Torched

by Donna Grant

  She stood staring at the mobile on the kitchen counter as it vibrated, sending it moving across the surface. Finally, she picked it up.

  Then, with a sigh, she said, “Hello?”

  “It’s about bloody time,” Mikkel stated angrily through the phone.

  Eilish closed her eyes, thankful Ulrik wasn’t still there. “What do you want?”

  “It’s time for you to kill Ulrik.”

  Her eyes flew open as her stomach plummeted to her feet. “What?”

  “If he’s gone, you can then unbind my magic, and I’ll be able to shift at will.”

  “Are you sure killing Ulrik now is wise?”

  There was a long pause, which made her stomach tighten with trepidation. As she waited for Mikkel to talk, she thought over the words and even her inflection to see if she’d let anything slip through the mask she wore around him.

  “Why are you asking that?” he questioned in a soft voice.

  Eilish turned and walked to her door where she began recasting the wards that Ulrik had broken through that would keep everyone out, including Mikkel.

  She finished the spells and lowered her hand. “Right now, the Dragon Kings have their sights set on Ulrik. You take him out of the game, then the Kings will come after you.”

  The laughter on the other end of the line was maniacal. And it caused ice to run through her veins.

  “The Kings know nothing of me,” Mikkel said. “They’ll be chasing their tails trying to figure out who their new enemy is.”

  Eilish was glad she’d left that message in Esther’s mind about Mikkel when she returned her memories. Esther was smart. She’d figure it out and tell the Dragon Kings exactly who Mikkel was. But Eilish wasn’t going to let Mikkel know that little tidbit.

  “I want Ulrik dead within the next two days. Figure it out and do it,” Mikkel ordered. “Or all the material I have on your mother will be burned.”

  The line disconnected.

  Eilish slowly lowered the phone before dropping it onto the kitchen table. She pivoted and walked into her bedroom. She stood just inside the doorway, her mind a riot of thoughts.

  Everything she knew about magic she’d learned on her own. It wasn’t until she arrived in Ireland and met other Druids that she discovered there was an entire world she hadn’t known existed.

  Not just of Fae or Dragon Kings, but of Druids, as well. The history, the broken bonds that had once held them all together, and the fact that most Druids didn’t know what they were because their magic was all but gone.

  She was a rarity. Eilish knew that now, though she kept it to herself. None of the other Druids knew just how much magic she had, and she intended to keep it that way.

  The fact that she made the village a safe haven for the mortals and supernatural alike had brought her attention, but mainly it was how she had defeated the Dark that gave her the notoriety. It also drew in others like her. They sought her out to talk—and most would speak to a rock if given the opportunity.

  Eilish didn’t even have to ask questions. All she had to do was sit and listen, and she learned so very much—it was also how she realized how far behind on her training she was. Despite that lack of knowledge, whenever she tried anything new, it came as easily as breathing, while other Druids worked years to gain even a smidgen of control.

  Her ability to listen gained her insight into the supernatural. Like how Druids couldn’t sense the power in each other, but the Fae, Warriors, and Dragon Kings could feel all magic.

  That’s what had led Mikkel to her. That and the fact that he’d heard what she’d done with Graves and the village. She’d never told him she could touch dragon magic, because she hadn’t tried it yet. Not once had she displayed any kind of powers around him.

  He’d assumed everything.

  And the bastard had done his homework. He’d learned every tiny, mundane detail of her life—and what she searched for. So, he’d dangled the carrot of her mother before her, and Eilish hadn’t hesitated. She’d accepted his offer, believing that she could handle whatever he wanted.

  Besides, it was bringing her closer to the Dragon Kings. A species she was immensely interested in because of the recurring dream she’d had at least once a week for the past seven years. All she ever saw of the man was the dragon tattoo on his chest, but she knew he was coming for her—and not in a good way.

  With all of that combined, it was no wonder she’d agreed to kill Ulrik. With every Dragon King she removed, it was one less that could come after her. Never mind that she’d never committed murder before.

  Or battled a Dragon King.

  That was before she’d learned that the Kings were truly immortal. The only being who could kill a Dragon King was another Dragon King. But Mikkel assured her she could do it with her magic. Then he dangled the information about her mum before her again.

  Eilish was powerless to keep from responding exactly as he expected her to. And she hated it. Almost as much as she detested him.

  Her head turned to the vanity table where the silver finger rings lay. The magic within them amplified her own. It was an advantage she didn’t intend to ever let anyone know about. Even if they didn’t have magic, she would still wear them because they were her mother’s.

  All she wanted was to know who her mother was. Eireen’s likes and dislikes, who she loved. And why she had given Eilish up to be taken far from Ireland.

  For seven years, Eilish had built up herself and her magic, searching everywhere for information on her mother. Seven long years with tiny grains of hope that were dashed before they could be realized. And Mikkel was willing to give her everything.

  She just had to kill to gain it.

  But murder would turn her drough.

  That was another difference between Mikkel and Ulrik. Mikkel must have assumed she was already drough, which was why he had no problem telling her to kill.

  Ulrik had known she wasn’t. Because he’d taken the time to study her, not just her background.

  Mikkel already knew everything about her mother. Ulrik, however, was trying to find it. Sadly, Mikkel wouldn’t give her the time she needed to allow Ulrik to uncover anything. Which meant, she had no choice but to continue her alliance with Mikkel.

  She walked to the vanity and put each finger ring on her left hand. Then she tapped two of the claws together and thought of Ulrik. The next second, she was standing outside a cottage next to a lake. She was about to go to the door when she heard a splash.

  She turned her head. The crescent moon allowed very little light, but it was enough that she could see someone in the water. And she knew it was Ulrik.

  With her heart slamming against her ribs at the thought of seeing him shirtless, she slowly made her way to the water’s edge. The closer she got, the faster her heart beat, which caused her breathing to increase. Her mouth went dry, and her hands grew clammy.

  She saw the dark shape swimming far out into the lake before diving beneath. She skimmed the surface with her gaze, waiting for him to reappear. Shivering in the cool temps, she couldn’t imagine putting one toe in the chilly water.

  Minutes ticked by as she tried to figure out where she was. It could be Scotland, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was Ireland. There was something about the land that she knew, recognized. It had been that way from the moment she stepped onto Irish soil. So what the hell was Ulrik doing in Ireland?

  “What a surprise,” came a deep, Scottish brogue behind her.

  Her stomach fluttered before she turned to face Ulrik. It took everything she had to hide her disappointment when she discovered he was fully dressed in jeans and a black sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

  The only indication that he’d just been in the water was his wet hair and bare feet.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt your swim,” she said.

  The fact that he’d discerned her presence meant that she would never be able to sneak up on him. So when she killed him, she would have to do it face
-to-face.

  His stance widened as he crossed his arms over his chest, completely unaffected by anything. “I didna expect to see you so soon. I’m going to need more than a few hours to get the information.”

  She was trying to find a way to reply to that when his brows shot up, and he grinned.

  “Ah. I see,” Ulrik murmured. “Mikkel sent you to kill me.”

  Well, there was no use lying to him. “Yes.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Soon,” she replied.

  His lips twisted. “A pity. I could have saved you from turning drough.”

  “I’ll only become evil if I commit murder. I know you’ll fight me.”

  Ulrik’s arms dropped to his sides. “It doesna work that way. You’re planning to kill me. That means you’re going to set the time and day. Aye, I will fight back, and if you do manage to take my life, you will forfeit all the good in your soul. Let that sink in. And when you’re ready, come inside.”

  She watched as he turned on his heel and strode into the house. Eilish remained rooted to the spot, desperately trying to find a loophole in what he’d just told her.

  The more she thought about it, the more she knew Ulrik was right. Was she prepared for the Devil to have her soul for information about her mother? And what if Ulrik could find the intel just as Mikkel had?

  Her eyes slid to the open door where light flooded into the night. Ulrik waited for her. But why? Why not just kill her and remove his uncle’s magical pawn? Why go to such measures to keep her from turning evil? Why offer to help?

  He was presenting her with another way out. If she could trust him. For all she knew, Ulrik wanted to use her just as Mikkel did. But Ulrik wasn’t asking her to kill.

  She shoved her hair over her shoulder and walked to the door. When she reached it, she paused and peered inside to find Ulrik pouring two glasses of wine.

  He looked up and motioned her inside. “Come in.”

  Eilish glanced down at the threshold. Then she lifted her foot and stepped over it. That step felt significant, as if she’d just made a decision.

  Ulrik took his wine and drank, his gaze on her. He lowered his arm. “I would tell you of a group of Druids you should talk to, but since you attacked Esther and Kinsey, I doona think they’d be too keen on speaking with you.”

  “I take it these Druids are friends of the Dragon Kings,” she said as she walked to the table and lifted the wine glass to her lips for a taste.

  “They are. Immensely powerful Druids, too. They could fill in a lot of the holes you have.”

  She raised a brow. “You say that as if you don’t think I know what it means to be a Druid.”

  “I think you’re still learning. The fact that you didna know about mies and droughs says it all. Have you no’ encountered many Druids at Graves?”

  “Some,” she said with a half-hearted shrug. “It’s not as if we spoke of good and evil. Some I knew weren’t exactly good people, but I thought it was like anything. There is good, and there is bad.”

  He swirled the red liquid in his glass. “Things are always different when you throw magic into the mix.”

  “Mikkel told me a lot of things about you and the Dragon Kings.”

  “Did he now?” Ulrik asked, amusement lifting the corners of his mouth.

  Eilish glanced around at the small cottage. It was cozy, and—oddly—seemed to suit Ulrik. “At first, he only told me you weren’t good enough to be a Dragon King. I pressured him for more, and he told me the tale.”

  Ulrik grunted, his gaze on his wine.

  She swallowed and took a step toward him. “I’ve no right to ask, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you said no. But … will you tell me your story?”

  “Why do you want to know?” he asked, meeting her gaze.

  She looked deeply into his gold eyes. “I want to hear it from your lips.”

  Because with him, she’d get the truth.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sometimes, the past came barreling back without warning. This wasn’t one of those times. This time, Ulrik had been asked to drudge it all up again.

  “You know the facts,” he said, unwilling to think about that horrible time—or what followed.

  Eilish nodded. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  He watched as she turned her head away and blew out a breath. There was a forlorn look on her face that was like a kick to his stomach.

  More than anything, he wanted to ignore her request, but he kept coming back to the fact that no one ever asked for his side of the story. This was someone who seemed genuinely interested, someone who hadn’t been poisoned against him—though Mikkel had tried.

  “I loved her,” Ulrik said.

  Eilish’s head swung back to him. “How did you meet…?”

  “Nala,” he said. “Her name was Nala.”

  He walked to the chair next to the fire and sat. A moment later, Eilish took the seat opposite him. His gaze was locked on the dancing flames.

  Ulrik drank deeply from his glass before he said, “Some of the Kings shied away from the mortals. There was anger all around that we gave up land for the humans. I wasna exactly pleased with the prospect, but we vowed to protect the magicless species.

  “I watched them for a wee bit. They struggled to get shelters built in time for the coming winter. I wondered how we could give the promise of protection and then do nothing to aid them. I made the decision right then to become involved.”

  Eilish’s voice was soft when she asked, “So you helped them build homes?”

  “I did,” he replied without looking away from the fire. “I also gave the village my protection. I built a home there where I invited the humans inside and fed them. That’s how I met Nala. She was so beautiful and gregarious. She was always laughing, always smiling. I think that’s what drew me to her.

  “It wasna long before she made it clear she was interested. After that, we were inseparable. I knew right away that I wanted her to be mine, but I didna say anything. For the next year, I allowed her time to become accustomed to everything I was. She never shied away, never turned her back on me. So, I asked her to be mine.”

  “What did the other Kings think?” Eilish asked.

  Ulrik met her gaze and shrugged. “There were those we were shocked. Con told me I was making a mistake.”

  “Why?”

  “No mortal had birthed a breathing bairn from a Dragon King—and still hasna. Most of the women miscarry early on in the pregnancy. Con knew I was giving up continuing my line.”

  Eilish’s forehead frowned. “What prevents the babies from being born alive?”

  “We doona know.”

  “I thought maybe the others believed Nala wanted to become immortal.”

  He drained the rest of his wine and set the empty glass on the floor. “I never told her. I planned to tell her after the ceremony. There were many Kings who believed we shouldna mix the blood of two species, and that’s why none of the bairns were born. Perhaps they were right.”

  “There has to be another reason,” Eilish said.

  Ulrik shrugged. “Either way, it didna matter to me. All I wanted was Nala. You see, I didna want to become King. My father fell in battle, and before I realized it, I was a Dragon King. Yet, I accepted my role and carried on as I’d seen my father do. I had an amazing clan. The Silvers were fierce fighters, loyal beyond anything you could imagine.”

  “You were happy.”

  He twisted his lips ruefully. “Aye. I didna realize it was all about to come crashing down. But there was a time when family surrounded me. I had a strong clan, I had the woman who I wanted as my mate, and I had friends who meant everything to me. I was riding atop the world. When you fly that high, the fall is a mighty one.”

  “What happened next?”

  His gaze swung back to the flames as he took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Con summoned me. He asked me to fly over an area where some humans had settled. He suspected their border dispute might come to w
ar, and he wanted my take on it. I left immediately, unknowing that while I was away, Con called all the Kings together and told them whatever it was he’d found out about Nala.”

  “So Con knows why she planned to betray you,” Eilish interrupted.

  Ulrik nodded without looking at her.

  “Ask him then.”

  It was pride that kept Ulrik from doing exactly that. “Why would I ask my enemy anything? And why would I believe what he said?”

  “You said Con was like a brother.”

  “He was,” Ulrik replied. “Which is why his betrayal cut so deeply. It wasna his right to hunt Nala down and kill her. It was mine.”

  Eilish blew out a breath. “Maybe he was trying to save you from having to do that.”

  “That’s exactly what he claimed when I confronted him. He said the decision to go after her was unanimous among the Kings.”

  “The very beings who had vowed to protect mortals? Those who gave up land for us? I’m beginning to think they did this for you, not to you.”

  Ulrik rapidly gained his feet and walked around his chair. He then stopped, one hand on the back of the seat as he fought for control of his anger. “I can no’ describe the level of hatred that rose in me. I needed an outlet, somewhere to direct it. Why no’ the very beings who had caused it.”

  “Humans,” Eilish said.

  He glanced at her. “It helped my cause that the mortals had hunted smaller dragons, wiping out entire clans to fill their bellies. And we did nothing. Yet when a dragon occasionally ate a human, it took weeks of negotiation with them to come to a truce, and that was only after we punished the dragon responsible. But the mortals never penalized their own. They never came to the table for discussions. Nay, the burden was always ours.

  “I saw them then for what they really were. A curse, a blight. A nuisance that needed to be wiped away. So I intended to cleanse our realm of your kind.”

  Ulrik fisted his hand as the old, familiar rage bubbled within him. “I stated my intention. Con immediately tried to talk me out of it, but half of the Kings had already joined me. And we began that verra night.”