Flame, page 2
And that’s just how they wanted it kept.
However, the Dark Fae, and now the Others, were making that difficult. The Dark Fae had been after the weapon Con had kept hidden in his mountain. That weapon was now gone, though Con still wouldn’t tell any of them what it was.
While the Dark wanted the world to know about the Dragon Kings, the Others just wanted their death. The Kings had already been through so much as they encountered trap after trap from the Others, set millennia before in anticipation of their plan falling into place.
Cain didn’t believe that their paths were set before them. Or, at least, he hadn’t. The Others were proving his theory of free will false, because how else could a group of Dark and Light Fae and good and evil Druids know exactly what the Kings would do and when?
Cain stopped outside of Con’s office. The door was slightly ajar. He gave a quick knock.
“Enter,” Con said from inside.
Cain pushed open the door and walked into the office. Con sat behind his desk dressed in his usual dark suit and dress shirt, looking through a file that contained several papers as well as photos. He closed it and looked up at Cain with his fathomless black eyes.
“You have some jelly on the side of your mouth,” Con stated.
Cain reached up and wiped it off with the pad of his finger before sticking the digit into his mouth and savoring the last bit of sweetness.
“That tells me where you’ve been,” Con said. He sat back in his chair. “And I’m guessing the ding of my email is from Ryder?”
“There’s something you need to read,” Cain explained.
Con didn’t need to be told twice. He turned to the open laptop. It didn’t take him long to read the message in his inbox.
“Ryder and Kinsey determined that the note originated twenty-five miles away. They also pulled up the CCTV footage. The email is from a woman. She used glamour as well as a hat to help hide her face.”
Con’s gaze slid to him. He smoothed a lock of wavy blond hair from his forehead. “You doona think this is a trap?”
“I can no’ say for sure, but I think it’s something we should check out.”
“By the email, the Dark intends to tell us where the Others are meeting. Reply to her, and then go to the café and see if she returns.”
Cain raised a brow. “You want me to confront her?”
“She’ll tell you more one-on-one.”
“Or she’ll run.”
A quick smile pulled at Con’s lips. “She willna get far with you chasing her.”
CHAPTER THREE
Minimal magic. That’s all she could do without being caught, and even that was pushing things. Noreen rubbed her chest. It felt as if an elephant sat on her.
She had trouble breathing, and that didn’t even factor into the knot in her stomach that had kept her up all night. Maybe she was making a mistake. Were the Dragon Kings worth all of this? Were they worth her life?
No, they weren’t. Because they wouldn’t give their lives for her. She was a Dark, after all.
Noreen wrapped her hands around the cup of coffee to help warm them. She was ice-cold, and it had nothing to do with the weather. She dropped her head forward, letting her hair hide her face. But she felt even more exposed.
It had taken all her will not to return to the café until this morning. She wished she had some kind of device of her own so she could check her email as often as she liked. Instead, she was back at the shop this morning and waiting for as long as she could to check her email.
If she checked and there was no response, she wouldn’t allow herself to remain. It kept her in one spot too long, and that was something she couldn’t chance. She knew for a fact that the Others kept tabs on those within the group. Her time was running out in Scotland.
Noreen closed her eyes. If she was smart, she’d leave now. She could sign onto her email somewhere else. She didn’t need to be here. So, why had she stayed?
She knew why. She had thought to work up the nerve to go to Dreagan herself. Even when she had realized that she didn’t have it in her, she still hadn’t left. At this rate, she’d be dead within days.
She was supposed to be great at lying, moving about without being seen, and getting others to do what she wanted. Now, she was making rookie mistakes that only an idiot would make.
Noreen rose from her chair and made her way out of the café. She glanced to her right as she turned left on the sidewalk, and her heart jumped into her throat because she recognized one of the Others.
“Shite. Shiteshiteshiteshite,” she mumbled and ducked around the nearest corner.
Every instinct screamed at her to teleport away, but that’s what someone who had done something wrong would do. Noreen drew in a deep breath and steadied herself as she put her back against the building and bent her right knee, pressing her booted heel to the wall.
Seconds later, the Fae casually turned the corner, his silver eyes blazing with happiness as if he had caught her. And he had. But she wasn’t going to let him know that.
“Brian,” she said in way of greeting.
His lips turned up in a smile. “Noreen. What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you,” she retorted.
Brian laughed and smoothed a palm along his perfectly coiffured short, black hair. He was dressed in a pale gray suit with a large grid pattern, a silver shirt, and a solid dark gray tie. His shoes likely cost a small fortune, but then again, the bastard had always loved to dress like a dandy.
Unlike her, Brian didn’t bother to dampen his effect on the mortals. Women and men alike stared at him as they passed, their desire and need rolling off them in waves that made her want to vomit simply because it had to do with Brian.
“Trying to turn this on me?” he asked with a smirk. “That isn’t going to work.”
She cocked her head while holding his gaze. “You’ve been working on your pronunciation. It’s only taken you a few thousand years to lose the rough edges of your Irish accent so you no longer speak like you came from the gutter.”
Noreen knew the dig would hit just as she wanted. Brian had always hated that he was low-born and had done everything he could to claw his way up the ranks of the Light. In fact, she was surprised that he hadn’t turned Dark. He had it in him. Maybe it was just a matter of time.
As she expected, his face went tight, his grin no longer cocky as his nostrils flared in anger.
This time, she was the one who grinned. She’d hit her mark, and it had left a whopper of an imprint. It was a good thing Brian was the one who had found her. It was easy to turn his attention with little digs against his upbringing. But that would only work for so long.
“Why are you here?” she demanded.
He swallowed and folded his arms over his chest. “Checking on you.”
“Well,” she said with a long pause, “we always check on each other.”
She let the insinuation fill the air. A heartbeat later, his eyes narrowed on her. His arms fell to his sides, and he took a step back.
If he asked, she’d have to tell him that she wasn’t there to check up on him, but Brian didn’t always think things through. He let his emotions rule him, which worked in her favor. Because as long as he didn’t ask questions, she wouldn’t have to think up more lies.
“I’m only here for you,” he said.
She shrugged. “I don’t care what you do. I, personally, like Scotland. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that.”
Brian’s lips peeled back in a sneer. “Ireland is far superior to this place.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t. I’m simply stating that Scotland is pretty.”
The Light snorted and shook his head. “I know why you’re here.”
“Do you?” she asked nonchalantly.
“You want to stay close to the Dragon Kings to get the first shot at them.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that? It was brilliant! Noreen simply smiled in response since it was better than words.
Brian rolled his eyes. “You’re such a kiss-ass. If you think this will get you higher in the order, you’re wrong.”
She shrugged. “Maybe so.”
He turned to the side and walked away, mumbling, “bitch,” as he did.
“Be sure to file your report,” she called after him.
That stopped him in his tracks. Brian turned to her, his confident smile back in place. “By the way, did I tell you I wasn’t the only one here. It seems that two of us were sent to look in on you. Think about that, Noreen.”
She waited until he was gone before she swallowed. Slowly, she lowered her foot back to the ground, but she didn’t pull her hands from the wall. They shook too badly.
“Sounds like you’re in a wee bit of a jam,” came a deep voice from her other side.
Noreen’s head whipped around to find a man leaning one shoulder against the building. He had black hair cut short on the sides but left longer on top. His deep green eyes were framed by thick lashes and locked on her.
He filled out his deep gray shirt well, showcasing broad shoulders and hard sinew. Denim hung low on his hips, the jeans just tight enough to give a hint of the muscles they encased. But it was his face she couldn’t stop staring at.
With a strong jaw and chin, his face appeared cut from granite. He had a shadow of a beard that she’d always been partial to. His lips were wide and thin and didn’t hold a shred of mockery. Good thing since he was a Dragon King.
If only she knew which one. She’d love to have a name to put to such a gorgeous specimen.
“I’m fine,” she replied when she finally found her voice.
He pushed away from the wall and took a step toward her. “I beg to differ. And the fact you sent an email to us says you have much to say.”
Noreen glanced at the sky. So much for taking precautions. She’d done everything she knew of to keep her identity from the Kings. How had they found her?
“I made a mistake,” she said as she shifted and backed up slowly. “Forget I said anything.”
“Your words were convincing. I believe you meant them. Someone who would go to such extremes doesna seem like the kind to scare easily.”
She busted out laughing. “You’d be wrong about that.”
He didn’t smile in return. Nor did he look away. “Tell me what you know, and I’ll help you get away.”
“They’re here,” she said, her eyes wide in the hopes that she could get the point across. “Not one, but two of them. That means they know I’m up to something. They’ve killed for less.”
“Then you need to make a decision. Whatever happened that led you to email us hasna gone away. It’s still there, and it’ll rise again.”
She wished she’d never sent that email. She wished she’d never grown a conscience. And she really wished she’d never had doubts about the Others. It had sent her down a treacherous path she didn’t know how to navigate.
“Look at me,” she said and let her glamour fall so he could see her red eyes and the silver in her hair. “Take a good, hard look. I’m a Dark. You don’t believe us.”
“You have no idea what I believe.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, bringing her glamour back up. “I made a mistake. Forget you ever got anything from me. Forget you spoke with me. I choose life.”
Noreen turned on her heel and stalked away. But not before she heard him say, “So do we.”
She didn’t stop walking. The farther away she got from the Dragon King, the better. She hadn’t even gotten his name, but that didn’t matter. No, she needed to concentrate on doing all the right things to get the Others off her back before they executed her without giving her a chance to tell her side.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Brian standing at the corner of an intersection. She glanced in his direction but didn’t give him any more time than that. He might be lying about there being another of them in the city, but he could also be telling the truth.
“Fek,” she whispered.
What was she going to do? Running wasn’t an option. She had to remain. And she had to come up with a believable lie. Brian’s suggestion that she wanted to get a first strike at the Kings was a good one. She’d definitely use that.
She was halfway to the cottage she was squatting in when a figure walked out onto the sidewalk in front of her. She came to a halt when she recognized Moreann, the Empress of Druids. It was a rare thing for her to venture to this realm.
Then again, Moreann had been coveting this realm for quite some time. Long enough to put the humans here to see what the Dragon Kings would do with them. Then using Druids and Fae together to create the Others.
“This is a surprise,” Noreen said.
Moreann smiled. “Is it?”
“You don’t normally come here.”
“And you don’t usually visit Scotland.”
Noreen smiled as she lifted a shoulder. “I like keeping an eye on my enemy.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Moreann’s green eyes were intense as they pinned Noreen. “There has been some speculation that you aren’t acting yourself.”
“Times are changing,” Noreen replied. “I’m trying to keep up. I’ve put in a lot of time to take out the Kings. You know I want them gone for what they did to my family.”
“Remind me again what they did.”
Noreen wasn’t a fool. Moreann knew exactly what the Kings had done, because she was there and had been the one to tell Noreen. But Noreen would do as she was bidden because there was no other choice.
“They killed my family during the Fae Wars. You saved me before they could finish me off.”
Moreann grabbed Noreen by the chin. “Remember who your friends are, child.”
“I’ve never forgotten.”
“Good. You’re one of my best. I’d hate for you to lose your way.”
The threat hung in the air as Moreann dropped her hand and walked around her. Noreen didn’t turn and watch her go. She squared her shoulders and headed toward the cottage.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Well now,” Cain said as he watched the beautiful Fae walk away, his gaze lingering on the sway of her hips and her pert derrière.
It looked nearly as good as her oval face and incredible mouth. When she’d dropped her glamour, and he’d seen her crimson eyes, he’d been unable to look away. Not because he was repulsed.
But because he wasn’t.
Noreen was gorgeous. All Fae were beautiful, but there was something unique about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. She had a body made for sex, and despite knowing she was supposed to be his enemy, he felt desire quicken his blood.
He’d imagined she would have some spunk. After all, it took a great amount of courage to do what she had—if it wasn’t all some kind of trap. He still wasn’t sure of that or not.
Cain was leaning toward believing her, especially after witnessing the interaction between her and the Light. At first, Cain had thought it was all a setup in case someone had been watching. But the emotions that crossed both Noreen’s and the Light’s face hadn’t been faked.
Neither had Noreen’s shaking hands when she thought she was alone.
It was that fear that prodded her to retract everything she’d written the day before. Cain could understand and appreciate the trepidation that consumed her. It was in her eyes, in her voice, and in her very bearing.
When he added all that up, he accepted that she was being honest. But he held back full judgment until he could speak with her some more.
Cain opened the mental link the Dragon Kings shared. “Con.”
“I’m here,” the King of Dragon Kings replied.
Cain was glad that they had managed to stop the Others from listening in on their communications. Otherwise, things would be more difficult for them. “I found the Dark.”
“And?”
“Just as I was about to approach her, someone else beat me to it. A Light, and by their conversation, he was sent by the Others to check up on the Dark.”
Con was silent for a heartbeat. “It could all be done for the benefit of any of us watching.”
“That was my original thought as well, but Brian, the Light, was too intent on trying to catch Noreen in the act of something.”
“Noreen is the Dark, I presume?”
Cain walked from the alley to the sidewalk and turned his head in the direction Noreen had gone. “Aye. She’s terrified, Con. So much so that she told me she takes back everything she sent yesterday.”
“If the Others are on to her, then they’ll want to stop her before she can give us anything.”
“Exactly.” Cain spotted Brian and decided to trail the Light for a bit. “I doona think they know what she’s done, but they’re suspicious. Brian told her that there were two of them here to check on her.”
“Find her, Cain. If there’s any information she can give us, get it. Do whatever it takes, because we need an advantage.”
“Even if it means sheltering her?”
Con blew out a breath. “The safest place for her is Dreagan.”
“I doona think that would be a good idea. The Others have already attacked us once and did significant damage.”
“You have something else in mind?
He started walking toward the Light Fae. “Actually, I do. The Fae Realm.”
“That’s risky.”
“We have to take some risks. The Others have been two steps ahead of us at all times. We need to even the score.”
Con made an indiscernible sound. “Usaeil told me she met Moreann on the Fae Realm. You’d be bringing the Dark straight to them.”
“That’s just it, they’ll never think we would do such a thing. The Others will be looking for her on Earth. If Noreen is safe, then she’ll give us what she needs. She’s no’ using magic, and that in itself tells me she’s going to great lengths to make sure they can no’ track her.”
