Fire Rising (Dark Kings)

by Donna Grant

  He shook his head and took a step back. What had he been thinking would happen when he arrived? A part of him had believed he would take one look at the castle and all the memories would come flooding back.

  The other part had prayed he wouldn’t recollect anything else.

  “Do you recall anything?” Lucan asked. “Do you remember Deirdre?”

  The name made Tristan jerk back. He hated the name with a viciousness he couldn’t explain, but he didn’t know the woman.

  Quinn took another step to him. “Do you remember Cairn Toul Mountain?”

  The mountain. That’s where he had been kept prisoner with Ian. There had been others there, he was sure of it, but the faces were too blurred in his memories to make out.

  “It doesn’t matter,” said a feminine voice from atop the castle steps.

  She had long dark hair with dozens of tiny braids atop the crown of her head with gold bands at the ends. The woman, just like Quinn, looked familiar, but Tristan couldn’t place her.

  “We survived Cairn Toul together,” she said as she walked down the steps to stand beside Quinn. “We’ll get through this as well, Tristan.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Tristan wasn’t sure if he was sorry he went to MacLeod Castle or not. They had tried in vain to keep him there, but he had taken to the sky not long after the woman—Marcail—appeared.

  The way Quinn had wrapped his arm around her stated the woman was his. But who was she? She acted as though she knew him, as if Tristan should know her.

  He shook his head as he quickly—and briefly—checked in with Laith to make sure all was well with Sammi. She was going to want to know why he had left. He wondered if she thought he had run away from what happened between them.

  He had, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Tristan had known whatever was between him and Sammi was explosive. He hadn’t counted on being rocked to his very foundation just by having her in his arms.

  Life had been as close to ideal as he ever expected. Right up until he saw Sammi. That’s when everything went spinning into utter chaos.

  But it was a passion-filled, ecstasy-ridden chaos that he craved more of.

  It was Sammi—touching her, kissing her—that had somehow triggered his memories. He was sure of it. Explaining it was difficult, but it was a certainty he felt in his gut.

  The memories of his past life alarmed him, startled him. They were as clear and real as the world around him. So far the memories had been fleeting, but the emotions were high. What would happen if the memories lasted longer? Would he find himself living in that world instead of the one he was in?

  It was a vicious circle he could find himself in if he wasn’t careful.

  He glided upon an air current as he grew closer to Dreagan. His thoughts turned back to Sammi. Whether or not he wanted to face Ian and the fact he’d had a past life, she had somehow forced him to confront it.

  Tristan dropped a shoulder and altered his course as he flapped his wings to fly back to Sammi. He would convince her to return to the manor so he could watch over her as well as find Kellan to talk about the Kings and learn more of their history.

  He had barely finished the thought when there was a push on his mind. It never entered his mind that it would be anyone other than a Dragon King. Tristan opened his thoughts, and immediately realized he didn’t know who was contacting him.

  “Hello, Tristan. Or is it Duncan?”

  It was just a little farther to Dreagan land. Tristan flew faster, unsure of who this was or why he wanted to talk. “It’s Tristan.”

  “Hmm. You doona sound so sure.”

  The Scots brogue was thick and heavy, the confidence stifling. “Who are you?”

  A burst of laughter met his question. “Oh, you know who I am.”

  Ulrik. It had to be. Tristan crossed into Dreagan land and dove down to land atop the first mountain he reached. “What do you want?”

  “I doona want anything. I simply want to warn you.”

  “About?”

  “Samantha. She isna safe. Even on Dreagan. The Dark will come for her.”

  “You have an alliance with the Dark. You can stop them.”

  A low chuckle sounded through his head. “You’re a good Dragon King, Tristan, but you’ve much to learn yet about us. I suppose Con told you I was the one masterminding everything to expose you. Tell me. Why would I do that if I can no’ shift into a dragon anymore? Why would I do that without my magic? What would I gain?”

  “You could force Con to return your magic.”

  “If it were that simple, I’d have done it centuries ago.”

  “Your revenge then.”

  There was a beat of silence. “Never fear, young Tristan, I will have my vengeance.”

  “If it isna you, then who is Dreagan’s enemy?”

  “I never said I wasna Dreagan’s enemy.”

  Tristan stamped a foot and rocks rained down the mountain. “Enough of the games. What do you want?”

  “I want the dragons back in control. I want to erase every human on this planet.”

  With his dragon eyes, Tristan could see Dreagan Manor in the distance. “That’s obvious. What do you want with me?”

  “Join me and I’ll stop the Dark Ones from taking Samantha.”

  It was a tempting offer only because it would keep Sammi safe, but for how long? If Ulrik got what he wanted, all humans would be gone. That included Sammi. “Why me?”

  “Why no’ you?”

  “I’m going to need more than that before I make a decision.”

  “Nice,” he said, a smile in his voice. “I expected you to jump at the chance to save your woman, but perhaps I was wrong. The Kings have made a habit lately of falling for humans so easily.”

  “The way you did?” Tristan knew he’d hit a nerve by the silence that followed.

  “You’re unexpected, Tristan. By the way you so readily—and quickly, I might add—came to Samantha’s rescue, I assumed you were falling for the mortal.”

  “It’s the duty of the Dragon Kings to protect humans.”

  “Even when they start attacking you? Think hard about that one, lad, because you didna witness the war. You didna see the humans annihilate smaller dragons in one fell swoop. You didna hear the cries of the dragons as we raced to help them only to have Con hold us back because we might harm a human.”

  The hatred in his voice was so heavy and loud that Tristan winced as it bounced around inside his head. “Nay, I wasna there, but I’m a King now. I will do as we were meant to do. There are no more dragons for the humans to harm.”

  “You’re here.”

  “If you claim to no’ be the one trying to expose us, what are you doing aligning with the Dark Fae and MI5?”

  “Trying to stop Con. He is the one to blame for the way things are now. It was the Silvers who were going to take him and his Golds down before he convinced all the other Kings to send the dragons out of this realm.”

  “Con took away your magic so you would stop killing humans.”

  “I did kill humans. They were attacking dragons. We are dragons, first and foremost. What kind of creature are we to let our own kind be murdered as we protect the murderers?”

  Tristan didn’t have an answer. He hadn’t been there, so he didn’t know what he would do but he couldn’t imagine sitting and watching his Ambers being killed and doing nothing about it.

  “Con isna all he claims to be. He never has been. I learned that the hard way when I thought he was a friend. He betrayed me, he betrayed the Kings, but more than that, he betrayed all dragons.”

  The link was severed, leaving Tristan more unsure of things than ever before. Ulrik wanted him to join his cause, but what exactly was his cause?

  The idea of Con being the one to expose the Kings was absurd. Con went out of his way to keep most mortals as far from Dreagan as he could. He had even tried to keep Kellan and Denae apart.

  Tristan called out to Laith who opened his mind immediately. �
��I suspect there’s going to be an attack from the Dark soon.”

  “How do you know that?” Laith asked.

  Tristan blew out a long breath. “Ulrik told me.”

  “What?” Laith shouted.

  “I’ll tell you everything later. Right now we need to keep Sammi away from them. I have a feeling if the Dark get ahold of her she willna be as easy to find as Kellan and Denae were.”

  “Nay, I doona suspect she will be. Surely the Dark wouldna dare come on our land.”

  “At this point I expect anything and everything.”

  “The only place she’ll truly be safe is in the mountain.”

  The mountain the manor was built into was a sacred place for the Kings. It was also where they kept the four sleeping Silvers that had been caught and trapped before they could wipe out humanity. “Doona give her a choice. Just take her there.”

  “Con will never allow it.”

  “I’ll deal with him. Just get Sammi, and I’ll meet you at the manor.”

  Laith ended the conversation with a curt aye. Tristan didn’t waste any time flying toward the manor. Since there were mortals about—working and visiting—he made sure to shift back into his human form and run the rest of the way.

  He bypassed the house and entered the mountain by a side entrance. As always, there were clothes stashed for just such emergencies.

  Tristan found a pair of jeans and put them on before he made his way through tunnels to get to what could only be described as Kellan’s office.

  The cave was large and lit by dozens of torches on the walls. The entire back of the cave was lined with shelves where scrolls were shelved according to years. The scrolls eventually turned into books.

  There were rugs placed all over the cave in a haphazard fashion. In the middle of the cave sat a large desk that looked as old as the Kings. An inkwell and a feather pen were situated on the left-hand corner. On the right was a wooden tankard filled with pens that had obviously been collected through the ages.

  The most modern thing in the cave was the desk lamp that sat with its light shining on an open book, a book that Kellan had been writing of the history of the Kings.

  A sigh passed Tristan’s lips when he didn’t find Kellan sitting behind his desk. He had hoped Kellan and Denae would have returned by now, but he had no such luck.

  “Damn,” he said and wiped a hand down his face.

  Tristan looked at the scrolls and books and decided to find the facts for himself. He was standing before the shelves looking at dates when he heard a noise behind him. He turned and found Rhys leaning against the opening of the cave.

  “What are you looking for? Maybe I can help,” Rhys said.

  Tristan glanced at the shelves again. “I want to know what happened between Con and Ulrik, and I want to know about the war with the mortals.”

  Rhys straightened, his brows raised. “I thought we had already filled you in on all of that.”

  “You did. I want to read the account.”

  “You mean an impartial account.”

  Rhys might be a smartass and reckless, but he wasn’t stupid. Tristan nodded. “I do.”

  “What’s happened?”

  Damn, but Rhys was perceptive. “Did you agree with Con in sending away the dragons?”

  “Nay. None of us did, nor did we want to see them slaughtered. We did what we thought was best.”

  “And Ulrik? Did you agree with that?” Tristan pressed.

  Rhys walked around to the other side of Kellan’s desk and ran his fingers along the top. “It’s no secret that I was against what Con wanted. Hell, Tristan, the Kings were completely divided.”

  “What united you?”

  “Con. He’s always had a way of uniting us. It’s one reason he’s King of Kings. Ulrik had that same ability.”

  “So Ulrik could have been where Con is?”

  Rhys nodded slowly. “They were the best of friends, as tight as brothers. Ulrik was content to rule his Silvers. Con was the one who wanted to be King of Kings. Ulrik decided to step aside rather than have them fight each other for the position.”

  “Some considered Ulrik weak for that, did they no’?”

  “Perhaps.” Rhys smiled then. “But they soon learned their lesson. Ulrik was anything but weak. He was intelligent and had a sense of battle that I’ve never seen before. No one could ever win against him.”

  It all began to make sense to Tristan now.

  “Why?” Rhys asked. “Why are you asking these specific questions?”

  Tristan lifted his gaze to meet Rhys’s. “Because Ulrik contacted me.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Very few times in Sammi’s life had she been so completely blindsided. This latest one was a real kicker.

  And she planned to throw a few punches of her own once her feet were planted on the ground again.

  She looked up at Laith and glared at the black dragon. He paid her no heed as he flew them closer and closer to the manor house.

  Flying didn’t give her the same excitement as it had when Tristan had taken her. Then again, she hadn’t been so angry she could chew nails.

  She hadn’t ever understood that statement until then. Now, she fully understood what her mother had meant. The closer she got to the manor, the more incensed she became.

  More so because she had been gullible enough to believe Laith when he said Tristan had asked her to meet him at another cottage.

  “Cottage my ass,” she mumbled and propped her elbow on Laith’s hand.

  All too soon they arrived at the manor. At least that’s what she thought until Laith dipped behind a mountain to glide into the valley. She glanced at the mountain. On the other side of the manor was her sister and all the other Dragon Kings.

  Sammi clutched Laith’s black scales when he suddenly dove, his wings tucked against him so that they whipped through the sky like a missile.

  She covered her eyes with her hands. Then she parted her fingers and peered through to see the wall of the mountain coming at her.

  Before she could release a scream, Laith once more spread his wings and let his lower body drop. It halted them instantly.

  She raked her hair out of her eyes as Laith landed, and still holding her in his hand, walked into the opening before them on three legs.

  Sammi tried to take it all in. The opening might have been small enough that Laith had to duck his head, but once inside it was easily twice as tall as he was.

  Tall enough for dragons to move about easily, she realized.

  The light shining through the entrance quickly gave way to darkness, leaving her nothing to see. She blinked rapidly while hoping her eyes would adjust so she might glimpse something.

  She swung her head from side to side, shifting in Laith’s hand as she did. She was so busy trying to see something that she missed the flicker of light dancing on the stones until Laith stopped.

  Sammi briefly saw the torches lining a corridor before Laith set her down. She turned to face him and glowered. “Some cottage. Why lie to me?”

  “Because I told him to get you here however he needed to.”

  Her stomach quivered as it always did when she heard Tristan’s voice. She slowly turned and found him standing in the shadows between two torches. Sammi hated that she couldn’t see his face, not that he gave anything away through his expressions.

  Tristan was a master at keeping everything carefully hidden. Much like everyone at Dreagan was. While the others had had countless centuries to do it, he’d had a few years.

  “I told you I didn’t want to come here,” she told him to fill the silence since she refused to run and throw her arms around him.

  “Things have changed. There is an imminent attack by the Dark against you. I had to get you to a place they wouldn’t dare venture.”

  “In a mountain?”

  He lowered his chin. “Aye. This isna a place we bring mortals.”

  “Not even Jane?”

  “Jane is … one of us.”r />
  Sammi rolled her eyes. “Because she married into it?”

  “Because she’s Banan’s mate.”

  There was something in Tristan’s tone that made her shiver. “Laith explained what a Dragon King’s mate was. If the Dark Fae are coming, you’ve now brought them to the manor where Jane is. Banan won’t thank you for it.”

  “I’m doing what Banan asked—keeping you from the Dark.”

  “Why not just have Laith tell me the truth instead of deceiving me?”

  “Because you wouldna have come,” Tristan stated. “And doona tell me you would have, because we both know you wouldna.”

  She hated when she couldn’t get the upper hand. She hated even more that she wanted to go to him and touch him to make sure the previous night had really happened and hadn’t been a dream.

  Why did he have to be so damned handsome?

  “Am I to stay here?” she asked. When she glanced behind her Laith was gone. Whether he was in the shadows watching or gone she didn’t know.

  Tristan stepped to the side. “Nay. I have a more comfortable place for you. Follow me.”

  Sammi’s legs felt as if they were weighted down, as if she were walking in waist-high water. She trailed after Tristan, but she didn’t look around as before.

  Everything she had told herself at the cottage about severing the link between her and Tristan had evaporated the moment she saw him.

  Then he reminded her just how different their worlds were. He was immortal, powerful, and a shifter.

  She was just Samantha Miller, a simple mortal who had lost everything.

  It should have been like a douse of cold water. Instead, it made her want him all the more. If she reached out her hand, she could touch his back, feel his heat, remember the way his muscles stirred.

  Tristan moved with the grace of a hunter. She watched him walk, wondering at the power within him. He had been tender, gentle with her at every turn.

  But she knew there was a caged animal ready to pounce, a force that waited impatiently to be released. She knew the size of him as a dragon, and she could only imagine the destruction he could cause if he so wished.