Flame, page 12
“Ulrik, please,” Cain begged his friend to listen.
But Ulrik refused to hear any of them. He didn’t stop, not even when Con called his Silvers to him. All but four of the largest silver dragons obeyed Con.
“If we want to stop Ulrik, we have to catch the other Silvers,” Cain said.
Con turned his large head to him, his purple eyes meeting Cain’s.
“I doona think even that will stop Ulrik,” Banan said.
“Nay, it willna,” Con replied. “But it’s what we have to do.”
Sebastian dove from the sky, his voice filling their heads as he landed. “More dragons are being killed. I willna lose any more of my clan. I pulled them back, but it wasna enough. The mortals chased them, giving my clan no choice but to defend themselves.”
Con sighed loudly. “Whatever peace we might have had is gone. There are too many of us to hide. We’re meant for the skies, and I’ll no’ do that to our kind.”
“What are you proposing?” Guy asked.
“We send our dragons to another realm until we can get this sorted out.”
No one said anything after Con’s statement. Cain wanted to counter, wanted to say something that gave them another option. But there wasn’t one. If the humans were now chasing the dragons to kill them, then there was only one choice.
“If there are no more mortals, then we doona have to send our dragons anywhere,” Cain said.
Con gave a small nod. “I’ve thought of that myself, but it comes back to the vow we made to protect them. That means even from ourselves. They deserve a chance at life, just as we do.”
“At the expense of our families? Our way of life?” Rhys demanded angrily.
Anson shook his head. “I doona want any part in annihilating a species. It’s no’ who we are.”
“So, we give up our families? Our freedom?” Darius questioned.
Con looked at each of them before he said, “We only have two choices. We kill the mortals, which goes against no’ only who we are but also the vow we made. Or we send our dragons away until all of this calms down, and they can return.”
“Do you really think they’ll return?” Guy asked.
Con nodded. “I doona want to think about life without my clan, but I must think of what’s best for everyone, no’ just me.”
Cain bowed his head, his heart breaking in two. “As I said earlier, no matter what path we took, this was always where we were going to end up. The mortals are too different from us. They fear us and covet the power we have. As much as I want them gone, I doona want to kill any more of them. But I doona want to send my Navies away either. As Con said, we have to think of our clans. Right now, I want to ensure that they live.” He lifted his head and looked at Con. “I take it we’ll remain?”
“Aye.”
“That gives us a chance to set things right for our dragons to return instead of a constant state of battle here,” Cain finished.
Noreen sniffed because even though his words had been calm, she could feel he was overcome by heartache. She mouthed his name, mentally wrapping her arms around him to give him strength.
More debate went on for nearly another hour, but ultimately, it was decided that they would open a dragon bridge and send the dragons away. The Kings wasted no time in getting their clans gathered and over the bridge. Cain’s was one of the first to leave because he didn’t want to put it off.
As soon as the last of the Navies was gone, he turned his attention to helping Con and the others capture the four Silvers. The Silvers were large and extremely powerful, but they didn’t stand a chance against the Kings.
Once the four were sleeping and caged within Dreagan mountain, the Kings focused on Ulrik. Noreen’s emotions were pulled this way and that as Ulrik was forced to Dreagan. She experienced how deeply Cain felt each word that Ulrik hurled, but it wasn’t until Con bound Ulrik’s magic that she doubled over from the agony within Cain.
He stood tall, stoic, but inside, he bellowed his grief.
Ulrik’s banishment was the final straw. Cain didn’t watch his friend walk from Dreagan. Instead, Cain flew to his mountain and paced the caverns, holding in his roars lest the humans hear.
The anguish was too much. Cain knew he had to sleep, or he would follow in Ulrik’s footsteps and create even bigger problems for the Kings.
The last thought Cain had as he closed his eyes was flying over his land through a rain shower while a rainbow formed to his right.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Cain took a deep, steadying breath before he opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure why he’d closed them in the first place. Maybe because it was easier not to see the emotions—or lack thereof—on Noreen’s face.
But as soon as his lids raised, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
“I had no idea. I’m so, so sorry,” she said, her voice catching a few times.
He felt something wet land on his neck, and he realized that she was crying. Actually, she was sobbing. He slowly raised his arms and wound them around her. As odd as it sounded, her embrace actually helped.
All the Dragon Kings had experienced something horrific during that time, and not only sending their dragons away. Why would they sit around and talk about it after? It had been better, as well as easier, to put it as far back from their minds as they could.
Noreen’s body trembled with her tears. Cain now regretted letting her see his memories. He would’ve been able to control his voice and face if he had spoken about what had happened. Instead, she had not only witnessed it through his memories, but she had also felt every heartbreaking and agonizing moment.
He closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck. She smelled so damn good. And holding her was the balm he hadn’t realized he so desperately needed.
“How do you bear it?” she whispered.
He shrugged. “What other choice do I have?”
“I thought I understood the Kings before, but my respect for all of you has only increased.” She kissed the side of his neck gently. “You have all survived what surely would’ve killed others.”
Cain didn’t want to release her, but he made himself loosen his hold and lean back. Otherwise, he might hold onto her for eternity.
And that didn’t sound so bad at all.
She blinked at him, her black lashes spiked with tears. He lifted a hand and tenderly wiped the moisture from her face. “We have endured all these millennia because we wanted to be here when our dragons return.”
“Will they? Return, I mean?” she asked.
“I doona know. Maybe. Hopefully.”
She glanced away. “But not as long as humans inhabit the Earth.”
“Aye,” he said with a nod.
She inhaled deeply and caressed her hands from his shoulders to his chest. “You didn’t know how the mortals came to your realm, but now you do.”
“It’s another piece to the ever-growing puzzle. Even knowing who Moreann is and why she wants us gone is something we’ve long needed.”
Noreen flashed him a quick smile. “I’ll tell you everything. I was going to anyway, but now, I want to give you all the information I have right this second.”
Cain chuckled. “We’ve time.”
“I don’t want to think that we do. Moreann is viciously vindictive. I can guarantee that whatever she has done with Usaeil is not only not pleasant, but the former queen will also be there for eternity.”
At that statement, Cain shook his head. “If you believe that, then you doona know how powerful Usaeil truly is. She hid a lot of it from us, which means, she most likely hid it from everyone else. Including Moreann.”
“If you’re right, and I think you are, then that means Usaeil betrayed Moreann before I did.”
“Aye. Usaeil’s plans have been in place for a verra long time.”
“And she wanted Con,” Noreen said as her eyes grew wide. “Bloody hell. Usaeil wasn’t ever going to help us wipe out the Kings. She was going to help you.”
“I wouldna go that far,” Cain cautioned her. “I think Usaeil wanted Moreann gone, but only so that we could mate with the Fae. Usaeil believed that no humans have been able to bring our children to term because they doona have magic.”
Noreen’s face scrunched up. “Some of the Kings mated Druids. Not to mention, there is Shara.”
“Exactly. Once all of that occurred, Usaeil had no choice but to reevaluate things, but it didna alter the fact that she held firm to the belief that it was the Fae who could give us children.”
“With as weak as most Druids on Earth are, she does have a point. Though I hate to admit it.”
Cain looked over her head to the grove of trees behind her. “I doona trust Usaeil, but if there is one person who possibly knows Moreann better than you, it’s her.”
“I understand your worry about Dreagan being attacked, but before you get to planning a war, there are things you need to know.”
“You’re right, of course,” Cain said as his gaze returned to Noreen. “Once you tell me, I’ll need to relay it to the others at Dreagan.”
She winced, her lips twisting. “Is there an easier way? Maybe a mobile we could use so I can tell you and the others all at once?”
“A mobile wouldna work across realms.”
Noreen’s red eyes flashed with wickedness. “Well, we are creatures with magic.”
“As true as that statement is, it wouldna work.”
“What about the connection you have to the other Kings? To talk to them through your mind?”
He hesitated. “It might work.”
Despite Cain’s attempts, however, he wasn’t able to reach anyone at Dreagan. He suspected it might be because of the shield around them.
“It isna working,” he finally told her.
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It was worth a shot. You’ll just have to remember everything I tell you. As soon as I’m done, return to Dreagan.”
“I’m no’ leaving you.”
Noreen’s crimson eyes softened as she smiled at him. “I appreciate that, but we both know I’m doomed. Moreann or one of the Others will find me. You’ll have a chance to save all those at Dreagan as well as potentially end the Others once and for all. You have to do that.”
“Then come with me. You wanted to fight against the Others.”
Instead of agreeing, she shook her head. “The moment I return to Earth, Moreann will know. She’ll seek me out, and there will be no time for you or any of the Kings to prepare for battle.”
“You think I can no’ protect you?” He didn’t want to be angry, but he was. He was a Dragon King. He knew he could keep her safe from anyone and anything—even Moreann.
Noreen let her hands fall from him to her sides as she stepped out of his arms. “I know you can. That isn’t the issue, and you know it. You brought me to the Fae Realm for a reason. Here, behind this barrier, I’ll be safe.”
“You doona know that.”
“And you don’t know that I won’t.” She smiled sadly. “I won’t spend any more time debating this. You need information and fast. I have it, and you need to be ready to listen. Are you?”
Cain wanted to argue, he wanted to make her see his point, but he also realized that there was more at stake here than either of them. “Aye.”
“There is a place in Istanbul where we meet occasionally. It’s below the Ayasofya in the many tunnels under the city. Only someone with magic can reach it,” she explained.
Cain nodded, thinking of the ancient building that had been constructed in 537 AD, first as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral before it became a Roman Catholic Cathedral, and then an Ottoman Mosque before finally being transformed into a museum. “Why there?”
“Moreann chose it. I don’t know why. I never asked.”
“How often does the group meet there?”
Noreen’s lips flattened. “About once every five years. What the mortal Druids don’t realize is that the Fae, Moreann, and the other Druids from her realm meet more frequently. Moreann often made the comment that she couldn’t stand waiting for the mortals to make the trek. Never mind the fact that she could’ve brought them wherever she wanted them.”
“She doesna strike me as the kind who helps anyone,” Cain said.
“Oh, she’s definitely not.”
Cain had a hard time keeping his eyes from Noreen’s naked body. “Perhaps we should get dressed.”
Noreen began to smile. “Something distracting you?”
“Aye,” he stated while letting his gaze run slowly down her body. The moment her nipples hardened, a moan rumbled in his chest, and his cock stirred in response.
An instant later, Noreen cleared her throat. “Yeah. Clothes might be good.”
Cain chuckled and dressed while Noreen used her magic to put her clothes back on. All the while, she spoke.
“Moreann is used to being in charge and in control. Of course, being an empress for so long has a way of doing that.”
Cain could well imagine Moreann and Usaeil butting heads. Both coveted power—and neither shared it well. “The times you saw Usaeil and Moreann together, how were they?”
“Tense. As far back as I can remember, their alliance was tenuous at best. But Moreann needed Usaeil, and at the time, Usaeil needed Moreann.” Noreen shrugged. “Things changed for Usaeil.”
“But no’ Moreann.” Cain thought about that for a moment. “I doona think the empress was blind to what Usaeil was doing.”
Noreen twisted her lips as she moved her hair away from her face. “Moreann never said anything specific to me, but she was very distrusting of Usaeil, and it had gotten worse these last few years. Not that either of them could do anything.”
“The magic binding them,” Cain said with a nod. “That kind of bond is extremely powerful, but there are always ways to get out of such a promise.”
“Not this one.”
“Why do you say that?”
Noreen blew out a breath and looked at the lake. “It had to do with the words used. And before you ask, I don’t know what they were. I just remember one night, not long after my parents were killed, that I woke to hear arguing. It was Moreann and Usaeil, and they were talking about the promise that bound them.”
“Did one want to break it?”
“I don’t know,” Noreen said with a frustrated look in his direction. “I can recall the voices because I recognized Usaeil’s as well as Moreann’s, and I can remember the heated argument regarding the magic used in their promise to each other, but everything else is fuzzy.”
Cain raked a hand through his hair and turned in a slow circle to look around him. “Doona worry about it. Everything you’re telling me is important.”
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“Whoever formed this shield. It didna make itself.”
Noreen threw out her hands before letting them fall to her sides. “You flew over the entire area and saw nothing. There isn’t anyone here.”
“No’ now, but they could return.”
“We’ll deal with them when and if it happens.”
He swiveled his head to her. “And if I’m no’ here?”
“Then I’ll do whatever I need to do to survive. Now, let’s get back to discussing Moreann and the Others.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Earth
“We can’t find her.”
Magic sizzled in Moreann’s hand at the sound of Brian’s voice behind her. “You mean you can’t find her.” She whirled to face him. The moment her gaze landed on him, he took a step back, and his face paled. “How hard did you look? I’m guessing not very.”
Confusion filled his features. “That isn’t true at all. I looked everywhere.”
Off to her left, Orun stood in the long, white robes favored by many on their homeworld. The drough had been Moreann’s advisor since her second year on the throne. He was also her counterpart on the Others. Orun had despised Brian from the first moment they met.
Then again, Orun hated everyone. She knew he even disliked her. She didn’t take it personally. It was just his way. The fact that he was loyal was enough for her.
“I did warn you he wouldn’t measure up,” Orun stated.
Brian’s gaze snapped to him as fury blazed in his silver eyes. “It wouldn’t matter if I had found Noreen and brought her here, you’d still find fault with me.”
“Yes,” Orun replied. “Because you’re lacking in all things.”
“I’m an Other. That means, I’m something,” Brian retorted.
Moreann rolled her eyes and held up a hand, silencing both of them. Her gaze moved behind Brian where the two human Druids stood. The females, while lacking the power flowing in Brian’s Fae veins, had more backbone than he. It was too bad they were mortal.
If they had been born on her realm, then they would’ve been strong. Or they might have been, if the magic stopped draining away. What had begun as just an odd happening had turned into more and more of her people being born without power until she could no longer ignore it.
That’s when she had taken matters into her own hands and looked around for another realm for herself and her people. It had taken many, many years before she found the perfect location—Earth. The only problem was that it was occupied by beings stronger than she.
But that hadn’t deterred her. Moreann was nothing if not resourceful. She watched the dragons for years, moving from clan to clan to see how each worked and figuring out the hierarchy of things.
That’s when her plan formed. The dragons were noble creatures, and she had guessed that they would protect those weaker than they. It was a calculated risk, but one that had to be taken.
When she chose those among her people without magic, she hadn’t told them what was going to happen to them. She simply wiped their memories of all but their names and dumped them on Earth. Then she sat back and watched.
There had been a moment where she’d thought the Kings might just eat the humans, but to her amazement, they welcomed her people instead. And with that one move, the Kings sealed their doom.
Though they hadn’t yet realized it.
