Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella (16 page)

“I would expect nothing less.” She then turned on her heel and strode out of the ruins.

Asher followed her outside. His gaze swept the area, and despite him telling her and the men she hired to leave, they had remained. He halted as he counted all four. They were hidden so well that a mortal would never have been able to see them. But he wasn’t a mere human.

Ms. Engel reached the opened door of the car. She turned to the side and saw he’d stopped. Without asking why, she simply said, “Your secret has never been in safer hands.”

“I’m supposed to trust you on this?”

“You are. My group has a number of secrets that will never pass their lips.”

He couldn’t take that chance, but he’d have to return to find them. Right now he had to get Rachel to safety. As he climbed into the car, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

He saw a man in a dark suit with long black hair walking away. Ulrik.

“Rachel needs you,” Ms. Engel said from inside the car.

Asher hesitated but remained in the car. No sooner had the door closed than Ms. Engel shoved his hands away from Rachel. He could only watch as the car drove away and Blossom began to hurriedly undress Rachel until she was in nothing but her underwear.

Ms. Engel threw a blanket over her that he tucked around Rachel. The longer it went on without Rachel stirring, the more worried he became.

“There were two men.”

He frowned as he turned his head to Ms. Engel. “I’m sorry?”

“The one you fought left before I entered the building. The other watched it all.”

Watched? He frowned as he tried to figure out who it could be. “Did you see his face?”

“I didn’t get close enough. We remained hidden until the fighting was over.”

He saw them pass the street they needed to take to get back to the hotel. “Where are we going?”

“To the airport where a plane awaits to return you to Dreagan. I called ahead to have them on standby.”

He wanted to trust her, but Ulrik had shown how easily it was to integrate someone into their lives. She was helping now, but when would that change?

“There will be clothes waiting for you on the plane,” she continued. “I’ll also have both of your suites packed and everything sent to Dreagan immediately.”

“Why no’ come with me?” he asked. Then he and Con could talk to her together.

She gave him a kind smile. “I’d like nothing more than to visit, however Dreagan needs a representative here to finish the WWC. And that reminds me, Dreagan won both votes, as usual. I’m loath to say that Glenfiddich continues to gain ground with the judges and the popular vote.”

“Dreagan has been on top for many years. People get tired of the same ones winning all the time. It’s good for both Glenfiddich and us to have that competition.”

“There is no competition when you look at the sales.”

He nodded as he ran a hand over Rachel’s wet hair. “And that’s what matters in the end.”

There was no more talk until they reached the airfield. Just as Ms. Engel had said, the same plane that brought him to Paris was ready and waiting.

The car pulled on to the back side of the plane where the door was and stopped. Asher turned to Ms. Engel. “How do you know about me?”

“Not in the way you think.”

“Then tell me.”

She smiled as the driver opened the car door. “Take care of Ms. Marek.”

He wanted to remain and get the truth from Ms. Engel, but once more he was reminded of what really mattered to him––Rachel. He got out of the car and strode naked to the steps of the plane.

No sooner was he inside than the door was closed and the plane began taxiing down the runway. He lay Rachel down on a sofa and put on the jeans, boots, and white tee shirt he found folded on a seat.

By the time he finished, they were already in the air and returning to Dreagan. The entire way back, he went over everything in his mind, attempting to sort it all out, but the more he thought he figured out, the more tangled things became.

When they reached Inverness, he picked Rachel up and departed the plane to find Lily sitting in the pilot’s seat of her helicopter with the blades turning. Her smile fell when she noticed Rachel in his arms. Asher carefully climbed into the chopper, still holding her. Once he was seated, he put on the earphones.

“Is she hurt?” Lily asked, her gaze on Rachel.

“I fought Ulrik to keep him from killing her.”

Lily didn’t ask more as they became airborne. The flight was quick and smooth, but it was the longest trip of his life because Rachel wouldn’t open her eyes.

As soon as Dreagan came into view, he wanted to jump from the chopper and shift to fly Rachel home, as he should be able to. He saw the manor and the mountain connected to their home. Behind the mountain was a secret entrance for the Kings to enter when in dragon form.

So much of their lives had been altered and continued to change. They could blame it on Ulrik, but he shouldn’t shoulder the culpability alone. Each of them was responsible.

As soon as they landed, Lily shut down the blades. He removed the earphones and gathered Rachel in his arms. The door opened and Anson stood staring at Rachel.

He climbed from the chopper and strode toward the manner, ignoring the MI5 agents who tried to get a look at him. It was difficult since Dragon Kings he hadn’t known were there surrounded him, making it impossible for anyone to see what he carried.

“It’s time those fuckers left,” Roman stated angrily.

Asher agreed. MI5 had been on the estate long enough without finding anything. It was time something be done.

“It’s being handled,” Vaughn replied.

Vaughn was acting attorney for Dreagan, and nothing stood in the way of him when he set his sights on something. MI5 would be gone soon, but the world’s attention on Dreagan wouldn’t lessen for a long time.

“What happened?” Anson asked.

“Ulrik.” He entered the manor and halted in the solarium when he spotted Con.

Con closed the distance between them and looked down at Rachel. “Is she wounded?”

“I healed her.”

At this, Con’s brow furrowed as concern flashed in his black eyes. “See to Rachel.”

“Then we need to talk.”

Con gave a nod and stepped aside. Asher made his way up the stairs to his chamber on the third floor. He laid Rachel on his bed, covering her with the blankets. He knelt by the bed and smoothed a lock of dark hair from her face.

“Doona sleep long,” he whispered and placed a kiss on her lips.

Then he got to his feet and walked to the door. As he stepped into the wide hallway, he saw Lily and Grace waiting for him.

“We’ll watch over her,” Lily said.

Grace nodded. “All the mates will take turns until she wakes.”

He bowed his head. “Thank you.”

“Con’s waiting in his office,” Lily said.

With one last look at the door, Asher walked to the stairs and descended to the second floor. Several Kings were already standing outside Con’s door when he arrived.

He gave a nod to Anson before entering the office. Con sat behind his large desk in his customary dress shirt and gold dragon-head cuff links. Against the wall to the left, Rhys and Kiril stood together, and a few feet away were Warrick and Thorn. Sitting in one of the chairs before Con’s desk was Kellan.

“Have a seat,” Con bade Asher, pointing to the chair beside Kellan.

He was too emotional to sit. Instead, he remained by the door. Con’s office was large, but with so many Kings in attendance, it became crowded quickly.

“What happened?” Rhys asked into the silence.

He looked at Kellan, who already knew everything, and most likely had already written it down as Keeper of the Hisory. But Kellan simply returned his look, waiting. Asher then took a deep breath and began the story. No one spoke as he talked about meeting Rachel or how suspicious Ms. Engel was of her. The silence continued as he explained how Ulrik had gotten to Rachel, using her for his own motives.

The fury was palpable when he told them of his exchange with Ulrik and subsequent battle.

“Your quick thinking saved Rachel,” Kellan said.

Kiril shook his head in shock. “I knew he’d gotten his magic back. But why wait until now to shift?”

“Why bring Lily back from the dead only to attempt to kill Darcy and now Rachel?” Rhys asked.

“Why hasn’t he woken his Silvers?” Thorn asked.

Asher shrugged. “I doona know any answers. All I know is what we experienced.”

“But you doona know what he said to Rachel,” Con stated.

“As soon as she wakes I intend to find out.”

Warrick crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sure it was the usual threats and such.”

“More so since he put her on the job,” Thorn added.

Asher couldn’t stop thinking of the insinuation Ulrik made against Con. The Kings had been divided once, and it took Con to pull them back together. If he said something now, in front of everyone, it could break apart the slim threads that held them together. Especially if Ulrik was wrong.

All it took was just a whisper of doubt to destroy everything the Kings were. It was exactly what Ulrik wanted, the very thing he threatened Con that he’d do.

He slid his gaze to Kellan to find him staring. Kellan never gave anything away. Asher couldn’t imagine the secrets he kept, and he never took sides, always keeping everything to himself.

Thinking it better to wait until he could get Con alone, he moved on to another topic. “Tell me of Ms. Engel.”

Con raised a blond brow, his eyes showing no emotion. “She’s been my assistant each time I go to the WWC. She’s amazing at what she does.”

“Without question,” Asher said. “I’m curious at how she knows what we are.”

Con slowly sat up from his chair. “She doesna.”

“Actually, she does.”

Chapter Nineteen

Rachel opened her eyes. It wasn’t torn or twisted metal that met her gaze but pristine white crown molding thick enough to make the queen of England envious.

She couldn’t remember why the anxiousness and terror filled her, but she knew it was important. She tried to sort through her memories to find the source of such emotions, and the longer she went without discovering it, the more distressed she became.

Something…no,
someone
was important to her.

“You’re awake.”

The English accent startled her. Rachel turned her head to find a beautiful woman with long ebony hair, kind black eyes, and a welcoming smile.

“I’m Lily,” she said. She motioned with her thumb beside her. “And this is Grace.”

Rachel’s gaze slid to the side to find another woman of uncommon beauty with short blond hair and eyes so dark a blue they were almost black.

“Hi,” Grace said with a wave of her fingers. “We’ve been worried.”

American. Rachel frowned as she looked at the dark gray walls. Where was she? As soon as her gaze met a large painting of a hunter green dragon with a horde of hunter green dragons behind him, she knew.

She was at Dreagan.

That meant Asher had won. She closed her eyes and smiled. Now she understood those horrid emotions when she woke. It felt so good to be able to let them go.

“How do you feel?” Lily asked as she rose from her seat to stand by the bed.

She licked her lips and took stock of her body. “I feel…fine.”

But she hadn’t earlier. That part she remembered clear as day.

“That’s Asher’s doing,” Grace said. “His power is to heal burns from dragon fire.”

Rachel slowly pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. She pulled the deep green silk sheets up under her armpits and nodded, at a loss for words. She shoved her hair over her shoulder and winced. It felt grimy from sweat.

“I’m sure you want some time alone,” Grace said.

Lily backed up her petite frame. “Of course. Forgive us. The bathroom is there,” she said, pointing to a cracked door to the left. “Your bags were delivered a few minutes ago, so you should have everything you need.”

“You can wait here for Asher if you want,” Grace said. “He’ll be looking for you once he’s done with the other Kings. Or you can turn right in the hallway and make your way downstairs where we’ll be.”

Lily walked to the door and opened it. Once Grace was through, she turned her head to Rachel and said, “We can show you around. I’m sure you have lots of questions, and there’s no telling how long the guys will be locked in Con’s office.”

With that, Lily closed the door behind her. Rachel released a breath. She was at Dreagan. Asher had told her he’d bring her, but she supposed she hadn’t really believed it would happen.

She threw off the covers and looked down at her body. Everything was where it should be, which was more than she had thought was possible before she passed out. She swung her legs over the bed and hesitantly got to her feet, amazed that she felt better than she had in a long time. She wasn’t tired or aching or anything.

That’s what magic could do. She shook her head with a smile and walked to her luggage to grab her toiletry bag and some clothes before she headed into the shower.

* * * *

“What the hell do you mean ‘she knows’?” Kiril demanded.

Asher shot him a hard look. “What do you think I mean? Somehow, Blossom Engel, assistant extraordinaire, knows we’re Dragon Kings.”

“She actually said that?” Con asked.

He shook his head. “Remember when I told you she was with me as we drove to the warehouse? I ordered her to leave and to take the men she hired to watch Rachel. But they didna.”

Con’s gaze swung to Kellan. “Why did you no’ tell me?”

“Perhaps because I do my best to forget whatever I see after I record it,” Kellan replied crossly.

Asher continued. “Ms. Engel walked in, not at all perturbed to find me in the buff or to see the warehouse torn to shreds. She didna see anything, but she heard enough.”

“And the men she hired?” War asked.

“The same. She said they kept secrets for a living. I had a suspicion that Ulrik might’ve used her as he did Rachel.”

Kiril raised a brow, his shamrock green eyes locked on Asher. “Had? Or have?”