Darkest Flame (13 page)

“You’re certainly different, Denae Lacroix.”

She smiled then. “My father used to say the same thing.”

“Do you want us to get word to your family?”

Denae glanced at her feet. “That won’t be necessary. My immediate family is dead. It’s just my extended family, and I haven’t communicated with them for years. Is there a restroom around?” she asked before he could speak again.

Kellan pointed to a doorway behind her. “Through there and into the next building.”

Denae hurried away, hating how memories of her family would hit her when she least expected it. She hadn’t meant to bring up her father, but Kellan saying her father’s favorite words brought a tide of memories she couldn’t hold back.

She followed Kellan’s instructions and walked into the next building. The building was full of fishing nets and crates and other things she had no clue about.

After spotting a door up ahead, she walked around a set of crates stacked high and stopped in her tracks when she found four men with assault rifles trained on her. As chilling as that was, it was nothing compared to the four men flanking them.

They had long, black hair streaked silver and red eyes.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Kellan stared at the door Denae had disappeared through and paced several lengths of the office before he stopped and stared at the door again.

He blew out a breath. How long did a female need in the restroom? She had been gone several minutes already.

“Kellan,” he heard behind him.

He whirled around to find Rhi, her eyes wide and distress tightening her face. He was immediately on guard. “What is it?”

“The Dark are here. And they have Denae.”

He was shocked at the fury that rose so swiftly within him. For a human. Yet, he was the one supposed to keep her safe. He had failed, and he didn’t like that feeling one bit.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

Rhi’s boot heels sounded loud in the building as she hurried to the back windows. “There.”

Kellan followed her and let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Denae standing on a pier alone. Then confusion set in. “They didna take her?”

Rhi looked away from the windows. “The Dark Ones aren’t alone, Kell. They joined forces with MI5.”

Now he was truly flabbergasted. “The Fae and the humans? That can no’ be.”

“It’s not all of MI5, just a few. I was keeping an eye on things when I saw Denae walk into the other building. I followed, keeping veiled, and watched her encounter the small group of Dark and the spies. She’s bait again, Kell.”

“For me.” Of course. Why hadn’t he realized that sooner? That’s the only reason Denae was still in this realm and alive. The real question was whether Denae was in on the Dark Ones taking him, or if she was a victim.

“The Dark Ones want a Dragon King. MI5 wants Denae.”

“Kellan!” Denae called halfheartedly. “Can you come out?”

Kellan looked back at Denae and noticed how her eyes went anywhere but at the building he was in. She was alone, but the Dark Fae and the spies would be hiding close enough to swoop in the moment she tried to run or he appeared.

In dragon form, he could fly down and get her, but it would be a big chance. For though few Kings liked to admit it, the Dark Fae’s magic could prevent them from remaining in dragon form, which is when they were their strongest.

The Dark couldn’t just prevent it. There were instances when their magic could hinder a King to make him almost as feeble as a human. It was why the Kings rarely fought alone against the Dark.

But Kellan had given his word to Denae. He couldn’t remember the last time he had saved a human’s life, but that didn’t seem to matter as he stared at her standing so stoically.

“No,” Rhi said in shock. “You aren’t seriously considering going down there. You can’t. I heard the Dark. They want you.”

Kellan took in the entire scene, determining where his enemies would hide. “I’m going.”

“You don’t care that they’ve targeted you specifically?”

He shrugged and picked out the hiding places the mortals would use. “Of course I care. They want something, and I want to know what it is. I willna learn that standing here.”

“It’s the Dark, Kellan,” she stated flatly.

“I know.” He turned his head to her. After what had happened with Rhi and her Dragon King lover she could’ve turned her back on them, but she hadn’t. It showed just how deep her love for the King had been. If she only knew the truth …

“Kellan!” Denae called again.

Rhi blew out a harsh breath. “You’re a Dragon King. Do you know what the Dark Ones will do to you?”

The pitch of Rhi’s voice went higher. The Dark might not be able to kill a King, but the long-term effects of suffering their torture could do untold damage.

They had managed to capture two Kings during the Fae Wars. Kellan remembered all too well having to kill one King after the Dark released him and he set out to destroy Dreagan.

The other … the Dark had tried to use during a battle. Seeing a King held by Dark Ones had been horrible, but nothing compared to the King begging his brethren to end his life. It was Con who reached him first and killed him.

“She’s right,” Con said from the doorway as he and Rhys walked in. “The Dark can no’ capture another King.”

Rhi backed away when Kellan met her eyes. “I can do this with your help,” he told her. “The Dark Ones doona know you’re here.”

Kellan looked from Con to Rhys and back to Rhi. He couldn’t begin to explain his driving need to save Denae, only that he had to. It was an odd feeling after spending so much time hoping for the demise of all mortals. “I took responsibility for her. Because I gave Denae my word that she wouldna die this day. Because … I have to do this for her.”

Suddenly Rhi gave him a wink. “Just what I wanted to hear, stud.”

“You can no’ be serious,” Con said as he stalked angrily to Kellan. “You’ll never get free of the Dark Ones.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Kellan said sarcastically.

Con closed his eyes and fisted his hands, as if he were searching for patience. When his black eyes opened, he pinned Kellan with a hard look. “I doona want to have to kill another King who has been in the hands of a Dark. I can no’. No’ again.”

“Kellan! You should see this!” Denae shouted while glaring at a stack of crates.

Kellan itched to answer Denae. He knew exactly how Con felt. It was strange to hear Con talk of saving a King over a human. It wasn’t something he had ever done before. Then again, it wasn’t every day that a Dark tried to capture a King.

Just what were the Dark up to? He had to know if she was part of the plot. He had to know if he was being betrayed yet again.

In all his thousands upon thousands of years, there had been just a handful of mortals he’d helped. There was something about Denae—and not just her beauty—that he associated with. How he wished he hadn’t, but once that connection was there, it was there.

Walking away from her, however, wasn’t something he would do. Not yet.

“I’m going to do this,” Kellan told the group. “I doona plan on being taken by the Dark, but I can no’ do this alone. Either you help me or leave.”

Rhys grunted. “As if we would leave. What do you want us to do?”

“Get the four MI5 guys,” Rhi said.

Rhys smiled, his eyes alight with anticipation. “I can handle them on my own.”

Kellan saw Denae look at a stack of crates to her left nervously. A Dark Fae must be there. She wasn’t afraid of humans, but she was smart enough to comprehend the Dark were something else entirely.

“There were a few of the Dark who were eyeing Denae,” Rhi said cautiously as she glanced at Kellan. “I don’t think they intend to let the humans have her as was originally planned.”

“They can have any woman they want,” Con said. “Why do they want Denae?”

“Because she was with us,” Kellan stated.

Rhi nodded in agreement. “If they want a King, it’s just like those jackasses to want a woman who spent time with one.”

“But Denae and Kellan didna do anything,” Rhys said.

“It doesn’t matter.” Rhi wrinkled her nose. “Their hatred for the Kings runs almost as deep as their hatred of the Light.”

Kellan’s mind sank into battle mode. Denae had a chance to live if the humans took her, but if the Dark took her, she was as good as dead. “It’s time to stop talking and get Denae free. Then we make sure the Dark Ones can’t get her.”

“We need a plan,” Rhys said. “One that involves Banan and Henry as well.”

Con slid his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “MI5 can no’ get ahold of Denae. We didna get a chance to wipe her memories.”

Kellan set his shoulders. “No matter what, she lives. You made that much clear when I carried her out of my mountain.”

“Then I suggest you doona get taken by the Dark,” Con said.

*   *   *

Denae tried to slow her pounding heart, but she couldn’t remember ever being so scared. It wasn’t the operatives sent by the agency—it was the others. Those four weren’t human or mortal.

Their hair was so similar in color to Rhi’s, except for the silver shot through the strands, but that was not what made her blood turn cold. It was their red eyes and the way they looked at her as if she were a meal to be sampled at leisure.

None of the eight—humans or others—had curbed their talk in front of her. She knew they wanted a Dragon King and Kellan in particular. And apparently the humans were supposed to take her after the others captured Kellan.

The way the red-eyed men smiled when they talked about the Dragon Kings made Denae nervous. Kellan had said the only way to kill a Dragon King was by another King, but he didn’t say anything about torture.

She eyed the water behind her. The tide was moving out, and with her strong stroke, there was a chance she could get away. There was also a very good chance she would be shot while doing it.

Denae lifted her eyes to find one of the red-eyed men watching her with a wry smile on his face. She stopped herself from shivering at the blatant sexual desire in his gaze.

“I dare you,” he said and glanced at the water.

He knew what she was thinking. How? She had barely given the water a glance. Denae looked away from the man and sent up a silent prayer that Kellan would walk away regardless of how many times they made her call out to him.

But she knew he wouldn’t. She knew their secret, and they didn’t want that in the hands of MI5. The water might be her only option. If she dove into the water, it would release Kellan from his vow.

She would have to be quick and time it perfectly. Two of the four operatives were closest to her with their rifles trained on her, waiting for her to make a move. The remaining two were stationed on the rooftops and had her in their scopes in case she made a run for it.

Of the four red-eyes, only one was near her. She had no idea where the others were, and that was what worried her. They could be anywhere.

She was preparing to jump into the water when the sound of a door opening reached her. Denae then spotted Kellan’s tall, muscular form striding toward her as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

The waves of his long, caramel-colored hair lifted in the breeze, and his eyes locked with hers. What stole her awareness was the half smile upon his lips, which made him appear as if he looked forward to whatever was about to happen.

It transformed his rugged, handsome face into one that left her breathless and needy. With his olive-green shirt hugging his wide shoulders and his jeans slung low on narrow hips, he was a gorgeous sight to behold.

As he drew closer, his brows raised a fraction, as if he were daring her to say something. Her lips parted to tell him not to get nearer, but then he was before her, his steely arms winding around her.

And his lips locked with hers.

Denae was so taken aback that she had her arms around his neck and was returning his kiss before she realized it.

He kissed skillfully, sinfully. It was sensual and carnal, stirring and salacious.

And she never wanted it to end.

Her breasts swelled as he crushed her to him. Desire pumped through her, pooling between her legs as her passion built. Just as quickly as the kiss began, Kellan ended it as he kissed down her jaw until his mouth was even with her ear.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

Her eyes widened to tell him who was watching when he kissed her again. This time the kiss was savage as he plundered her mouth with consummate expertise.

She was falling under his spell again, even with danger lurking all around her. She was powerless to do anything else. Kellan had a hold over her she didn’t understand.

Her eyes opened when his hands came up on either side of her face and he lifted his head. Reality came crashing down like a bucket of ice water when she didn’t see any desire in his green eyes. They were as stony and lifeless as ever.

Gone was the small smile. The lips that had just kissed her with such abandon and tenderness were set in a hard line. There was a loud retort and something slammed into her thigh painfully. In the next moment, he was shoving her to the ground.

At the same instant, gunfire erupted around them, directed entirely at Kellan. Denae ducked even as Kellan sheltered her with his body.

“Stay down!” he yelled at her over the shooting.

With no firearm, Denae had no choice. That is, until she saw one of the agents go down, his gun falling from his lifeless fingers. She rolled; gritting her teeth as her leg pulsed with pain from the bullet lodged within, and came up with the weapon in her hand, sending several rounds at an operative on the rooftop.

With that agent dead, Denae turned to another only to have Kellan grab her and pull her behind a set of crates.

“Are you insane?” he asked angrily.

Now
he was showing emotion? Now that she was in her element and able to defend herself? She wanted to roll her eyes. “I was trained for this, remember?”

“Those are Dark Fae out there with your people.”

“My people?” she repeated and gave a snort as she looked at his shirt riddled with bullet holes and blood. “As if I would claim the ones putting bullets in you.”