Smoke and Fire (14 page)

His hazel gaze stared at her a long time. “I've always known that. It was your strength of character and soul that drew me.”

“Then you needn't worry about me.”

“It's my nature.”

She shrugged, hating that she liked that he might actually feel concern for her. Responsibility? Definitely. But to have him troubled over her was something she hadn't expected.

And greatly enjoyed.

That flare of hope within her heart brightened briefly. Kinsey refused to acknowledge it. Ryder wouldn't get close enough to hurt her again. Ever.

“You didn't tell your friends I had family,” she said.

Ryder mumbled something beneath his breath. “Who asked?”

“Thorn.” She lifted her chin then. Though she didn't stand a chance against Dragon Kings or the might of Dreagan, she still said, “Let me be perfectly clear. No one here, not you or Con or anyone else, is going to threaten my family.”

Ryder gave a nod of his head. “You have my word.”

How much was that worth now? At one time, Kinsey would've believed anything he said. Now, she knew his focus was Dreagan and all those who lived there.

Everyone else was on their own.

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dark Fae Palace
Ireland

For every hour that Balladyn was away from Rhi, he felt as if a millennia passed. Taraeth kept Balladyn by his side, as if the king of the Dark knew Balladyn wanted to leave.

“You've had something on your mind,” Taraeth said as they walked side by side down the wide corridor from the king's throne room to Taraeth's private sanctuary.

They turned the corner and Balladyn saw into one of the many vast rooms where the Dark congregated. He spied Mikkel and the female Dark sent by Taraeth to spy on him. “I've told you my thoughts on your alliance with both Mikkel and Ulrik.”

“You don't think I can handle the situation?”

Balladyn clenched his jaw when he heard Taraeth's voice dip deep in aggravation. It was time for Balladyn to do damage control. “Never, sire. We're dealing with two Dragon Kings, both of who want Con's position.”

Taraeth halted, the guards following instantly fanning out to give him room. He took a step closer to Balladyn. “Mikkel was a Dragon King for only a few minutes.”

“With Ulrik's magic bound, hasn't he been the King of the Silvers the entire time though?”

“Mikkel sure thought so,” Taraeth said with a smile. “But I've recently come across some information.”

Balladyn wasn't fooled. He knew exactly who that information came from. “Ulrik actually shared such knowledge with you?”

“I can be very charming.” Taraeth's red eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled. “Truth be told, I think Ulrik has about had enough of the leash Mikkel keeps tightening.”

“Ulrik would've never told you anything he didn't want to get back to his uncle.”

Taraeth absently rubbed the nub of his left arm. “What Ulrik told me anyone could figure out if they but took a moment. Mikkel is too power hungry to even contemplate the fact that he might be in over his head.”

Balladyn studied his king. “So you're going to side with Ulrik?”

“I didn't say that. Now, if Ulrik had all of his magic back, perhaps.”

What if he did? Balladyn thought about how easily Ulrik had snuck up on him. No Fae could do that. The Dragon Kings had been able to do that on a few occasions.

Which meant that in order for Ulrik to perform such a feat, he had all his magic back. Taraeth and Mikkel didn't know. Ulrik was keeping his secrets close, which was the only way he would come out ahead in the end.

But why lie? Why not tell—or better yet, show—Mikkel that he was back in charge? Because if Ulrik had his magic returned, he could speak to his Silvers locked on Dreagan. And if he could wake his Silvers, then he could start the war with the mortals once more.

Balladyn was more curious than ever as to what Ulrik's plans were. Though Taraeth might not be willing to pick a side, Balladyn already had. Ulrik's.

He gave a shrug to Taraeth. “You've still not told me what Ulrik shared.”

“Hungry for information to use against our enemies?” Taraeth asked with a laugh.

“The more knowledge we have, the better.”

Taraeth looked him up and down before he began walking again. Balladyn fell into step beside him as the guards surrounded them. He waited for Taraeth to speak, but they continued in silence.

It wasn't until they were in Taraeth's private chambers with guards posted outside that he sat on the red velvet sofa and motioned for Balladyn to take the other.

“I wish we would've been here when the Kings were at war with the humans,” Taraeth began. “We would've been able to see firsthand what happened with Ulrik.”

Balladyn rested both arms on the back of the sofa and stretched out his legs, his ankles crossed. “We know what happened.”

“We know the story. Mikkel doesn't even know all of it. He wasn't there to witness everything. He saw Con and the other Kings bind Ulrik's magic. That's how Mikkel became a Dragon King. The power of the King reverted to the next strongest Silver.”

Balladyn nodded. “The Kings already had four of the largest and most loyal of Ulrik's Silvers put into sleep and caged on Dreagan.”

“Exactly,” Taraeth said with a smile.

Balladyn chuckled then. “Con made sure that even if the Silvers woke, none of them would be able to become a Dragon King.”

“Which is why Mikkel was only a King for a short time. He desired to be King long before Ulrik took over from his father. Mikkel thought it should've been him from the beginning. He's always hated Ulrik for being stronger and more powerful. Mikkel believes he has Ulrik at a disadvantage, and as long as that's in place, Mikkel will use it to his advantage.”

“What happens when Ulrik gets all of his magic back?”

Taraeth shrugged. “Mikkel says he has a plan in place. Once Ulrik kills Con, then Mikkel will kill him. As soon as Ulrik has all of his magic unbound, he'll once more be King of the Silvers. Nothing will be able to stop that. Nor will Con be able to bind Ulrik's magic again.”

Balladyn inwardly smiled at Ulrik's cunning to make everyone believe his magic wasn't fully unbound.

Balladyn wanted to test his theory. Taraeth could hide a lot of things, but if he had a secret he believed no one else was aware of, he liked to gloat about it.

“What if Ulrik's magic is unbound? What if he's faking it?”

Taraeth laughed loudly. “Look at Ulrik, Balladyn. He was King of the Silvers for thousands of years. Do you really believe he'd sit by and continue to allow Mikkel to use him if he had his magic? More than that, do you really believe Ulrik wouldn't attack Con right away?”

“He's waited thousands of years for his retribution. I think he's planned it down to the last detail.”

“Without a doubt. It's going to be a glorious war, and we have front row seats.”

It was Taraeth's certainty that he would remain king of the Dark, as well as his conviction that he didn't have to choose between Ulrik and Mikkel that told Balladyn it was nearly his time to take over.

An image of Rhi flashed in his mind.

His hands clenched as he recalled how he'd held her body against his, caressing and stroking. Her cries of pleasure still echoed in his mind. Just as he would never forget how it felt to slide inside her.

He wanted her as his queen. Rhi would be an amazing queen. But she would never turn Dark.

And he was Dark.

Balladyn blinked, focusing on Taraeth's face that was inches from his as he snapped his fingers next to Balladyn's ear. He held back his natural reflex to knock Taraeth away.

“What's wrong with you?” Taraeth asked with a sneer. “I've been talking to you, but you wouldn't answer.”

Balladyn held himself still until Taraeth straightened and returned to the opposite sofa. Only then did he respond. “I was thinking about the upcoming battle with Ulrik and Con.”

“Oh, yes. I know how much you hate the Dragon Kings.”

Apparently not all of them. Balladyn was beginning to like Ulrik. “I want to be there to watch it unfold.”

“You will be,” Taraeth assured him.

By that time, Balladyn fully intended to be king of the Darks. The entire force of Dark Fae would be at the disposal of one entity—him.

It would be at his leisure to choose if they aided Ulrik or not. And knowing Ulrik, the Dragon King wouldn't need anyone's help.

As for Mikkel … that was another matter entirely.

“You still have Sinny spying on Mikkel?”

Taraeth nodded absently as he eyed a mortal who was being carried into the chamber. Her red hair was long and bright, just as Taraeth liked it.

She was young, her body lithe and supple as she lay naked in the arms of one of Taraeth's guards. He motioned to the guard to take the human to his bed in the next room.

“Sinny will continue to spy on Mikkel just as her sister, Muriel, is spying on Ulrik.” Taraeth stood with an excited smile as he faced his bedroom. “We'll finish this later. It's time for my snack.”

Balladyn rose to his feet and walked out with the loud moans of the female following him. He strode down the hallway thinking of all the mortals he'd taken after he became Dark. There were so many he couldn't recall all of them.

Rhi wouldn't approve.

He made his way to a doorway and immediately went to Rhi's island. He needed to have her arms around him, to know that she was his.

But the island was deserted.

Balladyn stood in the sun with the water a few feet away. It was the spot where he had made love to Rhi. He removed his clothes and walked into the water.

The sun, the bright flowers, the beautiful water, they were all things a Light Fae needed. He didn't need them anymore, but yet there he was.

Balladyn dove under the water trying to imagine what Rhi saw as she swam with the brightly colored fish and coral. He could imagine her smiling as the fish darted around her.

It wasn't until he walked out of the water an hour later that Balladyn realized how long he'd remained at the island. He halted at the shore, his chest tightening.

He enjoyed it. All of it. The sand, the water, the fish. The sun.

His gaze landed on the hammock, and for just a moment, he contemplated remaining. Then he remembered his plans. He had a throne to claim and a king to kill.

Balladyn scrunched his toes, the wet sand sinking between them, clinging to his skin as the water rolled in and out. The wind glided across his damp skin and caused the palm trees to sway, their fronds rubbing against each other.

It was so peaceful. No wonder Rhi had chosen it. It was secluded as well, which suited her. More and more she was pulling away from everyone.

It seemed both of them were in the midst of change. Though Balladyn now knew that Rhi would fight the darkness inside her with everything that she was.

She didn't even know that yet. It made him smile, because it proved how strong she was. Not just her magic, but her character, her spirit.

Her essence.

She feared the darkness was taking over when in fact her light was drowning the darkness. The darkness clung to her, trying to sway Rhi and tempt her. A few times it even came close.

But each time her light killed it.

How could he have ever imagined that he could turn her Dark? Even in the thrall of rage and revenge, he should've seen the sheer might of her.

Instead, he'd been blinded by the darkness within him. The one person in all the realms he'd never wanted to hurt, he had done just that. And she forgave him.

She was the very best of the Fae. How did no one else see that?

Balladyn snapped his fingers as he walked out of the water. His clothes and shoes were back on, and all traces of his time in the water were gone.

He teleported to Cork and
an Doras
. As soon as he walked into the pub, a hush fell over the crowd of Fae. It was a Dark Fae holding, but the occasional Light would make an appearance.

Balladyn walked to an empty stool and sat at the bar. The barkeep walked up with a glass of whisky in hand. As soon as he set the glass down, Balladyn's hand wrapped around his wrist.

Wide red eyes looked at Balladyn. “I've paid my rent and taxes.”

“I don't take care of such things.” The male began to tremble in Balladyn's hold. “I want information.”

“Wh-what kind?” the Dark stuttered.

“Tell me all you've heard of the Reapers recently.”

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ryder was attuned to every sound, every movement that Kinsey made. He found it nearly impossible to focus on anything except her.

With his mind constantly bombarded with questions from the other Dragon Kings, he found himself ignoring their verbal calls on occasion.

The hours crawled by until lunch. Kinsey didn't so much as look his way again as she went about her work. Ryder attempted to come up with reasons to ask her questions, but it didn't take long for her to realize what he was doing.

As soon as Dmitri walked into the computer room, Ryder jumped up from his chair. “I'll be back,” he told Dmitri.

Ryder ignored his name being called as he lengthened his strides. He hurried down the three flights of stairs and bumped into Arian as he made his way to the hidden doorway from the manor that connected to the mountain.

Once Ryder was in the mountain, he kept walking. He didn't know where he was going. Only that he had to put some distance between him and Kinsey so he could get himself under control.

Ryder soon found himself standing in the large cavern staring at the black bars of the massive cage that held the four sleeping Silver dragons.

The cavern had only a few torches scattered around the perimeter. A ball of magic swirled above the cage, casting a faint white light over the dragons.