by Donna Grant
Usaeil laughed, but it was drowned out by chanting from the Dark, calling for her death. Keltan exchanged a look with Ulrik at the sound. It wasn’t long before some of the Light joined in.
Keltan looked at Con, who was staring at the ground with a frown. Keltan then shifted his gaze to Balladyn to see how he fared, but the Dark was gone. He tapped Ulrik on the arm. “Where did Balladyn go?”
“I have a theory,” Ulrik said.
Con drew in a breath and lifted his head, meeting Keltan’s gaze.
Keltan started to ask Con if he’d seen what happened, then he realized it must be the Reapers. They wouldn’t help in the battle, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there in other ways.
* * *
More and more Light started to chant for Usaeil’s death. It was music to Rhi’s ears as she and Usaeil circled each other. The darkness had been calling to her for the entire battle. Rhi had thought she could ignore it and win against the queen, but now she knew that wasn’t the case.
Rhi had no choice but to embrace the very thing she’d been running from.
“Yessssssssssss,” the darkness purred.
Rhi took a deep breath and welcomed it into her soul. There was no pain, but there was a surge of power that went through her. She was then able to see Usaeil in her true form. The queen’s hair was nearly completely silver, and her eyes blazed bright red.
“You fooled us all for so long,” Rhi said.
Usaeil smiled. “I’m not done yet.”
“Oh, yes, you are.”
Rhi heard someone shout her name. She knew the Kings were nervous. She could see herself glowing. But she had complete control over it. She couldn’t tell any of them that, though. Not now—not until Usaeil was dead.
Usaeil attacked first. Rhi watched it as if in slow-motion. She was easily able to block all of the queen’s attacks, including the magical ones. Rhi toyed with Usaeil for a bit as she realized that it wasn’t a trick of her mind, she actually saw things in slow-motion.
“Feel the power I give you,” the darkness whispered seductively. “Now show Usaeil.”
Rhi reached up and grabbed Usaeil’s right wrist before kicking the blade out of the queen’s left. Rhi then swept Usaeil’s feet from under her so she fell onto her back. That’s when Rhi plunged her sword into Usaeil’s heart. And twisted the blade.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
The hush that descended over the battlefield the moment Rhi’s blade pierced Usaeil was bone-chilling. The Light could hardly believe that their queen was not only defeated but also dead. And the Dark, as well as the Dragon Kings, were more than a little shocked at how easily Rhi had crushed Usaeil.
Keltan was ecstatic that Usaeil was no longer alive, but he didn’t want to celebrate with the others. He wanted to get back to Dreagan and Bernadette.
“Shite,” Rhys murmured not far from Keltan’s left ear.
Keltan glanced at Rhys with a frown, then turned to where Rhys was looking. That’s when Keltan realized that Rhi was glowing—brightly.
That was never a good sign since it indicated that Rhi was losing control of her anger. She had accidentally blown up a realm before because she couldn’t control the power, which meant that everyone was now on edge to see what Rhi would do.
To Keltan’s shock, Con was the one who made his way to Rhi. But if they expected Rhi to listen to anyone, they were sorely mistaken. She turned away from Con, not even pretending to hear him.
“Rhi!” Constantine bellowed.
She kept walking, glowing brighter and brighter all the while. Fae—both Light and Dark—started teleporting as far from the area as they could. None of the Dragon Kings left. They remained, watching and waiting.
Rhi made her way to the spot where Balladyn had lain, bleeding out. She dropped to her knees without asking where he’d gone. She didn’t utter a single syllable—but everyone who remained felt her heart-wrenching anguish, her soul-deep grief.
Keltan glanced at Con to see the King of Kings with a deep frown furrowing his brow. Con didn’t take his gaze from Rhi, not even when Ulrik moved to his side.
Despite the confusion and more than a little worry, no King spoke a word. Rhys started toward Rhi when she suddenly threw back her head and released a bellow filled with such fury that Keltan could feel it on the air, cutting through everything like lightning.
More disturbing was the fact that Rhi’s eyes kept shifting from silver to red and back again. Keltan wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Rhi closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest as she put a hand on the ground where Balladyn had lain. Keltan spotted a tear roll down Rhi’s cheek. But before any of them could go to her to comfort her, she straightened in one fluid motion and stalked back to Usaeil.
After yanking her sword free, Rhi lifted it over her head and sliced the blade through the air. Right before it severed the queen’s head, Usaeil’s body disappeared.
“Now, you take her soul?” Rhi screamed into the air. She threw out her arms. “Is this what you wanted? Is that what you saw? Is this why Daire followed me all those months? You wanted to see this! But you don’t let me take my revenge?”
Every word that fell from Rhi’s lips was like a knife in each of the Kings. Keltan had known she was hurting. Hell, all of them had, but there wasn’t one of them who truly understood how much until that moment.
Keltan’s gaze moved to a certain Dragon King. Well, there was one of them who had comprehended Rhi’s anger and resentment. He’d known from the very beginning. It was too bad that she wouldn’t listen to him now. Not that Keltan could blame her.
If Keltan were in her shoes, he’d tell the King to kiss his ass. And Rhi might very well do just that. This was a side of Rhi that none of them had seen before. Frankly, Keltan wasn’t sure what he could do to help. And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to assist, but his mind was on Bernadette.
“She let the darkness in,” Rhys murmured in dismay.
Keltan drew in a deep breath. “Doona judge her.”
“Rhi is judging herself.” Rhys shook his head. “I never expected this to happen.”
Keltan had always hoped that Rhi would best Usaeil, and they all knew that Rhi had power she hadn’t yet tapped into. That’s what she’d done today, and the result was in their favor. But what would it ultimately do to Rhi?
More importantly, who would rule the Light and Dark, since both their leaders were dead?
Rhi slowly let her gaze move over the Dragon Kings. Blood coated her as it did the rest of them. Rhi had a line of blood that ran diagonally from her right temple, over her nose, and down her left cheek to her jaw. With the gleaming white stone of the castle behind her and the darkening sky over her, it made for a striking picture. One Keltan would never forget.
“Ryder,” Keltan called as he opened the mental link.
He expected an immediate answer, so when there wasn’t one, Keltan grew frantic. He turned his head to Con, who bowed his head, acknowledging that Keltan could leave.
Without a word to anyone else, Keltan shifted and jumped into the air. His wings caught a current, and he soared straight into the clouds before flying swiftly to Dreagan. He wasn’t the only one. V was right beside him.
The entire flight there, both he and V kept trying to communicate with anyone at Dreagan, but no one answered.
An eternity later, Dreagan came into view. That’s when Keltan saw the smoke curling into the air. He and V exchanged looks before they split apart and went in different directions toward the manor.
“I doona see anything,” V said a moment later.
Keltan’s gaze scanned the ground, looking for anyone or anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. “Me, either.”
“Then Ryder should be answering us.”
“I’m going in.”
“I’ll keep a lookout from above,” V said.
Keltan dove toward the back of Dreagan Mountain. His keen eyesight didn’t pick up any movement of humans or anything electron
ic. He spread his wings and glided into the mountain before landing. As soon as he did, he shifted.
He stood silently in the cavern for a full minute as he listened. Even when the Kings and mates were scarce, the manor hummed with a specific type of energy. There was none of that now. It was as if every living soul had left Dreagan.
“Keltan?”
He jerked at the sound of V’s voice in his head. “You should get down here.”
It wasn’t long before V stood beside him. They exchanged a look before heading toward the main tunnel that led to the manor. On the way, they stopped and checked on the Silvers. The four dragons still slept peacefully.
They continued on. Upon entering the house, it was as quiet as the mountain.
“Something isna right,” Keltan said.
V shook his head. “Nay. It isna.”
They both put a hand on the wall of the manor and pushed dragon magic into it. Almost immediately, Keltan felt a surge of Druid magic, one he recognized.
“Eilish,” he said, looking at V.
V met his gaze. “And Shara.”
Keltan tested the magic again, and sure enough, he also felt Shara’s Fae magic. “Everything is warded and secure.”
“Then where did the smoke come from?”
Keltan had forgotten about that after finding Dreagan deserted. “I’ll check that out if you want to finish searching the house.”
V walked off with a nod, while Keltan headed outside. He made his way around to the front of the manor to where he’d spotted the smoke. He found the rocks that formed a circle where flames erupted straight from the ground.
“Dragon magic,” he murmured.
He followed the spiral of smoke upward until his gaze caught on the mountains. Keltan smiled as he realized exactly what had happened.
“They’re in our mountains, V,” Keltan said.
V walked out of the manor, but he didn’t wear a smile. “That doesna explain why no one will communicate with us.”
No, it sure didn’t. Keltan’s grin faded as he turned back to the mountains. “Either they can no’ hear us, or they’ve used some spell to ensure they remain hidden.”
“If Claire or the bairn is hurt in any way, I’m going to resurrect Usaeil myself just so I can kill her again,” V said between clenched teeth.
Though all the Kings had suffered, V had endured much more than any of them except for Ulrik. Or maybe Con. No one had said it, but they all knew that the odds of V’s and Claire’s child surviving were slim. Still, Keltan held out hope for him.
After all, it would destroy V if Claire died.
No sooner had that thought gone through Keltan’s mind than Bernadette filled his head. He had to find her. It didn’t matter what he did or didn’t want. All he knew was that she was in his life, and he liked her there.
So what if he fell in love? So what if he found his mate? Others had done it and managed to make it through each day. He could, as well.
“Bernadette,” he whispered and shifted.
He jumped into the air and flew straight to the mountains that he’d seen behind the smoke from the flames. It wasn’t a coincidence that the fire had been created there. It was a way for those who remained behind at Dreagan to tell the others where they had gone.
“Con,” Keltan called. Once the King of Kings opened his link, Keltan continued. “No one is in the manor. It’s empty. As is the mountain. Neither V nor I can get anyone to answer our calls.”
“Rhi isna in a fit shape to be left alone. We’re still trying to get her to stop glowing.”
Keltan wasn’t surprised. “Either V or I will alert you when we find out what’s going on.”
“I just sent Merrill, Cain, and Vaughn your way,” Con told him.
“We’ll keep you posted.”
Keltan severed the link and flew faster to the mountains. He and V circled one after another. They didn’t roar because the sound would carry and attract the attention of mortals. But they kept trying to talk to Ryder and the other Kings who’d remained behind. To no avail.
Keltan had an idea when he flew over his mountain. He landed on top of it and slammed his tail down. V circled overhead as they waited. They didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes, four Kings flew from different mountains.
Keltan called out Ryder’s name when he saw the gray scales, but instead of answering, Ryder slammed a wing into him. Keltan shook his head to clear it. When he looked again, Ryder stood before him in human form.
“Doona use our telepathic link,” Ryder stated angrily.
Keltan shifted as V landed behind them and also returned to his human form. Keltan frowned at Ryder. “What the hell is going on?”
“When Bernadette was hurt, and then Claire became ill, I noticed that every time any King at Dreagan communicated with those at the Light Castle, the women got worse. When I refused to answer or contact you, both Bernadette and Claire got better.”
“That doesna make sense,” V said.
Ryder threw up his hands. “I’m no’ the only one who noticed. Sophie and Denae did, as well.”
“I want to see Bernadette,” Keltan demanded. They could figure out the rest later. Right now, Bernadette was more important.
It wasn’t lost on Keltan how his thoughts and feelings for her had changed.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Something was wrong. Bernadette knew it, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Something had concerned her. She remembered that, just as she could recall feeling as if everything were falling apart.
But she couldn’t recollect what had upset her so.
Maybe that was for the best. She didn’t like that cold, empty feeling inside her when she was upset about something that was out of her control. It was better to let something like that go, to forget.
Yet it kept nagging at her.
“You need to wake up, Bernadette.”
The voice wasn’t hers, and Bernadette didn’t recognize it either. She wanted to ask who it was, but she couldn’t get her voice to work.
“Don’t worry about me.”
There was something distinctive about the feminine voice. There was a Scottish accent to the tone. There was also something else there, something that she knew she should recognize but didn’t.
“Bernadette, listen to me. This is important. You’re fading, and fast.”
Fading? What the hell did the voice mean, she was fading?
“You’re dying.”
Oh. Well. Bernadette wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Do you want to die?”
Bernadette thought of Keltan, of the way his voice made her smile. No, she didn’t want to die. And how did she get so sick in the first place?
“You can remember. It’s right there, just on the edge of your thoughts. I’m not going to lie, it’s going to hurt to recall everything.”
But there was Keltan. He was worth any amount of pain. There was a smile on Bernadette’s face as she followed the thread in her mind to the memories that were just out of reach.
They barreled into her with the force of a train. She gasped as she recalled the pain of being stabbed, of trying to make it to her car and then driving as far as she could to Dreagan.
She remembered the numbness that had taken over her body and the blackness that edged her vision. She’d been in her car thinking about Keltan and how she wanted to tell him she loved him.
The voice had said she was fading, but she wasn’t dead yet. If she wished to live, then she needed to fight. She clung to thoughts of Keltan, to the love that had blossomed so beautifully, so surprisingly. She wasn’t going to let that go without a fight.
Yet the more Bernadette clung to life, the more it felt as if someone—or something—were trying to stop her. Was Usaeil still not dead? Would Bernadette never be rid of her nemesis? And if Usaeil hadn’t been defeated, then what did that mean for the Dragon Kings?
“Keltan. You’re finally here.”
Bernadette’s heart leapt at th
e mention of his name. She knew the voice. It was close to her. She was supposed to know who it was, but she couldn’t put a face or a name to it. Not that she was trying too hard since she couldn’t open her eyes. That disturbed her the most.
She tried to hear what Keltan said, but she couldn’t make out his words. Bernadette frantically clawed at the blackness that cloaked her. She wanted out of it and into the light. She needed to see Keltan’s face and look into his amber eyes.
Suddenly, it felt as if something grabbed hold of her and yanked her down or away, she couldn’t tell which. All Bernadette knew was that something was taking her away from Keltan. She screamed his name over and over in her mind, but none of it made it past her lips—at least that she knew of.
“Bernadette!”
She didn’t know how long the voice had been yelling her name, but somehow, she heard it through her screams. Bernadette grew quiet, waiting to hear what the voice said, even while wondering if she should trust it.
“You’ve no reason to trust me, but I’m here to help. The Others used Usaeil’s magic to connect with you. They have a hold of your soul, and they don’t intend to give it back.”
Bernadette was so stunned at the news that her mind went blank with shock. She didn’t know that such things were possible, but she should have figured since it was magic. And anything was possible with magic—as she was finding out.
“I don’t have long. They’re going to notice me soon. The only way the Others can win is if you give up. If you have something strong holding you to life, then you have a chance.”
Bernadette’s eyes filled with tears as she thought of Keltan.
“Keep hold of Keltan. The Others will do anything to make you let go.”
It was so hard. It felt like when Bernadette was a child, hanging on the bars on the playground with her fingers slowly—but surely—losing their grip.
“Love is stronger than anything, Bernadette. Even magic. You can’t fail. Keltan needs you. Just as you need him.”
Bernadette knew she was risking everything by believing the voice. For all she knew, it could be one of the Others, but for some reason, she didn’t think that was true. There was something about the voice that she knew. She wanted to remember.