Darkest Flame (16 page)

Denae locked that piece of information away. If she had learned one thing from Kellan’s tale, it was that Con would do anything to protect the peace—no matter who had to suffer.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Somewhere in Scotland …

He seethed. The plan had been perfect. How had the Dragon Kings gotten wind of the trap? It should have been a flawless capture of Kellan with the female as a bonus.

Although he wasn’t so certain the Dark Ones would allow the female to go to MI5. She was a pretty thing. He almost regretted targeting her to die in the mission, but beauty was fleeting and there were a dozen other pretty females about.

His plan had been set in motion a thousand years before. It was laid out like a chess game with him controlling everything.

To his bitter disappointment, his plan had taken careful arranging and a millennia of preparation. Then he had to account for the modernization of the mortals and their ever-changing technological advancements.

If he’d had his way, his revenge would have happened before the dragons were sent out of this realm. Instead, he had been … incapacitated.

But no longer.

He turned off the A9 toward Perth. The Dark wanted retribution against the Kings for the Fae Wars. He happened to want his own revenge. Rarely did one of his plans go wrong, except when the Kings were involved.

In London a year before, he’d wanted to see how far they would go. To his surprise, one of the Kings had found a mate. It had been … eons since something so remarkable had occurred with the group.

It had given him pause, but only for a little while. Soon, it became apparent just how far the Kings would go for their mates. Which would be their downfall.

He drove into Perth and pulled into a parking spot on the side of King’s Street. Millennia after millennia had passed as he planned out his revenge.

His spider’s web of influences, acquaintances, and networks took generation after generation to build. He was so rooted in some families now that they would do whatever he asked of them at any time.

Infiltrating MI5 had been just as easy.

However, his web wasn’t contained to just Great Britain. It extended all over the world.

He had many names, many faces. No one knew he was the one controlling things. And no one lived who ever dared to refuse an order—or cross him.

The planning to take down the Dragon Kings had been meticulous, right down to waiting until now to form an alliance with the Dark Ones.

The Kings would never see him coming.

He laughed and reached for his mobile to dial a number. There was one ring before a male answered.

“Well?” he asked.

“It’s just as you said, sir,” the male answered in a British accent. “They got Denae away from the port quickly and met up with another vehicle.”

Ah, but the Kings were predictable, even after all these years. They were supposed to protect the humans, and that’s exactly what they were doing.

“Where are they taking her?”

There was a short pause before the man said, “The Merc is on route west, sir.”

“West? Do you have eyes on them?”

“We do, both on the ground and in the air.”

He smiled. “Good, good.”

“When do we attack? MI5 is anxious to retrieve Denae and learn how she’s been tortured and what those at Dreagan did to Matt.”

“You will do nothing,” he ordered harshly. “Do you understand me? You will stand down.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Call me as soon as they reach their destination. Is that understood?”

“Of course, sir.”

He disconnected the phone. It wouldn’t be MI5 who paid the human and Dragon King a visit.

*   *   *

Kellan didn’t think they would ever reach Raasay. They had to wait over an hour just for the ferry, and then the ferry ride itself.

Once on Raasay, Kellan directed Denae north to the plot of land the Kings had claimed as their own two thousand years before. It was Kellan who had found it. He had known then that they might need places outside of Dreagan.

Con had agreed, and immediately the Kings set up places all around the world.

The last time Kellan had seen the place on Raasay it was nothing but a small cottage. It brought to mind once again how long he had been asleep and all he had missed with his brethren.

All because of his hatred.

He looked at Denae as she drove up the dirt road constricted on either side by thick forest as they climbed in elevation.

Kellan loved the shoreline of Raasay, but it was always important to have a good lookout, which is why he had chosen the plot of land high up in the mountains.

“How much farther?” she asked.

“I’m no’ sure. It’s been awhile since I was here.”

“What brought you to the isle?”

“I often stayed here in between exploring Skye and the other isles.”

The SUV rocked violently as it rolled over a large rock protruding from the road. Denae winced. “Sorry. Didn’t see that. I was too busy gawking at you.”

“You always say whatever is on your mind.”

“Not usually, but I’ve learned the only way I learn anything about you is to say what needs to be said.”

“That was a statement before, no’ a question.”

She shrugged and gave him a quick look with her whisky-colored eyes. “Does that bother you?”

Oddly enough, it didn’t. He was used to mortals being frightened of him even if they didn’t know what he was, and yet, Denae was different in that regard as well. He found he … liked it. “You’re no’ afraid of me, are you?”

“I have a healthy respect for you,” she stated. “Fear? That I reserve for the Dark Fae. Now they’re the stuff of nightmares. But, no changing the subject. Back to your visits to Skye. Why there?”

Kellan pointed to a sign that said Private Property with a faint dragon on the right lower corner. “Turn here.”

“Are you sure?”

“There’s a dragon on the sign, of course I’m sure.”

She turned and then brought the vehicle to a stop at the closed and locked gate. Kellan got out and walked to the gate. The lock wasn’t a human one. There were no keys to use or numbers to punch. It was a lock that couldn’t be blown up, sawed off, or cut.

The only way to open it was by being a Dragon King.

Kellan put his hand on the lock. As soon as it sensed his dragon magic, it unlocked with a click and the gate opened.

When he climbed back into the Mercedes, Denae stared at him. He motioned for her to proceed forward. She did so after hesitating for a minute.

“Have you ever heard of the
Book of Kells
?” he asked as they drove down the winding drive.

“Of course. I don’t think there are many who haven’t. Why?” Her eyes widened and her lips parted suddenly. “Kells? As in Kellan?”

Her shocked expression brought his lips up in a smile that he quickly hid. He wasn’t ready for her to know just how deeply she affected him—not when he hadn’t worked it all out himself. If only the desire didn’t complicate matters he might figure it out. “That was me.”

She laughed, the sound music to his ears. “You sound so humble. The
Book of Kells
is an important part of history. That’s amazing. Did you ask them to name it after you?”

“Nay,” he said, affronted that she would think he would do something like that. “They did it on their own. So it is still around?”

“Most certainly. There are disputing theories as to its origin. Many say Ireland.”

He made a disgusted sound at the back of his throat. “That’s the Fae’s influence. They’ve always had a stronghold in Ireland, just as we do in Scotland.”

“I have to ask, the book contains the gospels from the Bible. Why that? Why not something else?”

“It was important to humans.” He hadn’t cared about what was inside the book, but he had been impressed with the work the mortals had wanted to accomplish. It was the reason he had helped them to begin with. To have that book survive all these centuries was something he had never expected.

“And you don’t believe?”

He thought back to that turbulent time when the humans were learning more and more about themselves. “It matters no’ what I do or doona believe. Humans did.”

“Did you begin the book?”

Kellan wanted to end the conversation before she saw how much he loved the written word and all it held, but he couldn’t since he’d introduced the topic. Damn him for wanting to see if any of him had remained while he slept through time.

“It’s all right,” she said suddenly. “You don’t have to tell me.”

He briefly closed his eyes and wondered why he found Denae so easy to talk to. Had sleeping through time helped to heal his hatred? No. He was sure it hadn’t. There was just something unique and exceptional about Denae.

“I urged them,” he said. “I also did most of the drawings.”

Her smile was genuine when she glanced at him. “Wow. Just … wow. Why wasn’t it ever finished?”

Kellan caught sight of the stone house as it came into view. It was larger than the cottage he had built, but the pale stone and gray roof matched the surroundings nicely.

Denae stopped the car at the back of the house and shut off the engine. Being back on Raasay brought forth a ton of memories involving the
Book of Kells
and his trips to Iona visiting the monks.

He wasn’t sure if the memories were good or bad. Nor did he quite know how he felt about being so close to where everything had fallen apart for him. Was that why Con had sent them here? Was Con pushing him to see if he would repeat history?

Kellan looked at Denae. He wanted to be in the vehicle on Raasay with her. The realization was like a punch in his stomach. Never did he think he would want to be so near a mortal.

But it wasn’t just being near to her that he wanted. He hungered for her—all of her.

“I’d grown weary,” he finally answered. “I assumed the monks would finish the book and illustrations.”

“Was it so awful being around humans? They were monks. How bad could they be?”

Her eyes held a sadness he felt like a punch to his stomach. It hurt her how much he despised her kind, because she thought it also included her.

He could tell her she was excluded from his view, but to give her that information would be giving her a way into his mind. In the past he wouldn’t have dared.

Things were different now. All because of a beautiful spy who emerged from the water in his cave.

Did she even know how she kept him tied in knots? Did she know how much he wanted to pull her into his arms and ravage her mouth for hours before exploring her body?

He looked away from the sorrow reflected in her eyes and wished he knew something to say to make her smile again. Instead, he opened the door and got out with Denae doing the same. With her by his side, they walked around the side of the house. As soon as he saw the view of the water with the sun setting, he remembered why he had chosen such a spot.

“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Denae said.

He faced her then, wanting her to know the truth. “The monks didna drive me away. I missed my dragons, I missed flying whenever I wanted. I missed hearing the roars. And answering them. Every time I looked at a human I saw my dead Bronzes.

“Each day it was a chore no’ to lash out at them, to yell … to kill. And then, the man raped and killed the young girl. I didna even stop and think. I just reacted.”

“I think I’d have done the same. The man gave you his word. He lied and killed.”

Kellan looked to the skies. “The dragons are gone. Forever. You can no’ possibly know what it means to lose something you love.”

“Right, because you Kings have a monopoly on grief, sorrow, and anger.” Her words were clipped and full of annoyance.

He took a step toward her. “How would you feel if your family was sent away and you were left behind?”

She smiled wryly, the iciness of it slamming into him like a fist to his jaw. “Do you ever listen to me? Or is it just background noise you hear when I talk?”

“I doona know why you’re getting defensive.”

He was trying to calm her, but his words seemed to set her off instead. Her chin lifted and her shoulders squared, much as they had done when she was fighting Matt in his cave.

“You don’t know…” She trailed off and pursed her lips together. “My family is gone, dead, you asshole. I’m all that remains.”

Kellan couldn’t believe he had forgotten that fact, but it still didn’t measure up to him losing his dragons. It might be the same if the entire human race disappeared, leaving only her, but he didn’t think mentioning that now would be in his best interest.

“Denae,” he started.

She gave a shake of her head and turned on her heel to start back to the vehicle. “Don’t even try it.”

He glanced at the sunset and knew the peace he wanted to experience with Denae would have to wait. Kellan lengthened his strides to catch up with her.

She altered course and went to the back door, but it had the same lock as the gate. He reached around her and unlocked it.

“Denae…”

Without a glance, she pushed past him and walked into the lodge. Anger rose within him. He had promised to protect her, had even used his dragon magic to pull the bullets from her. How had she repaid him? By getting upset while he had been trying to explain his love of the dragons and how much he missed them. He had shared with her what he hadn’t spoken about with a single individual. Just her.

Kellan knew he should go to the opposite side of the house. Instead, he followed her up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms.

She reached for the door as she passed it, but he caught it before it could slam in his face.

“What—” she started when she turned to find him there.

Kellan grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall. Desire surged, rose like a tidal wave. It engulfed him, consumed him.

All the raw emotions he hadn’t known how to sort through turned into a blinding, dazzling flame of yearning. And it was focused on one woman.

As soon as her lips parted, he knew he was lost. He took her mouth in an unrestrained, brutal kiss full of burning need and alluring desire.