by Donna Grant
He wanted to know who Iris really was—including her real name. Mostly, because he didn’t like being lied to for any reason. But...he liked the idea of having a friend. If she were Fae, he wouldn’t tell her any secrets of the Dragon Kings, but sometimes talking didn’t mean secrets were involved. Sometimes, it just meant knowing that someone was there for you.
He’d had that in his life. Twice. Once with Ulrik. And then with…
Not that the other Kings weren’t his friends. They were, but the only one who truly knew what was going on was Kellan since he was the Keeper of History. Since Kellan held so many secrets from all the Kings, Con didn’t want to add to that. That was why it was easier to just keep everything to himself and his journal.
“Sometimes your sadness swallows you.”
His gaze snapped to Iris.
She watched him. “It eats away at you. And now, it’s threatening to envelop you. Who are you thinking about to bring on such desolation?”
“I’m thinking of the past.”
“Aye. But one person in particular.”
He shook his head, not wanting to talk about it. “Shall we walk some more?”
“Is that what you do to dispel the memories?”
“Nay,” he said as they walked side by side. “They’re always there. I simply refuse to let them out.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat. “But they come out anyway. When you sleep.”
That’s exactly what happened, which was why he rarely slept.
And never fell into dragon sleep.
If he did, the pain he kept at bay would engulf him. If that happened, he wasn’t sure he’d ever come back from it. He’d learned to mask his feelings, and it helped him get through many hardships. Because if he gave in, if he allowed himself to feel even a little, then he’d be swarmed by a tidal wave of emotions.
The repercussions of that weren’t something he even wanted to think about.
“Have you ever been in love?” he asked.
Iris acted as though the question didn’t bother her, but Con saw the rapid beat of her pulse at her throat. She didn’t even look his way, just kept walking.
Finally, after another few minutes, she said, “Love is dangerous.”
“I can no’ deny that, but you didna answer my question, lass.”
Her gaze took on a faraway look. “Love isn’t really an option for me.”
“Again, you didna answer.”
She sighed softly. Then, in the softest whisper, she said, “Aye.”
“What happened?”
Iris’s feet halted, but she still didn’t look his way. “I may not be able to control my heart or the feelings stirred within it, but I can make certain I don’t act on it.”
“So the person doesna know.” Somehow, he’d expected Iris to be the kind of woman who would slay anything and anyone who got between her and love.
“They do not. Nor will they ever.”
“Can I ask why?” Con pressed.
Her lips pressed together before her lavender eyes swung to him. “Love isn’t something I can have.”
“Why no’?”
She faced him and quirked a brow, her gaze harsh. “How about you, Con? Have you loved? I can see that you have. Deeply. Where is she?”
“Far enough away that I can never have her.” When Iris kept staring at him, he blew out a breath. “Because love isna something I can have. Point taken.”
Iris licked her lips and briefly looked at the ground. “We both have our reasons for keeping our hearts locked away. Others wouldn’t understand or accept our motives, but then again, they aren’t in our positions, are they?”
“Nay,” he replied in a whisper.
She suddenly issued a soft chuckle. “Time is a funny thing. It sometimes feels as if we have too much of it. Then on other occasions, there is never enough.”
He knew without having to ask that she was leaving. And that made him very sad. “Will you come again?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
“I look forward to it.”
She put her hand on his arm. “Don’t give up on hope, and remember, the Dragon Kings control their own destinies.”
He watched her walk away. After she was about twenty feet away, he said, “I’ll always be here if you need to talk.”
Iris turned to him and smiled. “Until next time, King of Kings.” Then she disappeared.
Con shook his head with a smile. A Fae. Just as he’d suspected.
He stared at the spot for several minutes, then walked from the Dragonwood and shifted. He spread his wings and took to the skies, Iris’s words running through his mind.
When dawn broke, he returned to Dreagan Mountain. He shifted to his human form and dressed, lovingly folding the tartan into pleats before lying on top of the material to put it on.
He made his way to his office, intending to make another journal entry and drawing of Iris. As he entered the chamber, he saw a leather pouch on the desk with a folded piece of parchment leaning against it.
Con lifted the letter and looked at the wax seal. He’d never seen such a symbol before. It was a circled triskelion inside a triangle. He cracked the wax and unfolded the parchment.
Constantine –
I wish we had more time, but what little I got to spend with you is something I’ll treasure forever. It’s always time that seems to rule us in one way or another. Don’t let it govern you.
While there is much I didn’t tell you, please understand that it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I sincerely hope that we will be friends because I think we both need one. I planned our meeting for some weeks. I wish I had given this to you in person, but I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to do it this way.
Time can be a friend as well as an enemy. My gift will let you move about as you wish.
Hold onto hope with all that you are.
Your friend,
Iris
Con read the letter twice more before he gently set it down and pulled his chair out, his gaze landed on the leather pouch. He sat and placed his hands on either side of the gift, staring at it.
His curiosity finally won, and he reached for it. He was mildly surprised at its weight. After unwrapping the leather around it, he tugged the opening wide and peered inside.
Slowly, he dipped his hand into the bag and wrapped his fingers around the round, metal object. He brought it out and stared at the gold pocket watch. On the cover, engraved into the metal, were two dragon heads, facing away from each other.
The body of the watch had beautiful Celtic knotwork wound around it. The back had a small flower etched into the center. An iris. He smiled as he ran his thumb over it.
Con turned the watch back over and pressed the latch to open it. His lips parted at the beauty before him. It wasn’t a typical timepiece of the mortals. It was one crafted just for him.
The inside was made of onyx with a portion opened to see the gold gears turning. There was a tiny gold dragon at the top. He watched the movement of the gears for several moments before he realized what it was tuned to—magic.
With a smile, he set the watch aside, leaving it open to look at it. Then he reached for his journal. For the next forty minutes, he meticulously drew Iris as he’d first seen her standing by the stream after she removed the head covering.
The 21st of April,
human year 1746
After all this time, I should be prepared for surprises. And yet, oddly, I never am. I suppose I get stuck in the daily life we now lead as humans. Then, every so often, something special happens.
Today, it came in the form of a Fae named Iris. It’s not her real name, but that doesn’t matter. It should, I know it should, and it might later, but right now, it doesn’t. She came when I needed a friend the most. And it seems she needed one, as well.
She spoke of hope and time. Two things I don’t think about often. Time will move as it always has. And hope, well, I’ve not had any in q
uite some time. Iris has made me rethink a few things.
Specifically, she brought up something I’ve long worried about—humans wanting to invade Dreagan. Our magic has kept them out this long, but the more of them there are, the more they’ll want to know about our home.
Iris suggested that we decide how that will happen. She’s right. It’s something we should’ve been preparing for starting many years ago, but it isn’t too late. We need something that will put us front and center in their world while allowing us to continue hiding.
Con picked up the pocket watch and closed it, rubbing his thumb over the double dragon etching. He set it down and went back to his journal.
Whatever we decide on, it’s going to have to be perfect. Otherwise, I don’t know what will become of us. What I do know is that for the first time in days months years I’m actually looking forward to something. We need a plan. That’s something I can focus on, but most importantly, it’s something that I can make right for us.
I’m not sure when I’ll see Iris again. I hope it’s sooner rather than later. I’d like to thank her for the gift. As well as figure out her cryptic message about it allowing me to move about as I want. However, I also wish to talk to her again. It was a pleasant time. I can see the loneliness within her, but I believe that’s because I have it myself.
I’ve been leery of the Light Fae for some time, especially since the queen, Usaeil, continues to want to befriend me. I’m unsure of her motives. I’ll continue to be cautious with her, but perhaps I should strengthen the alliance between the dragons and Light Fae. I might then be able to find out about Iris.
I will add that I don’t think Iris is Dark Fae. I could be wrong. But I really hope I’m not.
Constantine, the King of Golds
King of Dragon Kings
Con closed the journal and put the pocket watch in his sporran. As he rose to his feet, he glanced at the sideboard where bottles of wine sat. It was too bad Scotland didn’t have its own kind of liquor, something that would be distinctly theirs.
He stilled as he thought about the experiment some of the Dragon Kings had been conducting over the last several decades. Con strode from his office and out the manor to a building where others had been distilling whisky for over two hundred years.
Varek and Merrill gave a nod when they saw him.
“Con,” Merrill said.
He strode to the large vat they had built and stood before it with his arms crossed. “How is this coming?”
Varek shrugged, grinning. “Pretty good.”
Con peered into the container. He knew from his own tastings of their attempts that it was good. Really good.
Merrill rose from his stool and motioned to a stack of casks. “We discovered that the longer we leave the whisky in the barrels, the better it tastes.”
Varek snorted. “That’s because Keltan forgot about a couple of barrels that we had when we began this. He opened one accidentally, and it was so good, we finished it off ourselves.”
The more they talked, the more a plan began to form in Con’s mind. Then he tasted the liquor. He had three more glasses, each time, more of his idea sliding into place.
Con grinned and held up his now empty glass. “Tell me you’ve perfected the recipe.”
“Aye,” they replied in unison.
“Good,” Con said. “Because this is going to be how we live among the humans.”
Varek frowned. “Is that a good idea?”
“We’ll have to eventually,” Merrill said. His gaze shifted to Con. “I like this. What are we going to call our whisky?”
Con thought of the pocket watch and the design. “Dreagan.”
“Gaelic for dragon,” Varek said with a smile. “The mortals willna realize what we’re hiding.”
“And our logo will be a double dragon head,” Con declared. “Get things moving, my friends, to make more of this. I’ll tell the others. I doona want to be the first to sell because of the attention that would shine on us, but we will be the best.”
Con left the building, his steps lighter than they had been in a very long time. He had a plan thanks to Iris. And it was going to be the very thing that gave them everything they needed to live amongst the humans.
Death
Erith smiled as she strolled among her flowers. As she meandered through the heady scents, her clothes faded to be replaced by a black gown with a full skirt that fell into a train behind her. Her realm was to her what the Dragonwood was to Con. But she couldn’t remain for long. There was work to be done.
She walked to the white tower that was her home and took her place in a chamber. When she was with Con, she could be Erith, but back on her realm, she was Death. And it was time for her to be judge and jury to the Fae.
After she’d done her duty, she set the robins out to give Cael her decisions. Cael and the other Reapers would carry out the executions. Except she didn’t want to be alone. Maybe it was her talk with Con, but she didn’t want to be by herself.
Erith couldn’t decide on a location. But there was one who drew her thoughts again and again. It was folly to give into the temptation, but she couldn’t seem to tell her heart no.
Before she knew it, she stood in the area claimed by the Reapers. It was empty, but then again, she had expected that. It was the only reason she had come. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her Reapers. Quite the opposite. They were each fierce warriors, and in many ways, her family.
But to deliver her decisions herself meant that she had to interact with Cael often. So, she used the robins.
She stilled. Someone was behind her. She knew without looking who it was. Cael. The very one she didn’t want to see. But she couldn’t ignore him. She turned to face the Light Fae, meeting his silver eyes.
“Erith,” he said.
The deep, rich timbre of his Irish brogue was enough to make her heart skip a beat. “Cael.”
“I didn’t expect you.”
“I didn’t intend a visit.”
One side of his lips quirked up. “Checking up on me?”
“I don’t doubt your ability to lead. I never have.”
He blinked, the smile gone as he grew serious. “Are you all right?”
“I’m Death. No one worries about me.”
~ ~ ~
Cael blinked, and Erith vanished. He sighed and said, “I do. I always will.”
THANK YOU
Thank you for reading CONSTANTINE: A History Part 2. I hope seeing into the past and discovering how the Dragon Kings began distilling whisky—and getting the symbol—allowed you more insight into Con.
Please read on for an excerpt from DARK ALPHA’S EMBRACE, the second Reaper book. You will find buy links to the entire Dark World at the end.
If you’ve not checked out my new www.MotherOfDragonsBooks.com website, please do. It’s all things dragons and the Dark World. You can find the reading order, characters listed by Dragon Kings, Reapers, Fae, humans, and Druid, places, and things found in each of the series.
Donna Grant
www.DonnaGrant.com
www.MotherofDragonsBooks.com
DARK ALPHA’S EMBRACE
The Reapers Series, Book 2
Edinburgh, Scotland
New Year’s Eve
Kyran stared curiously at the large gray structure of Edinburgh’s Central Library. What was it about such places that called to some mortals? Even the half-Fae Jordyn found it one of the most amazing places in the city.
He didn’t get it.
“Just a building full of books,” Kyran mumbled.
Talin smacked him in the arm as he came to stand beside Kyran. “Don’t knock it. Many of the books on Jordyn’s list are in that place. The more she has, the more information we get.”
“I know.” That didn’t mean he liked it.
Talin turned his silver eyes to him. “What’s the problem?”
Kyran shot him a look. “We’re Fae, Talin. Reapers. We kill those Death chooses. We don’t break into libr
aries and take books. Our skills are being wasted.”
“It’s a change, that’s for sure.” Talin chuckled softly and rubbed his hands together. “I attempted to check out one of the books on Jordyn’s list, but the librarian is fierce. She told me I was asking about a book in the ancient section, as if I was supposed to know what that meant.”
Kyran rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He’d already heard this story four times, and each time the librarian became more and more ferocious. “Aye.”
“When I asked what that was, she looked at me as if I’d grown another head. Then she said, in that uptight tone of hers, ‘You’re Irish.’ As if that makes a difference.”
“I told you to get a human to ask for them.”
With a snort, Talin ran his hands through his long black hair. “We’re getting the books tonight. What difference does it make?”
“Why can’t we just use magic and find them someplace else?”
Talin rolled his eyes. “Did you not listen to Jordyn when she briefed us on this? These books are extremely rare. There is only one edition for each.”
“And some just happen to be in this library?” No, Kyran wasn’t buying it. “Why this place?”
Talin looked around, his hands held out. “We’re in Edinburgh. It’s one of the oldest cities. Where else would these books be?”
“Private owners.”
“Let it go,” Talin said with a shake of his head.
But Kyran didn’t want to let it go. Why did he have to get stuck with the library instead of going to some of the private collectors? He’d much rather do that than sneak around a building.
There was no adventure in it. They’d be in and gone without anything happening.
“The library closed at eight,” Talin said. “It’s after midnight now. We’ll have the books in hand and return to Jordyn in a blink.”