Burning Desire

by Donna Grant

  Her eyes were wild with terror. Their gazes met, and he saw the regret in her red depths just before she was thrown against the far wall, her screams filling his head.

  “Nay!” Kiril bellowed as he tried to go to her, only to be held in check by the damn chains.

  Con rushed to Shara, but before he reached her, she was tossed against the ceiling. Kiril looked at Balladyn to see his homicidal grin just before he disappeared.

  Kiril lost what little control he had as fury and trepidation filled him, sending him into a fit of despair to get free and get to Shara.

  * * *

  Rhi lay on her back basking in the sunlight, her hand twirling leisurely in the brilliant rays. How she had missed the sun. Never again would she descend into anything to do with the Dark. It didn’t matter who asked for her help.

  Even if it was him.

  A large hand smoothed down her hair, a hand she knew well. Rhi turned her head and looked at her lover. He smiled down at her as he covered her body with his own. No one had ever loved her as he had. And no one ever would.

  She wanted to ask him where he had been. She wanted to know why he had turned away from her, but none of that mattered right now. Not when he was in her arms again.

  Her fingers delved into his long hair. Normally he kept it trimmed much shorter, but he had grown it out for her. How sexy he looked with his long hair. Whether he wore it in a queue or let the silky locks graze his shoulders, he was by far the most gorgeous male to ever walk the earth.

  She gazed into his eyes the color of—

  “Hello, pet.”

  She jerked at the hated voice that had entered her dream. Rhi tried to turn away from Balladyn, to get back to the place with her lover, but it was gone, vanished. The pain from the jagged floor dug into her legs and ass. Rhi searched for the light that was inside her, the light that made her Fae. It was what had kept her going, but she feared it was dead now.

  “Look at me,” Balladyn demanded.

  She kept her head down, though not by choice. It was too hard for her to lift it to glare at him. The Chains of Mordare were sapping her of every ounce of strength the longer they were on her.

  “What? No sarcasm?” Balladyn taunted. “Is the light gone, pet? I thought you would’ve held out longer. Perhaps you aren’t as strong as I thought you were.”

  Rhi wanted to remember her hatred of Balladyn even after she became Dark. He would be the first one she killed. No longer did she deny what would be her fate. She accepted what was to come, but there would be consequences.

  Dimly, she could hear screams from somewhere else in the dungeon. It was a woman, and by the fear and pain in the cries, Rhi knew exactly what was attacking her. It was the same thing that had attacked her.

  A male shout joined the female’s screams. Rhi wanted to feel sorry for them, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel much of anything.

  Balladyn leaned close. “You’re weak, pet.”

  She couldn’t even bring herself to come up with a response. He was right. Balladyn had always been right about her, about everything. Hadn’t he been the one to tell her it wouldn’t work between her and her lover?

  “Give yourself to the dark,” he whispered seductively. “Let go of the pain and the past. Become who you were meant to be.”

  Meant to be. She was meant to be guarding her queen. She was meant to be doing everything she could to annoy the Dragon Kings.

  She was meant to be in the sun.

  “No,” she said, though it came out more like a mumble instead of the shout she’d intended.

  “No one wants you. Not like I do,” Balladyn continued. “I had to hurt you to break you and make you into the Dark that will bring the others to their knees. Just say yes, and I can free you from those chains.”

  Rhi wanted the chains off desperately, but not enough to give up the last of her light.

  “No one will come for you,” Balladyn said, a note of glee in his voice. “Especially not your Dragon King. He turned you away, remember? He released you, forsaking your love. He cast you aside like a piece of filth he couldn’t get rid of fast enough.”

  No!

  The shout echoed in her mind even as Rhi began to shake with rage.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Con burst through door after door in the dungeon looking for Balladyn. He hadn’t been able to free Kiril or stop whatever was attacking Shara, but he could kill the bastard who’d instigated it all.

  Rhys was on the opposite side of the hall searching for Rhi with no luck. It would be just like Balladyn to move Rhi at the last minute before they could reach her.

  Con kicked through the next door and stilled when his gaze landed on Balladyn squatting beside someone. Con barely recognized the figure as Rhi, and he probably wouldn’t have realized it was her except for the fact she began to glow.

  Whatever Balladyn was whispering in her ear wasn’t working as he’d expected, if his face was any indication. Balladyn got to his feet and took a couple of hasty steps back.

  Rhys rushed through the door and skidded to a stop beside Con. “Oh shit.”

  “There’s no escaping what comes next,” Con said to Balladyn.

  Balladyn’s head snapped to him. “There is for me.”

  In the next second, Balladyn was gone. Con shouted to Rhys to warn Kiril. Rhys rushed back out as Con started toward Rhi to try and calm her before she destroyed the fortress. Only once before had Con witnessed the explosive power of her fury. When the dust had settled, there had been nothing left of the realm.

  “Rhi!” he shouted as he neared. “Rhi, you need to focus. Think of creating, not destroying!”

  His words weren’t penetrating her mind as the glowing increased. Con stopped before her and touched her, only to jerk his hands back when her skin burned him. Her head lifted, the strange glow shooting from her eyes as well. She opened her mouth and screamed as the glow burst from her lips.

  Suddenly her arms were outstretched, the clinking of the chains drowned out by her shout. Con looked on worriedly as something lifted her upward until she hung in midair and the glow grew blinding.

  There was half a second of silence before the explosion from Rhi shook the very foundation of the compound. Con flew backward from the shock wave. He slammed into the far wall, the impact knocking the air from his lungs just as the walls crumbled around him, trapping his arm.

  Con covered his head with his unpinned arm as chunks of stone rained down on him from the ceiling. It took several minutes before the collapse stopped. Once it did, he lifted his head and shook off the dirt and debris. His gaze searched the rubble looking for a glimpse of Rhi. He found her lying, unmoving, atop a pile of stone, no longer glowing.

  Con tried to rise, but his right arm was well and truly trapped. With his free hand, he shoved off the stone nearest him, but it did nothing to help. He continued to push stones away as rapidly as he could. Rhi was vulnerable right now, and it was also the perfect time to get her somewhere safe before she woke and repeated the process.

  He had to see to Rhi, Rhys, Kiril, and Shara so they could get out before any Dark found them. Con grunted as he rolled off a large stone that allowed him to almost get free. A movement caught his eye. He looked up to see a shape standing in the large hole in the wall near Rhi. The shape became that of a man who turned to him.

  Anger spiked through Con when he recognized him. “Ulrik,” he said through clenched teeth.

  His nemesis smiled slyly. “Did you think I wouldna hear she was taken?”

  “Leave her.”

  “Or what?” Ulrik asked. “Shall we finally battle, brother?”

  Con jerked his pinned arm against the stone, and managed only to scrape a large portion of skin from his arm in his bid to get free. He ground his teeth together as he watched Ulrik walk to Rhi and squat beside her.

  Ulrik chuckled softly before he lifted Rhi in his arms. She hung limply, the broken Chains of Mordare dangling from her wrists.

  “This is
the first of my many wins over you,” Ulrik said with a smile before he stood and walked away.

  Con let his rage free. It erupted from him as he bellowed furiously and busted through the last of the stones. Blood ran down his arm from the rapidly healing wound as he raced after Ulrik, but it didn’t matter where he searched because Ulrik—along with Rhi—was gone.

  * * *

  Kiril opened his eyes to see nothing but wreckage around him. He was lying on his stomach, stones pinning his legs and back. By the pain shooting from his back, he knew it was crushed. The fact he couldn’t feel his legs meant that he had to get the stones off quickly so he could heal and look for Shara.

  He pushed against the ground with his arms to try and dislodge the stone from his back, but it wouldn’t budge. Kiril tried again, but managed only to rock the large stone, sending more pain along his spine.

  “Wait,” came a faint voice Kiril recognized.

  “Rhys?”

  “Aye,” his friend replied. Rocks began to move around him as Rhys’s face came into view. Rhys was covered in dust and blood, but his smile was bright.

  “About damn time,” Kiril said.

  Rhys grunted. “Never satisfied, jerk. Just like a woman.”

  Kiril smiled at his teasing. It was a moment later that Rhys moved the stones from his back and legs. He held up his arms to see the chains dangling from them, but no longer attached to the wall. Only one leg was still chained to the wall.

  Rhys quickly smashed the rock, breaking Kiril free completely. Kiril didn’t want to wait for the healing as he pulled himself into a sitting position and searched for a glimpse of Shara.

  “I’ll look,” Rhys said grimly. “I doona know what caused the collapse, but I doona think it was Balladyn.”

  As soon as Kiril could move his legs, he began to shove aside stones while calling Shara’s name. The longer they went without finding her, the more worried he became.

  “She was here,” Kiril said as he stood against the left wall and pulled the dangling chains close so they wouldn’t get caught beneath any of the stones. “Balladyn had sent something to torture her. She was here. I saw her. She was right here when the walls began to come down.”

  “It must’ve been Rhi who blew up everything,” Rhys said as he straightened from rolling away a large stone.

  “What about her? And Con?”

  Rhys cursed and rushed away, only to return a moment later, his face bleak. “They’re both gone.”

  “Maybe Con got her out,” Kiril said, though his mind was on Shara.

  “There’s a chance Shara got out as well.”

  “Nay,” Kiril said. He began to move the stones quicker.

  Rhys grabbed his arm. “We need to get out before the Dark come.”

  Kiril glared at him. “I’m no’ leaving without her. Or Phelan.”

  “Shit. Phelan,” Rhys mumbled.

  “Someone call my name?” Phelan asked as he walked into what remained of the cell.

  Kiril saw him holding his arm. The Warriors healed, just not as quickly as a Dragon King. The fact Phelan was part Fae meant he mended almost as quickly as a King.

  “I gather this was caused by Rhi?” Phelan asked as he looked around grimly.

  Rhys nodded. “Where is Usaeil?”

  “I doona know. She leveled a group of Dark Fae with some magic after talking to Balladyn. She told me to find the bastard, and I’ve been searching ever since.”

  “Did you see Shara?” Kiril asked.

  Phelan exchanged a look with Rhys before he nodded. “Aye. She led Balladyn away to give us time to get to you and Rhi.”

  “Balladyn brought her here,” Rhys said.

  Kiril inhaled deeply before slowly releasing it. “He tortured her in front of me, knowing I couldn’t help her.”

  “I’m so ready for that asshole to die,” Phelan stated.

  Rhys nodded. “I second that.”

  Con stalked into the cell then, his face a mask of fury unlike anything Kiril had seen since Ulrik attacked the humans.

  “What is it?” Rhys asked.

  Con’s nostrils flared. “Ulrik.”

  Kiril grimaced. “I didna get a chance to tell you. Everything happened so quickly.”

  “He was with you?” Con asked incredulously.

  “Aye. He didna have much to say, and he refused to help me.”

  Con dusted the dirt from his shoulders. “He took Rhi.”

  “What?” Phelan bellowed.

  Rhys ran a hand down his face. “Ah, damn.”

  “Where do you think he took her?” Kiril asked.

  Con glanced around. “Something I plan on asking Usaeil. Where is she?”

  “No one knows,” Rhys said. “She sent Phelan after Balladyn before she disappeared.”

  Con turned on his heel. “It’s time for us to leave.”

  “Nay,” Kiril said. “I’m no’ leaving without Shara.”

  Con paused and slowly turned to look at him. “You’ve no’ found her?”

  Rhys kicked a small rock. “Nay.”

  “There is a lot of rubble,” Kiril said. “She could be beneath any of it.”

  “Is there a chance she got away?” Con asked.

  Kiril put his hands on his hips and dropped his chin to his chest. “You saw what Balladyn was doing to her. There was no time for her to get away.”

  “Let’s hurry and look then,” Phelan said.

  Con gave a nod. “First, Phelan, you’re Fae, so see if you can get those chains off Kiril while Rhys and I start looking.”

  Kiril waited impatiently for Phelan to remove the shackles from his wrists and ankles. Then the four began to quickly and efficiently look through the piles of rock. With every piece of rubble they moved, Kiril held out hope that he would find Shara, and yet there was nothing.

  “There’s no’ a trace of her anywhere,” Rhys said gloomily.

  Kiril had to face the fact that she was gone. But where? How?

  “Balladyn left before Rhi’s magic exploded,” Con said.

  Phelan met Kiril’s gaze and said, “So there’s a chance he could’ve taken her.”

  “Then I’ll find him,” Kiril vowed. His gut twisted with anxiety at what Balladyn could be doing to her.

  “Nay,” Con said as he stepped in front of him. “We find him.”

  * * *

  Balladyn surveyed what was left of his fortress and let his anger seethe and grow until it consumed him. To make matters worse, both Rhi and Shara were gone.

  He didn’t know who had them, but he would hunt down and kill whoever had taken them. Then he would bring both females back. Rhi was close to becoming Dark, and Shara he would punish for several years for what she’d dared to do to him.

  As for the Dragon Kings, he wasn’t finished with them either.

  “This didn’t exactly turn out as you wanted, did it?” asked a cultured English accent.

  Balladyn whirled around, ready to take his head off when he recognized the man. Taraeth had aligned with him years ago, and it was because of him that they knew the Dragon Kings were hiding a powerful weapon.

  “What do you want?” Balladyn demanded, looking into his gold eyes.

  He smiled. “I want only to help you.”

  “Then where were you when I had the Dragon King?”

  “Kiril?” He waved his hands at the name. “He’s not who you need to concern yourself with. It’s true that having any Dragon King is a coup, but there is another King you need to focus on.”

  Balladyn rolled his eyes, because the answer was obvious. “Constantine.”

  “No. If you want to win, you need to divide and conquer the Kings. First, division. I’ve already begun it with Tristan. I’ll have him soon enough.”

  “Then who?” Balladyn demanded. “And why aren’t you telling Taraeth?”

  The man smiled, his gold eyes twinkling with glee. “I already have. He’s in agreement regarding who we target next.”

  “Who?” Balladyn asked aga
in.

  “One who challenges Con daily. None other than Rhys.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “Our time is running out here,” Rhys said as he met the others in the great hall.

  Kiril blew out a breath. “I agree. We’ve searched this entire fortress for Shara and Balladyn.”

  Phelan cracked his knuckles while he looked around at all the dead Dark. “I doona like this place.”

  “I know Shara’s scent. I could find her in dragon form,” Kiril stated.

  Con crossed his arms over his chest and raised a blond brow. “And draw every Dark in this wretched realm? Your feelings for her are making you careless.”

  “You mean, he’s acting like me,” Rhys said, contempt lacing his voice.

  Kiril stepped between them and placed a hand on Rhys’s chest. He waited for Rhys to give a nod acknowledging he was calm, and then Kiril turned his head to Con. “No’ all of us can sever our emotions as you have.”

  “I made sure all of you did for thousands of centuries.”

  “That all changed for the Kings,” Phelan pointed out. “Con, no’ even you can stop someone’s feelings once those feelings have begun.”

  Kiril grew perplexed by the way Con didn’t bat an eye at Phelan’s words. It made Kiril suspicious of just what Con would do if he was pushed.

  “I hate to agree with Con, Kiril,” Rhys said grudgingly. “But we’re no’ in a castle hidden in Ireland as we were with Kellan and Tristan. We’re on the Fae realm. Shifting into a dragon wouldna be wise.”

  Kiril swallowed and turned away from everyone. “I know. Remaining here any longer is dangerous. We need to return to our realm.”

  “Scotland,” Con corrected.

  Phelan snorted. “First, we need to get the hell off this realm through the one doorway I know that leads back to Earth.”

  Kiril fell into step behind Rhys, who followed Phelan as they exited the great hall down a corridor. He glanced over his shoulder at Con whose black eyes were as cold and blank as always. Something more was going on that Constantine wasn’t telling them. The fact Ulrik had been there was bad enough, but he had also left with Rhi. Nothing good could come of that.