by Donna Grant
Kinsey let her deal with that as she went to the nearest camera. She checked the wiring, but everything looked fine.
“You can stop,” Eilish said from behind her. “Bernadette isn’t here. The blood trail leads out of the house, and her car is gone.”
Kinsey turned to Eilish. “These are Ryder’s cameras. They don’t freeze.”
“I’m sure magic was used. That doesn’t matter now,” Eilish told her. “We need to find Bernadette. Fast.”
The worry in Eilish’s tone hit Kinsey. She glanced at the fat drops of blood and swallowed. “She’s hurt. We promised no one would harm her.”
“Let’s get to the hospital and see if she checked in.”
Kinsey didn’t even have time to agree before Eilish clicked her silver finger rings together and they teleported. Whatever hope they had of finding Bernadette at a hospital was dashed quickly enough.
“I don’t trust them,” Eilish whispered as she eyed the staff.
Kinsey frowned at her. “No one who came in recently fits Bernadette’s description.”
Eilish just gave her a flat look and disappeared. Kinsey looked around to see if anyone noticed the fact that a woman had just vanished in the middle of a crowded corridor. But it just went to show how no one paid attention to things because no one said anything.
Finally, Eilish returned, looking more upset than ever. “Bernadette really isn’t here. Where could she have gone?”
Kinsey’s heart sank as she realized the answer. “The only place she knew she’d be safe.”
“Dreagan,” Eilish replied with a frown.
In the next blink, Kinsey found herself back in the computer room, but Eilish was nowhere to be seen.
“What happened?” Ryder said from behind her.
Kinsey spun around and quickly filled him in as she went to her station. Together, they began searching CCTVs for any sign of Bernadette or her vehicle.
“Usaeil planned this,” Ryder said angrily. “She fully intended to hurt Bernadette.”
“Kill.” Kinsey glanced at him. “She said she’d kill Bernadette.”
Ryder’s face set in determination. “That’s no’ going to happen.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“How does it feel to know that you’ve failed?” Usaeil whispered into Xaneth’s ear.
Her nephew jerked, not from her words but from the torment of his mind. While she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, she had learned many things from watching the Druid, Moreann, dole out punishment to others.
Usaeil hadn’t realized how little magic it took for her to trap someone in their own mind. Then it was just a push to propel them into their worst nightmare.
However, for Xaneth, Usaeil had added her own special kind of spin to it. After all, he’d dared to try and deceive her. Not to mention, he’d sided with Death and the Reapers. As if any of that could go unpunished.
She straightened, staring down at Xaneth. As fun as he was to torment, she had a battle waiting on her. One that had been in the making for far too long.
Usaeil teleported to the Light Castle and walked to stand beside Con. “I told you they would come.”
“So you did,” he murmured as he watched from the tower window.
Her head jerked to him. “You’re sad.”
“I doona want to fight my brothers.”
“You won’t have to,” she told him, though she secretly hoped otherwise. “You just need to remind them you are the King of Kings. They will do as you say.”
He nodded before inhaling deeply. “I’m no’ happy standing up here watching the slaughter of your people.”
“That’s war.”
“You doona mind that your people are dying?” he asked as he looked at her.
She stared into his black eyes in an attempt to see if he was hiding something from her. The spell she’d used when she’d kidnapped him ensured that Con was hers forever. There had been a few days when he’d fought it, but eventually, the spell became too strong for him to overcome.
“Of course, I do,” she replied. “I don’t like to see anyone die.”
“Then we need to get down there and stop it. The other Kings have arrived. As has the Dark Army.”
She rolled her eyes at the mention of the Dark. “Balladyn is here because of Rhi.”
“It doesna matter who is here or why. There’s no need for death.”
Usaeil raised a brow. She had grilled Con relentlessly about the Reapers and Death. Usaeil hadn’t been at all pleased to learn that Death had befriended Con hundreds of years ago. Usaeil had even taken his gold dragon-head cufflinks and the pocket watch and thrown them into the Atlantic Ocean so she wouldn’t have to look at them again.
“You think there’s a battle now,” Usaeil said. “Wait until they spot me.”
“You’re the queen. Stop all of this, now.”
“They’re here because of me, Con.”
His gaze went hard. “I know. Do your duty and stop it.”
For just a moment, she’d thought he was going to say that she should’ve stopped it before it all began. Then she remembered that Con was hers, and she didn’t have to worry about him thinking like … well, like he used to.
The old Con would’ve figured out that she’d set this all in motion. The old Constantine would’ve tried to stop her. But he was no longer that male. The Dragon King who stood with her now was the one she’d always known he could be, the one who would rule beside her for eternity.
“I’ll stop it,” she told him. “Don’t come out until I tell you.”
He bowed his head. “As you wish.”
Usaeil rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Then she looked into his eyes, her heart swelling with love. “This is where we’re supposed to be. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
“No one will be able to hurt us once we’re mated.”
He frowned, his hands grabbing her arms. “You’re worried about someone.”
Usaeil tried to shrug away his words, but he wasn’t buying it. She blew out a breath. “I was going to tell you after the battle was over anyway. The Others, who have made your life difficult? Well, I’m part of them.”
“I knew that.”
“Of course, you did,” she said, more to herself than him. She cleared her throat. “The thing is, they want the Kings gone. Not just from this realm, but from existence. All dragons, really.”
“Why?”
Usaeil shrugged and stepped away. “They gave a big long speech eons ago. I don’t really remember. I joined them because I liked the idea of finding a new home.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “The Others came to this realm before your world was destroyed.”
“I know. I was with them,” she stated.
Con’s eyes narrowed on her. “All of this is a lie, then? You want us—me—dead.”
“No,” she said hastily and rushed back to him, her hands on his chest. “I did at one time, but that changed when I got to know you. The things you did to help end our civil war as well as terminating the Fae Wars was amazing. You were … brilliant. I knew then that I wanted you.”
“Obviously, the Others are still around.”
Usaeil nodded with a long sigh. “Unfortunately. I’m a bit concerned about the head Druid, but the others I can take on easily. Especially with you by my side.”
“Why do the Others hate my kind so much?”
“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. We’re going to end them once and for all.”
Con took a couple of steps back from her. “Usaeil, you were part of the traps set up for my brethren. And me.”
“I know where the Others are. I can stop all of it. I just need to kill Moreann first.”
“Moreann?” he repeated the name, a question on his lips.
Usaeil didn’t want to talk about the Druids, but doing so meant that she could prolong the battle taking place outside. “She’s the leader of the Druids.”
“On thi
s realm?”
“She’s from another realm. She and her people were the ones who brought the mortals here.”
Con’s frown disappeared. Usaeil knew that face. It was the one he used when he didn’t want anyone to know what he was thinking, and that simply wouldn’t do.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” she demanded.
“I’m thinking I want to find this Druid and have a word with her.”
Usaeil chuckled as she imagined the look of surprise on Moreann’s face. “That’ll never happen. At least not if Moreann knows you’ll be there. She’s scared of you, of all dragons, I think.”
“We’ve never ventured from the realm until the mortals arrived and the war broke out.”
She walked to him and took his hands in hers. “When this thing with the Kings, Rhi, and the Dark is settled, you and I will have a word with Moreann. Sound good?”
“You can contact her easily?”
“We meet on the Fae Realm.”
Con jerked back, his face contorted with shock. “There isna much left.”
“Which is why it’s perfect. No one thinks to look there, and no one ever goes there.”
“I’m eager to … meet … her.”
Usaeil bet he was. She kept her smile to herself because the one being who could make sure that the Others never bothered her again was Constantine. “You will.”
“Good. Now, let’s take care of the battle.”
She wanted to roll her eyes, but she stopped herself at the last minute. She was trying to be the kind of queen that Con admired. He didn’t like some of her tactics. It was just that she had been doing them for so long that she didn’t consider other ways. He was making her do that.
He was forcing her to look at everything differently, to see if there was another way—and if it benefited her more than what she would normally do.
Even a month ago, she would’ve scoffed at the idea of anyone changing her. But it was different with Con. He made her want to be better. He reminded her of the Light Fae she’d once been before she realized what she could accomplish with power—before she coveted that might and decided that no one would stand in her way of achieving it.
Now that she had it, she no longer needed to think like she once had. And now that she knew she and Con would be mated, she’d discovered a peace that she hadn’t realized she needed—or wanted.
With Con, she could be the Fae she was supposed to be. She would unite the Light and the Dark. With their marriage, the Kings could look to the Fae to give them the children they hadn’t been able to have before.
There was just one little hiccup in gaining everything Usaeil desired—Death and the Reapers. But Usaeil wasn’t worried about the so-called friendship Con had with Death. He did whatever Usaeil wanted, and she wanted Death gone. Con would do it. And once Death was killed, then the remaining Dragon Kings could take care of the other Reapers.
The Fae would no longer have to worry about someone judging them and taking their souls. The only one they would have to be concerned with is her.
“I love you,” Usaeil told Con.
He grinned and ran his fingers down her cheek. “The sooner we take care of this battle, the sooner we can be alone.”
Now he was talking. “Then I’d better get to it.”
“Aye,” he murmured in that deep, sexy voice of his.
Usaeil shivered in anticipation of some alone time. She had been so preoccupied with Xaneth, Rhi, Bernadette, and the Others that she hadn’t been able to spend the time with Con that she’d wanted. But if she were to keep everything on track, she didn’t have a choice.
She winked at him before teleporting to the battle. Usaeil watched from a hidden spot. She didn’t like to admit that Rhi was a truly gifted warrior, but she was. And even now, the Light Fae and Balladyn were fighting side by side.
Usaeil wondered what might have happened had Balladyn told Rhi of his feelings before she’d met her Dragon King. Would Rhi have loved Balladyn in return? The two of them could’ve produced amazing children.
But that wasn’t what happened. If it had, Usaeil wouldn’t be standing where she was, wanting nothing more than to cut Rhi down where she stood. That was coming. Usaeil couldn’t wait to feel the relief when Rhi was finally gone for good.
Usaeil looked up at the dragons circling over her, their fire raining down to scorch the earth and whatever else was in its way. It was no wonder Moreann and her people were terrified of the dragons, but she’d gone about things wrong. Instead of making them an enemy, she should’ve aligned with them just as Usaeil was doing. What Moreann had failed to do worked to Usaeil’s advantage.
While Usaeil was looking forward to killing Rhi to get rid of her, Usaeil could hardly wait to see Moreann’s face right before Con ended her life. It would be glorious.
Usaeil wanted to draw out the battle, but she also wanted to start her life as Con’s mate. That couldn’t happen until the skirmish was over, which meant she had to make a decision. She’d pictured this day for so long, yet it didn’t hold the joy she’d thought it would.
That was because she had Con waiting for her. Their new life together was just out of reach. With him, she could feel whole and loved like never before. She wouldn’t have to watch her back because he’d do it for her. Just as she would watch his.
For the first time in her life, she wouldn’t have to be alone. That was because Con was her equal in all ways. He’d seen it. Otherwise, they never would have become lovers. It was Rhi’s interference that had ruined it. As soon as Rhi was gone, Usaeil’s revenge would be complete.
She called up her sword and armor and walked from her hiding place. It took seconds for Rhi’s gaze to find her.
Usaeil smiled. “Let’s finish this.”
CHAPTER FORTY
It was becoming harder and harder for Bernadette to see, and to make matters worse, it had begun to rain. She kept blinking, trying in vain to make her eyes focus properly.
The attention she had to pay to the road and other drivers helped to keep her from thinking about her wound and the fact that the blood continued to flow. The pain, however, was unbearable, and she’d only driven for forty minutes. How would she ever make it to Dreagan?
She wouldn’t. The realization brought tears to her eyes. Bernadette sniffed and gave herself a mental shake. There wasn’t time to cry.
She spotted a hospital sign, but she didn’t take the turn-off. She wasn’t sure who she could trust. It was better if she got to Dreagan. If she made it there.
“I can’t think that way,” she told herself.
She had to stay positive. If she allowed the weak thoughts to pervade her mind, then she was already a lost cause. She thought about Keltan and smiled as she pictured his face. That’s really why she was going to Dreagan.
Bernadette pulled off the road and put the vehicle in park. But Keltan wasn’t at Dreagan. He was fighting Usaeil like she’d told him to. Not that she regretted it. Sure, she wished he had been there when she got stabbed, but he needed to be with his brethren, going up against someone as evil as Usaeil.
She glanced down at her wound. Her lower body was covered in blood, which had begun to soak into her seat, as well. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She had been so stupid to believe that she was untouchable. Well, to be fair, she was when it came to Usaeil.
It had never dawned on Bernadette that the queen would use a mortal, but it should have. Usaeil had used her to get to the Kings. Why wouldn’t Usaeil use that same tactic to get to her? The queen had warned her that she would die if the Kings didn’t back off.
And Bernadette had sent away the one person who could’ve helped her. Talk about irony. She was going to die alone, sitting on the side of the road. What an idiot she was. She could’ve been safe at Dreagan, which was where Keltan had begged her to go.
She should’ve done it. She’d gained nothing new from Usaeil that’d helped the Dragon Kings. In fact, Bernadette would argue that her remaining at her house
had impeded the Kings. And that’s precisely what Usaeil had counted on.
Even trying to think outside the box had landed Bernadette smack-dab where Usaeil wanted her. Bernadette began to wonder if the Kings could kill the queen. Usaeil seemed to know every move Bernadette made. Or, at least, Usaeil had been prepared for different scenarios. Not that it mattered now.
Bernadette closed her eyes and let her thoughts move to something much more appealing—Keltan. She smiled as she thought about the time she’d gotten with him. A real-life dragon, but not just any dragon, a Dragon King.
And he’d wanted her. She still couldn’t believe that. For a few days, she had been someone special. That had never happened before in her life.
Tears poured down her face as she realized that her time was running out. She wouldn’t get to see Keltan again or know if he’d won against Usaeil. She wouldn’t get to look into his amber eyes and see them crinkle with laughter or darken with desire.
She wouldn’t get to feel his arms around her again or have him hold her. She wouldn’t know the taste of his kiss or the way his body moved inside hers.
She wouldn’t know his love.
In that moment, as darkness began to close in around her, she knew for certain that she loved him. It didn’t matter what had drawn her to him to begin with. Maybe it was Usaeil. Perhaps it was Fate. But the love that filled her now had nothing to do with magic or spells. It was real.
She held on to it tightly as it became more difficult to breathe. But the harder she tried to hold on, the more it slipped from her fingers, just like her consciousness and her life.
Bernadette felt it all fade away. Her last thought was of Keltan and the fact that she’d never gotten to tell him that she loved him.
* * *
Eilish appeared on the side of the road, instantly soaked by the rain storm as her gaze landed on Bernadette’s car. She rushed to the passenger side and tried to open the door, but it was locked.
She snapped her fingers, using her magic to open it. Then Eilish moved into the seat. “No,” she whispered when she discovered Bernadette slumped over.
Eilish grabbed Bernadette’s hand and clicked her finger rings together to take them back to Dreagan. As soon as they appeared in the bedroom, others quickly gathered up Bernadette and brought her to the bed.