Burning Desire

by Donna Grant

  She swallowed, and kept her gaze locked on Balladyn. “How am I supposed to know? I thought you sent him to fetch me.”

  “It seems my warnings to you about lying need a better lesson.”

  Shara began to shake. Kiril’s fingers tightened around her arm, giving her strength.

  Balladyn looked up from the dagger to Kiril. “I sent no one. So that begs the question of just who you are.”

  “I got orders,” Kiril said.

  “From who?”

  Kiril shrugged. “It was a Dark from Taraeth’s guard.”

  Balladyn’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Taraeth isn’t here.”

  “His guard is.”

  Shara was glad Kiril was quicker with answers than she was, because he just might get them through this.

  Balladyn suddenly threw back his head and laughed as he pushed away from the wall. “Ah, Shara, what a performer you are. I never had any doubt that you would deliver the Dragon King.”

  Her knees threatened to buckle as realization sank in. And she knew by the way Kiril’s hand relaxed on her arm that if she fell, he wouldn’t catch her.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her voice wobbly with outrage and anxiety.

  Balladyn grabbed her and pulled her next to him. She stumbled, her eyes darting to Kiril in the hopes that he would know she’d had nothing to do with whatever was going on. The warmth in his eyes was gone. Possibly forever this time.

  “Show me your true self,” Balladyn demanded.

  Kiril’s smile was as frosty as the Arctic. “If that’s what you want.”

  The next instant, his true face appeared once more. “No,” Shara said, but it was drowned out by the Dark who quickly surrounded him.

  She watched as he was hauled back down to the dungeon without putting up so much as an ounce of fight. It wasn’t right, none of it was. Shara cried out as something sharp pierced her neck behind her ear. She stilled instantly when she comprehended that Balladyn held the dagger.

  “No more lies,” he ground out in her ear. “You’ll forget about the Dragon King, because even if he gets free, he’ll think you betrayed him. My guess is that if he sees you, he’ll kill you before you have time to utter a single syllable.”

  Shara sagged against Balladyn, the truth of his words slamming into her with the force of a tidal wave.

  “You’re mine, sweetheart. The sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”

  “But I don’t want you,” she said. It no longer mattered what happened to her. Balladyn was right. Kiril would never listen to her try to explain, much less believe her.

  If she didn’t have him, she had nothing.

  Balladyn snorted. “I don’t care what you want.”

  To prove his point he kissed her brutally, painfully while keeping her tight against him. Shara desperately tried to pull free, but the more she fought, the more he hurt her.

  He ended the kiss, pressing the point of the blade deeper until she felt something warm and wet slide down her neck. “I wanted you beside me ruling this fortress, but I’m just as content keeping you as my slave, chained naked in my room waiting for me anytime I want you.”

  “Do what you want, but I’ll never go through the Claiming with you.”

  “Sure you will.” His eyes were filled with a strange light that bordered on insanity. “Unless you want to watch as I torture Kiril.”

  There wasn’t a need to ask if he meant it, because Shara knew he did. She turned her gaze away from him. “You make me ill.”

  “I don’t need your mind as I’m fucking your body.”

  As he pushed her into the arms of two of his Dark Fae soldiers who dragged her away, all Shara could think about was Kiril.

  * * *

  Phelan stood not five feet from Balladyn, but the bastard never saw him. Phelan made sure of it by using his power and concealing himself so that when Balladyn looked at the wall, all he saw was gray stone.

  The hard part had been remaining still as Kiril was taken. Phelan vowed in that instant to kill Shara for her treachery. He almost left then to try to get to Kiril, but something held him back. It was a good thing he did, because he learned how Balladyn had tricked them all. The ass had only suspected the Dark leading Shara was Kiril, and he had counted on Kiril’s worry over whether Shara would deceive him or not.

  Phelan’s beloved, Aisley, had once been forced by a drough to do horrible things. The same was happening to Shara except the horrible things would be done to her.

  Phelan glanced down the stairs to the dungeon. He had given his word to Kiril to leave if he was taken and let the other Dragon Kings know what happened. Kiril would be guarded at all times, and since Phelan couldn’t get inside the cell to talk to Kiril, his only choice was to find the other Dragon Kings.

  Phelan turned his gaze to Shara as she was half-dragged, half-led down the hall. Whatever awaited her wouldn’t be good, if the smug light in Balladyn’s gaze was any indication.

  Now it wasn’t just Rhi who needed to be saved. There was Kiril and Shara as well.

  Phelan followed the guards to make sure he knew where Shara was being held before he made his way back to the doorway. He stepped through the doorway back into the garden at the Blackwoods’ and stopped dead in his tracks when he came face-to-face with Con, Rhys, and Usaeil.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Kiril let his rage build and fester until it was as feral and uncontrollable as Ulrik’s Silvers had been when they killed humans.

  Shara’s betrayal cut deeper than anything Kiril had ever experienced. He’d trusted her with not just his life but Rhi’s. And even though Shara didn’t know about Phelan, her betrayal affected him as well.

  At least Phelan would be able to get out of Balladyn’s fortress and back to Scotland. It was small comfort, but anything was better than nothing.

  “Wait until Balladyn gets ahold of you, Dragon,” a Dark Fae sneered, contempt contorting his face as they chained him to the wall of his prison.

  Kiril looked at him calmly, hiding his fury completely. “Enjoy your reign, Dark, because it willna last forever.”

  The solider looked at his comrade and they both laughed before exiting. The sound of the door closing reverberated in the silent, eerie dungeon.

  Kiril took a deep breath and pulled on his chains. He wasn’t able to break them. Then he tried to shift, which would shatter anything that dared to try to hold a King. But for the first time, he wasn’t able to.

  Just as he had guessed, they were spelled to hold a Dragon King—in all ways. The same kind of chains that had held Kellan—except Kellan had gotten loose with his mate’s help. Kiril didn’t have a mate.

  His gut churned with the treachery Shara had dealt him. How could he have been so wrong about her? Her duplicity had given the advantage to the Dark Fae.

  He fisted his hands. When he got free—because he would get free—he was going to hunt Shara down. He’d wrap his hands around her neck as before, except he wouldn’t release her or stop squeezing.

  To think he had felt sorry for her, been lured in by her sad tales in regards to how her family treated her. Kiril had never thought himself able to be duped in such a manner.

  Ulrik probably hadn’t either.

  Kiril didn’t know what made him think of his Dragon King brother, but once he had, he couldn’t stop the comparisons. The anger rushing through him was great, as was the need for retribution.

  That was only after a few minutes. What would he feel like thousands of years from now? The answer to that was simple: much, much worse.

  They should have embraced Ulrik to help him past his rage instead of sending him out on his own in a world he despised with every fiber of his being.

  The door to his prison opened slowly, and a shape took form as it stepped inside. Kiril blinked, unsure whether his eyes were being tricked.

  “It’s been awhile,” Ulrik said as he looked him up and down.

  Kiril tried to take a step towa
rd him, but the rattle of the chains followed by a jerk as he reached the short leash stopped him. He looked over the jeans, black button-down, and boots to the golden eyes he knew well and long black hair that hung loose. “Ulrik? Is that really you?”

  “Aye. Of all the Kings, I wouldna have expected to find you here. Rhys, aye, because he has always been the rash one, but no’ you.”

  Kiril didn’t bother to respond since there was nothing to say.

  “Odd,” Ulrik continued, “how females no matter what species they are have a way of deceit. I think it’s part of them, just like breathing.”

  Kiril had to agree with him. “How much did you hear?”

  “Enough. I wonder though, how much did you hear?”

  “Excuse me?” He was taken aback by Ulrik’s words. Kiril searched his mind for what had happened when Balladyn came upon them. He’d heard and seen everything.

  Ulrik shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s none of my business. I’m no longer one of you.”

  “You’ve always been one of us.”

  “Really?” He chuckled softly … coldly. “Is that why Con has spied on me all these years? Is that why I’m welcome anytime at Dreagan? Is that why my brothers visit me?”

  Kiril glanced at the ground feeling as low as a slug. “There have been many wrongs done by us through the years.”

  “Always the diplomat, aye, Kiril? Sometimes I think you should’ve been King of Kings.”

  He shook his head. “I had enough trouble being King to my dragons. I never wanted Con’s troubles.”

  “The men who make the best leaders are the ones who doona want the position.”

  Kiril cocked his head to the side. He remembered all too well that there was only one other who could have bested Con and taken the crown—Ulrik. But he hadn’t wanted to be King of Kings. He had shunned the idea, stepping aside to let Con have it unchallenged.

  “You matched Con in strength and power,” Kiril pointed out. “You didna want the position.”

  Ulrik smiled, though it didn’t reach his gold eyes. “A mistake I see now.”

  “Why are you here? I doona believe it’s to help me.”

  “It’s no’,” he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “I couldna release you if I wanted to.”

  “And you doona want to.”

  “When did any of you help me in the thousands of millennia I walked this wretched realm never able to see my Silvers held within Dreagan? When did any of you come to me through the long years as I suffered staring at the sky but unable to shift?”

  As he spoke, his voice grew harsher, the hatred stronger. Kiril took a deep breath. “We thought we were doing the right thing. You were killing humans.”

  “Who killed dragons,” Ulrik hissed.

  Kiril looked down at the chains around his wrists and ankles that held him so securely that not even his dragon magic could get him loose. “Is this why you’ve come? To moan about your problems?”

  “Nay. I’m here for another matter.”

  Kiril’s head jerked up, but it was too late. Ulrik was already gone, the door closing softly behind him.

  * * *

  “What the fuck?” Phelan asked as he stumbled to the side after almost colliding with Usaeil.

  “Watch that mouth of yours,” she said with a haughty tone. “You may be a prince of our people, but that doesna mean you can speak so … crudely.”

  His gaze shifted to Constantine who had a smirk upon his lips. “Bite me,” he told the King of Kings.

  Rhys held out his hand as they clasped forearms. “It’s good to see you, Warrior.”

  Phelan nodded and returned the grip before releasing him. “No’ half as glad as I am to see you three. I was just about to contact Fallon so he could take me to Dreagan.”

  Con’s smirk disappeared. “I gather you doona have good news?”

  “The worst.” Phelan ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Kiril has been taken.”

  “The Dark female betrayed him.”

  Phelan narrowed his gaze on Con. “Why would you say that? Because she’s a Dark? You who sided with me against the other Warriors when Aisley was still drough.”

  Usaeil’s silver eyes shifted to Con as she lifted her eyebrows. “And don’t dare say a Druid who gives their soul to Satan in order to have black magic is any different than a Dark Fae.”

  “What happened?” Rhys asked before Con could respond.

  Phelan moved away from the doorway and relayed the entire ordeal in quick order. “Balladyn didna know it was Kiril. He guessed, and he was counting on Kiril believing Shara deceived him.”

  “Which she didn’t,” Usaeil murmured, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Phelan shook his head. “Balladyn has her as well. I didna wait around to see what he would do to any of them.”

  “Good choice,” Con said, his black eyes troubled.

  Rhys rubbed his hands together. “I say we go in guns blazing, so to speak.”

  “You would,” Con said with a shake of his head. “Nay. We need to be subtler. Kiril and Rhi are being held close together, which will make freeing them easier.”

  Phelan licked his lips as he glanced at the Queen of the Fae. “You did hear the part where I said Rhi was being held by the Chains of Mordare?”

  “Don’t even say those words,” Usaeil ordered, her skin going pale.

  Con didn’t even give Usaeil a glance as he said, “I heard you. It doesna change the fact we need to get her free.”

  “That isn’t possible,” Usaeil said. Her eyes met Phelan’s, and they were filled with sadness.

  “Regardless of how heavy those chains are, they can no’ be too heavy for a dragon,” Rhys said. “If we can no’ get them off her, we take her—and the chains—to Dreagan.”

  Usaeil was shaking her head of black hair before he finished. “You don’t want to do that. Those chains … just trust me. You don’t want them anywhere near Dreagan.”

  “I’m no’ leaving her in there,” Phelan stated emphatically.

  Rhys’s forehead creased in a frown. “How bad is she?”

  “Terrible.”

  It was all Phelan could say. There were no words to state how he had found Rhi. In the short time he had known her, she had always been bright and filled with laughter and a sarcastic reply at the ready.

  He used to laugh at how often she changed the color of her nails and how they always matched what she was wearing. She was loyal to the Light Fae and to him to a degree that often put her life in danger. And despite a sordid history with the Dragon Kings, she had come to their aid several times recently.

  “I can’t lose her,” Usaeil said softly.

  That drew the eyes of all three males. It was Con who nodded and said, “We need a plan that will get us all in and out with our friends.”

  “I’ll get Shara,” Phelan stated. “I know where’s she’s kept, and I know Kiril will want her freed.”

  Rhys slapped him on the back. “Aye. You’re right. I’ll go with Usaeil and get Rhi.”

  Phelan didn’t miss the frown upon the Light Queen’s brow. He didn’t have a chance to question it since Usaeil herself cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

  “I’ve got someone else I must see inside the fortress,” she declared.

  Con glanced around. “If you’ve no’ noticed, Usaeil, we’re standing in the middle of a Dark Fae lawn. I’m no’ going to argue with you over this.”

  “That’s right,” she said ardently. “We don’t have time. You get Kiril, Rhys will get Rhi, and Phelan will find Shara.”

  Phelan understood then. “While you confront Balladyn.”

  The Queen of Light smiled as she tossed back a lock of midnight hair over her shoulder. “He was once my greatest warrior.”

  “What was he to Rhi?” Con asked.

  Usaeil hesitated a moment. “They were like siblings. Balladyn was there after…”

  There was no need for her to finish. All of them understood she was referring
to when Rhi and her Dragon King lover ended their relationship.

  Phelan looked at Rhys and Con. It could be either of them. Yet, Phelan had seen Rhys with her. She interacted with Rhys like an old friend, not a lover.

  Con, on the other hand, Rhi hated with a passion. And he returned the sentiment. There was too much hate for there to have been anything more, no matter how long ago it might have been.

  “What’s the plan then?” Phelan asked.

  Con looked at Usaeil, and the two of them smiled cruelly. It was Con who said, “First, Usaeil will draw out Balladyn…”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Shara couldn’t stop shaking. She was cold all the way to her soul—cold because she knew whatever slim chance she might have had with Kiril had evaporated like a puff of smoke.

  “Whatever made you think you could walk away from me?” Balladyn asked.

  “It was all a ruse, just like you said.” She cut her eyes to him. “I’m a very good liar.”

  His gaze grew hard. “That you are, but I think you truly did consider me.”

  “Maybe for an instant, before I realized what I’d be getting into.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ve decided no one else but you will do.”

  She turned her head away from him. She knew it would infuriate him, so it was no surprise when his fingers clamped painfully on her jaw and jerked her head back around.

  “I do love your spirit,” he said, his red eyes alight with madness.

  “Why not choose from one of hundreds of females who crave to be your mate?” Shara asked after she wrenched her head out of his grip.

  “Because they aren’t you. You are my match in every way. Once you realize you were made to be mine, you’ll come to accept that your place is ruling beside me. We have eternity for you to come to that understanding.”

  “That won’t happen.” At least she prayed it didn’t.

  “It will.” He gave a firm nod. “I suspect it’ll take only one or two tasks before we get more silver in your hair. That’s all it will take to get that Dragon King out of your head once and for all.”

  She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes. “Ah. So that’s what this has to do with. It’s not me. It’s the fact that I interacted with Kiril. Just as Rhi had a King lover.”