by Donna Grant
When they first arrived, she had sat in that very spot looking out over the city. It was Christina who had found the flat. Christina had a knack for discovering such places that were always perfect.
If only Lexi had stopped her from leaving the pub the night she died. Lexi had stupidly thought it was her imagination or a trick of the lights when she saw the guy’s eyes change from blue to red.
But a nagging feeling of something dreadful had Lexi running from the pub to find Christina. In the ten minutes it took Lexi to go after her, and another forty-five looking for her, Christina was murdered.
It was by happenstance that Lexi paused on the street, wondering which way to go to look for her friend, when she glanced over her shoulder.
That’s when she saw him. The man Christina had left the pub with walked from an alley with three other men. In the streetlight, she saw that two had black hair while one had blond and another red.
Then, in the blink of an eye, all four had black hair liberally streaked with silver.
She gasped. Lexi remembered that clearly. The shock of it had surprised her so profoundly that she hadn’t had time to realize she made any sound until it was too late.
The man who had lured Christina turned his gaze directly at her as he stood beneath a streetlamp. There was no mistaking his red eyes.
Lexi was thankful she had been in shadows and near a parked car so that she could duck behind it. She waited until the four men were gone, then she ran to the alley.
She squeezed her eyes closed as she recalled finding Christina. The memory was one she wished she could wipe away.
Lexi took a long drink of her wine and felt it burn down her throat to her stomach. For the first time in her life she understood why some people could become alcoholics.
She hadn’t been able to sleep for more than twenty minutes at a time since finding Christina. Jessica and Crystal had checked in on her often, but Lexi was never asleep. She lay in the dark, the flash of red eyes haunting her.
With her wine finished, she rose and poured some more. Then opted to bring the bottle with her to the couch. She held the bottle in one hand and her glass in the other.
Her eyes felt as if the entire Mojave Desert had been poured into them. No matter how much she blinked, they stung. Yet every time she closed her eyes, she saw Christina.
Lexi finished off the bottle of wine. It wasn’t until she was up and opening another that she realized what she was doing. She released the wine bottle as if it were acid and took two quick steps back.
“What am I doing?” she asked herself.
She pivoted and walked to the bedroom. There she stripped down to her panties before she tugged on her nightshirt and crawled into bed.
Maybe that night she would be able to sleep.
* * *
“We’re being followed.”
Gorul slanted Vaurin a threatening look. The stupid Dark Fae could never keep his mouth shut. Gorul’s smile was tight as he turned to put his back to the bar and wrapped an arm around Vaurin. He kept the smile in place as he lowered his voice and said, “Keep talking, and I’ll kill you right where you stand.”
Vaurin was using glamour again. Tonight his eyes were green and his chin-length black and silver hair was brownish blond. He shrugged off Gorul’s arm. “You make light of it after so many of our brethren have been slain?”
“If they’re stupid enough to get caught, then that’s their problem.”
It was a brave face Gorul put on. He, like every other Dark Fae in Edinburgh, had been searching for some clue as to how many Dragon Kings were in the city. It was unnerving not to know or see the Kings who had always been so ready to battle.
“Besides,” Gorul said. “It wasn’t a King following us today. It was a human.”
Vaurin downed the last bit of his ale and set the glass on the bar. “Human or King, I don’t like being followed.”
“The human is easily taken care of. If the female wants to know more about us, I’ll be happy to show her.”
Vaurin frowned and turned to face the bar. “We were sent to infiltrate the mortals here just as we do in Ireland. Perhaps we should stop killing for a few nights.”
“Stop?” Gorul asked with a bark of laughter. “How can you ask that when the humans are so tempting? Just look at them,” he said as his gaze roamed the pub. “They sense our sensuality. They know the pleasure we can give them. Why should we deny them that?”
Vaurin looked over his shoulder at two of their comrades who were wooing four females. All it took was a mortal being near a Fae for them to forget who they were. All that mattered to the humans was finding pleasure.
His friends were working the table with ease. A simple touch from a Dark against a female’s face, or leaning close to whisper in a female’s ear had them literally panting and begging for release.
Their friends stood, the four women quickly following. A moment later, all six were walking out the door.
“That’s our cue,” Gorul said with a smile.
Vaurin felt need stir deep within him. It was a curse of a Dark. No matter how much sex they had, it was never enough. The mortals were like a drug. After one taste, there was no turning back.
He tried to remain at the pub, but it was useless. Vaurin walked out to find Gorul waiting for him, a knowing smile on his face.
“There’s no need to deny what we are, Vaurin. We’re Dark. We chose this, and I, for one, don’t regret it. This should’ve been our realm. The Dragon Kings made a serious mistake in not forcing us to leave. Let’s show them the power of the Dark.”
Vaurin walked with Gorul across the street and down an alley to a door. They went inside where all four women stood naked amid boxes and crates.
They were oblivious to where they were as they ran their hands over their bodies, begging to be touched. Gorul patted him on the back and went to a blonde with short hair and large breasts.
Vaurin’s cock was hard. He knew the pleasure that awaited. There was nothing so mind-blowing as having sex with mortals and feeding off their souls. The humans had no idea what was happening, which made it all the more pleasurable to a Dark.
Vaurin walked to the female who sat on a crate with her legs open fondling her clit as she watched the others. As soon as she saw him, the human smiled and slid her fingers deep inside her.
Vaurin took her mouth in a savage kiss while she hurried to unbuckle his pants. How stupid the humans were to so freely give their souls to the Dark. They were mindless cattle, the needs of their flesh outweighing the danger that surrounded them.
Oh, but the decadence of taking souls was one Vaurin couldn’t deny himself.
CHAPTER
THREE
Thorn dumped three more Dark Fae bodies in the warehouse. He turned when he heard the door and saw Darius.
“They’re like fucking roaches,” Darius grumbled. “The more you kill, the more you find.”
Thorn chuckled as he moved away for Darius to dump his two bodies. “It’s a never-ending job, but someone has to do it.”
“So true,” Darius said, his dark brown eyes lighting on Thorn as he grinned. “It feels good to kill the evil buggers.”
“We’re stretched too thin.” Thorn looked at the corpses. “Con has us all over the U.K., but it isna enough.”
Darius ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair. “He’s keeping enough of us at Dreagan to hold the magic there.”
Thorn pulled out his knife and spun it on his open palm. He caught it before it stopped spinning. Dreagan wasn’t just their home. It was sixty thousand acres where they distilled whisky and remained hidden from the world. “The Dark have the numbers, but we have the strength.”
“Aye,” Darius said, his gaze on the ground.
Thorn knew Darius’s thoughts were on Ulrik. All of the Dragon Kings’ thoughts were on him. A Dragon King who had been banished.
For centuries, Thorn had been against Ulrik. All that changed a few weeks ago when Thorn was with Warrick in Edinburgh wat
ching over the Druid who had unbound Ulrik’s magic.
The last thing Thorn had expected was to come face-to-face with Ulrik after so many eons. It alarmed Thorn how much Ulrik had changed.
“I doona blame you,” Darius said.
Thorn blinked as he was pulled out of his thoughts. “What?”
“What happened with Ulrik here. Warrick was in love with Darcy. You did what any of us would’ve done for another King.”
“No’ any of us,” Thorn said tightly. “Con would never have joined forces with Ulrik.”
Constantine was King of Kings, the one Dragon King who had more magic and power than any of them. He led them, kept them together all these millennia. But things were beginning to unravel.
“Con sees one goal—our survival.” Darius shrugged. “Everything else comes in second. He’s sacrificed a lot for us.”
“We’ve all sacrificed.” Thorn paused and shook his head ruefully. “I wouldna trade places with him for anything.”
Darius crossed his arms over his chest. “Neither would I. Ulrik will challenge Con soon.”
“Eventually. Right now, our focus is the Dark. The bastards are getting bolder. They’re freely showing themselves to humans, and it willna be long before they show them magic as well.”
“With more and more bodies piling up, the city is trying to crack down on who’s to blame.”
Thorn grunted. “It willna take them long to focus on the Dark. And that willna end well.”
“It never does.” Darius dropped his arms and began to remove his clothes.
Thorn spun on his heel and walked out. They took turns burning the bodies of the Dark. While Darius shifted, Thorn would take watch to make sure no humans took interest in them.
As he stood atop the roof walking the perimeter, Thorn found himself thinking of the female he’d encountered earlier. He had a sinking feeling that he would happen upon her body very soon.
He frowned as that thought angered him. The mortal had spirit and gumption. She recognized the Dark as dangerous and sought to go after them. Despite the silliness of a human against a Dark Fae, the mettle that took kept her in his thoughts.
Thorn touched his side where she had plunged the dagger. She was quick with the blade, and obviously ready to take action against anyone she felt was a threat.
He might not have always agreed with the way humans went about their lives, but they were oblivious to the magic around them. They had no idea that dragons had been around since the beginning of time, and were on the realm long before the humans ever were.
They didn’t know of the Fae—Dark and Light—and how they fought to take the realm from the Dragon Kings. So many wars had been waged on the fringes of the humans’ awareness that it was laughable.
The mortals were weak against the Fae, and had nothing with which to fight off any magical creature. Yet, time and again the Dragon Kings had saved them.
Perhaps it was their innocence in comprehending that vastness of the universe despite their trips into space. It might be because there had been some truly great mortals who had been friends with the Dragon Kings. Or it might be as simple as the vows the Kings took to always watch over the humans.
Whatever the case, Thorn didn’t want the female to die.
The city was disrupted by bells tolling from a church in the distance. Another death, another funeral.
“That’s the third time tonight,” Darius said as he came to stand beside him.
Thorn squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Same as last night.”
“I asked Con to send another King to help us.”
Thorn jerked his head to Darius and raised a brow. “And? What did our fearless leader say?”
“He will as soon as he can.”
Thorn knew all he had to do was call Warrick. War would be there in an instant, but Con was already pissed at Thorn.
“I saw you today,” Darius said. “With the human female.”
Thorn didn’t respond, because there was nothing to say.
“I saw her tracking the Dark yesterday,” Darius continued.
“I warned her away from them.”
Darius grunted, giving his opinion without words.
“Why do they never listen?” Thorn asked.
“Because they think they’re invincible. You know she’ll end up dead.”
Thorn knew that all too well. “She stabbed me.”
That had one side of Darius’s mouth lifting in a grin. “Did she now? I think I like her. How did she manage that? You’re normally much quicker. Or did a pretty face leave you slack jawed?”
“She doesna know she stuck me. She thinks she missed.”
Darius’s smile vanished. “Why is she following the Dark?”
Thorn took in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I believe the Dark killed someone close to her. She’s out for revenge.”
“You can no’ save them all, Thorn.”
He looked at Darius. “I’m no’ trying to.”
“And I’m no’ pretending that the past isna haunting me. Shall we both stop lying now?”
Thorn dropped his chin to his chest. “I’m no’ prying.”
“Neither am I. I’m pointing out facts. The Dark came after her today. Had you no’ been there, she’d be dead.”
An image flashed in Thorn’s mind of vacant slate gray eyes. It angered him to such a degree that he heard a growl rumble from his throat.
“I thought so,” Darius said.
Thorn clenched his teeth. He’d learned his lesson before. He wouldn’t get involved. He couldn’t. It never ended well for him, and he was tired of it all.
Darius put a hand on his shoulder. “Deny it all you want. When you come to terms with things, come find me. I know where she lives.”
It was the worst thing Darius could’ve said. Thorn squeezed his eyes closed. He had done so well today by letting the female go. He hadn’t followed her or asked her name.
He’d then set about trying to forget her.
Which was easier said than done. For those few moments with the mortal had burned into his mind more than any other.
Thorn listened to Darius’s steps fade away. There was hunting to do and more Dark to kill. Thorn palmed his dagger and jumped over the side of the roof to land between buildings.
He walked only a block before he encountered a Dark. With ease, he killed the Fae before hiding his body until he could collect it later.
Thorn kept to the shadows, but even then the mortals sensed something angry and vengeful was near. They gave him a wide berth. The Dark, however, had no clue he was close.
He came upon a group of six and merely smiled as they turned to face him. The woman they had been having sex with lay upon the ground naked, moaning for more even as her life drained away.
She was a lost cause, but killing the Dark around her would save others. Thorn stood, eyeing the group as he waited for one to attack.
As soon as they did, he released his fury.
* * *
Darius stood on the roof above Thorn and watched him fight. There wasn’t a move wasted. Everywhere Thorn placed his feet or hands went against the Dark.
The battle was concluded quickly enough. Thorn stood over the fallen Dark, but Darius knew it wouldn’t be enough for Thorn. Because he was trying to be something he wasn’t. He wanted to ignore his gut and forget the female.
It was a valiant attempt on Thorn’s part, but it wouldn’t last. Thorn was strong, but the part of him that took his vows seriously was the same part that made Thorn noble and honest.
Darius wished he could be more like Thorn, but it would never be. Darius accepted who he was—or who he was trying to be.
He followed Thorn from one skirmish to the next. A few times, Darius fought Dark who tried to come up behind Thorn. Both left a trail of dead Fae across the city.
By the time the first rays of the sun broke through the night sky, Darius had carried over twenty dead Fae himself with Thorn
bringing in another thirty.
Darius waited outside as lookout as Thorn shifted and burned the remains. Darius liked killing the Dark Fae scum, but he loved shifting. Neither he nor Thorn could take to the skies since the Dark were looking for a Dragon King, but those few minutes in dragon form restored balance within Darius.
Thorn came to stand beside him, buckling a new pair of jeans. For some reason, Thorn didn’t like to remove his clothes before he shifted, which meant he went through clothes quickly.
“You didna need to follow me last night,” Thorn said.
Darius lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I knew you would find the Dark, and I felt the need to kill more.”
“I doona want to go to her.”
Darius didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know who Thorn referred to. “I know.”
“I can no’ stop thinking about her.”
He looked at Thorn and merely waited. Con might question Thorn’s loyalty after he worked with Ulrik to help Warrick, but Darius didn’t. Neither did Warrick.
“She willna welcome our help.”
Darius grinned. “Oh, I doona doubt you can change her mind.”
Thorn sighed deeply. “I know I’m going to regret this, but take me to her.”
Darius led the way without another word. He wondered if the female would realize how lucky she was to have Thorn looking out for her. If she didn’t, Darius would set her straight quick enough.
For better or worse, Darius was making Thorn face his past. But even Darius knew he could never do the same.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Lexi stared at the ceiling, her thoughts as rambling as a rabbit’s path. She felt drained, weary, and yet there was a fervent need within her she couldn’t deny.
She closed her tired eyes and squeezed them. Nothing stopped the burning. With a sigh, she threw off her covers and rose. A quick shower later, she changed into jeans, boots, and a sweater.
Only then did she pore over a map of the city dotted with the places she had encountered Red Eyes. She ate a piece of buttered toast and had a second cup of coffee before she readied herself to leave the flat.
It wasn’t until she picked up her knife to tuck it into the arm strap she wore that she thought of the stranger. Though she comprehended the fact he knew of the Red Eyes, it wasn’t until that moment that it fully hit her.