by Donna Grant
“I’m gathering things didn’t turn out well after that?” Claire said.
V shook his head. “When Ulrik discovered what had happened, he was furious. But he didna blame us.”
“He blamed the humans,” Claire guessed.
“Aye. And Ulrik and his Silvers began attacking the mortals.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Claire wanted to reach across the short expanse and take V’s hand. He kept his voice even, but she could still pick up hints that he hadn’t completely let go of his past.
Not that she blamed him. It wasn’t something she or anyone else would easily get past either.
She didn’t state the obvious: that the Kings didn’t wipe out the mortals. Though she was dying to know why the Kings hadn’t made that decision, she waited for V. She’d bombarded him with questions early. While he didn’t seem to mind, she also sensed that the next part of the story was even more difficult to tell.
His chest expanded as he inhaled deeply. “The war was a bloodbath. On both sides.”
“How?” Then Claire cringed and shook her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Doona hesitate to ask questions. Ever.”
She smiled and untucked one of her legs so their feet brushed against each other. Their eyes locked, and for a moment, V’s gaze cleared of memories, and he gave her a heart-stopping grin.
But it was gone quickly.
“The mortals were no’ without means to harm us. Or, specifically, the smaller dragons. They hunted and trapped them. And within weeks of Ulrik’s first attack, the humans had annihilated two clans. It only incensed Ulrik and the Silvers. Several Kings had already joined Ulrik, but after this, more came to him.”
Claire knew the answer, but she still asked. “You sided with Ulrik, didn’t you?”
“Aye. I doona regret it. I’m sorry if that offends you.”
She blinked, taken aback. “It doesn’t offend me at all. Those people might have been humans, but not only was that a long time ago, they also brought it upon themselves. Or, at least some of them did.”
V looked away. “So many innocents died on both sides. Dragons that Kings stationed around villages to protect the mortals with express instructions no’ to harm them were slaughtered. All because they were told no’ to fight back.”
Claire’s eyes stung as emotion clogged her throat. She hastily blinked away the tears, but the pain and sorrow were there for anyone to see. And that made her heart ache for V all the more.
“With every dragon that was murdered, more and more Kings joined Ulrik,” V continued. “Con proved how capable he was to be King of Kings because he worked tirelessly to move every one of us back to his side. And he did it.”
“Even you?”
V nodded. “Even me. Ulrik never wavered. He continued his attacks on the humans. I wanted to be there with him. I wanted every human gone from this realm.” He stared at her intently. “Does that bother you?”
“No. Even if it did, it wouldn’t change what happened. Or how you feel.”
He looked away for a few moments. “Even Con wanted to help Ulrik, though he only recently admitted that. This was our world, invaded by another species who wanted us gone. Instead of co-existing peacefully, the mortals intended to take over.”
“You were the stronger species,” Claire argued.
“But we’d made a vow to protect your kind. It’s why Con and many other Kings didn’t go to war alongside Ulrik. Doona mistake their honor for cowardice. Every one of us regretted the day we welcomed the humans.”
Claire nodded in understanding. “I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t feel the same way if their world were invaded.”
“Aye,” V whispered. Then he shrugged. “Con had no choice but to force a confrontation with Ulrik since he wouldna stop killing. That day … changed all of us.”
“How?”
“None of us were sure if Ulrik would heed Con’s call. Even if Ulrik did, there was no guarantee that a truce could be brokered with the humans.”
Claire gaped at him. “Why would you want to? One of them betrayed you. They killed.”
“So did we. By the thousands.”
Just when she thought she understood him, V surprised her. “You just talked about how much you hated mortals. Now you sound like you’re defending us.”
“Perhaps,” he said with a slight shrug. “I was angry. All of us were. Did it mean we should have killed so many? Nay. Nor should the humans. We were both at fault. Con saw all of it clearly while the rest of us were wrapped in our emotions. Con attempted to talk to the leaders of the mortals, but they refused. That left us two options.”
Claire wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what they were.
“Wipe the realm clean of every mortal and any evidence they even existed. Or send our dragons away and go into hiding.”
Claire squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. When she lifted her lids again, she wasn’t sure what to say.
“We are no’ murderers, Claire. As much as we wanted to take back our planet, it isna who we are. We each called our dragons to us and used our magic to open a bridge to another realm. We had no idea if the dragons would find somewhere safe, but they had a better chance elsewhere than they did with us.”
She wiped at a stray tear that fell down her cheek and tried to swallow.
A sad smile played upon V’s lips. “I’ll never forget looking up that day and watching all the dragons flying toward the bridge. It was a colorful rainbow of our kind. Until they disappeared.”
Claire leaned forward and put her hand on his foot. “I’m so sorry.”
“We did what had to be done. It wasna what we wanted, but none of us could stand to have another of our kin killed.”
“The only dragons left here are the Kings?” she asked.
V slowly shook his head. “Ulrik ignored Con, but as King of Kings, Con can make any dragon—even one no’ of his clan—answer to him. That’s what he did with Ulrik’s Silvers. And all but four answered Con’s call.”
“I can tell by the sorrow in your eyes that the next part wasn’t good.”
He gave a snort. “Nay, it wasna. In fact, I could argue that it was worse than sending our dragons away.”
The breath rushed from Claire. The anguish she heard in V’s voice and saw on his face was almost too much. And he was just relating the story. Though, she had a suspicion that he held a lot back.
She wanted to tell him to stop, that she could hear the rest of it later, but she wasn’t sure that she could. For so long, she’d hungered for any type of information about the Dragon Kings—and she was finally getting it.
“The four largest Silvers remained with their King,” V continued. “Ulrik didna care that the others had left or that none of the other Kings stood with him. He had one goal, and he intended to see it through. Unfortunately, that left Con with only one option. Though to truly understand the situation, you should know that Con and Ulrik were closer than brothers. No one stood a chance when the two of them were together.”
Claire licked her lips as she imagined the stoic, silent Con preparing himself to face his friend at such a trying time. There were times Claire wondered if Con felt anything since he kept his emotions hidden, but perhaps that’s what made him such a good leader. He put his own feelings, wants, and wishes aside for what was best for all Dragon Kings.
She’d seen Ulrik when he had his mind set on something. The fury in his gold eyes in Edinburgh had told her that he would do whatever he must to achieve the victory he wanted.
Two such powerful Kings and friends. Claire didn’t envy Con the decision he’d had to make that day.
V ran a hand through his hair as his blue eyes slid away from her. “I’ve been over that day in my head so many times, wondering if there had been another way to handle things. The only one who could have challenged Con to be King of Kings was Ulrik, and all of us knew it. If Ulrik had no’ been so consumed by his need for revenge, he might have cha
llenged Con that day. Both of them are level-headed and calm in situations. That was the first—and only—time any of us saw Ulrik lose his infamous composure.”
V paused and drew in a deep breath. “All the Kings stood with Con as we caught the four Silvers. Our magic put them into a deep sleep, and then we caged them within a mountain on Dreagan.”
“Oh my God. They’re still there?” Claire asked, dumbfounded. And a little excited.
V nodded as he glanced at her. “With his Silvers gone, Ulrik grew even more furious. He was … is … a brilliant strategist, but that day, fury clouded his mind. When he faced off against Con, he never saw that Con would bind his magic, preventing Ulrik from being in his true form.”
Claire covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide as she waited for the story to continue.
“The binding made Ulrik shift into a mortal. The sight of him trying to change back into a dragon nearly broke me. Ulrik had always been there for everyone, and now we stood against him.”
“Because it was the only way you could think of to help him,” Claire said after she dropped her hand to her lap.
V shrugged. “Having his magic bound enraged Ulrik, as it would any of us. Then Con banished Ulrik from Dreagan.”
“What?” she asked in such a high-pitched voice that it came out more like some sound a strangled cat would make.
“Con realized that Ulrik couldna remain with us. It was a kindness, really. With his magic bound, he wouldna be able to shift as we could. That would make things worse for him.”
Claire had her doubts, but V knew Ulrik and Con better than she did.
V rubbed a hand over his mouth, his gaze on the floor. “We waited until Ulrik walked from Dreagan, and then each of us found our mountains. We slept for thousands of years, waiting for a time when humans would forget about us.”
“But we never have,” Claire said. “Every culture in the world has a dragon myth.”
“But most believe that it was a mistake in the recordings of ancient peoples who happened to stumble upon dinosaur bones and believed they were from dragons.”
Claire raised a brow and gave him a flat look. “Not everyone.”
“Enough of them.”
“So, you slept. All of you? How did you know when it was time to wake?”
V’s nostrils flared as he drew in a breath. “Two of us remained awake the entire time. Ulrik. And Con.”
“I’ve seen Ulrik. I’ve talked to him. He’s back at Dreagan, so I’m guessing that all worked out.”
“Only recently. It wasna an easy road, but Ulrik is back where he belongs. His journey was … difficult. He intended to do us harm, and to be honest, I might have felt the same in his shoes.”
Claire flexed her toes before rubbing her foot along V’s leg. “So both of them were awake but essentially alone since Ulrik wasn’t at Dreagan.”
“Aye. I’m no’ sure how Con did it. It must have been terribly lonely.”
It explained a lot about the mysterious King of Dragon Kings. Claire no longer thought of Con as harsh. Not when she knew more of his story. But she knew there had to be so much more that no one knew.
“What about you?” she asked. “How long did you sleep?”
V stared at her a long time in silence before he said, “Dreagan has a magical barrier around it that makes mortals no’ want to pass through it. Once we began distilling whisky, we had to alter the barrier to allow humans in to work, as well as those who visit. Every Dragon King at Dreagan has worked tirelessly to forge a path for us to live among the mortals. Everyone, that is, except me.”
Claire was so taken aback by his words that she could only stare at him for a moment. “That can’t be true.”
“Before the war with the humans began, before we sent the dragons away, and before we hid in the mountains, I ruled the Carpathian Mountain region. Unlike the others, a part of me—my blood specifically—is within the blade of my sword.”
“How do you know that?”
V shrugged and gave a small shake of his head. “My magic told me. Just as it told me that my weapon was different than the others. I knew the moment the dragons left that I could not only check on them, I could also call them home with my sword.”
“That’s a neat ability. And very important. I imagine you wanted to do that many times.”
“I couldna.” He paused and swallowed. “Because my sword was stolen.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Saying the words aloud to someone else brought all the eons of pain and frustration rushing back to V once more. He started to tamp down the emotions, but then he stopped himself.
That part was over. He had his sword returned. The question of why it wasn’t working was another matter entirely.
“Stolen?” Claire repeated, shock causing her eyes to bulge. “How? Why? I mean … you’re a Dragon King.”
V slowly let out a breath. “I asked myself those same questions for countless centuries, and I never got an answer. Until recently.”
“Please don’t stop there,” Claire begged him, her brows furrowed in worry.
“It’s a long story, and I doona actually shine in a good light.”
She gave him a hard stare. “I highly doubt that’s possible. But even if you’re right, you had something of yours taken. That has to be considered, as well.”
V wished he knew what it was about Claire that made her know how to handle any situation. “I slept, like the other Kings. I doona know how long I was in my mountain before I woke. I should’ve gone straight to Con, but I didna. All I could think about was finding my sword. Things … happened.”
“What things?”
Every time Claire looked at him, her clear brown eyes held nothing but interest and desire. He didn’t want that to change, and he feared once he told her the truth, it would.
“V?” she urged. “You can tell me.”
“I didna stay awake long. Con would find me every time and return me to Dreagan where he ordered me back to my mountain to sleep some more.”
Claire’s brow was furrowed. “If you ruled the Carpathians, then you went there. I’m not a history buff, but surely, if it was something terrible, it would’ve been mentioned. Now I’m getting irritated for you. Why wouldn’t Con or any of the others take you to your mountain so you could look for whoever stole your sword? Surely, your magic would’ve helped you find it.”
V swallowed, feeling hollow inside. “I couldna remember where I ruled.”
She blinked slowly. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither did the others.”
“Okay,” she said and twisted her lips. “But why didn’t they just tell you?”
“Because each time I woke, really terrible things happened. Like the Great Fire of Rome and the Black Plague, just to name a few.”
Her lips went slack. “Bloody hell,” she whispered.
“I didna hurt anyone on purpose. I merely wanted to find my sword.”
“I don’t blame you,” she said angrily. “I blame Con and the others. They could’ve helped.”
V shook his head. “Nay, lass. They couldna.”
“I don’t buy that. You told me the Dragon Kings have magic. Why didn’t any of them help you?”
V rose from the sofa and paced before it, raking his hands through his hair. “I woke this last time and left once again. I was intent on finding my sword once and for all. Ulrik found me first, and then I came back to Dreagan. That’s where Roman offered to go with me to sort out the answers that I couldna find. He’s the one who told me my domain was in Romania.”
“The others could’ve told you that at any time.”
He paused and looked at her, smiling softly. “Aye, but it wouldna have done any good. You see, when Roman and I searched, we ran across two gypsies, siblings. It was only after I touched the brother, Camlo, and fell unconscious that I was able to access the memories that had been blocked.”
Claire shifted on the couch until both of her feet were on the grou
nd. “Con took your memories?”
“Actually, it’s Guy who has that ability.”
“I knew it,” Claire mumbled and glanced away. Then she jerked her gaze back to V.
He wanted to press her on that statement, but he let it go. For now. “It turns out that Sabina and Camlo are descended from the mortals I protected in my territory. Most gypsies can see the future, but Sabina is able to see the past, which is how she was able to discern a critical piece of the puzzle to my history.”
“Which was?”
“A group called the Others. Dark and Light Fae combined with mie and drough Druids.”
Claire rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Dark and Light. And I’m guessing the others are good and bad?”
V nodded.
“Yikes,” Claire said.
“Dragons have the most magic of any species on this realm, but somehow, the Others realized that combining their magic gave them an edge. And they used it on me. They hid my memories so I wouldna know that the gypsies took my sword to keep it from them.”
Claire nodded slowly in understanding. “The gypsies were helping, but they must have realized that you never would have listened to them.”
“I wouldna have. They took the sword and managed to reach Iceland, where they hid it deep inside a mountain. The Others couldna take the sword because the gypsies had ensured that there was only one person who could—Sabina.”
Claire jerked back as if it hit. “Sabina? The Sabina that you and Roman just met?”
“Aye. Her gift allowed her to travel back in time. She is actually the one who took the sword from me and gave it to the gypsies.”
“Bloody hell.”
“So, it was Sabina who had to get the sword back and give it to me. And she did, though no’ everything went as planned. The Others want to hurt us, and we’ve yet to figure out why.”
Claire’s brows snapped together. “How do you know they want to hurt you?”