by Donna Grant
Con tried once more to call out to Sebastian. When there was nothing, he then said, “Ryder. Bast isna here. Has he contacted you?”
“No’ a peep,” Ryder replied.
Con turned and looked back through the tunnel he’d walked as well as the hidden doorway. “Me either, and I’ve been trying to get him since I reached Venice. Something is amiss.”
“You think it’s the Druid?”
“It’s a possibility. There were signs of a battle at the building, and I counted at least six Dark that were taken out.”
“Way to go, Bast. I’m doing a facial search of Venice near the building that I sent you to in ord— I got them! Bast and Gianna are headed to our palazzo.”
“Keep him there, and find out why he’s no’ answering me. I’m going to go looking for Ulrik or Mikkel. Or both.”
“You really shouldna do that alone.”
Con cut off the link before Ryder could say more. Before Con left the palazzo, he walked the entire residence and searched each room. There was nothing personal in the house other than clothes, which didn’t tell him who lived there. There was a nagging feeling that kept pushing him to find Sebastian, but Con didn’t want to lose this opportunity to take out Ulrik or Mikkel.
The fact there were two of them irked him. At least he thought there were two. He had yet to hear from Sebastian, but it was better to err on the side of caution after everything that had been happening.
Disappointed in not finding anything to link Ulrik to the palazzo, Con left and began to search the streets for Ulrik—or anyone looking like him. He’d been putting off the inevitable with his old friend, but it was time things came to a head.
He was tired of waiting for Ulrik to make a move, tired of hoping that something, anything might go right for him and the Kings in their war, but that’s not what a King did. Of all people, Con should know that.
He’d stayed his hand once with Ulrik, and it had led them to this moment. Once and for all he was putting sentiment aside and doing what had to be done.
No matter the consequences.
* * * *
Eilish was still battling the effects of the bolts of electricity Sebastian had thrown her way. She hadn’t prepared for that, and that was her fault. It was a mistake she wouldn’t make again with him or any of the other Dragon Kings.
She took a deep breath and settled into the corner of the bedroom amid the shadows as she waited for Sebastian and Gianna to return. The pair fascinated her. Even after everything Gianna had learned about her lover, she still looked at Sebastian as if he were her very world.
Mikkel had been sure Gianna would attempt to run away. What was it that kept Gianna still? What was it that made her walk to Sebastian in dragon form and touch his scales? What was it that made Gianna trust him so implicitly?
As if her thoughts had conjured them, the couple came into the room holding hands. Gianna was smiling as Sebastian told her this was the best place for them to rest. Gianna kicked off her shoes and shrugged out of her ruined coat before taking the pins from her fallen hair. All the while, Sebastian watched her as if he would die if he didn’t.
Eilish almost felt sorry for them. They had no idea what was about to happen. She drew in a breath. His dragon magic had been difficult to get through, but she had managed it. Though it cost her greatly, leaving her drained and lethargic.
Perhaps that was why she remained in the corner observing them for so long instead of doing what she was sent to do. She was taken aback at the way Sebastian caressed Gianna’s red hair as if he were mesmerized by it. And the way Gianna leaned toward him.
But it was the look in the Dragon King’s eyes—a look that was undeniably love, which made her heart catch. That kind of deep emotion alarmed her. She couldn’t imagine ever caring for anyone or anything to such a degree that they would have power over her.
“How long until we go to Dreagan?” Gianna asked.
Sebastian shrugged and jerked out of his shirt. “A few hours. I want to look for Mikkel in the meantime.”
“You won’t find him,” Eilish said as she pushed away from the corner, dropping the magic that had hidden her.
Sebastian whirled toward her, his eyes narrowing in anger. “How the fuck are you here?”
“Magic,” she said and held up her hand, waving her silver-clad fingers.
“That’s no’ possible.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll admit, dragon magic is tough, but I got through it.”
“I intended to kill you back there,” Sebastian said.
He had no idea how close he’d come, and she wasn’t going to tell him. If she hadn’t used her magic at the last second, she might very well be dead. “Perhaps you can try another time.”
“What do you want?” Gianna said. “We’ve done nothing to you.”
“That doesn’t matter in war.” Eilish shrugged as she returned her gaze to the Dragon King. “You’re fighting a battle you can’t win.”
Sebastian gave a loud snort. “Against a Druid? Aye, I can win.”
“Really? You’re a Dragon King, a being who could rule everyone, yet you continue to hide.”
“You think you know me,” he stated with a sneer.
She knew much more than she ever wanted to. “If you shift, you’d have the upper hand with me, but you won’t do it. Mainly because you don’t want to chance humans seeing you or destroying this gorgeous palazzo and drawing attention to yourself. You won’t use magic, because you feel as if you can best me without it. Both are mistakes you’ll live to regret.”
“Thanks for the warning,” he said and opened his mouth, blowing out a breath.
Eilish raised a shield of magic, but she was still weak from before and it did nothing. She bit back a yelp as the lightning hit her again and again. When she fell to her hands and knees, Sebastian halted his attack. It was the very thing he shouldn’t have done.
“A mistake,” she said through gasping breaths. Then she lifted her hand, magic shooting from her palm and slamming into Sebastian. Her magic knocked him unconscious. She quickly did the same with Gianna.
She dropped her head, letting it hang as she battled the pain ripping through her. That damn lightning was vicious, and it would be too soon if she never felt it again. For long minutes she remained in that position, letting her breathing even out.
When she finally lifted her head, she looked to Sebastian. It took a great amount of effort to crawl to him. It was a slow process, and one she knew would be the death of her if she didn’t prepare better before she killed both Ulrik and Con. Then Mikkel.
Once she was beside Sebastian, she looked down at the Dragon King. Her hand was drawn to the dragon tat on his abdomen. She’d seen how the tattoo wrapped around his leg and ended at his foot. There had been a surge of relief that it wasn’t the tattoo she saw in her dreams—the same surge that went through her now.
Her body wanted to shut down and regain its strength, but she fought to remain awake. She put her hand on Sebastian’s forehead. Then she pushed magic into his mind, the spell worded so that anything to do with Mikkel in Venice would be wiped.
As she was finished, a drop of blood landed on the back of her hand. She gazed at it in frustration and anxiety. She needed to finish and soon. She wiped at her nose and turned to Gianna.
Despite what Mikkel demanded, she couldn’t—and wouldn’t—kill Gianna. It was an action she might come to regret, but she wasn’t Mikkel’s assassin.
But there could be others.
Eilish said a quick protection spell over Gianna after also wiping away memories of Mikkel. Then she touched the finger rings together to take her back to Ireland and her sanctuary.
Chapter Twenty
Gianna woke slowly, as if she were clawing her way through thick mist that seemed to continue to tug her back down again and again. She fought through it when a feeling of dread consumed her, something urging her to rouse. She became frantic as she tried repeatedly to wake, not knowing what was pushing
her.
It wasn’t until she finally managed to pry open her eyes that she saw the beamed ceiling. As soon as she did, the previous events slammed into her. She gasped, her heart pounding as she thought of Sebastian. She rolled over and sat up, her gaze locking on him.
“Sebastian.” It was meant to be a scream, but it came out as a hoarse whisper as she put her hand on him.
“He willna wake.”
The sound of the male voice startled her. Gianna jerked her head in the direction of the words and found herself staring into eyes as black as midnight. The man was sitting with his forearms on his knees in a chair on the opposite side of the room.
“I couldna get you to wake either,” he said as he ran a hand through his short, wavy blond hair and leaned back.
She kept her hand on Sebastian’s neck, the feel of his pulse beneath her fingers allowing the band about her heart to ease. “Who are you?”
“Constantine.”
So this was Con. She looked down at Sebastian. “She said she was going to erase all of his memories.”
“She who?” Con asked.
“The Druid.”
The sound of his footsteps approached as he walked to her. “Memories of who?”
Gianna opened her mouth to answer as she looked up at him, but the words wouldn’t come. “I...I can’t remember.”
“Did you meet Mikkel?”
“Mikkel? Who’s that?”
Con muttered something beneath his breath as he turned his head away. He looked back at her. “Forget it. What were Bast’s plans?”
“We were going to Dreagan.”
The answer had come quickly, as if she knew it without question. How could she be so certain of that, but not know what memories the Druid wanted to take away? And how did she remember the Druid?
“Doona think too hard,” Con warned. “The more you try to remember, the more those memories will drift further back in your mind.”
She smoothed Sebastian’s golden brown hair away from his face and attempted to take Con’s advice. “How is it I’m awake and he isn’t? He’s a Dragon King.”
Con let out a loud, resigned sigh. “So you do know of us.”
“Yes.”
He gave a nod and said, “Rhi.”
“Is someone else with you?” Gianna asked, looking around. “Someone who could help with Sebastian?”
“I’m here alone, but I’ve called to someone. There’s nothing wrong with Bast physically. It’s his mind.”
Gianna said, “He has lightning in his breath. Do you have some power that can fix him?”
“I can heal anything, but his mind isna damaged. He’d heal himself otherwise.”
Right. Because she’d seen him heal after... Once more her memories just stopped. She rubbed her eyes. When she next looked at Con, there was a woman of indescribable beauty with black hair and silver eyes standing next to him.
The woman was clad in a white chiffon shirt that tucked into black leather pants. It was the strappy black Christian Louboutin heels that caught Gianna’s eye.
“Nice shoes,” she said before she could stop herself.
The woman looked down at her feet and smiled. “Thanks. You like shoes?”
There was a brief hesitation as Gianna heard the Irish accent. It made her think of the Dark Fae. “Love them.”
“Then we should go shopping sometime.”
Gianna returned her smile. It had been a very long time since she’d had such a friend, and she was more than ready to retake that part of her life. “I’d like that.”
“Really?” Con asked in disbelief as he looked at the woman. He held out his hand toward Sebastian and said, “Can you no’ see we have a wee problem? It’s why I called you here.”
The woman raised a brow as she glared at him. “Of course I can see your ‘wee problem.’ I’m not blind. And it’s not like Sebastian can go anywhere. Besides, you aren’t freaking out.”
“I’m Gianna,” she said, holding her hand out to the woman. “Can you help us?”
The woman came down on her haunches on the other side of Sebastian and shook Gianna’s hand. “I’m Rhi.”
“Light Fae?”
Rhi nodded slowly as she glanced at Sebastian. “I am. What happened?”
“The Druid,” Con said.
With two words, Rhi’s entire attitude changed. Gone was the almost whimsical attitude. In its place was a warrior who was ready to run headfirst into battle. Rhi peered at Gianna intently. “Did she do anything to you?”
Before Gianna could answer, Con said, “When I arrived, both were unconscious. I waited over thirty minutes before Gianna woke. I can no’ get Bast to respond.”
“The Druid took his memories,” Gianna explained.
Rhi and Con exchanged a look.
“How do you know?” Con asked.
Gianna opened her mouth to reply but there was no explanation. “I don’t know why I remember that and nothing else.”
Rhi stood. “Did Sebastian have a run-in with Ulrik and the Druid?”
“Sebastian came to find Mikkel,” Con explained.
Gianna wished she knew who Mikkel was. She had a feeling she was supposed to, but like Con said, every time she tried to force the memories, they retreated further away. She put her hand to her head and rubbed her temple as pain formed. If only she could put a face to the Druid or figure out something, anything instead of feeling so damn helpless.
Rhi held out a hand to her and Gianna took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. She swayed, the room spinning. It was Rhi who steadied her.
“Easy,” Rhi said.
Con frowned as he stared at Gianna. “She just woke.”
“Then there’s a chance Sebastian will soon as well,” Rhi replied.
Gianna pulled her gaze from Sebastian and looked at the two of them. “He was adamant we leave and return to Dreagan.”
Rhi rubbed her hand up and down Gianna’s back. “We will very soon. So you know all about the Dragon Kings and Fae?”
“And Ulrik,” she said.
It was the moan coming from Sebastian that silenced them. Gianna pulled away from Rhi and dropped to her knees beside him. “Sebastian? Can you hear me?”
His hand moved and found hers, his fingers gripping her tightly.
She looked at their hands before raising her gaze to his face. “I’m here. Everything is all right, but you need to wake up. Now.”
“Gianna,” he whispered as his eyes opened and locked with hers.
She smiled, her heart nearly bursting in her chest. “You scared me.”
“You’re no’ hurt?” he asked as his other hand rose up and brushed her cheek.
“She’s fine,” Con said.
Sebastian lowered his arm and turned his head to find Rhi and Con. Gianna watched the three of them stare at each other before Sebastian sat up and raked a hand through his long hair. He grunted, squeezing his eyes shut. “What happened?”
“Do you remember a Druid?” Rhi asked.
Sebastian nodded and opened his eyes. “She was here. Standing right where you are. I thought she was going to kill Gianna.”
“Did you fight her?” Con asked.
Gianna remembered and hurried to say, “He did. With his lightning.”
“And she still bested you?” Rhi asked with a worried frown.
Con crossed his arms over his chest. “How did she get inside the palazzo?”
“Her magic,” Sebastian said as he climbed to his feet.
Gianna stood beside him, their hands still linked. “What about Mikkel?”
Sebastian gave her an odd look. “Who’s that?”
She turned her head to Con and shrugged. “The Druid said she was going to take his memories. Whoever this Mikkel is, maybe that’s what she took.”
“Apparently she took yours as well,” Con said.
Rhi moved her hair over her shoulder. “Looks like we need to find Ulrik. Perhaps he can shed some light on this.”
“I
agree,” Con said. “Can you take those two to Dreagan and meet me back here?”
Rhi was reaching for them. Gianna didn’t know what was happening, but Sebastian seemed fine with it, so she didn’t say anything. Right before Rhi grabbed them, she stilled, her face going white. Con and Sebastian jerked as if struck in the stomach.
“Rhi?” Con asked as he grasped her arm.
The Fae turned her wide, silver gaze to him. “You felt that, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t,” Gianna said. “What happened?”
Sebastian tightened his grip on her hand. “Magic. We felt something powerful move through the realm.”
Gianna wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to Earth being called a realm. “I can guess by your faces that it isn’t good.”
“No,” Rhi said as she put a hand to her stomach.
Con didn’t release his hold of Rhi. “It was Fae.”
The Fae nodded slowly. “I need to see what happened.”
Gianna wasn’t prepared to blink and find herself standing in another room. In the next instant, Rhi was gone. Gianna looked at Sebastian and Con, both had worried looks on their faces.
“Usaeil?” Sebastian asked.
Con shrugged and stalked off. Gianna watched him go, trying to figure out where she belonged in this world of magic, dragons, and Fae.
“Welcome to Dreagan,” Sebastian said.
She blinked and looked at him in surprise. “Truly?”
“The Fae can teleport.”
“But not the Dragon Kings?” she teased.
He gave her a teasing look. “We’re dragons. We can shift. We’ve never had a need to teleport.”
She licked her lips as all humor left her. “I feel like I’m forgetting something really important. Like it’s life and death.”
“Me as well.” He frowned and gave a shake of his head. “But I can no’ figure out what it is.”
“Will we ever remember?”
He brought her hand to his lips. “I can no’ say.”
“What happened with Rhi just a moment ago?”