by Donna Grant
She no longer worried about the Dark. Her sole focus was Ulrik, who remained in the shadows. She knew what he looked like, knew the shrewdness she’d seen in his cold golden eyes.
Ulrik turned out to be exactly what she had been fighting against by revealing others’ true forms. That same awful feeling of betrayal filled her. It was something she swore to never experience again. It was as if Ulrik had known how to exploit her weakness, and he’d done it with taciturn finality.
“You used me in your war against the Kings,” she stated.
Though she couldn’t see him, she could feel him shrug. “Shite happens. Is that no’ what you humans say?”
“Wouldn’t you know? You’ve walked among us for thousands of years. You had to live in a human’s body while only imagining being your true self once more.”
She wasn’t sure where those words had come from. Panic had an iron grip on her, but the anger churning within her swelled and spread. Overriding common sense and putting her right in his crosshairs.
Not that she hadn’t been there just a second before.
Ulrik’s only response was another hollow chuckle that sent ice through her veins.
Chapter Fifteen
Asher removed his jacket, shoes, and socks before he entered the warehouse. He wanted nothing to come between his feet and the ground. No slippery sole, no squeak of leather.
Once inside the building, he was able to hear the conversation more clearly. Two Dark were there, though he expected there was a chance more were waiting.
Good.
He wanted the chance to release some of the rage suffocating him. He fought against shifting right then. It would give him an advantage over Ulrik, at least he hoped. They knew from Darcy that some of Ulrik’s magic had been unbound, but the Druid didn’t know if all of it had been. The Kings assumed it hadn’t since Ulrik had yet to shift or release his dragons.
If he had all his magic, he could easily free his Silvers and start up the war again. More importantly, he could shift and confirm that dragons were real.
He hadn’t done either. That made Asher pause. Ulrik was one of the most cunning of the Kings. It would be just like him to allow the Kings to think he didn’t have all his magic, when in fact he did.
Then he thought of the confrontation between Con and Ulrik not that long ago. They fought, and it would’ve been the perfect time for Ulrik to challenge Con for the right to be King of Kings.
But Ulrik hadn’t. No way would he have let that chance fall into his lap and not grasp it if he had all his magic.
He crept closer to the group. Ulrik and the Dark had Rachel cornered. First thing he needed to do was get rid of the Dark. Those filthy beings had no place near his woman.
Broken glass sank into the bottom of his feet, but he didn’t register the pain. His concentration was riveted on the small group. Though he hadn’t had direct contact with Ulrik since before he was banished, he wasn’t prepared for the change in Ulrik’s voice.
The hatred was thick, coating his words with revulsion and disgust. Asher didn’t need to look into his eyes to know there wouldn’t be an ounce of mercy. Whatever kindness and compassion used to be in Ulrik had long since become extinct. The only things that resided within him were callousness and retribution.
He heard Rachel’s voice shake even as she stood up to Ulrik. That took a lot of nerve considering it was Ulrik. He would have to applaud her later, right after he gave her a little shake for irritating their enemy so.
The Dark didn’t like Ulrik’s tone. They continued to step away from him and Rachel. Asher veered to come up behind one of the Dark.
He covered the Dark’s mouth with one hand before yanking the Dark’s heart out with the other. He didn’t drop him as he wanted to do. Instead, Asher quietly lowered the body to the floor and placed the heart next to it.
Then he turned his attention to the other Fae. Soundlessly, he snuck up behind the remaining Dark Fae. Just as he was about to grab him, the Dark turned, eyes going wide as he spotted Asher.
He dodged a hastily thrown ball of magic and ripped out the Dark’s heart viciously. Blood coated his hand and halfway up his arm. The heart in his hand slowly stopped beating as he turned his attention to Ulrik.
“Looks like we have company.” Ulrik’s voice echoed throughout the warehouse.
He lifted his gaze to the shadows where Ulrik hid, the Dark’s heart still in his hands. The body lay at his feet, and Asher flipped his hand over, dumping the heart as he stepped over the Fae.
His gaze was riveted on Ulrik, because unlike Rachel, he could see in the dark. Ulrik leaned against an iron beam with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips lifted in a smug grin.
“You were no’ invited, Ash,” Ulrik said.
He felt the Darks’ blood running down his hands and dripping from his fingers as he drew closer to Rachel. He took his time getting to her. Ulrik was unpredictable, and he was much closer to Rachel than Asher, at the moment.
He could feel Rachel’s eyes on him, could sense her relief. He didn’t glance at her or tell her it was going to be all right. Because he wasn’t sure if it would be.
As if Rachel knew not to move, she remained rooted to her spot as she followed his movements. Her purse fell from her shoulder and out of her fingers to drop onto the concrete.
“You dare to threaten Rachel and no’ expect me to show?” he demanded.
Ulrik lifted a shoulder. “Did you fear she wasna telling you the truth? Is that why you had her followed?”
“I knew you would try something.”
“Ah. Blaming it on me I see. No’ a good start to this relationship.”
He finally reached Rachel. She gripped his hand in both of hers. The coldness of her fingers and the way she shook with terror infuriated him.
“Your fight is with us. Leave the mortals out of it,” Asher told him.
Ulrik snorted and straightened as he dropped his arms to his sides. “Leave them out of it? They’re the ones who began this.”
“No one ever denied that.”
“No one wanted to do anything either.”
Asher hated to admit it, but it was the truth. Their vow of protection prevented the Kings from any sort of retaliation then. Now, he wasn’t sure what the Kings might do.
“You want someone to punish?” Asher asked. “I’m right here.”
As he spoke, he subtly moved Rachel behind him, hoping to put more distance between her and Ulrik.
“Must we go through this every time I encounter one of you?” Ulrik asked, exasperated.
He shook his head as he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I doona know what you’ve told the others.”
“Stop the bullshit.”
He didn’t smile when he heard the fury in Ulrik’s words. He wasn’t sure if it was better to have Ulrik calm and cold, or riled, because he was so capricious. He knew how precarious Rachel’s position was. Ulrik brought her here to kill her. Asher didn’t need to ask why. The why of it was evident.
“I’m going to win,” Ulrik declared.
He shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps no’. That doesna give you the right to kill as you have.”
“Just as none of you had the right to banish me from my home or force me to remain in this form,” Ulrik coldly spat. “I would rather have been locked away with my Silvers than live like this.”
“Everything you’re doing is bringing the Kings closer than we’ve ever been. Each time you go after one of our women or attempt to reveal us to the mortals, you band us together. You’re the one who is the outsider.”
Ulrik’s smile was taciturn. “Do you think Con would’ve given me back my magic or allowed me to return to the home I helped build if I’d been a good lad?”
“Maybe.”
“Then you’re a bigger fool than I ever thought you were. Con never had any such plans. He expected me to remain just as I was for eternity.”
“You should’ve halted the killing when we asked.”
Ul
rik ignored his comment and asked, “If my actions brought such harsh justice, should they no’ apply to all of us?”
He gave a nod, wondering what Ulrik was getting at. “Of course.”
“Seems as if Con should turn some of that righteous justice on himself.”
Ulrik’s words caused him to frown. His implications were clear, and Asher didn’t like where that led his thoughts. What did Ulrik know that the rest didn’t? As close as they had once been, Ulrik would know all of Con’s darkest secrets.
“What are you referring to?” he demanded, hoping to get more information.
Ulrik drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “Ask Con.”
There wasn’t a need, and Ulrik knew it. Con didn’t share anything with anyone. But there was Kellan. As Keeper of the History, he knew everything that happened with all of the Dragon Kings.
Ulrik suddenly smiled. “You’ve realized Kellan would know what I’m talking about. I wonder if he’d tell you.”
“If it’s so important, you tell me.”
“And make it easy for Con? I doona think so.”
Asher gave Rachel a little push, hoping she would make her way out of the warehouse. “If you really had something on Con, you wouldna hesitate to tell it.”
“First,” Ulrik said, his tone bored, “ask yourself why a brother would demand another to battle? I never gave Con any reason to think I wanted the position of King of Kings. He forced the issue. When I wouldna do as he ordered, he found another way to get rid of me.”
Asher could only blink in shocked surprise. Ulrik placed the blame for everything that happened, from his lover betraying him to his banishment, on Con. It was true, the King of Kings could be ironfisted in his ruthless endeavor to protect them and Dreagan. He was a fierce, merciless bastard at times, but that’s what came with wearing the mantle of King of Kings.
But now Ulrik had put doubt in Asher’s mind.
It had been thousands of years ago, but he couldn’t remember how Con learned of Ulrik’s lover’s betrayal. No matter how he searched his memory, there was nothing he could recall that would redeem––or condemn––Con.
He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Ulrik spoke over him.
“Second, it’s a nice attempt to keep me talking about my favorite subject––the destruction of Con. However, Rachel willna get far.”
Asher held Ulrik’s gaze, trying to determine what his old friend was going to do. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two Dark Fae materialize.
He turned to race after Rachel, but the Dark reached him first. Their hands grabbed him. Asher blinked, and he found himself in a chamber devoid of light with Dark all around him.
Chapter Sixteen
One minute Asher was there with two more of those ghastly Dark Fae, and the next he was gone. Rachel looked around, hoping to find some hint of him. But it was like he vanished.
The sound of something huge breathing behind her made her blood turn to ice. Panic enveloped Rachel in a cloak of dread and heart-pounding terror. One of those breaths blew her hair against her face. She squeezed her eyes closed, a cry falling from her lips as she began to shake uncontrollably.
She knew what was behind her. A dragon. Rather, Ulrik in dragon form.
This she hadn’t prepared for. When Asher had arrived, she knew he would save the day and get them both out of there without anything happening. But she was once more alone. Except this time, she had no illusions of getting out alive.
Ulrik wanted her dead. Whether it was because she wasn’t going to reveal the Kings to the world or because she’d fallen for Asher didn’t matter. To Ulrik, they were one and the same. Both were punishable by death.
She waited to feel the pain of his bite, or even to hear his intake of breath right before he breathed fire. The longer she waited and nothing happened, the more anxious she became.
Rachel opened her eyes. Without moving her head, she looked to either side of her. There was no large talon or scales to be seen. Had she imagined the breath upon her neck and the sound of breathing?
It took several minutes listening to the noises of the building––and anything else––before she got the courage to turn around. She moved slowly, waiting for something to happen. Everything in the warehouse was quiet and still. Not even the pigeons were flying.
Before her was that same darkened area where Ulrik had taunted her. The shadows parted and a large head took shape, looming above her.
Her mouth fell open when she spied the silver scales covering the wide head of the dragon. She took in the slitted obsidian eyes that were trained on her and tried to scream, but no sound came out.
The head moved farther out of the darkness to reveal a row of dark silver tendrils at the base of his skull and disappearing into the shadows. More of those same dark silver tendrils surrounded his mouth, which parted to show her rows of very sharp white teeth.
She could swear he smiled, a growl rumbling through his chest.
Death was staring her right in the face.
And there was no escaping it.
Chapter Seventeen
Asher didn’t bother to send out a message to the other Kings. No one could help him where he was now, and even if they tried, it would take too long for them to get there. The only way Rachel had a chance of survival was if he got back to her. And the only way to do that was use the Dark.
He counted eight in the chamber with him. How…ambitious…of them to think they could take him down with so small of numbers. Even without shifting to dragon form.
Without waiting for them to make the first move, he lunged to the side and plunged his hand into the chest of the Dark before yanking out his heart. He spun away as magic was thrown at him. He dodged most of the iridescent balls, but a few managed to land on him. The feel of the dark magic sinking through his skin into his bone was revolting.
And only pissed him off even more.
In two strides, he wrenched out the spinal columns of two Dark. As they fell dead at his feet, magic slammed into his right calf. He ignored it and moved toward the remaining five. They were clustered together, alternating throwing the bubbles of magic at him.
He gritted his teeth and ran toward them. The pain of the magic dimmed as he imagined what Ulrik was doing to Rachel. His gaze locked on a Dark and he effortlessly killed him. His gaze shifted to the left and he ended that Fae’s life as well.
With each Dark that fell, he kept count. Until he had the last one pinned against the wall with his hand inside the Fae’s chest, wrapped around his heart.
“If you doona want me ripping this out of your chest right this second, you’ll return me to Paris and the warehouse where Ulrik is.”
The Dark nodded woodenly. “Ta…take your hand off my heart.”
Asher gave the muscle a hard squeeze, causing the Dark to wince. “That isna an option. On the count of three, you either take me or I pull me hand out. I’ll still be holding your heart, though.”
“If you kill me no one will take you back to Paris,” the Dark said with a smile.
“If you doona, you’ll be dead.”
The cocky smile slipped from the Fae’s face. “Taraeth will kill me.”
“I doona give a shite what your king will do. I’m the one with the hand on your heart. One.”
The Dark looked around frantically. “Wait. Please.”
“Do you wait when a mortal asks you? Two.”
“I…I,” he stuttered with his hands flat against the wall and sweat rolling down his face. “I don’t want to die.”
“You know what to do. Thr-”
In the next instant, Asher was back at the warehouse. He heard the distinctive growl of a dragon and jerked his head to the side to see Ulrik looking down at Rachel.
Asher released the Dark, who immediately teleported away. Then he faced Ulrik. “You touch her, and I’ll kill you.”
Ulrik’s head snapped up, a sound of outrage reverberating in his chest. Rachel shouted his name and hurrie
d toward him. She tripped but managed to remain upright.
He didn’t take his gaze from Ulrik. Quickly, Asher opened up the mental link and shouted, “Ulrik can shift!” to all the dragons.
Asher expected a response, but there was nothing. Until he heard laughter in his mind. Laughter he recognized.
“You should’ve stayed away,” Ulrik said through the link.
“Asher,” Rachel whispered.
He glanced at her. “Run. Hard and fast. Go straight to the airport and get to Dreagan. They’re expecting you.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
He wanted to kiss her one last time, but if he didn’t get her out now, she might not make it out at all. “You must.”
“Afraid, Ash?” Ulrik goaded.
He was more afraid than he’d ever been. He wasn’t scared of fighting Ulrik or even of dying. What terrified him was that Rachel wouldn’t get away, that her life would end because of her connection to him.
Ulrik’s eyes moved between him and Rachel. When Ulrik took a step toward them, Asher turned and placed a hard, quick kiss on her lips.
“Run,” he whispered and gave her a push.
She took a few stumbling steps back before she turned and bolted. He then faced the dragon. If Ulrik wanted a fight, he was going to get one.
With merely a thought, Asher shifted. It went against everything Con demanded of the Kings, but he would deal with Con later. Right now he was more concerned with keeping Rachel alive long enough to get within the safety of Dreagan.
“Feels good, does it no’?” Ulrik asked.
Asher glared at him. “You might’ve stopped my message getting to the Kings, but Rachel will tell them.”
“Maybe. If she makes it. It’s such a verra long way to Dreagan. And no one will be waiting for her at the airport in Scotland.”
With Ulrik somehow preventing Asher from talking to the other Kings, there was no way to alert anyone to what was going on. If Ulrik managed to kill him, there would be no one stopping him from ending Rachel’s life as well.