herself leave the cottage. There was nowhere she could go that Mikkel wouldn’t find her. But she wasn’t afraid of him.

  No, she was terrified of the passion within her. It shoved aside anything else, even her need to find her mother. She’d never experienced anything close to it, nor did she know how to handle it.

  It drummed inside her, beating a rhythm that was wild and lascivious. Ravenous. And that was just from a kiss! She couldn’t image how she’d feel if she ever gave her body to Ulrik.

  The mere thought of them lying in a bed, their limbs tangled, made her stomach flutter. She had to get control of herself. It took several tries before she was able to stop thinking about Ulrik and their kiss. It was another few minutes before her heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal. Then she straightened from the wall and went to click the claws of her finger rings together, but stopped.

  Eilish walked from the cottage and made her way to the lake. She stood on the shore and watched the pale light of the fingernail moon glint along the water.

  It was a peaceful place. Quiet and calming. The exact opposite of Ulrik. Not to mention, it was in Ireland. From what little Mikkel had told her about him, Ulrik was a master strategist.

  Which meant, he wasn’t in Ireland by chance. It was part of his revenge. But against who? Con and the Dragon Kings? O
r Mikkel?

  Or both?

  As she stared at the water, her thoughts turned to the tale Ulrik had shared with her. Everyone had a story and suffered, but she’d been unprepared for the depths that Ulrik experienced.

  It’d been hard to keep the sympathy from showing, but she managed it. Mostly because he’d have taken it as pity and become angry. But in truth, she did pity him. He’d loved hard and deeply, and was rewarded with betrayal the likes few ever endured.

  Then to be cast out from the place he loved and belonged.… It was no wonder he’d gone mad. But Ulrik’s strength wasn’t just in his muscles and magic, it was in his mind as well as his determination.

  He’d risen higher and faster because of his insanity. Not that she could tell him that. At the moment, he believed her a spy. And she couldn’t blame him. He distrusted everyone, with good cause.

  And just like with most people, he’d done terrible things. He’d also done amazing stuff. Did they balance out in the end? She wasn’t sure, but the one thing she did know was that he belonged at Dreagan.

  Eilish sighed loudly. She’d made her decision to stop working with Mikkel. He would respond by coming for her. In the meantime, she was going to prepare. Mikkel’s attack could come from anyone. Because, like Ulrik, Mikkel had a network of people that spanned the globe.

  The best thing for her to do would be to hide, but she’d made this mess for herself, so she’d face whatever came her way. Perhaps that would make up for tampering with the minds of Esther and Kinsey. She had already repaired Esther’s mind, and she would do the same for Kinsey. If she ever got the chance.

  Not that it would make up for the awful things she had done.

  The first place Mikkel would attack would be Graves, as well as the village. She needed to make sure no one was hurt because of her. Eilish clicked her finger rings together and teleported back to her pub.

  She began in her quarters and went to every window and door to reinforce the spells already in place that kept others out. Then she went down to Graves and began adding magical security that would protect the humans.

  Next, she went outside and fortified the village. She didn’t want any innocent deaths on her hands. There was enough she needed to pay for without adding that. But even she knew the spells were just the first line of defense.

  Eventually, she’d have to face off against Mikkel. Frankly, she was looking forward to that. He wasn’t a Dragon King, which meant they would be on much more even ground.

  Perhaps she shouldn’t wait for him. Maybe she should initiate the attack.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The kiss had been electrifying, exhilarating.

  Utterly gripping.

  Ulrik had needed to get away from Eilish before he continued kissing her. Or worse.

  When he teleported away from the cottage, he’d gone to the only place he felt safe—his mountain on Dreagan. He knew no one would be there since each of the King’s mountains was private. It was a place he went to often, a place where no one would ever think to look for him.

  Being within its confines eased him, but not as much as he’d hoped or needed. He tried to sit but was soon back on his feet, pacing. When that didn’t work, he walked the tunnels.

  He knew what he needed. To fly. His skin was too tight, and the more he fought shifting, the more he ached for it until he could no longer hold back.

  In his favorite cavern, he shifted without bothering to remove his clothes first. As soon as he was in his true form, he had an instant of relief from the desires that inflamed him. But the peace didn’t last.

  To his horror, they intensified.

  He slammed his hand on the ground and felt his mountain shake. Then he raised his head to the opening high above him to the night sky. All he needed to do was jump and spread his wings. In seconds, he could be among the clouds.

  Only, he couldn’t. Not unless he wanted to challenge Con that night, and frankly, he wasn’t up for it. His mind was too … troubled by the fact that he’d kissed Eilish.

  And she’d returned that kiss.

  He could still taste her on his tongue. Sweet and sexy. And he craved more.

  Shaking his head, he tried to dislodge whatever had come over him, but it had a firm, unshakable hold. And the more he tried to forget the feeling of her silky skin, her softness, or the passion in her kiss, the more he thought about Eilish.

  The more he hungered for her.

  The more he ached.

  Because he was so wrapped up in the Druid, it took him a moment to realize that someone was saying his name through the mental link shared by all Dragon Kings.

  “Ulrik!”

  The sound of V’s voice pulled him back from the brink. “Aye. I’m here.”

  “I was beginning to wonder,” V said tersely.

  Ulrik blew out a breath. “I was in the middle of something.”

  “I got your information about the Druid. Do you want it or no’?”

  “You know I do,” Ulrik said.

  V paused. “Ryder found documents stating that Eilish Flanagan came to the US in October, twenty-five years ago. The papers said she was adopted by a man named Patrick Flanagan, who has dual citizenship in the US and Ireland.”

  “Patrick must be the man who raised her. The one who told her he was her father.”

  “Aye. Nowhere on the birth certificate does it state a mother.”

  If it were anyone other than Ryder looking, Ulrik would be worried about discovering the real mother. But he knew Ryder’s affinity for locating information. “What did Ryder find?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Aye,” V replied. “Ryder is unhappy at the moment. However, he’s no’ giving up looking. But there is nothing on the birth mother.”

  “That can no’ be right. Mikkel has the information.”

  “Are you sure? He could be lying,” V said.

  That was always a possibility with his uncle, but Ulrik didn’t think so. “The birth mother’s information is being hidden. I’m guessing Druids are involved. I know the woman’s name was Eireen.”

  “That will be helpful, but Ryder is going to want to know how I got it.”

  Ulrik stretched out his wings as he looked to the sky once more. “You’re right. Thank you, V. Say nothing more. I’ll take it from here.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I always do.”

  That was a lie because ever since Eilish came into his life, Ulrik found himself focused on her when he should be thinking and planning other things.

  “Good luck,” V said and severed the link.

  Ulrik growled when he realized he hadn’t learned anything more about Eilish. Knowing Ryder, he’d pulled up every picture, grade, and mention of Eilish from the moment she was born until the present day. And Ulrik had been too fixated on the mother to think about that until it was too late. Now, the other Kings would know everything about Eilish. She might have helped Nikolai and Esther, but they still wanted to find her.

  The moment someone stepped within his domain, Ulrik knew it. Every mountain on Dreagan was linked with tunnels, just as each also had a hidden entrance for the Kings to enter and leave in dragon form.

  He turned and faced the opening to the cavern. He didn’t have long to wait before a tall form dressed in a black suit appeared.

  Con.

  The King of Kings halted just inside the cavern and raised his black eyes to Ulrik. “Should I take this to mean you’re challenging me?”

  Ulrik briefly thought about doing just that, but for some reason, he couldn’t. Not because it didn’t fall into his timeline that he’d plotted and planned for millennia, but because he honestly didn’t feel like it.

  He shifted, returning to his human form, and faced Con. “You’ll know when that time comes.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “This is my mountain.”

  Con looked around. “I suspect you’ve been coming here for a
while now.”

  Ulrik didn’t bother to reply.

  “As I thought,” Con said. “I assumed when you caused the mountain to shake that it was time for us.”

  “No’ everything is about you.”

  Con’s brows shot up on his forehead. “How refreshing.”

  “Is this where you remind me that I’m banished?”

  “I could.”

  Ulrik knew Con could enforce the banishment. As King of Dragon Kings, he had the ultimate power. They stared at each other.

  Then Con put his hands into his pants’ pockets. “Ryder told me V is verra interested in the Druid he’s been researching.”

  “I asked V to get me the information. My team doesna move as fast or as thoroughly as Ryder.”

  “We will stop the Druid,” Con said. “One way or another.”

  Ulrik crossed his arms over his chest, undaunted that he was nude. “Her name is Eilish. As you know. I thought you wanted to persuade her to join you?”

  “I’m prepared for either action,” Con said. “She controlled Kinsey’s and Esther’s minds, forcing them to work with those at Kyvor against us. I should kill her for that alone.”

  “Some things never change, do they?” Ulrik replied.

  Con made a sound of disgust. “You always did think you knew best in all things. Well, old friend, let me clue you in on something. If you think being a Dragon King is difficult, try my position.”

  “You wanted it. Wanted it so desperately, that you did anything to get it.”

  “I did nothing that you’re no’ doing now. Besides, you know how our kind works. If I wasna meant to hold this position, then I would’ve been defeated.”

  Con turned to the side and made his way to a rock formation. He took his hands out of his pockets and sat before returning his gaze to Ulrik.

  Ulrik drew in a deep breath and released it. He was a bit taken aback that Con would lower his guard so, but more than that, Con’s attitude caused Ulrik to think of them back in a time when they were still friends.

  He missed those days. And he hated that he felt that way.

  Con was the enemy. But so was Mikkel. And the enemy of his enemy was his friend.

  For now.

  Ulrik kicked aside his shredded clothes. “Talk to Eilish first.”