Fire Rising (Dark Kings) (35 page)

“Tristan?” Ian said.

He turned his back to the door and grabbed a pair of jeans. “I never thought I had been murdered.”

“It’s something I live with every day of my life,” said a new voice.

Tristan whirled around and saw Malcolm. Remorse shone heavily in Malcolm’s blue eyes. The Malcolm he saw in his memories had been cold, stony, callous even.

But the Malcolm standing before him now was a different man. That much was obvious.

“I’m sorry, Dun … Tristan,” Malcolm said. “I know it doesna make up for what I did, but I wanted to be the one to tell you that I did Deirdre’s bidding because she promised to never harm Larena. I … I only wanted to protect her. I didna realize Deirdre would make me take your head.”

Larena. The only female Warrior and cousin to Malcolm who was married to Fallon. Tristan was remembering more and more.

“That nearly did Malcolm in,” Ian said.

Sammi pushed past both men to stand beside him. “What changed?”

Malcolm smiled as he said, “Evie. My wife.”

“I know.” Tristan swallowed and focused on Malcolm. “I was there helping the Warriors against that final battle with Jason Wallace.”

Malcolm winced and let out a sigh. “Which makes me feel even worse. After what I did to you, and then no’ knowing it was you up there helping me save Evie. I have a life I doona deserve.”

“Deirdre was a bitch,” Tristan said.

Ian’s eyes widened. “You remember everything?”

Tristan gave a shake of his head and was grateful when Sammi put her hand in his. “Nay. Every once in a while I’ll remember something, but I know I was a Warrior. I know I was your twin. But I am a Dragon King now.”

“You are my twin,” Ian corrected him with a grin.

Malcolm cleared his throat. “Tristan, I have no right to ask, but can you ever find it in yourself to forgive me one day?”

Tristan looked at Ian who gave Malcolm a pat on his shoulder. His twin had already forgiven Malcolm for his part in it. Why shouldn’t Tristan do the same? Besides, he had a feeling Malcolm had suffered enough from his dealings with Deirdre.

“I forgive you,” he said.

The relief on Malcolm’s face was worth it. Tristan would have to relive his memory of dying forever, but Malcolm had done it for family.

Tristan knew what that meant. He would do anything for Sammi and Ian, and also Dani. She was part of his family now. As were Jane and Banan.

“There was another Warrior with me. Logan,” Tristan said.

Ian exchanged a look with Malcolm. “Aye. Witnessing your death while he could do nothing set Logan on his heels. He told us his secret, the one that Deirdre shared with you.”

“Everything all worked out?” Fallon asked as he stepped up behind Malcolm and Ian.

Malcolm looked to him.

“Aye,” Tristan said.

Ian shoved the others out. “Let’s leave the newlyweds alone.”

A second later, Fallon had jumped them out of the cottage. Tristan sank onto the edge of the bed as Sammi stepped between his legs and rested her arms on his shoulders.

“Are you really okay?”

He shrugged and pulled the belt of her robe loose. It fell open to reveal her gorgeous body. He leaned in to kiss one pink-tipped nipple and felt it harden against his mouth.

“I am with you in my arms,” he said before sucking the nipple deep in his mouth.

A moan rumbled from her as she shifted her shoulders and the robe fell to the floor. He fell backward with her in his arms before he rolled her onto her back. Tristan lifted his head to smile at her.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” she said with a smile, her powder blue eyes dark with desire.

“Then we’ll go together, love, because our lives, our souls are intertwined.”

“God, how I love you,” she said and ran her fingers through his hair.

“No’ near as much as I love you.”

All words ceased as their passion became too great. The need to claim each other, to mark each other was all that mattered.

That and the harmony that they had searched for—and found—within each other.

EPILOGUE

Kiril didn’t want to gloat as he sat drinking his Irish whisky at
an Doras
. After all, the Dragon Kings had won another round against the Dark Ones.

How many more they would win was anyone’s guess, but the air about the pub told him that the Dark were furious. Furious that another Dragon King had gotten loose, and furious that Taraeth had yet to deliver on his promise.

Kiril couldn’t wait to talk to Con. The King of Kings had some balls to go into the Darks’ palace as he had. But then again, Kiril expected nothing less from Constantine.

Suddenly, a ripple of surprise and shock moved through the pub. Kiril remained in his seat looking disinterested as he tried to pick up on the conversation.

What could have the Dark Ones almost giddy?

One female Dark began to clap her hands and laugh madly, as if her greatest enemy had been killed.

“I can’t believe it,” a male voice said from behind Kiril.

He couldn’t turn and see who it was, but the excitement was evident in his voice.

“What?” said a male voice that was deeper, wearier.

“Balladyn has captured Rhi!”

Kiril’s stomach clenched. Rhi had been taken? Why hadn’t any of the Dragon Kings told him?

Shouts came from all around the pub as the news spread. It seemed Rhi had many enemies on the Dark side, many that wanted to see her dead.

That wasn’t going to happen if Kiril had anything to say about it.

*   *   *

Ulrik molded himself to the stones and waited for the footsteps to retreat. He leaned his head back and looked up at the mountain he had once been able to enter without having to sneak in.

Many of the etchings of the dragons throughout had been done by him, but none of that seemed to matter to any of them.

His enemies.

His betrayers.

Ulrik slid from the shadows, keeping close to the wall as he entered the cavern. Anger infused him as it always did when he saw his Silvers kept caged like some savage beasts.

At least they were sleeping. He walked slowly to the enormous cage and let his hand glide over the silver scales of his dragons.

They couldn’t hear him anymore, wouldn’t recognize him as their King, but they would always be his in his heart. Until the day he could reclaim his role as a Dragon King and exact his revenge on Constantine.

It was a day he had been looking forward to for so very long. And it appeared closer than ever.

“Soon, my lovelies,” he whispered as he walked to each one and stroked them. “Soon we will take to the skies again.”

He couldn’t linger longer. With a pang of disappointment, he hurried to the entrance of the cavern before he was found. Ulrik paused when he reached it and looked back.

A smile formed when he saw one of the Silvers had shifted its face toward him.

They still recognized him.

“Soon, Con. Verra, verra soon you will pay for what you’ve done.”

Read on for an excerpt from the next book by Donna Grant

BURNING DESIRE

Coming soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks!

Kiril had one hand in the pocket of his slacks when his gaze snagged on a pair of legs that seemed to go on for miles. Her black skirt skimmed high up on her thighs, and her platform heels only made her legs appear longer.

He paused and let his gaze wander up her legs to her slim hips. Her silver shirt sparkled with sequins as the band at the hem accentuated her small waist. The shirt bloused out while the back crisscrossed showing a wealth of creamy skin. Her black hair was pulled to the side in a messy braid that fell over her left shoulder.

She kept her back to him as she looked in a window of a shop. Her gaze lifted and locked with his through the glass. He was thoroughly mesmerized. Awestruck.

Entranced.

Her beauty left him speechless, dumbstruck. His gaze was riveted. Kiril took a step toward her when she turned to face him.

His lungs locked, the air trapped as he gazed upon loveliness the like he had never encountered. Her oval face was utter perfection. Thin black brows arched over large silver eyes. Her cheekbones were impossibly high and tinted with a hint of blush. Her lips, full and wide, made his balls tighten.

She was Fae, but not even that made him turn away. Kiril had encountered many beautiful Fae, yet there was something entirely different about this one.

He blinked, and that’s when he saw her glamour shift. If he hadn’t been so enamored, he would have spotted it sooner.

Disappointment filled him when he spotted the thick stripe of silver hair against her cheek and her red eyes signally she was Dark Fae.

It didn’t take much for him to deduce that the Dark wanted to use her against him. It was a good thing he could see through glamour, or he might really have found himself in a pickle.

He should walk away, but he couldn’t. Nor did he want to. He desired to know the Fae, and by getting close to her she might let something slip that could help him in his quest.

His game just became infinitely more dangerous, and yet, there was a small thrill that made his stomach tighten at the idea of learning more about the female.

She was thoroughly intoxicating to look at, and if the intelligence he spotted shining through her eyes was everything he expected, she was going to completely fascinate him.

His mind made up, Kiril walked to her wearing his most charming smile. “Find anything you fancy?” he asked as he nodded to the window of sparkling jewelry.

She laughed, the sound making his blood heat. “I love the glitter of the gems. It’s a weakness.” Her head tilted slightly as her eyes regarded him. “It’s not every day that a Scot visits Ireland. What brings you to our green isle?”

“Business. And pleasure.”

She let her gaze slowly wander over him. Kiril wished he knew what she was thinking and if she liked what she saw. When her eyes returned to him, her smile of approval said it all.

It was all he could do not to press her against the window and devour her lips in a kiss that would leave them both breathless.

She shifted her small silver clutch from one hand to another. “I’ve lived in Cork all my life. It’s a beautiful city.”

Kiril nodded and belatedly noticed the Dark who had been watching him were gone. He had taken the bait, after all. It also made him aware of just how completely he had been bewitched with the female. He was going to have to watch himself for sure lest he find himself bound in chains. “Are you waiting on someone?”

“I was. They’re late, and I’m tired of waiting,” she said, her eyes posing an invitation her words hadn’t.

The offer was on the table. All Kiril had to do was take it. It was tempting, or rather she was. It would be a treacherous obstacle of quicksand if he accepted.

The lies would grow, the deceptions would spread. But if he succeeded, the rewards for the Dragon Kings could be numerous.

Kiril held out his arm. “Would you like to join me for dinner?”

Her gaze lowered to the ground as she smiled shyly and took his arm. “I would like that very much.”

They strolled arm in arm down the sidewalk toward the Italian restaurant that was his favorite. The host grinned widely when he spotted Kiril.

“Glad to have you back,” he said and motioned them to follow.

Kiril guided the woman ahead of him with his hand on her lower back. He felt her shiver when his fingers grazed her bare skin.

He couldn’t hold back his satisfied smile. She had been sent to seduce him, but she wasn’t immune to his touch. That could work to his advantage, especially if he managed to flip her to their side. It wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t think he was going to mind the effort.

Desire, dark and profound, smoldered through him. It wasn’t the desire that alarmed him, but the raw, visceral need to know her, the yearning to taste her.

The hunger to fill her.

That desire swelled and intensified, spread and multiplied with every second they were together. It consumed him, devoured him. He was being incinerated from the inside out with that burning need.

Kiril slid into the half-moon shaped booth beside her and promptly ordered a bottle of wine.

He opened the menu and decided to push her. It was either that or kiss her, and he was afraid if he started kissing her, he wouldn’t be able to stop. Kiril didn’t think anyone in he restaurant would want to see him have sex. “Why did you accept my invitation?”

Surprise flickered in her deep red eyes. “I was hungry, and you offered.”

“Do you often go off with strange men?”

She laughed, the sound going straight to his cock. “You’re the first. I’m Shara, by the way.”

“Kiril.”

“Kiril. A strong name, but also an unusual one.”

He set aside the menu and regarded her. It was strange. He normally hated looking into the eyes of a Dark Fae. Something about red eyes that seemed wrong, but he didn’t mind it with her.

Shara. What a beautiful name to match such an intriguing, captivating woman.

She cleared her throat and set her napkin in her lap. Her lips parted to speak, but before she could the waiter brought the wine.

Kiril continued to watch her even as he sampled the wine and nodded his approval to the server. Once their glasses were filled and their order given, the attendant walked away.

“You were saying?” he prompted her.

“I was going to ask what kind of business are you in?”

Kiril thought about spinning another lie, and then realized there was no need. She knew he was a Dragon King, knew that he was from Dreagan. One less lie could only help him.

“I work for a distillery. I sample other whisky around the world for comparison.”

Her red eyes held his as she lifted the wine glass to her lips and tried the cabernet sauvignon. “Wouldn’t it be easier to taste these whiskies at your distillery?”

“It might, but it adds to the taste to try it at the place it’s distilled. It’s also helpful to sit in a pub and watch what the bartenders pour for their patrons.”

“I see.” She set down her glass and licked her lips.

Kiril swirled the red wine in his glass thinking how much he wanted to kiss her. “What do you do, Shara?”