by Donna Grant
“Tell me more.” She looked into Mikkel’s gold eyes. “Tell me the entire story.”
He studied her for a moment before he said, “Lads, wait a moment.”
The four Fae grumbled but the orbs disappeared. She met Sebastian’s gaze, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He looked bored with the Fae, as if they couldn’t hurt him. But she wasn’t so confident.
“You think by having me tell you the story that it will buy Sebastian time,” Mikkel said.
She shrugged and rubbed her head, which still hurt from his pulling of her hair. “You want me to know the details. I’m asking you to tell me. We both win. You told me this planet was yours until the humans came. When was that?”
Mikkel stood and moved to sit on a nearby crate. “The date doesn’t matter. What you should be concerned with is the day everything changed. Con and the other Dragon Kings shifted for the first time in order to speak to the mortals. All of us knew your kind were weaker. They had no magic. So the Kings made a vow to protect the humans out of some misguided charity. Then the Kings gave your race a place to live.”
“That was kind of them.”
He gave a snort. “Perhaps for your people. Not for mine. Your race breeds like rabbits. You take more and more land, destroying it in the process. You think of nothing but making your life easier, uncaring how it is you get those things or what lives might be damaged because of it.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right. But that isn’t all of us,” she argued.
Mikkel raised his brows. “You use electricity, yes? Gas? Petroleum? You drive in cars and boats, fly around in planes. Yes?”
“Yes,” she said with a nod of her head.
“So you’re all the same. While the human population began to grow, more and more land was taken from the dragons. Much to my shock, many of the Dragon Kings built villages on their land for the mortals, even mingling with them. Some, like my nephew, even took them as lovers.”
“That’s how two different races find peace.”
Mikkel gave her a wry look. “While the humans hunted the smaller dragons for food?”
She glanced at Sebastian before she asked, “And did the dragons not eat any humans?”
“A few,” Mikkel conceded. “What you don’t understand is that we’d been ordered by our Kings to leave the humans alone. A couple of large dragons taking a mortal as a snack is much different than the humans hunting and killing smaller dragons.”
“So you got angry and started a war?” she asked.
Mikkel twisted his lips as he looked up. “That I did.”
“Tell her all of it,” Sebastian ordered.
Gianna looked at her lover and said, “You tell me.”
“No,” Mikkel barked and glared at Sebastian. His lip curled in anger. “This is my story.”
She rose to her knees before standing and moving to sit atop a crate. Her body ached from the rough handling, and her finger throbbed from the cut. She kept pressure on it to stop the bleeding. “Fine. You tell the story then,” she told Mikkel.
He looked between her and Sebastian before he said, “Ulrik was a fool. He was just like his father and ruled with kindness and mercy when the dragons needed a firm hand like mine.”
“You mean a cruel hand,” Sebastian said.
Mikkel ignored him and continued. “I wanted to teach Ulrik a lesson. The idiot fell in love with a mortal and wanted to take her as his mate. A human,” Mikkel said in disgust. “Mated to a Dragon King. The thought turned my stomach. But nothing I said reached Ulrik. He didn’t care that his line would die out because no mortal had carried a child to term from a Dragon King. It didn’t make a difference to him. So I befriended his intended, Nala.”
Gianna saw the outrage on Sebastian’s face as friction filled the room.
Mikkel waved his hand. “She was easy to sway. All mortals are. After a few lies, she readily believed anything I needed her to believe. After that, she was willing to do whatever I wanted. So, I ordered her to kill Ulrik on the night of her mating.”
Revulsion filled Gianna. She couldn’t understand how someone could care so little about another’s life or his own family to do something so heinous.
“Your plan didn’t work,” Gianna said.
Mikkel met her gaze. “I knew if she tried, it would result in war. Somehow Con discovered her plan and cornered her with the rest of the Dragon Kings. Sebastian and the others killed her.”
“What he isna telling you,” Sebastian said. “Is that had Nala gone through the mating ceremony, she would’ve been immortal. All mates of Dragon Kings remain alive as long as the Kings do. Then there is the fact that only a Dragon King can kill another Dragon King. Nala wouldna have been able to kill Ulrik, but her betrayal would’ve broken him.”
Mikkel laughed as he got to his feet. “None of that matters. I wanted the Kings to see how troublesome the humans were. I wanted the Kings to rain down dragon fire and wipe the mortals from this earth.” His gaze swung to her. “I didn’t get my wish then, but I will this time.”
Chapter Seventeen
It angered Sebastian that he wasn’t the one telling Gianna the story. The only upside was that he was discovering all the missing pieces, thanks to Mikkel’s confession.
The four Dark Fae standing between him and Gianna were worrisome though. It would be just like Mikkel to turn the Fae on her. Gianna had no magic with which to counter them, leaving her vulnerable.
The one saving grace was that since she’d been in his bed, she would feel no draw to the Fae. Though none of the Kings knew how, once a woman slept with them, those women were immune to all Fae.
“Ulrik isna the same as he was,” Sebastian said into the silence after Mikkel’s statement. “Before, he would’ve forgiven you anything. Now...he’ll kill you.”
Mikkel laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls. “Indeed, he’ll try, but he won’t win. Not even with the Kings as allies.”
Sebastian inwardly shook his head. While Mikkel thought Ulrik had aligned with the Kings, Con believed Ulrik and Mikkel were a team. It was a fine mess they were in, but one he was going to clear up as soon as he got back to Dreagan.
“Ulrik began the first war upon humans,” Mikkel said. “And he’s going to bring about the second.” He looked at Gianna then and smiled. “There was one thing my nephew did right. After he discovered Nala’s murder, he was grief-stricken. That quickly turned to rage against his brethren—and then against the mortals when Con told him how Nala was going to betray him. Ulrik set out that very night and began razing villages to the ground.”
Sebastian scoffed at his words. “Aye, Ulrik was furious. He’d loved Nala. He took her in his home. He protected her and her family. How did you expect he’d feel?”
“I wanted him to remember he was a Dragon King!” Mikkel bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth in his fit of rage. “We doona demean ourselves to take a human as a mate. Fuck them all you want, but only a dragon should be mated to a King.”
“He wasna the only one taking a mortal as a mate,” Sebastian argued.
Mikkel gave a long look to Gianna. “If I was so wrong, why did over half of the Kings side with Ulrik and begin the war?”
“They all came back to Con’s side in the end. We watched enough dragons die.”
“Because you didna let them fight! You told them to guard the mortals, so they allowed themselves to be killed!”
Sebastian swallowed past the painful lump once Mikkel’s words faded. He looked at Gianna to find a deep frown in place, puzzlement filling her green eyes. She didn’t know what to believe. And how could she? He’d kept all of it from her.
“The blood of every dragon that died is on your hands. It’s on the hands of every King.” Mikkel gave a snort, his face contorted with loathing. “Instead of ending the humans as you could’ve, what did you Kings do? You sent the dragons away. As soon as I saw the dragon bridge, I knew I’d rather stay and fight for what was ours than leave.”
&
nbsp; “Do you honestly believe it was easy for us to watch our friends and family cross over the bridge? To know that we may never see them again?” Sebastian asked in disbelief.
Mikkel pointed a finger at Gianna. “As long as mortals roam this realm, the dragons willna be able to return!”
“We know.”
“So you ran and hid on Dreagan,” Mikkel said with a mirthless laugh as he dropped his arm. “You slept away centuries as the stories of dragons faded into myth and legend.”
Sebastian gave a nod. “When we emerged, we were able to live among the morals.”
“Why? What has that gotten you?” he demanded. “You only shift and fly at night or during storms. You hide everything there is about Dreagan, from the dragons to the magic. You’ve forgotten what it is to be a Dragon King.”
“What I have no’ forgotten was my vow to protect the mortals.”
Gold eyes full of hostility and repugnance looked him up and down. “Your first duty was to your clan and the dragons. Fuck the mortals.”
“Your fight is with me,” Sebastian said when he saw the way Mikkel was edging toward Gianna.
Mikkel laughed as he came even with her and lifted a lock of red hair in his hand. “Good luck getting to me.”
With a roar, Sebastian launched himself at the Dark nearest him. His hand sunk into the Fae’s chest and ripped out his heart before he spun to the next. He stumbled backward after being hit simultaneously with orbs of magic. The Dark magic burned through his clothes and skin into his cartilage, muscle, and bone. His body began to heal almost instantly, but nothing could save him from the agony.
As he fought a Dark, one came up behind him and kicked Sebastian in the back of the leg, sending him to his knee. More balls of magic pummeled him, briefly weakening him. The three Fae alternately hit him with their fists and magic. Sebastian let out a bellow as he dropped to his hands. He wanted to shift, he needed to shift. But there wasn’t enough room.
He pushed himself up and got to his feet, gritting his teeth through the agony. He was more than capable of beating the Fae in human form, and he was going to do just that. When he spotted a Dark getting ready to throw another orb at him, Sebastian grabbed the Fae nearest him and used him as a shield.
The Dark screamed as the ball of magic landed on his chest, instantly sinking through his skin and withering the organs. The Fae flailed about before finally dying. Sebastian tossed aside the dead body as he gave a vicious uppercut to a Dark’s chin, sending him flying backward.
He saw the other Fae start to teleport out and quickly grabbed his spinal column, jerking it out. Sebastian threw down what was left of the Fae and turned his gaze to Mikkel, who was watching the scene with interest.
With a glance in Gianna’s direction, Sebastian walked to the Fae lying unconscious from his uppercut. He reached down and punched through the Dark’s chest before yanking out his heart. Then he squeezed the still-beating organ until it burst.
Sebastian straightened, blood flowing down his arm before he flung the heart at Mikkel. “You only brought four Dark? Against a Dragon King?”
“I didn’t bring just the Fae,” Mikkel said.
Sebastian was done playing. “You’ve caused nothing but havoc for the last few years for us. That ends today. Right now.”
“I don’t think so,” Mikkel said with a smile.
The only reason for someone to act so confidently was if they had an ace up their sleeve. One that had become a recent bane to the Dragon Kings. Sebastian could’ve kicked himself for forgetting about the Druid.
He shifted to the side when he heard the sound of heels clicking on the wood floor. His eyes turned toward the door he’d walked through earlier to find a tall woman clad in skintight black pants, a long-sleeved black turtleneck that molded to her body, and over-the-knee stiletto boots.
Her long black hair was slicked back into a high ponytail. She wore no jewelry except for silver finger rings that ended in long, sharp claws on her left hand. She halted, her feet spread as she gazed at him with greenish gold eyes.
“Dragon King,” she said.
He noted her American accent, tinged with just a hint of Irish. “Druid.”
So this was the woman who had enough Druid magic to alter the minds of two women from Dreagan?
Sebastian turned his head to Mikkel. “You speak of the dragons and our power. You talk of how we should’ve wiped the world of the mortals. Where is your power? Where is your desire to fight your own battles? You bring Dark Fae and now a Druid?”
“I’m saving myself for the important battles,” Mikkel said with a cocky smile.
Sebastian gave a snort of laughter. “I doona believe that. You thought I was Ulrik. You had this set up before you knew it was me.”
Mikkel shrugged and moved closer to Gianna. “Ulrik is a hindrance. I should’ve killed him when he was a youngling. Had I known he would become King of the Silvers, I would’ve.”
“And who’s to say you would’ve been King if there had been no Ulrik? You’ve forgotten one crucial component to any dragon becoming Dragon King.”
Mikkel cut him a harsh look. “I know it all too well. The dragon with the most magic and power gets to become King.”
“It’s no’ just the magic and power. It’s who the dragon is, their heart and soul. You’ve coveted what you couldna have. It has turned your heart black and your soul evil. You’d never become a Dragon King.”
“It won’t matter,” Mikkel said. “I’m going to be King of Kings.”
Sebastian looked at the Druid. “Did he promise you wouldna be harmed when he wipes out the mortals? Perhaps none of the Druids would? You do know it’s a lie, aye? Regardless of the magic inside you, you’re the verra thing he loathes—human. You’ll be a reminder of the countless centuries he lost while waiting to rule it all.”
“My business with him is no concern of yours,” the Druid stated.
Sebastian lifted one shoulder in a shrug. He swung his head back to Mikkel to find Gianna staring at him as if she didn’t know him, as if it were all some kind of macabre dream that she was eager to wake from.
“Shift,” Mikkel demanded.
He’d known this was coming from the moment Mikkel began to tell Gianna their story. No doubt he’d threaten Gianna, leaving Sebastian no choice. The fact was, he wanted to shift, craved it as much as he hungered to have Gianna in his arms again. He looked into her green eyes as she stared at him with a frown beginning to form.
“You want to,” Mikkel said. “I can see it on your face.”
He wished the bastard would just shut up. Magic pulsed through Sebastian, throbbing in his palm, as he briefly thought of unleashing it upon Mikkel.
The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge that the Druid would go straight for Gianna. If Mikkel was anything like Ulrik—who was an amazing tactician—then he’d have thought of such events.
Sebastian looked to the Druid to find her standing with her arms crossed over her chest, a bored expression on her face. There was no fear or excitement. It was almost as if she’d seen dragons before. Mikkel, perhaps?
No, he didn’t think Mikkel was able to shift, which meant he must not have all his magic unbound. Yet. It was most likely coming. Who had the Druid seen then? Ulrik? That didn’t sound right either if Ulrik wasn’t working with Mikkel. As much as Sebastian wanted to know, there wasn’t time for him to go through each King to determine who she might’ve seen and when.
“Shift!” Mikkel yelled.
Sebastian had stalled long enough. He removed his boots and shirt before taking off his jeans. He stood there naked, his eyes locked with Gianna. She watched him with confusion, as if she couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening.
Mikkel cackled loudly. “This is my favorite part. This is when the Dragon King gets to see a true reaction. Do you fear it, Sebastian?”
More than he cared to admit, but he wouldn’t let Mikkel, Gianna, or the Druid know that. As Sebastian looked at Gianna, he wis
hed he’d told her something about himself. He’d held back, not because he thought she might scoff at him, but because he feared she might accept him.
If she had, he wouldn’t have been able to leave her. The truth settled in his stomach like a rock. He’d told himself he was protecting her, when in fact he’d been guarding his own heart. Because...he loved her.
He took a deep breath. When he shifted, he’d have one shot. As much as he wanted Mikkel, he was going after the Druid. Without her, Mikkel would be exposed and easily hunted. The Druid was the one more capable of damage than Mikkel, so she was the one who would die first.
With a plan in place, Sebastian shifted. It felt glorious to be in his true form, though he wasn’t able to lift his head as he wanted. A growl rumbled in his chest. If he unfurled his wings, he’d crush the crates around him.
In all of this, he hadn’t taken his gaze off Gianna. Her eyes widened in disbelief when he shifted. She blinked several times, as if trying to take it all in. But she didn’t scream or run away.
Then she stood and took a step toward him.
Chapter Eighteen
This couldn’t possibly be real.
And yet it was.
In big, bold Technicolor.
Gianna couldn’t pull her eyes away from the dragon—from Sebastian. Her breath was coming in great gasps as she looked at him in awe, as well as a dose of panic at something so huge.
Glistening metallic scales the color of gunmetal blue met her gaze. His wide alabaster eyes watched her. There was a thread of panic running through her, but during the time she’d spent with Sebastian, he hadn’t hurt her once. And somehow she knew he wouldn’t now either.
Slowly that panic and fear began to dissipate, and she was able to look at him with a calm mind. She took another halting step toward him. He was so massive she had to crane her neck back to see him. She let her gaze run over him, noting how the color of his scales darkened on random patches of his body. All four limbs had six digits on each foot with extremely long claws. His wings were tucked against him, and she had the crazy urge to ask him to spread them so she could see them in all their glory.