Darkest Flame (33 page)

“He just doesna have Duncan’s memories.”

“That’ll kill Ian,” Phelan said as he frowned and turned his head to Kellan. “Ian was lost after Duncan died. He’ll be overjoyed to know Duncan is alive.”

“But is he?” Kellan asked. “None of us can remember the last time a Dragon King was made. I doona know how Tristan became a King, but I do know that he is now ours. There might be a good reason all of his memories of his former life as Duncan Kerr have been wiped.”

“So what do I tell Ian?”

“Perhaps nothing.”

Phelan gave a quick shake of his head. “With the way the Kings and Warriors interact, how long do you think it’ll be before Ian sees Tristan?”

“No’ long.”

“Precisely. Ian has to know.”

Kellan liked Tristan. A lot. It wasn’t just that he was a Dragon King. Tristan had proven himself as someone Kellan could trust. He would do whatever Tristan wanted regarding Ian. If Tristan didn’t want to see his brother from another life, then Kellan would make sure Ian didn’t interfere.

“We’ll protect Tristan.”

Phelan raised a dark brow, an eager light in his eyes. “And we’ll back Ian.”

“This should be interesting.”

“Aye.”

The boat began to slow, the motor no longer as loud as before. Rain pelted the top of the yacht. The ferocity of the rain proved that it was going to be a long storm.

Kellan didn’t stand until the boat was docked and tied off. Before he could take the first step onto the deck, Con blocked the doorway, his blond hair dripping with water and his dark red dress shirt plastered to his chest.

“Is she all right?” Con asked as he nodded to Denae.

“She will be.”

Con’s black gaze shifted briefly to Phelan before he gave a slight nod and walked to stand next to Tristan in the rain.

“Why do I get the feeling he isna happy you’ve brought Denae back?” Phelan asked.

Kellan flattened his lips. He had gotten the same vibe from Con, and it didn’t sit well at all. “I doona give a rat’s arse what he thinks. I make my own decisions.”

“Even living at Dreagan? I get the feeling Con makes the rules.”

Kellan snorted. “He tries. We all tell him to go bugger himself if we doona agree.”

“As would I.”

Kellan stepped in front of Phelan before he could walk out. “Con is a good man. He’ll have your back if you ever need it.”

“Aye, I know.”

“But he’ll also turn on you quicker than you can blink if he feels it’s justified.”

Phelan’s brow furrowed. “Can you give me an example?”

“Ulrik.”

“I’ve heard that name before. He doesna happen to be the King of Silvers, does he?”

“Aye. How did you guess that?”

Phelan paused long enough for Kellan to know that Con had let something slip. Anger filled Kellan. “What did Con tell you about Ulrik?”

“He didna say Ulrik’s name. He asked if we knew anything about a shop in Perth called The Silver Dragon.”

“Shite,” Kellan said and glanced down at Denae in his arms. “Be forewarned, Warrior, when it comes to Ulrik, the Kings have always been divided. We united the first time to stop the war with the humans, but if there was a choice now, none of you would want to be in the middle of that war.”

“Point taken. As much as I want to hear more, I want to get back to Aisley. And I know you want to get Denae out of this weather.”

Phelan was the first onto the deck. When Kellan turned to step outside he found Tristan already walking down the dock, mindless of the rain.

Guy laid a trench coat over Denae, making sure to cover her head. As Kellan followed Guy off the boat, he spotted Phelan running down the dock in the opposite direction from Tristan.

It wasn’t until Kellan was in the Mercedes G-Class with Guy behind the wheel and Con in the front passenger seat that Tristan climbed into the backseat with him.

“She’s still unconscious?” Guy asked.

Kellan nodded as he removed the coat. “Aye.”

“I thought you said nothing was wrong with her,” Con said as he shifted to look in the backseat.

Tristan crossed his ankle over a knee and slowly turned his head to Con. “She was hit with magic while wielding Rhi’s sword and trying to take off a Dark Fae’s head. She deserves to sleep as long as she needs.”

Con looked from Tristan to Kellan. “You expect me to believe Denae survived Dark Fae magic?”

“I doona give a shite what you believe,” Kellan said. “It’s what happened when Taraeth tried to take her again.”

“Taraeth.” Con’s frown grew. “Humans can no’ survive the Dark Fae.”

Kellan ignored Con. “Let’s go, Guy.”

There was a beat of silence before Guy started the engine, a smile on his face.

Not once did anyone mention Rhys or Kiril. Both had opted to return to Dreagan as dragons rather than by boat. Kellan had told Tristan to do the same, but the King of Ambers had refused.

It was obvious Con wasn’t happy. Whether it was from the fact some Kings had gone to Ireland to look for him, that they had battled the Dark without waiting on Con, or that Denae was returning to Dreagan, Kellan didn’t know nor care.

Everything had changed for the Dragon Kings the moment they sent their dragons away. The same rules that had governed the Kings for hundreds of thousands of years no longer applied.

They needed to find their own way, and it was only with the hope that one day the dragons would be returned as well as keeping the Silvers contained that they remained together.

If it wasn’t for the Silvers, Kellan fully believed the Kings would have scattered, not just across the earth, but across the realms.

Con kept the hope alive regarding their dragons, but Kellan knew the truth. Their dragons would never return. The humans were too many. There was no place for dragons on earth, and he was beginning to wonder if there was even a place for Dragon Kings.

Earth had been theirs for millions of years before humans came. The realm was supposed to have been shared, but that had gone to shit in a short time.

The pride of being a Dragon King no longer remained. They were hidden, the secret of their shifting kept tightly guarded. No one knew of their powers or immortality.

Not that he blamed Con and the others for the decisions they had made regarding Dreagan. The humans had always been too easy to riot, too effortless to frighten, and too dense to think for themselves.

They had a pack mentality that was too easy to put into play by a few humans who could rile them into a frenzy and get them to do whatever they wanted.

Even now, with all the technology and paranormal things being found and investigated, the humans wouldn’t accept that there were Dragon Kings. They wouldn’t accept one of the Warriors either.

The humans claimed to want to find beings with paranormal abilities, but it was just a statement. Some would run away screaming in fear, some would try to kill them, and still others would try and capture a Dragon King so they could “study” him. Which everyone knew meant dissecting.

Now Kellan comprehended there would be a few, a very select few, like Denae, Cassie, Elena, and Jane who would accept the Dragon Kings for who they were.

He looked down at Denae to find her cheek resting against his shoulder. Kellan gently tucked her long, coppery brown hair behind her ear.

In the short time he had known her, she’d been stabbed, shot, accosted by the Dark Fae, and belted with a large amount of Dark Fae magic.

She’d taken it all without so much as a grumble. Denae was a trained fighter, with an intelligent, cunning mind. She was easy to smile, quick-witted, and deft with retorts from her sharp tongue.

Her body was amazingly taut, with all the wonderful, feminine curves he’d always enjoyed. She had the most stunning hair, and eyes that held him transfixed from the first moment he’d dared to look into the whisky-colored depths.

The question of what would happen once they reached Dreagan wouldn’t be difficult to answer. He wanted Denae to remain. Kellan might not be ready to offer her forever, but he wasn’t ready for her to leave yet.

He had the perfect argument as well. MI5 was still looking for her, and after cutting off Taraeth’s arm, the Dark Ones would also be after her.

There was no safer place than on Dreagan.

Kellan was confident he could convince Denae to stay, and if words didn’t work, he was prepared to use his hands, mouth, and body to change her mind.

Just thinking of sliding into her tight body again had him hard and aching.

He released a pent-up breath and raised his gaze to find Tristan watching him with a slight smile. Tristan gave him a nod of approval and turned to look out the window at the passing scenery.

Kellan ran a hand through his wet hair and began planning the night ahead with Denae. It would be one without interruptions of any kind, one he vowed she would remember for the rest of her life.

Just as he knew he would.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Rhi didn’t go to her queen when the Kings departed Ireland. Instead, she went to her cottage. As soon as she entered the small house, she fell face-first onto the bed of black-and-pink lace and let the tears come that she had been holding back.

Tears for Balladyn, but also tears for herself.

She hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to be around the Kings and not think of …
him
. Of their time together, and the wild love that had developed.

How many centuries had it been since she had last felt his arms around her?

How many since she had tasted his lips?

How many since she had felt cherished?

Loved?

Too damn many.

Rhi rolled onto her back but didn’t bother to wipe the tears that now trailed into her hair by her temples. It was odd. She thought she was past the tears, but just being around the Kings seemed to trigger the past—no matter how she tried to bury it.

And Balladyn. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact he was now Dark. Her queen was going to be devastated. Not nearly as much as she was, however.

Balladyn had always been a part of her life, even when she was just a young girl. He’d been her brother’s best friend and always around.

Then the Fae Wars had begun. Rhi could still recall standing with her mother as her father, her brother, and Balladyn gave one last wave as they headed off to war.

Balladyn was the only one to return.

Her mother had succumbed to grief a short time later, leaving Rhi all alone in the world. Balladyn had become her family, her mentor, and her friend. He’d helped her hold it all together, and in turn she’d helped him cope with the wars and coming home when her family hadn’t.

Balladyn was there when her relationship with her Dragon King was put to the ultimate test. He was there to hold her as she cried until there were no more tears. He was there to comfort her when the world no longer made sense.

He was there when she’d wanted it all to end.

Balladyn had forced her to live again. She’d fought him every step of the way, and in turn, he’d pushed her harder. Until one day, she took that first step out into the world again.

It was no wonder that everyone thought she would die of grief when, during a skirmish with the Dark, she saw Balladyn fall.

She had wanted to retrieve his body, but the Dark Fae were too many. One of her greatest regrets was leaving him. Now she knew he hadn’t died. He had been wounded. Had she only gone to get him he wouldn’t be Dark now.

Rhi cringed when she felt the pull of her queen, a sign that Usaeil was calling her to court. Rhi rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her middle.

She wasn’t ready to face anyone yet, not after enduring the Kings as well as being at Dreagan, which brought back too many long-buried memories.

She suddenly sat up and dashed away her tears. If she wallowed in the memories any longer they would take her. She would allow it one day, but not today.

“Not yet,” she murmured.

Rhi stripped out of her dirty clothes and riffled through bags from designer shops until she found an outfit she wanted. She tore off the tags and put on the faded skinny jeans and black blouson shirt.

She grabbed her two bottles of nail polish: a lavender named Do you Lilac It?, and a deep eggplant color called Vant to Bite My Neck? She dropped them in her Louis Vuitton purse and teleported to a storage unit. She flipped on the lights and gazed at the Lamborghini she had wrapped in black cherry matte.

She might be a Light Fae, but there were times she liked to pretend to be human. It wasn’t like she could just teleport into her favorite salon and not have someone notice in such a crowded place.

Sure she could teleport somewhere else and remain veiled until she knew no one was about, but it was just too damn much trouble.

Rhi started the Lambo and grinned at the rumbling, gritty sound of the engine. She gunned the engine, her smile deepening the louder the engine roared in the cramped unit.

“Damn, but I love this car.”

She used her magic to unlock the garage door and roll it up. After putting the car in gear, she backed out of her spot, shutting and locking the unit door with magic once more, and drove out of the parking garage and into the crowded streets of Austin.

There wasn’t anywhere in the realm of earth that she hadn’t visited. There was something about the nail salon she’d found in the swanky Lake Travis area of Texas that fit her vibe. Which is why she kept returning.

Besides, walking in and being so welcomed by the girls, especially her nail tech, Jessie, could wipe away the bad memories she didn’t—couldn’t—face.

Rhi shut the door to her memories involving
him,
and let the Lambo’s engine purr as she pulled into traffic.

*   *   *

Denae noticed the softness of the sheets first. Kellan had gotten them back to Dreagan. She’d never doubted he would. She opened her eyes, hoping to find him in the room, but she was disappointed.

She threw her arm over her eyes. Returning to Dreagan meant facing her future. How easy it had been to forget when she was trapped in Ireland with the Dark Ones.

No doubt MI5 had already cleared out her loft and put all of her belongings into storage somewhere she would never find. It was all right. The things that meant anything to her were safely ensconced back on South Padre Island.