by Donna Grant
“Rhi?” he called when she didn’t move.
She was dressed in all white from her scooped-neck sweater that fell to her hips to her jeans to the ankle boots. The glint of something on her shoes caught his attention. He moved another step closer and discovered that there were rhinestones on them, beginning lightly over the top of her foot before covering the entire toe area.
Her black hair was hanging down her back as she stood, unmoving. Almost as if she were mesmerized by the view. More than that, she looked sad. He didn’t have to ask if she knew of Balladyn’s new orders declaring open season on humans because it was evident in her demeanor.
“How did you find me?” he asked.
She blinked, then said in a soft Irish brogue, “This is a very tranquil place. Somewhere you could lose yourself.”
“I suppose.”
“I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be anywhere, actually,” she said.
Ulrik closed the distance between them. “I’m sorry you’re hurting.”
Her head turned to him. “I suspected that you and Balladyn were working together. I dismissed it because I knew you’d never trust anyone. And yet, you just confirmed it.”
“We have a mutual enemy in Mikkel.”
“As well as the Dragon Kings.”
“And a mutual friend,” he said, nodding to her.
Her head swiveled back to the window. “I want to disappear, but I can’t. I have friends who need me, who count on me. There is much going on, Ulrik. More than you know.”
“Tell me,” he urged. Before, he wouldn’t have cared, but now, he needed to know.
And he wasn’t sure why.
She sighed and shifted to face him. “You were once a good man. You can be again.”
“What if I doona want that?”
“You want to be able to return to your home. The fact is, there are more enemies besides the Dark and Mikkel out there attacking the Dragon Kings.”
That wasn’t a complete shock to him. While he’d been secretly visiting his Silvers, he’d heard a few conversations about other enemies.
Ulrik looked into the Light Fae’s silver eyes. “I’ll no’ put aside my revenge.”
“No,” she murmured, her gaze drifting to the floor. After a small hesitation, she looked at him and said, “I’m planning my own retribution.”
This wasn’t Rhi. What had happened to push her to such a degree? Was it Balladyn? Possibly.
“Against?”
Rhi took a deep breath. “Usaeil.”
Ah. He’d briefly forgotten that the Light Queen had asked Taraeth to kill Rhi. “You doona have to worry about that now that Balladyn is King of the Dark.”
“If you think that will stop Usaeil, you’re wrong.”
“What else can she do to you that willna make her look bad?”
Rhi shrugged, shaking her head. “It’s Usaeil. I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
“You’re really going after her?”
“She instigated the breakup of me and.…”
Ulrik put a hand on her arm when her words trailed off. “You’re still alive. You have a wealth of power that I doona think you’ve completely tapped into yet. She made a mistake making you her enemy.”
“How did you do it?” Rhi asked softly.
He didn’t pretend that he didn’t know she was asking about him losing Nala. His hand dropped to his side. “I believed she was my mate. I was prepared to give her immortality, but it wasna until she was dead that I saw who she truly was. If I really loved her, would I have been able to destroy her soul?”
“Did you really?” Rhi asked, shock in her voice and on her face.
“Oh, aye. And I’d do it again. I know what you ask, but I doona think I’m the right person to answer.”
She momentarily closed her eyes.
He caught her gaze. “Several times, you said you stopped loving your King, but I’ve known it for the lie it is every time.”
“I want to stop.”
“I wish I knew a way to help. What are you going to do about Balladyn?”
She shoved her hair back from her face. “I don’t know. I was happy with him.”
“The kind of happiness you had with—”
“Don’t you dare say his name,” she stated. Rhi released a long breath. “I was happy and loved. I saw Balladyn’s eyes turn silver.”
“And you believed that you could help him become a Light again.”
She nodded her head slowly. “I was a fool. He’s Dark and will never be anything else.”
“He loves you.”
“He wants me to be his queen and unite the Fae under one ruler.”
Ulrik had to admit that wasn’t likely to happen. Then again, he’d always known the new Dark King had high aspirations. “Did you get Con to heal him so Balladyn would be beholden to Con?”
“Never,” Rhi said with a roll of her eyes. “All I wanted to do was save Balladyn.”
“It’ll take him a while to cool down.”
She turned her head away. “He’s made his intentions clear. It won’t matter what I say. Balladyn will always believe that I wanted him indebted to the Dragon Kings.”
“Because you love one.”
Her gaze slid back to him. “I’m numb right now. Completely. But I have to return to MacLeod Castle.…” Her voice trailed off as if she realized she’d said too much.
He studied her intently. “What do you no’ want me to know?”
“I told you the Kings had other enemies. You claim to want to destroy them, but then you actually help on occasion.”
“Doona paint me a good man, Rhi. Shall I remind you of all the bad? I did try to kill Darcy and Rachel.”
The Fae made a sound in the back of her throat. “I don’t need reminding, but ignoring who you are and what connects you won’t stop the enemy that’s coming.”
“What enemy?”
“Druids and Fae united to deliver powerful magic aimed at bringing down the Dragon Kings. Any and all.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
If there was one thing besides betrayal that Ulrik hated, it was being surprised. Rhi’s words shocked him to his very core.
Perhaps he should’ve paid more attention when he was wandering the tunnels of the mountain connected to Dreagan Manor. He’d assumed he, Mikkel, and the Dark were the only ones the Kings had to worry about.
“Tell me more,” Ulrik demanded.
Rhi hesitated before saying, “A dragon skeleton was found on Fair Isle.”
“How? I heard Con issue the order for all the dead to be destroyed before the dragons crossed the dragon bridge.”
“It seems that there was more going on than anyone realized,” Rhi explained. “It appears the White wasn’t destroyed. It was killed and then cloaked with magic so Dmitri wouldn’t find it when he was removing traces of the other dead dragons.”
Ulrik shook his head in disbelief. “And you believe Druids and Fae did this? Our magic is stronger than theirs.”
“Unless they combine their powers. As in a mie and drough and a Light and Dark.”
“Holy shite.” Ulrik turned away as he let that information sink in. It was nearly impossible to wrap his head around the fact that such a union would happen now, much less so many centuries ago.
The Fae ignored the Druids for the most part. To discover that both sects of such powerful beings gathered and focused their intent on the Dragon Kings unsettled him to his very core.
He spun back to Rhi. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “There was a small, wooden dragon found beneath the skeleton that was an exact replica of Con. Any King that comes into contact with it has an overwhelming urge to kill every mortal. It happened to Con, Dmitri, Kiril, and Rhys.”
Ulrik swallowed hard as the news kept getting worse. “Did you touch it?”
“No, but Shara did. It seems to affect Fae differently. We see other people, places, and times.”
“And the mortals? What about them?”
Concern flashed across Rhi’s face. “Nothing good.”
“What are you no’ telling me?” he pressured.
She sighed dramatically. “You’ll keep pushing until I tell you, so fine. But you aren’t going to like it.”
He glared at her. “Tell me.”
Rhi glanced away. “Dmitri’s mate, Faith, touched it. She fell unconscious, and when she woke, she ran from Dreagan.”
“Why?” Ulrik asked, confused. Dreagan was a safe place.
Instead of answering, Rhi continued. “Of course, Dmitri found her in the Dragonwood. He confronted her, and she began screaming about ending the reign of Dragon Kings. Then she lifted the wooden dragon over her head and ran at him. Right before she reached Dmitri, a blade extended from the totem.”
Ulrik shook his head incredulity. “No.”
“She stabbed him, intending to kill him.”
Ulrik had thought his days of thinking about Nala and her desire to see him dead were long gone, but it seemed that was far from true. Though Nala hadn’t attempted to kill him, he could well imagine her saying the things Faith had.
“What happened after?” Ulrik asked.
“Faith fell unconscious again. When she woke, she had no memory of any of it. We realized the culprit was the wooden dragon, so I took it.”
He shot her a look of scorn. “You touched it?”
“I’m not stupid,” she said with a flat look. “Of course, I didn’t touch it. But when I gathered it with my magic, I was able to discern the Druid and Fae magic within. And before you ask, I’ve never heard anything about this.”
Ulrik ran a hand down his face. “Con sent you to MacLeod Castle.”
“He did. He knew the Druids there might know something. It seems the Ancients have tasked Isla with a connection to this thing somehow. Right now, the dragon is hidden while everyone digs for more information.”
He pivoted away to walk off some of the anger that began to boil within him. The killing of the White brought back all of Ulrik’s hatred for the humans—except it was Druids and Fae who had done this. Why?
No matter what direction his thoughts went, he couldn’t discern why any Druids—who had learned about magic from the Kings—or Fae would take such actions.
“If I’m going to tell you, then I’d better tell you everything.”
Rhi’s words stopped him in his tracks. He turned back to her. “What else is there?”
“Con was having an affair with Usaeil.”
“Of all the idiotic things for him to do,” Ulrik stated as he began to turn away, then stopped. “What was he thinking?”
Rhi shrugged. “She had someone take a photo of them, though you couldn’t really see Con’s face. Usaeil did it because he wouldn’t tell the Kings about their relationship.”
“And she thought that would force him.”
“Well, she did plaster copies of the picture all over the Light Castle. She wants to be mated to Con. She has this idea that the Fae will be the ones to finally give the Kings children since mortals can’t.”
Ulrik stared at Rhi for a long moment. “Does this have anything to do with Usaeil wanting you dead?”
“Con called off their affair, and somehow, I was brought up. Usaeil immediately assumed I had changed his mind about her.”
“Things with Usaeil could spiral out of control quickly,” he warned.
“I know.”
“Balladyn intends to kill her. And I’m going to help.”
Rhi stalked to stand before him, her nostrils flaring as her eyes blazed with warning. “No. Usaeil is my problem. She’s the one who ruined so much in my life.”
“She’s your vengeance.”
Rhi nodded once.
Ulrik couldn’t fault her for her thinking, because his need for retribution was the only thing that’d kept him going for many, many centuries. He would step aside and let Rhi handle Usaeil however she saw fit.
Rhi put her hand on his arm. “I’m telling you all of this because your brethren are going to need you.”
“Con is doing what he’s always done. He tries to carry on as usual while handling problems. That’s how things get out of hand so easily. Then he decides to deal with whatever issue it might be, but it always counteracts his vow to protect the mortals. Meanwhile, other difficulties arise until he has no choice but to take the action he should’ve done in the first place.”
“War,” Rhi said.
Ulrik shot her a hard look. “No. Confronting things. I’m stringing him along, and so is Mikkel. I understand why Con is biding his time there. Same with the wooden dragon. But Usaeil? Has he gone to her and dealt with that?”
“Actually, he has. We have something in store for her.”
“I’m impressed.” But Ulrik wasn’t that surprised.
When Con decided to take action, things were handled quickly. With so many enemies circling, at least one issue had to be dealt with since Con’s thoughts were divided by so many problems.
Rhi raked her gaze over him. “What are you going to do?”
“None of this changes my plans. Con will pay for what he did to me.”
“I figured you’d say as much. I’m disappointed, but not surprised.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. “What did you expect?”
“I thought you’d changed after helping Nikolai.”
“Nikolai is.…” Ulrik wasn’t sure he could find a word to describe his relationship with the King of Ivories.
Rhi wrinkled her nose before saying. “Different? Not included with your thoughts about the others? Excluded because you raised him?”
It amazed Ulrik how quickly Rhi’s mind could flip from one thing to another. When he arrived, she’d looked lost and nearly defeated. Yet now, she stared at him as if she were ready to bring the entire world down around him.
“My fight is with Con,” Ulrik said.
The anger went out of Rhi with her next breath. “What changed your mind about the other Kings?”
“I doona know. Does it matter?” he asked as he turned his back to her and walked to the window she had vacated.
He felt her come up behind him. “It doesn’t matter to me, no. Though I believe Nikolai might have had something to do with it. I’d ask you to look deeper into why your plans have altered. Perhaps you’re changing.”
“The only thing that will bring me peace is ending Con.”
“The man you considered your brother? The dragon you would’ve died for?”
He spun to face her. “Betrayal tends to wipe away any ties.”
A small frown formed between her brows as she took a half-step back. “What a hypocrite I am, telling you to forget your vengeance when I’m planning my own with Usaeil.”
“Let me and Balladyn take care of her,” Ulrik urged.
Rhi’s frown deepened while she looked at him with confusion. “Why would you do that?”
“Because the light inside you shines more brilliantly and vividly than any star. If you go after Usaeil, it will be dimmed—and possibly go out.”
“You mean how it diminished after I was tortured at the Dark Palace?”
Ulrik nodded slowly. “My soul is black. So is Balladyn’s. We can carry one more death.”
“But I’ve killed many before.”
“In battle. Usaeil will be different.”
“Not if she comes after me.”
Ulrik smiled sadly. “Rhi, you’re one of the bravest and toughest Fae I know. And your skills in battle are mindboggling. But the light within you gives you a measure of innocence. Killing in battle isna the same as taking a life because you enjoy it or want revenge.”
“I’ll forget about going after Usaeil if you do the same with Con.”
“I can no’ do that.”
Rhi flashed him a tight smile. “Neither can I. Watch your back, Ulrik. Mikkel will send the Druid soon.”
With that, she vanished. Ulrik slowly walked back to his desk. Thanks to Rhi, his thoughts return
ed to Eilish. He wished he knew what it was about the Irish beauty that kept him enthralled.
She could’ve spellbound him so he wouldn’t want to fight her. Because, well, he didn’t. The smart thing to do would be to follow her and wait until her guard was down, as it had been at her flat.
Then, kill her.
He wouldn’t have to worry about how much power she might actually have, and he’d strike a blow to Mikkel in the process. It was a win-win.
Yet, he was doing nothing. It baffled him. Completely perplexed him. If he didn’t know better, he might think he actually liked Eilish. Despite the fact that she was a Druid, she was still mortal. And his hatred of them ran too deep.
He sank into the chair before the desk and checked his email. It was too soon for his employees to have found anything on Eilish, but he clicked again just to be sure.
Ulrik raked a hand through his hair. “Stop,” he ordered himself.
The Druid was just another pawn in the game. She was meaningless, insignificant. Irrelevant.
There was also a lot at stake for her. The only reason she was in this war was because Mikkel had the answers she sought. Or did he?
Ulrik sat back in the chair and tapped his index finger on the desk. Mikkel had given Eilish the first name of her mother. It could’ve been exactly as the Druid described it, a way to pacify her.
Or, it could be that it was the only thing Ulrik’s uncle had obtained. Since Mikkel’s people were just as good as his, whatever information Ulrik was given was likely the same as what Mikkel got.
Ulrik sent out texts to his network, urging them to hurry in their digging into Eilish’s life. Then he stood and paced the small cottage. When that didn’t help, he jerked off his suit jacket. The rest of his clothes soon followed before he walked from the house and dove into the lake.
If he weren’t careful, Eilish could become an obsession.
And he didn’t have time for that.
CHAPTER NINE
A sound could make your insides shrivel up, and your heart thump in dread. That’s what happened to Eilish every time the cell phone Mikkel gave her rang. How she hated the ringtone. She’d changed it, but it didn’t help. Because it wasn’t really the phone she loathed but Mikkel.