Smoldering Hunger

by Donna Grant

  She knew Con would be delighted if she never showed her face again. Rhi looked at the four Dragon Kings in the room. She knew without a doubt she could count on Rhys for anything.

  The rest of the Dragon Kings she wasn’t so sure about. Yes, she’d helped Kellan, Tristan, Kiril, Laith, Warrick, and Thorn, but would they ever help her if the situations were reversed?

  Rhi leaned back against the wall and turned her head to where her watcher stood not five feet from her. No matter where she traveled, veiled or not, he was able to find her. What did he think of what he was hearing?

  Why did she even care?

  “Rhi is struggling,” Darius said. “Hell, we all are right now.”

  Kiril nodded slowly. “And it’s only going to get worse.”

  “How are your mates holding up?” Con asked Rhys and Kiril.

  Kiril exchanged a glance with Rhys. “Shara is Fae. She’s more than fine. She’s concerned and worried, but she’s good.”

  “You know Lily,” Rhys said with a smile.

  Rhi felt her heart clench. To see such devotion in Rhys’s gaze when he spoke of his love. How Rhi missed having that kind of connection to someone, both physically and emotionally.

  “She’s been through so much already,” Rhys continued. “She’ll weather this as she has everything else.”

  Con gave a nod. “Good. I’d like to know the moment any of the mates become restless or upset.”

  “Why?” Kiril asked.

  Darius kept his gaze on the ground because he knew about the exchange between Con and Ulrik regarding the mates. Rhi wasn’t going to be the one to tell the Kings what could happen to their mates. Ulrik was correct in that Con should’ve told them, but Con hadn’t.

  Why? It would’ve been a good argument to prevent the Kings from taking mates. Then again, there wasn’t much Con did that Rhi did understand. He was an enigma, and she’d learned long ago that he followed no one’s rules but his own.

  “Things could get bad for all of us,” Con said. “The mates are used to being safe on Dreagan. That may no’ be the case for much longer.”

  “What are you no’ telling us?” Rhys demanded.

  “We need to keep focused on Ulrik and Sophie,” Con said. “We can discuss this later.”

  Rhi could see Darius felt something profound for Sophie. He wanted to protect her as all Kings did, but there was something more going on. She’d seen it herself earlier when she came upon Con watching them together.

  That was the same type of crazy, primal magnetism that wouldn’t be denied.

  Rhi had once felt that same kind of lure. She ached to feel it once more.

  Something touched her hair. She stilled as she realized her watcher had come near. It was as close as he had been to her—that she knew of. She could reach out and punch him in the stomach if she wanted, but she didn’t.

  It felt … nice … to have him there. Maybe he had become a sort of comfort since he was always around. He saw everything, heard every word. The only thing he didn’t know was what was in her head, and even that she wasn’t sure she kept from him.

  The only other person who had ever been this close to her was her lover. She physically ached at not having that closeness.

  She missed his scent.

  She missed his arms around her.

  She missed being wanted and touched.

  She missed holding hands and cuddling.

  She missed sharing meals and laughter and memories.

  She missed the secret smiles only two people who have been intimate share.

  She missed him, yearned for him and their love.

  Rhi pulled herself out of her thoughts and realized she’d missed much of the conversation where Darius spoke of Sophie’s routine.

  For another half hour the four of them bandied around ideas about Ulrik and how they could get ahead of him. The problem with all of their plans was that it involved not allowing the humans to know of them.

  That’s where Ulrik continued to stay ahead. He didn’t care who discovered he was a Dragon King. Since he wasn’t concerned about keeping such a drastic secret, that gave him an advantage no one at Dreagan had. With that kind of lead, there was nothing the Kings could do to outmaneuver him.

  Rhi would have to tell Rhys that later. He would listen to her and take it to Con. Not that the Kings would do anything with that information.

  Darius, Kiril, and Rhys remained and ordered room service as they opened another bottle of Dreagan whisky and continued their talk of Ulrik. Con rose and walked from the room.

  Rhi followed him past the grand piano, the dining table that could seat twelve, another living area, and into one of the three bedrooms.

  Since Con had taken this one, it was obviously the master. The sheer size of it was impressive, including the large bed covered in an off-white comforter with navy accents around the room.

  Con continued past the bed to the double doors that led out onto a balcony. Curious, Rhi followed him, surprised at how large the balcony was.

  He leaned upon the iron railing instead of taking one of the many chairs. For several seconds he stared out over the city with his hands clasped together.

  Then he said, “You can show yourself any time now.”

  Rhi looked to her right where her watcher stood. She knew Con didn’t know of him, but she also didn’t want Con to discover someone else had been listening to their conversation.

  She unveiled herself and stepped out onto the balcony. He didn’t so much as look her way. Rhi sank into one of the chairs and surveyed him.

  Con looked relaxed on the outside, but she imagined inside he was anything but. He’d learned to master his emotions. That threw many people off because they assumed his reactions reflected what he was thinking. That was never the case when it came to Con.

  So she wasn’t surprised when his voice, laced with cold anger said, “I’m tired of you spying on me.”

  “I wasn’t here for you.”

  His head slowly swiveled to her. “Rhys is well settled now.”

  “You always think you know what I’m doing. How many times do we have to go through this before you realize you know nothing?”

  In the next instant he was yanking her out of the chair, his forearm pressed to her throat as he pinned her against the wall.

  Rhi smiled after her initial surprise at his sudden movement. Con usually had words for her. This was the first time he’d gotten physical, which proved how on edge he was. “What are you afraid of?”

  “You betraying us. Rhys sings your praises constantly,” he said as his face neared hers. “He can no’ see that you doona have the same loyalties as before.”

  She raised her chin, defying him with her eyes. “You’re wrong.”

  “Then tell me the truth, Rhi. Why did you come when Ulrik called? He nearly killed you.”

  “I did tell you the truth. You know I can’t lie,” she said as he pressed his arm harder against her throat.

  His lips peeled back in a grin. “Do I? Perhaps you learned to control the pain enough to be able to lie.”

  “I didn’t,” she said and shoved him away from her.

  His gaze drifted down her body for an instant before he looked back at her. “Now this?”

  Rhi looked at her hands to see them glowing. Con always had a way of making her so angry that she lost control. She closed the distance between them and placed her hand on his chest.

  She let the power of her magic that made her glow flow from her palm into her hand and through his chest. His jaw tightened as her glowing increased, but he didn’t back away.

  The chairs around her began to rattle on the concrete, reminding Rhi she was in the middle of a city. She had to pull herself together or she could kill many mortals.

  She gave him a hard shove with her magic before she dropped her hand. The glowing subsided as she got control of her fury. She looked Con up and down.

  “I went to the meeting because Ulrik asked. I went because of the friends I
have at Dreagan. I went because I wanted to be there. I went to do your stupid ass a favor. Next time I’ll decline.”

  She started to turn away when his hand wrapped around her arm to hold her. Rhi looked down at his fingers, then at his face.

  “I doona trust you.”

  “You never have,” she responded coolly. “This is nothing new.”

  He yanked her close so that their faces were inches apart. “If you betray us, there’s nowhere you can hide where I won’t find you. And kill you.”

  She smiled, briefly debating putting her lips to his and seeing his reaction. Right before she teleported away, she said, “Kiss my grits.”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  Sophie made her rounds, taking her time to talk to patients and looking over charts. Being back at the hospital gave her a sense of belonging as it always did.

  Then she thought of Darius and how, with him, she also felt as if she belonged, as if she was with the other half of herself.

  She kept her mind occupied with patients, medicine, and anything else that would keep her from thinking of Darius. Yet he crept into her thoughts at the oddest moments.

  Like while she was writing down instructions on a chart and she thought about his fingers and how his touch was both gentle and commanding.

  Or like when she was rushing into a patient’s room who was screaming in pain and she imagined how calm and collected Darius would be in such a situation.

  Perhaps it was just because she was worried about him. This thing with Ulrik was big. Darius didn’t make light of the situation, but he tried to play it off.

  The video she’d seen of the men and dragons shifting, fighting, and breathing fire proved they were formidable opponents. But Ulrik was also a Dragon King. That’s what made her so anxious.

  Darius said only a Dragon King could kill a Dragon King. And Ulrik was after her to get to Darius. Did he want to kill Darius for his revenge?

  The idea of Darius being slain made her stomach roll viciously. She hadn’t wanted to believe his tale of dragons and immortality, but she found herself doing just that—accepting and acknowledging all of it.

  How much her thinking had changed since meeting Darius was evident in everything she did. She smiled more. She even thought of the future again, allowing those dreams to return once more.

  Sophie walked into her office and shut the door. The happiness she sought was on hold though. Because of Ulrik and the Dark Fae. She sat at her computer and did a search on the Fae first.

  The plethora of links about the Fae boggled her mind. It would take her years to go through each one, trying to sort out all of it.

  She then searched red-eyed Fae. Pictures of the men and women she’d seen when the city had been burning filled the screen. All were uploaded from mobile devices to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and the like.

  As she scrolled through them, she was shocked to see how many people were with the Dark. Sophie didn’t want to think how many of those people were now dead.

  The deaths leading up to Halloween had been in the papers and on the telly. Not even Sophie could keep from learning about them, but she hadn’t paid much attention to the reports.

  She went through them now, reading every account she could find. Sophie was shocked at the number of deaths. It was luck—and her stubbornness to shut out the world—that kept her away from the Dark.

  It was a wake-up call for sure. She needed to know what was going on in the world, and she needed to be a part of it as well. Otherwise, why was she even there?

  For a long while Sophie stared at the computer, wondering at the providence that kept her safe from the Dark.

  After a moment, she did another search—this one for Dragon Kings. Various things popped up from movies to books and even comics, but nothing on the actual men. Then she searched Dreagan.

  Links to the video popped up, and then immediately disappeared, as if someone were deleting them as fast as they showed up. Sophie imagined it was someone at Dreagan working to keep their secret.

  She spent a few minutes learning what she could about Dreagan. Since she wasn’t a whisky drinker, she didn’t know much about it. The only thing she knew was that it was the Scotch everyone wanted. It was quite a boon when a restaurant was granted the ability to serve it.

  Sophie read about the beginnings of the distillery. The website stated it began in the fifteenth century and continued ever since, production never stopping. Over six hundred years of distilling. It was impressive.

  She sat back as she finished reading the Dreagan website. Her mind wandered to the people there. Darius hadn’t told her how many Kings lived there, but she imagined it was quite a few.

  And women? Had any of the others taken mates? Surely they had. If any of them looked as handsome as Darius, then they wouldn’t be alone for long. After all, Lexi had Thorn, who was almost as gorgeous as Darius.

  As she let her mind wonder about the Dragon Kings and all they’d endured, an image of Ulrik filled her mind. Darius had said nothing about a surname, but Ulrik had given her one.

  Sophie sat up and quickly typed the name Ulrik Dunn into the search engine. A row of pictures popped up, but none of them were the Ulrik she knew. She narrowed down the search to Scotland, but that didn’t help at all.

  No matter how hard she dug, she could find nothing on Ulrik Dunn.

  Obviously the surname Ulrik had given her was fake. Despite the fact he was forced to remain as a human, he was hiding just as effectively as those on Dreagan.

  Sophie leaned back in her chair and wondered where Darius was and what he was doing. She prayed he was safe. Dragon or not, he could still be hurt.

  “I’m no’ a good man.”

  She pondered those words he’d first given her, because he’d shown her he was definitely a good man. Time and again he’d demonstrated.

  He might not believe he was good, but then it was up to her to show him that he was. It would mean Sophie was putting herself in the middle of a war—a war she was involved in now.

  There was a knock on the office door and then Claire poked her head in. “Hey. You all right?”

  “Just taking a few minutes to myself. What is it?”

  “That man is back,” Claire said, a hint of fear in her eyes.

  Sophie’s gut clenched. Ulrik was there. Now. “Tell him I’m busy.”

  Claire glanced over her shoulder before she stepped into the office. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can,” Claire stated with a hard look. “You’re mixed up with something, and I’m worried.”

  “Not by choice.” Sophie pressed her hand to her forehead for a moment. Then she rose and walked around her desk. “Ulrik is an enemy of Darius.”

  “Your new lover,” Claire said to clarify.

  Sophie nodded. “Ulrik tried to use me against Darius.”

  “What the hell are you involved in, Soph?”

  She shrugged, not willing to say more.

  “We should call the police.”

  “Darius is taking care of it.” The last thing Sophie could allow to happen was for Claire to contact the authorities.

  Claire snorted. “That’s not enough.”

  “You have to trust me, Claire. This is for the best.”

  “Nothing good ever comes from those kinds of decisions. You don’t trust anyone, and you’re putting your life in Darius’s hands?”

  “I am.”

  Claire’s eyes widened. “My God. You actually have.”

  Sophie glanced away from her friend. “Surprising, I know.”

  “I’d love to be happy for you, but I’m more concerned with this threat from Ulrik.”

  “As long as I stay away from Ulrik, he can’t get to me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Claire asked, hurt filling her brown eyes.

  “When you came to my flat, Darius was there. Ulrik’s men w
ere watching my place, and we didn’t want to put you in a position where they might question you.”

  Claire crossed her arms over her chest and nodded. “All right. That makes sense. But Darius isn’t here now. What do we do?”

  “I stay clear of Ulrik until Darius returns to take me back to my flat.”

  “Then I’ll get rid of Ulrik and make sure the other nurses know as well.”

  Sophie walked to her and took her hand. “Thank you, Claire. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”

  “I want to meet the man who’s made you change so and give him a hug,” Claire said with a wink.

  As Claire started to leave, Sophie stopped her. “Be careful of Ulrik. He’s dangerous, Claire.”

  “So I guess I can cross him off the Potential Date List,” she said with a wry look. “Are there any good men out there?”

  Sophie knew that in fact, there were. “Yes.”

  Claire chuckled. “Let’s get rid of Mr. Good-looking-but-dangerous, and then you’re going to tell me all about Darius and Ulrik.”

  Sophie didn’t have time to respond before Claire was gone. She locked her office door and returned to her desk. With renewed spirit, she began another search for Ulrik in Edinburgh.

  The list that came up was long, but nothing came of it. She then looked through pictures. Again, nothing.

  Sophie expanded her search to other large cities in Scotland. Ulrik was a man of money. He had to have holdings somewhere. He didn’t seem the type to hide away in some small town. He’d be close to a city somewhere. He was also a Highlander, which meant he spent most of his time in Scotland.

  It was on her sixth try when she typed in Perth along with Ulrik’s name that she saw a listing for an antiques store called The Silver Dragon. She knew she’d found what she was looking for then.

  Sophie dug more into the antiques store and discovered it had been around for several decades, passed through a family, though she was never able to locate the surname of the family.

  After another half hour of searching for more, she finally gave up. Ulrik went to a tremendous amount of trouble to conceal anything pertinent about himself.

  She pushed away from her desk and stood. Sophie was walking to the door when her mobile phone rang. Taking it from her pocket of her white coat, she saw it was a message from Ulrik.