Ignite--A Dark Kings Novel

by Donna Grant

  “Did you just want to annoy me this morning?”

  “Actually, I wanted to let you know that Con is looking for you,” Ulrik said, all teasing gone from his voice.

  V could not care less who knew where he had spent the night. What he did with a woman was his business. “So?”

  “He’s on his way to Claire’s.”

  “Thanks,” V said before severing the link and jumping out of bed.

  As he walked from the bedroom, he called his clothes to him. They were back in place in two steps. He ran his hands through his hair and stopped before the door. He didn’t want Claire uncomfortable, and Con had a way of doing that to humans. Part of it was intentional, but another part was just Constantine himself.

  V opened the door, but before he could step outside, his gaze landed on Con leaning against the side of Claire’s car. He didn’t even turn his face to the house.

  With a sigh, V walked outside and closed the door behind him. As he made his way to Con, he spotted the immaculate black suit. The closer V got, the more he realized that the material of the suit was a black on black plaid print. Along with the white dress shirt—unbuttoned at the top and without a tie—Con had on the gold dragon head cufflinks he always wore.

  Everyone had armor of some kind. For Con, it was his suits.

  At least while in mortal form.

  No human wanted to see Con when he was riled in his true form. It wasn’t a sight for the faint of heart.

  V came to stand beside Con, leaning back on the car, as well. They stood in silence for several minutes. V knew that when Con was ready to talk, he would.

  Finally, Con asked, “Was it Ulrik who told you I was here?”

  “Aye.”

  “Good.”

  V frowned and turned his head to Con. “Good?”

  “I didna want to surprise either you or Claire. I happen to like her.”

  A brow quirked in V’s forehead. “You like her? You doona like anyone.”

  “That’s no’ entirely true.” Con’s lips flattened when he met V’s gaze. “All right. It’s true sometimes.”

  V grinned as he chuckled. “Is this where you tell me I should stay away from her?”

  “I’ve stopped trying to warn any of you against entanglements with humans. No one can ignore what their heart wants.”

  “I’m no’ in love with her.”

  It was Con’s turn to raise a brow. “I didna say anything about love.”

  “You said the heart.”

  “Aye. Everyone has needs and wants. That includes desire and love, but I wasna referring to that.”

  V swallowed and looked away. He couldn’t figure out why he was arguing the point. He liked Claire. A lot. “Just so you know.”

  “I wanted to let you know that if being with Claire is what you need, then do it. See the world, if you want.”

  V lowered his eyes to the ground. This was Con’s way of trying to push him to do something other than returning to his mountain to sleep.

  A few silent moments went by before V looked out over the neighbors’ yard and their perfectly trimmed hedges. “There are worse things than me going to my mountain.”

  “No harm has befallen the mortals since you woke this time.”

  V felt Con’s gaze on him, but V couldn’t look at his King. “The Others targeted me. Was it just because of my sword? Or was it because of something else? Did I cause all those horrible things to happen when I woke before or was that something else the Others did? I doona know anymore.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to Claire.”

  V pushed away from the car and faced Con. “You can no’ know that.”

  “I know it because I know you willna let it happen. Just as you had Roman’s back in Iceland. Each of us became a Dragon King because we’re protectors, V. You always had a big heart when it came to anyone who needed help. You never turned anyone away. Why do you think the mortals you sheltered—the gypsies—went to such lengths to protect no’ just you but all the Dragon Kings?”

  “I’ve made my decision.”

  Con dropped his chin to his chest for a heartbeat. Then he straightened from the vehicle. His black eyes met V’s, intense and demanding. “You look … rested. Relaxed, even. Whatever Claire is doing to you, let her continue. It’s doing you good.”

  V watched Con walk to his car before driving away. Then he went back into the house. Claire was just getting out of the shower.

  “Do you eat breakfast?” he called.

  “Um … not usually. Mostly it’s because I don’t have time.”

  “No’ a morning person, huh?” V asked with a grin.

  She leaned out of the bathroom with her robe on and her blond hair wet and freshly combed. “Mornings suck. I actually have breakfast food. Every week I tell myself I’m going to get up fifteen minutes early and cook. And every week, I don’t.”

  “Then I will,” he offered.

  Her eyes closed as she moaned. “Keep this up, and I might never let you leave.”

  She ducked back into the bathroom before he could reply, but it made him smile nonetheless. The sound of a blow-dryer reached him a second later.

  V searched the pantry and fridge to find the items he needed. He was just learning to cook, and he wasn’t very good, but he wanted to do something for her. The one thing he could make was fried eggs.

  Next on his list to learn was an omelet. He loved them.

  Why are you learning to cook if you’re returning to your mountain?

  V had the skillet in his hand over the stove when the thought went through his mind. He paused before slowly setting down the pan and lighting the gas.

  He put the question out of his mind and concentrated on frying the eggs while putting some bread in the toaster. Once the skillet was hot enough, he cracked the eggs and laid in a couple of links of sausage to cook together.

  It was just a few minutes later that Claire shouted, “That smells so good!”

  V looked at the coffee maker and frowned. Then he spotted the little pods and remembered how Cassie had shown him what to do. With that going, he checked on the eggs and sausage before getting the butter out of the fridge and putting it on the table.

  Next, he went searching for plates and utensils. By the time he returned to the stove, the eggs were about to burn. He dished them onto the plates and checked the sausage before adding them, as well. No sooner had he set the plates down than the bread popped out of the toaster.

  He grabbed the slices, putting two on each plate. V stepped back, looking over the table. Something was missing. He looked around the kitchen, his gaze landing on the coffee. After getting it on the table, he brewed a mug of his own.

  The blow-dryer clicked off, and then Claire walked into the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the table. Her gaze lifted to his, her face giving nothing away.

  “Where have you been my whole life?” she asked.

  V shrugged. “Sleeping.”

  “You’re spoiling me.”

  He held out her chair. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  A wide smile split her face. “I could get used to this.”

  The thing was, so could he.

  They sat down. V was about to dig into the food when he realized that it might not taste good. V started to warn Claire, but she already had a bite in her mouth.

  His balls tightened when she moaned, a look of ecstasy coming over her face.

  “This is delicious,” she said and took another bite.

  V couldn’t move. Blood drummed in his ears as he watched her enjoying the meal that he’d made. He’d missed so many things like this while he slept.

  And he wouldn’t be a part of them now if he returned to his mountain.

  “V?”

  He blinked as he realized that Claire was frowning at him. “What is it? Does it taste bad?”

  “It’s great,” she said. “It’s you I’m worried about. You looked a million miles away just then. Are you all rig
ht?”

  “Aye, lass.”

  She shook her head and pointed her fork at him. “You can’t do that.”

  “What?” he asked in confusion.

  “Say lass like that. After dinner and the visit to the loch, and then last night and breakfast this morning.… A girl can only take so much before your charm gets to her.”

  Was that what he was doing? Charming her? Wooing her? Damn. It was.

  “I like being with you.”

  She looked up from her plate and smiled. “I like being with you.”

  “I like how you make me feel when we’re together.”

  Claire set down her fork and put her hand atop his. “I can honestly say the same.”

  “I’ve spent so much time away from others that I doona always remember the right things to do and say.”

  “That was definitely the right thing,” Claire said with a smile.

  He jerked his chin to her food. “Eat before it gets cold.”

  In between bites, she filled the silence with talk of some of her favorite patients that were regulars at Sophie’s practice.

  He was enamored with everything she had to say. All the stories and thoughts. When she laughed before telling a story, he found himself smiling, waiting to join in on the mirth with her.

  Just like the night, breakfast was over too soon. She tried to clean up, but he stopped her, urging her to finish getting ready. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and relented her grip on the plates.

  V took his time cleaning the kitchen as she dressed. When she came out of her bedroom thirty minutes later, she was dressed in jeans and a black shirt with her makeup on.

  She walked to him and put her arms around his waist. “This was the best morning.”

  “When can I see you again?”

  Her grin widened. “Whenever you want.”

  “Tonight then.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  “Well?” Ulrik asked after Con had pulled into the garage and got out of his car.

  Con looked at his friend after he’d closed the vehicle door. “Your plan could have backfired.”

  “Since you say that, it means it didna,” he replied with a grin.

  “You’re a matchmaker now?”

  Ulrik twisted his lips and shrugged. “V was floundering. I saw the push he needed. Are you going to tell me what he said? Or do I have to pull every word from you?”

  Con walked past Ulrik into the manor and started up the stairs. He spotted Roman and Darius nearby, but he didn’t stop. While he’d never tell any of them—especially Ulrik—that what they did to V was exactly what was needed, he was glad they did it.

  Mostly because he would never have done such a thing himself. His position included many things but messing in the love lives of the Kings wasn’t one of them. After all, who was he to give relationship advice?

  Con was halfway up the stairs to his office before he realized that Ulrik hadn’t said anything more. He heard his friend’s footsteps behind him, so Ulrik hadn’t given up on finding out more about V and Claire. Ulrik’s silence could only mean one thing—he knew what was on Con’s mind.

  Or rather who Con was thinking about.

  Once inside his office, Con walked behind his desk, but he didn’t sit. He leaned his forearms on the back of his chair and met Ulrik’s gold eyes.

  “You were right about V and Claire. He’s different.”

  Ulrik’s brows rose as he slowly sat in one of the chairs. “After just one night? I didna expect that.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Ulrik laughed and bent his leg to place his ankle over his knee. “Based on the way Darius said V was looking at Claire, I thought things might go well.”

  “V seems more … stable. If that’s the right word.” Con frowned and shook his head. “I can no’ explain the difference exactly, but it is visible.”

  “Then what’s the problem? Because there obviously is one.”

  Con drew in a breath and pulled his chair out to sink into it. “When all those atrocities happened throughout the ages, did you know it was V?”

  “No’ at first. Later, I did. I tried to get to him, but I was never quick enough.” Ulrik pressed his lips together as he frowned. “You’re afraid that something like that might happen again? Why? He has his sword now.”

  “We doona know what the Others did to him. We doona even know if he was responsible for those acts. What if it was the Others? What if it happens again?”

  Ulrik made a face. “Con. This is V we’re talking about.”

  “That’s right. And I doona need to remind you that he joined you against the mortals.”

  “That was long ago,” Ulrik bit out.

  Con closed his eyes briefly, fighting to keep control of the emotions and worries that raged inside him. “You’re right. And he’s been fine for weeks until he and Roman went looking for his sword.”

  “And he’s been fine since.” Ulrik dropped his foot to the ground and leaned forward. “What’s really bothering you?”

  “I doona want V to go to his mountain. I’ve sent him there so many times. He needs to live. Even if it’s just a half-life as a human.”

  Ulrik lowered his eyes to the floor for a heartbeat. Then he looked at Con. “Brother, you’re the only one living a half-life.”

  “Am I?” Con questioned. “I think every Dragon King is since we can no’ be in our true forms without hiding.”

  “I went eons without being able to shift. During that time, I recalled every moment of my life before being banished. I could tell you in detail how it felt to be a dragon, to fly and roar and breathe fire.” Ulrik released a breath. “I thought once I had my magic restored that I would be myself again. It didna happen. In fact, I did no’ begin living until Eilish.”

  Con gave Ulrik a hard look. “I’m going to stop you right there. You’re treading on dangerous ground. I doona care if you’re my best friend or no’. I willna discuss this.”

  “Because you know I’m right? Because you ache for it more than any other King?”

  Con shoved back his chair so hard that it slid across the floor and slammed into the wall behind him, causing a picture to bang.

  Ulrik slowly got to his feet, a tight smile on his lips. “Just as I thought. You know, one of these days, you’re going to have to face the past you try so hard to forget.”

  “I have never forgotten it.”

  Ulrik studied Con for a long, silent moment. “Nay, perhaps you have no’.”

  Con inhaled and slowly released the breath he’d been holding as he once more let calm overtake him. Few things could set him off so, but Ulrik knew just what to say to send him over the edge.

  There was a shimmer in the air a moment before Rhi appeared. She looked a little dazed, but the moment she saw Ulrik, she hid it.

  “I really am going to have to remember to start teleporting into the hallway and knocking,” she said.

  Con and Ulrik exchanged a look. That wasn’t something Rhi would say. She took great joy in interrupting Con.

  “Everything all right?” Ulrik asked her.

  Rhi licked her lips and nodded once. “I can wait outside.”

  This made Con’s frown deepen. Something was wrong. And it wasn’t the same shock that Rhi had worn when she discovered that Usaeil had banished her or the Light Queen’s involvement in Rhi’s past.

  “We were discussing V.” Con didn’t know why he told Rhi. Perhaps to let her know that she wasn’t interrupting anything dire.

  Rhi nodded absently. “Really?”

  Con slid his gaze to Ulrik for a heartbeat. “Ulrik is playing matchmaker.”

  “I thought it might be a good idea,” Ulrik said with a shrug.

  Rhi’s silver eyes widened as she asked excitedly, “Did it work?”

  “Perfectly,” Ulrik replied with a smile.

  Con looked at the two of them and saw just how far those at Dreagan—and their friends—would go to make some
one happy. How many countless years had he worried that the Kings wouldn’t form the family that he knew they needed to be to survive without their dragons?

  Somehow, despite his mistakes, it seemed to have happened.

  But he couldn’t take the credit. If it hadn’t been for Erith’s friendship at crucial times, he might have made different decisions that led the Kings down a much rockier path.

  Not that the one they were currently on was smooth. Yet Con knew that whatever came at them, the Kings would be able to face it. They were that close as a species and a family. And while he hadn’t wanted any of them to fall for humans, even he had to admit that the love the Kings found made them stronger.

  For now.

  It might not always be so since no one really knew what would happen even a few hundred years from now when the humans who were never supposed to live that long did.

  He blinked and saw Rhi shoot him a glance. Con focused on the conversation to hear Ulrik tell the Light Fae that V had spent the night with Claire.

  “I’m happy for them,” Rhi said.

  Con saw her sad smile.

  Ulrik must have as well because he cleared his throat. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk.”

  As soon as the door shut behind Ulrik, Con turned to Rhi. “What happened?”

  “I don’t want you to think that every time I come that something happened or that I’ve come running to you for help. Because that isn’t what this is.”

  When she became irked, her Irish brogue deepened. Con would have smiled, but he suspected that she was putting on a brave face.

  “We both know you’re more than capable of handling any situation alone,” Con told Rhi.

  She turned her face away and looked at a map of Dreagan that hung on the opposite wall. She remained silent for several minutes, and Con didn’t push her to talk. Whatever had happened, Rhi would get to it in her own time.

  “Con.”

  Ulrik’s voice in his mind wasn’t a surprise. Con opened the mental link. “Aye?”

  “Is she all right?”

  Con knew that he was asking about Rhi. “I’m no’ sure yet. Keep everyone away from my office.”

  “Of course. I’ll be close.”

  Con disconnected from the link and focused solely on the Light Fae who suddenly couldn’t stop staring at the map. Rhi was a great many things, but the two things she was above all else was loyal and true. She had developed close friendships with many Kings to such extents that she had put her own life in jeopardy several times over the centuries for them.