by Donna Grant
“Duke heard something and took off,” Cassie explained, her eyes bright as she looked at him.
“Aye, I found him wandering a little bit ago. I was just about to bring him home.”
There was so much more Hal wanted to tell her, like how much he hated to leave her sleeping. How he’d have given anything to stay with her. How he longed to tell her every secret.
And how he wanted nothing more than to be with her forever.
He knew Cassie felt something for him. It was in the way she looked at him and in the way she gave herself to him the night before.
She hated the secrets, he knew, but she’d accepted them to be with him. If he asked, she’d continue on that way. But it wasn’t what he wanted.
How could they have any kind of relationship if she didn’t know who he was, what he was?
Hal never thought to find anyone, especially not after the Kings’ magic ensured he would never feel anything deeper than kindness for any human.
The shock left him reeling. Their magic had prevented him and the other Kings from feeling for millennia. Something had changed. But what?
And how?
“I had to see it,” Guy said, breaking into Hal’s thoughts. “I had to see it with my own eyes.”
Cassie frowned and turned her dark brown gaze to Guy. “What are you talking about?”
“What’s between you and Hal.”
Hal waited for Guy to continue, but his old friend merely gave a slight nod of his head and turned away.
“That’s it?” Cassie asked. “One look and you’re satisfied?”
Guy paused and turned back to them. He stared at Cassie for a long moment before he looked to Hal. “Con is back. He wants to talk to you.”
Hal couldn’t take Cassie to see Constantine yet. He knew Con would want to know what was going on, and Hal was willing to fight to have Cassie.
But how could he ask her to be with him when she had no idea what she was getting involved in? After the betrayal by a human so long ago, none of the others were going to like what Hal wanted.
“As Cassie so bluntly told me, things change,” Guy said. “Maybe something already has that we have no control over.”
“I know something has changed,” Hal stated with a glance at Cassie.
“Then you know what you have to do. I’ll stay with Cassie while you talk to Con.”
Cassie had been looking back and forth between them before she held up a hand and said, “Wait. I have the feeling both of you are talking about me without actually talking about me. If anything involves me, don’t you think I have a right to some say in it.”
Hal grasped Cassie’s arms and smiled down at her as he pulled her to him. “Do you trust me?”
“I do.”
“Then trust me in this. Give me a wee bit longer. Go with Guy while he shows you the distillery. I’ll find you soon.”
“Hal,” she whispered, concern marring her forehead.
He silenced her with a kiss. Her taste was just as sweet, just as tempting as the night before. She wrapped her arms around him, and Hal allowed himself to deepen the kiss for a brief moment before he pulled back.
“Trust me,” he urged her as Guy steered her away.
Hal waited until they were out of sight before he took a deep breath and made his way to the caves. Con had an office in the mansion, but King business was always done in the mountain.
It was no surprise to find Con standing in front of the cage holding the Silvers, his brow furrowed in thought. Constantine’s hair was cut shorter than his, but still left long enough that it curled at the ends.
Con’s black gaze swung to him. “Even across the miles, I felt the disturbance of the Silvers’ moving. Has there been anything since?”
“Nay.” Hal went to stand beside the King of Kings and folded his arms over his chest to wait. There was no need in rushing Con. Whenever his leader wanted to talk about something, he’d broach the subject.
“After so many centuries of nothing. Why now? What could have caused the Silvers to move?” Con walked slowly around the giant cage.
“We were hoping you’d know.”
Con shook his head, the heels of his expensive leather shoes tapping against the stone floor. “It isna Ulrik. We’ve been watching him for too long. We’d have known.”
“Would we?” At Con’s sharp look, Hal said, “We’ve become lax. We could have overlooked something.”
“Ulrik’s power as King was taken from him. I took it. He can no’ even shift into dragon form anymore, much less talk to his Silvers. He was left alone and desolate with only his immortality and memories to get him through eternity.”
“You know why he attacked the humans. He did it because they were killing dragons. Someone had to take a stand, and that someone was Ulrik.”
Con banged his hand against the metal bars of the cage. “He was my friend, too, dammit!”
Hal looked away from Con. “You know I’m right. You know we’ve become lenient. There is other magic in the world, as we’ve known by watching the Druids and Warriors. A Druid could have helped Ulrik.”
“Nay.” Con’s voice was soft after his outburst, barely above a whisper. “No Druid has been near Ulrik, nor has he sought one out. There is something else at work here, something we’re missing.”
“We lived in harmony with the humans for such a short time. It seems like another time when dragons could fly through the skies without anyone becoming frightened. I remember the freedom we had, Con, the joy of being a Dragon King. I long for it once more.”
“I as well.”
“I agreed with Ulrik that we should have fought against the human hunters killing the dragons. Ulrik was only doing what he thought was right.”
Con lifted his black eyes to Hal. “We were made to protect both dragons and humans.”
“But we were dragons before we were ever part human.”
“Your point?”
Hal rubbed a hand over his chin. “I’ve been thinking of Ulrik’s woman.”
“The one who betrayed him? The one who conspired against us?”
“Aye. I know she deserved her fate, but I still remember the look upon Ulrik’s face when he discovered we’d killed her.”
Con swallowed and ran a hand down his face. “It had to be done.”
“Ulrik will never forgive us for that.”
“Hal, you are no’ telling me anything that doesna haunt my thoughts every single day. What is it you want?”
“Your word you willna harm Cassie!” Hal’s breathing was ragged as his chest moved rapidly up and down. He was prepared at that moment to battle Con to the very end if it came to it.
Constantine blew out a harsh breath and pushed away from the cage. “We used our dragon magic. We made sure that we’d never fall victim to a human’s betrayal again.”
“As you just reminded me, we are part of both worlds. It’s been thousands of centuries since dragons roamed the earth. We are part of the human world. I doona know what happened, all I know is that I care—deeply—for Cassie. And I willna let anyone stand in my way of having her.”
“I can see that,” Con said as his black eyes locked on Hal’s. He walked to Hal and crossed his arms over his chest. “She can no’ know of us, of what you are.”
“She has to. I willna have a relationship with her that I can no’ be honest.”
“Then you can no’ have a relationship. Whatever this is between you and Cassie Hunter should never have happened, but now that it has, I place conditions on it.”
Hal took a step away from Con. Con had given in too easily, which wasn’t like him at all. Something was up.
“Hal?” Con asked, his gaze narrowed.
“If you’ve harmed Cassie in any way, I’ll kill you, Con, my King or no’.”
Con blinked, surprise flashing across his face. “You care for the human that much?”
“I do. Apparently I’ve no’ made that clear enough.”
“It’s no’ Cassie
that I’ll be doing anything to, Hal. It’s you. The magic that kept us from feeling must be put into place again. You’ll see clearly once it’s over.”
Hal shook his head in disbelief as Rhys and Banan were suddenly on either side of him. Hal glared at Con. “I may see clearly, as you put it, but you know I’ll always remember this. This is a betrayal, however you want to color it.”
“We can no’ allow a human to betray us again, and in this modern age if the world got wind of what we were, we’d never have a moment’s peace,” Con said. “We’d be hunted, Hal. No’ even this mountain would keep the humans out.”
“You have no idea what peace is. I found it, and it’s being taken from me. It’s a betrayal, Con. One I willna ever forgive,” Hal said, enunciating each word so his King would understand his rage.
Con’s face blazed with anger as he leaned in close to Hal. “Do you honestly think you’re in love with this human? You know nothing about her.”
“I know more than you,” Hal said with a tight smile. “I doona know if what I’m feeling is love or no’, but I know its powerful, and I doona want to live without Cassie.”
“So you feel something, it’s no’ love. This is a reaction to feeling after so long with nothing, with the first woman you came across.”
Hal didn’t want to consider Con’s words, but they brought him up short. Was Con right? Was this not really a deep caring as he imagined, but something as simple as the magic wearing off and him falling for the first woman in his path?
“You know I’m right.”
Hal snorted. “You’re no’ right. You could have a point, but that doesna make you right.”
“Then let’s see. Allow me to use my magic to set things right. If your feelings are as deep as you think, you’ll still feel something for your human.”
Hal hesitated, unsure of taking the chance of losing what he felt for Cassie.
“Look around you,” Con said. “Would you put what we’ve built, thousands upon thousands of years of time, on the whim that you might care about a human? Would you be Ulrik and bring about another war?”
“Cassie wouldna betray me!” Hal bellowed, and stood nose to nose with Con.
“Hal,” Rhys said. “Listen to Con.”
Banan touched his shoulder. “We lost Ulrik. I wouldna lose you as well. Not over a woman.”
Hal squeezed his eyes closed and took a step back from Con. These men were his brethren, his family, the last of his kind. He couldn’t ignore their wishes, but how could he cast aside his need for Cassie?
“Let Con do his magic,” Rhys urged in a soft voice. “Cassie deserves better than a life of lies and secrets. Let her find a man who can give her children, a man she can grow old with.”
Hal fisted his hands at his sides. He knew Rhys was right, but it hurt to even think of giving Cassie up. But he couldn’t give her children, and if he couldn’t tell her who he was, he couldn’t make her his mate, which meant she would die.
While he never aged.
That was no kind of life for her. She was vibrant and alive, full of hope and love. She longed for family. It was one of the reasons she came here, to be near her brother.
“All right,” he choked out, hardly able to stand the words.
He was selfish in not wanting to give Cassie up, but he had to think of her and not himself. Con’s magic would make right what had gone wrong, he would forget Cassie, and she could continue with her life.
Hal’s eyes flew open and he turned to Rhys. “Tell Guy to erase Cassie’s memories of me. I doona want her to suffer. Make sure she can no’ remember anything, no’ one single moment with me.”
“I’ll see it done,” Rhys said.
Hal looked at Con. “Get on with it.”
With a nod, Con turned on his heel and started through one cavern after another. They followed, silent. Each step was like a knife to Hal’s heart. He couldn’t get Cassie’s image out of his head, couldn’t forget the taste of her sweet kisses.
Couldn’t forget how she had made him feel after eons of nothing.
“Our magic has never failed before,” Banan said when they reached the small cavern.
Con looked to each of them before his gaze returned to Hal. “Mankind’s safety is our concern.”
“How can you care about their safety when you blame them for what we’ve had to become?” Hal asked with a sneer. “You can barely look at them sometimes because of the betrayal. You can no’ loath them and want to protect them at the same time.”
Con rolled up the sleeves to his pristine white button-down and shrugged. “We were created to keep the peace. When Ulrik decided to start a war, we then had no choice but to protect both dragons and humans. As long as Ulrik is alive, he’ll always be a threat.”
“We are bound to a world without dragons,” Hal said. “I’m King to nothing because of treachery by a human. Eternity stretches endlessly in front of me. We were no’ meant to be alone, Con.”
“Then the humans shouldna have betrayed Ulrik.”
Hal closed his eyes and tuned out Con as his King began to draw in his magic. Hal thought of Cassie and how her smile could melt his heart. How her laughter made his days brighter, and her voice made his balls tighten with need.
He didn’t know what love was, but he was sure if he hadn’t already fallen for Cassie, he would have very soon. Her touch sent his body blazing with yearning, and her kisses left him hungering for more.
It was as if she had been created just for him. She completed him in every way, and no matter how he fought against it, he’d been moved by her. First by her beauty, and then by Cassie herself.
Love. Was that what swelled his heart when he saw Cassie? Was that what made him want to touch her all the time, to hold her in his arms and feel her softness and her warmth?
Was that what made his chest heavy each time he had to leave her?
Dimly, Hal realized Con’s voice had ceased, as had his magic. Hal opened his eyes to find Con, Rhys, and Banan staring at him.
“Why did you stop?” Hal asked Con.
Con cocked his head. “I didna stop.”
“Then why do I still have feelings for Cassie?” Hal could hardly believe it. She was there, every touch, every word, every kiss. The desire, the longing hadn’t been squelched.
“I doona understand,” Con said as he frowned. “My magic should have worked.”
It was true. Con was King of Kings because his magic was the greatest out of all of them. For his magic not to have worked seemed too good to believe.
Hal looked at his hands and then up at Con. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Con said wryly from beside him. “Apparently.”
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Cassie tried to appear interested in all that Guy was telling her, but her mind was on Hal. She had a bad feeling about him going to see Con, whoever the hell that was.
“This is where we add in the…”
She looked at Guy when he paused to find him with his hand against the outside of the building and his face etched with an expression that could only be called euphoric.
“Guy?”
He opened his eyes, and the small smile upon his face faded as he caught sight of her.
“What is it?” she asked. “What just happened?”
“I’m so sorry, Cassie,” Guy mumbled before he turned his face away.
The lump growing in Cassie’s stomach plummeted to her feet. She knew in her heart that she had lost Hal. There was no explanation, just a certainty that made her want to drop, to curl up in a ball, and cry.
* * *
“Your magic didna work,” Hal said.
A muscle in Con’s jaw leapt. “I know.”
Elation filled Hal, but he held it in check. He had won a small skirmish, but the battle was just about to begin. “That means what I feel for her isna just some passing emotion for the first human I came across. It means what I feel is real.”
“Oh, shite,” Rhys mutt
ered from behind him.
Hal couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at his lips. “It means I love her. You know as well as I, Con, that nothing else could stop your magic.”
“Love shouldna have stopped it either,” his King ground out. Con raked a hand through his blond hair. “It worked before. It should have worked now.”
“I love her,” Hal said again. “Which means Cassie isna going anywhere. She’s going to be a part of my life.”
Con’s black eyes pinned him with a harsh stare. “You might have proved your feelings for the human, but she has yet to prove them for you.”
Hal refused to allow his trepidation to show. Cassie was strong, but was she strong enough to learn he was a Dragon King? “I’ll tell her everything, in time. She can prove herself in the meantime.”
“Nay,” Con said, his voice deep and final.
Hal closed the distance between them and got in Con’s face. “She’s mine. Nothing—and no one—will stand in the way of that.”
“We’ll see. I’ll be telling Cassie everything. Today.”
Hal felt the rage build into a frenzy, knowing Con would do everything he could to scare Cassie off. “Hell no.”
“I’m your King.”
“In this, I doona care,” Hal said, refusing to back down as he should have. “If anyone is to tell Cassie, it’s me. It’s my right.”
Con peeled back his lips. “I’m trying to protect you, you fool.”
Hal stood his ground, waiting, ready for the battle he knew was coming.
“Stand down, Hal,” Con threatened, his eyes beginning to brighten with his power.
“Relent and I will.”
“Never.”
It was all Hal needed to hear. He tackled Con, his arms wrapped around Con’s waist as he propelled him backwards and into the wall.
The sound of Con’s breath leaving his lungs in a whoosh brought a grin of satisfaction to Hal’s lips. In the next instant, he was flat on his back. He blinked to find Con leaping toward him, a battle cry bellowing from his lips.
Hal rolled away and came to his feet before Con’s fist could land upon his chest. In that brief second, Hal kicked out, his foot connecting with Con’s chin.