Flame, page 32
Their gazes met as they shared a smile. Noreen removed their clothes with just a thought. A laugh escaped her when he lifted her in his arms before tossing her onto the bed.
“It’s the first day of our new lives together,” he told her as he moved over her.
She reached for him, threading her fingers into his hair. “The first of many. Now, come here so I can kiss every inch of you.”
Their lips met, and words ceased as desire took hold, their love wrapping around them.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ulrik stood with Vaughn as they looked at the celebration before them. Three more Dragon Kings were now mated.
“When do you think your time will come?” Ulrik asked.
Vaughn gave him a dark look. “I’ve no interest in a mate.”
“You’re no’ the only King who’s made such a boast. Need I remind you of Keltan?” he asked, motioning to the King of Citrines, who was dancing with his mate, Bernadette.
Vaughn drank down the last of his whisky. “That wasna a boast. It was fact. Besides, Keltan and Bernadette are perfect for each other. I’d still like to know how in the world the women find the dresses to match each King so perfectly.”
Ulrik shook his head. “I asked Eilish that same question earlier when she came in talking about the gowns. She likes all of them, but her favorite was Gemma’s. Something about the sequins,” he said with a shrug.
“I’m just happy that with the disbandment of the Others that Bernadette finally agreed to the ceremony with Keltan.”
Ulrik searched the area for the three newly mated couples. Keltan and Bernadette in her satin citrine ballgown with its spaghetti straps were smiling up at each other. Her short, black hair was pulled away from her face to show off the large oval citrine that hung from the gold chain at her throat—a gift from Con.
Next, he spotted Roman and Sabina off in a corner, talking as their hands rubbed all over each other. Sabina’s dress was a pale blue. Eilish had called it an A-line, whatever that was, but the sleeveless front dipped into a deep V that showed off her breasts. A floral appliqué ran from the narrow straps at her shoulders to various lengths past her hips. Ulrik spotted Con’s gift to Sabina—dangling teardrop aquamarine earrings.
It took some time before Ulrik spotted Gemma and Cinàed. They were swaying together slowly, despite the fast tempo of the song. Gemma’s dress hugged her body with thin straps at her shoulders. The gown was covered in iridescent sequins. Her long, ginger hair was pulled up, showing off her long neck. It wasn’t until Cinàed lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles that Ulrik spotted Con’s gift. The bracelet was a silver cuff with Celtic knotwork. The cuff was narrow but widened at each end to hold the moonstone gems.
“How does Con find the jewels? And how does he know what to get each woman?” Vaughn asked with a frown.
Ulrik shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I asked him once, but he never answered.”
“It’s his way of telling you it isna our concern.”
Ulrik snorted. “Aye. The bastard.”
They shared a laugh. Ulrik looked around for Con, but as the minutes ticked by without any sign of him, Ulrik became worried.
“When was the last time you saw Con?” he asked.
Vaughn lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “After the ceremony. He briefly spoke to all three couples.”
“He’s no’ here.”
Vaughn’s gaze scanned the room. “That isna like him.”
“No. It isna. Then again, he hasna been the same since they returned from confronting Moreann.”
“Nothing really happened there.”
Ulrik sighed as his mind quickly went over what had been recounted to the rest of them. “That we know of.”
“Now isna the time to go asking around. This is a celebration,” Vaughn cautioned him.
Ulrik scanned the faces until he found Eilish. It took her but a heartbeat to look his way. He motioned to the door with his head, letting her know he was leaving for a bit. She smiled and winked in reply.
“I’m going to find Con,” Ulrik told Vaughn.
“That’s a hornet’s nest you probably doona want to mess with.”
“The last thing he needs is to be alone.”
Vaughn nodded slowly in agreement. “Want me to come with you?”
“I think it’s better if I go alone.”
“He’s no’ going to want to talk.”
“Then he can listen,” Ulrik stated with a grin.
Vaughn barked in laughter. “Good luck with that.”
Ulrik’s smile didn’t last once he left the room. He stood in the middle of the manor and thought about where Con would go, and he realized there was only one place where no one would dare to bother him.
Which was why it was exactly where Ulrik was headed.
Ulrik took the stairs three at a time until he reached the top floor. His steps didn’t slow as he walked to Con’s chambers. Ulrik paused at the door. He knocked and turned the knob. No surprise, it was locked, but it took nothing to open it. He walked in and stood in shock at the disarray before him.
Con’s chambers were always in order, nothing ever out of place. It looked as if a tornado had ripped through the room, shredding books and toppling furniture.
“Get the fuck out.”
Ulrik’s head turned toward the doorway that led into another room. He walked toward the sound of Con’s voice, stepping over broken furniture and other debris. Once at the door, Ulrik looked inside to see a fire roaring in the hearth. He could just make out the red books being devoured by the flames.
Con sat on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him as he leaned back against a toppled bookshelf. More books, these in brown leather, were strewn over the floor. Ulrik couldn’t see Con’s face given the angle of their positions.
“You doona listen well,” Con said as he tossed another red book into the flames.
“No’ when a friend is drunk and hurting.”
Con issued a loud snort. “I’m no’ drunk. No’ yet, at least. But I’m getting there.”
Ulrik walked into the room and saw the many empty bottles of whisky lying about. “Want to talk about it?”
“I think my ‘get the fuck out’ answers that quite well.”
In all their years, Ulrik had never seen Con in such a state. It concerned him. He might not have been around when Con’s relationship ended, but he’d heard from the Kings that Con had simply refused to talk about it. He had holed himself up in his chamber for days. When he came out, it was like nothing had ever happened.
“You’re missing a hell of a party.”
Ulrik righted a chair and sat. He got his first good look at Con. His hair was in disarray, his shirt was ripped and stained, and he wasn’t wearing any shoes.
Con’s head rolled toward him. “It’s better that I be alone. I’m fine. So, leave.”
“No’ going to happen.”
Black eyes narrowed dangerously. “I could command it. I am your King.”
“You’re my friend first and foremost. Besides, you’re sotted. You couldna make me do anything.”
“Leave!” Con bellowed.
Ulrik leaned back in the chair and set his ankle atop his opposite knee. “I think I’ll stay.”
“I’m no’ going to talk.”
“I didna ask you to.”
Silence stretched. Another five minutes passed before Con reached beside him. Ulrik spotted the pile of red books. Con’s fingers fumbled when he grabbed for one. He ended up taking two, but he couldn’t hold onto the second. It fell from his grasp when he tossed them toward the fire. Sparks flew and the logs hissed when the book landed in the flames.
The second journal, however, landed on its spine and fell open. Ulrik saw the entry. His heart clutched when he read, “I miss you more every day. The pain is unbearable. Without you, I’m noth—”
Con snapped the notebook shut without looking at Ulrik. He then tossed it into the fire.
“Burning them won’t make the words go away,” Ulrik said.
Con tilted back a bottle of whisky and drank deeply before he said, “It’s worth a try.”
“You could—”
Con’s head snapped to him. “If you call yourself my friend, you willna finish those words.”
“Because you can no’ hear them? Or you doona want to?” Ulrik asked angrily.
“Does it matter?”
Ulrik lowered his foot to the floor and leaned forward. “I’ve no’ been back long, but even a blind person can see you’re hurting. You hide it well. Most doona even know it. But I know you. I can see past the barriers you attempt to put up. If you doona rectify this … situation … it’ll kill you.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I deserve.”
“Con. Nay,” Ulrik said with a frown, concern tightening his stomach.
“The past can no’ be changed, Ulrik. I can no’ undo the things I’ve said or done. I made that decision long ago.”
“It was a stupid one.”
Con smiled sadly and returned his gaze to the fire. “It wasna, and you know it.”
“Things are different now.”
“But I lost her long, long ago.”
Ulrik raked a hand through his hair. “You have no’. Doona be a fool a second time. Go to her. Talk to her, beg her, but for all our sakes’, do something.”
“I am,” he said and threw another journal on the fire. “I’m doing my best to forget her.”
“No King is supposed to live without their mate once they find them. The fact you’ve survived this long is a blasted miracle. I think it was your stubbornness that has kept you going, but that’s no’ going to last much longer.”
Con took another drink of whisky. “It’ll last long enough for me to see Moreann and Usaeil defeated. That’s all I need. Then you’ll take my place.”
Ulrik was so surprised at Con’s words that he couldn’t fathom a response other than, “Nay.”
“You can tell me that all you want, but I get the last say,” Con said as he flashed a smile at Ulrik.
“We need you.”
Con’s lips tilted. “None of you ever needed me. You’re fucking Dragon Kings. I know I made a mistake allowing the mortals to remain here.”
“We all agreed.”
“But had I no’ said it, it wouldna have happened.”
Ulrik shook his head. “You can no’ know that.”
“Everything that’s happened since can be laid at my feet.”
“Including all of us finding our mates. That wouldna have happened if the mortals hadna come.”
Con waved his hand as if wiping away those words. “Our dragons are gone. V is too afraid to find out what’s happened to them, so he willna look. And I doona blame him. I doona wish to look either. They could be dead for all I know. They could’ve suffered horribly, and none of us were there to protect them.”
“Or they could be thriving. We doona know.”
“I know they are no’ here where they belong,” Con said as he met Ulrik’s gaze. “It was my decision to send them away because I honestly thought they could return. The size of my ego astounds me sometimes.”
Ulrik snatched the bottle from Con’s hand as it was on the way to his mouth and took a sip. “I left you no choice but to send the dragons away. It was the best decision before more were killed.”
Con leaned over and found another bottle. It took him two tries before he righted himself. He removed the cap but didn’t drink. “I’m tired. I’m so tired. We were no’ meant to be in these positions this long.”
“No, but we are.”
“It’s no’ much longer for me.”
Ulrik threw his bottle into the fire, causing the flames to roar. “Stop talking such nonsense and get your ass together.”
Con said nothing, just threw another journal into the flames.
Ulrik stood and strode out. After he calmly shut the door behind him, he knew that drastic measures needed to be taken if they didn’t want to lose Con.
EPILOGUE
Somewhere on Earth …
“I suppose you want a thank you.”
Usaeil laughed as she stared at Moreann. The empress had nearly been defeated, but she wasn’t letting that cower her. “Save your breath.”
Moreann raised a brow. “Well. Isn’t that a surprise?”
“I’m full of them.”
The empress lifted her chin. “How did you get free?”
“Not all of your group is as loyal to you as you believe.”
“Brian,” Moreann said with a roll of her eyes.
Usaeil grinned. “He knows I’m his true queen.”
“You’d be dead by Rhi’s hand if I hadn’t taken your body.”
Usaeil ignored the words. Things had progressed quickly with Moreann and the Dragon Kings, which hadn’t left Usaeil time to get to as many Druids as she’d wanted. She’d taken the lives of three, which was why she had been able to get Moreann out of the manor.
But she was depleted now. Luckily for her, there were more Druids waiting to die so she could face off against Moreann.
“We should be planning our revenge against Noreen, Rhi, and the Kings,” Moreann said.
Usaeil hid her smile. “Don’t forget about the Reapers.”
“Oh, yes. Those as well,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
Usaeil continued to stare at Moreann.
“Am I missing something?” the empress asked testily. “Since you got me out of there, I assume you have a plan.”
“Oh, I have a plan, all right,” Usaeil said as she turned and left the room.
She closed the door behind her with magic. The moment she heard Moreann trying to get out of the room, she let her smile free.
Northern Ireland
The Light Castle
Rhi walked through the white halls of the castle. Those about ceased their conversations the minute they spotted her. As she walked, silence followed.
She didn’t stop until she reached the throne room. No Queen’s Guard members stood there. In fact, she hadn’t seen any guards anywhere. It was a good thing the Dark were also in disarray. Otherwise, they could’ve come in and wiped out the Light with little effort.
A smile pulled at her lips as she imagined the look on Balladyn’s face had he been there. But he wasn’t. At least, he was alive. That was something.
Rhi didn’t need to look behind her to know that the Fae were pressed together, watching to see what she would do. The last thing she wanted was to be queen. She cared nothing about power, but someone needed to take control. She could do that for the time being. Bringing order to the Light so that a proper king or queen could be found.
She took a deep breath and threw open the doors of the throne room. The last thing Rhi wanted was to talk to anyone, but she didn’t have a choice. She needed to bring some stability to her people, but she also wanted to lure Usaeil out. Rhi wouldn’t have come up with the idea had Balladyn not told her to be queen.
So, she drew in a deep breath and turned to face the crowd. “We’re Light Fae. A powerful people. Usaeil betrayed each and every one of us for years. Her reign is finished. It’s time to look to the future, to what we can achieve. As of this moment, I want the Queen’s Guard to report and take their posts.”
“Are you our new queen?” someone asked.
It was on the tip of Rhi’s tongue to say yes, but she couldn’t do it. “I’m going to make sure the castle remains running, and the Light are protected while the candidates are looked over to figure out who will rule us.”
In the back of her mind, Rhi couldn’t help but think of what Moreann had told her regarding the council of Dark and Light Fae that ruled over both sides.
Not that it mattered. She doubted she’d live long enough to see that come to fruition.
“Queen Rhi!” a voice shouted from the back.
Within moments, the rest of the Fae were shouting it, as well. Rhi had this one moment to stop them, to tell them she didn’t want to be queen.
Then she thought of Usaeil and the revenge she so desperately wanted against her former queen. And Rhi remained silent.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A special shout out to everyone at St. Martin’s Press for getting this book ready, including the amazing art department for such a stunning cover that matches the character to perfection. Much thanks and appreciation go to my exceptional editor, Monique Patterson.
To my amazing agent, Natanya Wheeler, who is on this dragon train with me.
A special thanks to my children, Gillian and Connor, as well as my family for the never-ending support. I also can’t be remiss in forgetting to thank Charity and J. S. for all the incredible support, graphics, ideas, and laughter.
Last, but not least, G.
Hats off to my incredible readers and those in the DG Groupies Facebook group for keeping the love of the Dragon Kings alive. Words can’t say how much I adore y’all.
Praise for Donna Grant
The Dark King series
“Loaded with subtle emotions, sizzling chemistry, and some provocative thoughts on the real choices [Grant’s] characters are forced to make as they choose their loves for eternity.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“Vivid images, intense details, and enchanting characters grab the reader’s attention and [don’t] let go.”
—Night Owl Reviews (Top Pick)
The Dark Warrior series
“The world of the Immortal Warriors is a thoroughly engaging one, blending powerful ancient gods, fiery desire, and touchingly human love, which readers will surely want to revisit.”
—RT Book Reviews
“[Grant] blends ancient gods, love, desire, and evil-doers into a world you will want to revisit over and over again.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“Sizzling love scenes and engaging characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
