Passion Ignites (36 page)

“Of course, though there wasn't much that happened. He did show me the video. He took great joy in that,” she said.

Thorn's hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Ulrik has a lot to answer for.”

“His time is coming,” Con said.

*   *   *

Thorn was never so glad to see Dreagan as when it came into view. He took the back roads onto their property and drove straight to the garage.

Kellan and Rhys were there to meet them. Rhys opened the back door and took Rhi from Con. Thorn got out of the car and looked to Lexi.

“It could've gone verra badly,” Kellan told Con.

Kellan was Keeper of the History, so he saw in his mind major events to record for Dreagan.

Con walked past them. “The car needs to be returned immediately.”

Thorn exchanged a look with Kellan before he motioned for Lexi to follow them into the manor. Once inside, the house was in a state of chaos with everyone worrying how their new predicament would affect them.

“He doesna look good,” Kellan said of Con.

Thorn watched the King of Kings ascend the stairs. “They were going to take him.”

“I know. It was quick thinking on your part.” Kellan turned to the sitting room where Rhys had laid Rhi on the sofa. “Did Con attempt to heal her?”

Thorn shrugged a shoulder. “If he did, I didna know it.”

“We're going to need him.”

“I know.” Thorn glanced at Lexi. He wanted to take her aside and talk to her, but now wasn't the time.

Kellan leaned closer and said, “We have something being held in the caverns that will interest you and Lexi.”

Thorn frowned as he looked at Kellan. “You know I can no' bring her down there.”

“For this, you'll want to break the rules. And based on what I learned from Darius as well as Shara, Lexi needs this.”

“I gave a promise to Lexi. Tell me I can fulfill that promise,” Thorn said.

Kellan gave a small smile. “He's waiting for you whenever you want to take her.”

*   *   *

Con reached his bedroom and barely got the door shut before his knees gave out. He landed hard, his lungs seizing from the Dark magic.

The pain was debilitating. It swirled through him, reaching every muscle, every bone. It burned, sizzling within him as if it were trying to eat at him from the inside out.

It had been everything he could do on the return trip to Dreagan to act as if he wasn't in pain. He attempted to heal Rhi once, but it had been too much for him, and he nearly passed out.

Never before had he experienced this kind of weakness. And if scared the hell out of him.

Not because he feared Ulrik would use it again, but because it would put the others at a disadvantage. Con was going to have to start thinking ahead. Whether he remained King of Kings or not, Dreagan, the Dragon Kings, and even the weapon hidden in his mountain needed to be protected.

Con sat on his haunches, his hands on his thighs as he took control of the pain—or as much as he could. The wound on his chest had healed externally, but it was what the Dark magic was doing internally that worried him.

He sat there for several seconds before he struggled to climb to his feet. No one could see him like this. It was important that all the Kings see him as strong and resilient.

Too much had happened recently. If they witnessed him in this state, they would think he couldn't take care of them as he always had.

Con walked to his closet as he kicked off his shoes and pants. Then he opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a black tee before grabbing a pair of jeans. He put on the clothes and a pair of boots.

He then looked in the mirror. After a long examination of himself, he turned on his heel and exited his room, pain pounding through him with every movement. He made his way downstairs to the front sitting room where everyone gathered.

“No Fae has ever been struck with such a mixture of magic,” Shara said.

Con saw that Lexi and Thorn stood apart from the rest. By the look of the couple, they wanted some time alone to talk.

A look around at all the women in the manor made Con inwardly cringe. The Kings had been lucky so far. None of the women had attempted to betray them, but Con knew it was inevitable.

The first betrayal had been a vicious blow to the Kings and lost him a friend. What would a second betrayal do?

Con ignored the looks of the others as he walked around to the front of the sofa and sat on the edge. The room spun as agony filled him. It hurt to breathe, much less move.

Even now he wasn't sure his magic would do any good.

He looked at Rhi's face. No cheeky remarks fell from her lips. No cutting looks from her silver eyes. It was strange to find her so still. The last time he had seen her like this was when her magic exploded Balladyn's fortress.

Con drew in a breath, and then put his hand on Rhi's. He tried to use his magic. His muscles seized from the pain, and he barely kept the pain from showing on his face.

He focused past the anguish to the place he always went to for comfort—a place deep within his mind that didn't allow anything else in.

Con exhaled and pushed his magic into her, urging Rhi's wounds to heal. The pain was manageable this time, allowing him to use his magic as he needed. Almost instantly, the burn marks disappeared. Con kept his magic going a little longer just to make sure all of her injuries were mended.

When his hand fell away, he was expecting her to open her eyes and demand that he get away from her. But Rhi slept on.

“She needs time, is all,” Rhys said into the silence.

Con watched as Lily threaded her fingers with Rhys's. “Aye. Time,” Con agreed.

Kellan said, “Rhys, take Rhi to one of the spare bedrooms so she can rest.”

Con moved so Rhys could lift the Fae and carry her out. One by one, the others filed out of the sitting room, leaving only Kellan, Ryder, and Dmitri.

“Update,” Con said to Ryder.

Ryder's lips twisted. “There are now dozens of Web sites popping up claiming to have dragon videos. Dragons are all anyone can talk about on every news channel around the world. They dominate YouTube, blogs, and newspapers.”

So it was as bad as Con had feared it might be. “Are you taking the sites down?”

“Aye,” Ryder said. “I've got Gwynn and Evie from MacLeod Castle helping me as well.”

“Good.”

Kellan crossed his arms over his chest. “Con, you need to rest.”

“I'm fine. We have work to do.”

Dmitri rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced at the floor. “The police came by about an hour ago. They wanted to see if the shop was damaged.”

The shop. Con had completely forgotten to have that cleaned up for just such a visit. He couldn't forget something so simple as that. All it would take was one small mistake to crumble their now very fragile existence.

“We took care of it,” Kellan said.

Dmitri nodded. “Aye. Nothing out of place. It had them scratching their heads.”

“That's one spot of good news,” Con said, more relieved than the other two would ever know. “Good work.”

Dmitri threw a thumb over his shoulder. “What of Thorn and Lexi?”

Con's gaze slid to the doorway, but there was no sign of the couple. “We'll know soon enough, I'm sure.”

“Thorn is taking her to the mountain,” Kellan said. “We caught the Dark who led the attack here. He's the same one who killed Lexi's friend.”

Con lowered his gaze to the floor and inhaled deeply. “She deserves her revenge. If she can no' kill the Dark, Thorn will.”

*   *   *

Lexi didn't think there was ever a time she was more nervous. When Thorn beckoned her to go with him after Con healed Rhi, she quickly followed.

When they reached a door, Thorn held it open for her. She walked through it, stunned to find herself in a tall, but narrow, tunnel inside a mountain.

Cool air brushed over her skin. She glanced behind her at Thorn who closed the door and stepped around her.

“This way,” he said as he started walking.

Lexi followed him while she took in everything. Right at the entrance, and appearing about every ten feet, was a sconce in the mountain throwing off light so she could see where she was going.

Never was she more grateful than when she saw the carvings and etchings of dragons along the walls. Everywhere she looked there were dragons. The carvings were so spectacular that she was having a hard time following Thorn and not stopping to run her hands over the artwork.

Lexi hurried to catch up to Thorn and belatedly realized the floor was pitched downward. The farther down they went, the more she saw of doorways from the cave that branched off.

She wanted to explore them. Especially when she glanced inside a cavern and saw a massive dragon carved along an entire wall breathing fire.

She was completely enthralled until she walked a little farther and saw another cavern—with four large silver dragons sleeping in a cage.

“Those are dragons,” she said in awe, stopping.

Thorn halted and turned his head to look to the dragons. “Those are Ulrik's Silvers. They wouldna stop following his orders or leave with the others, so we had no choice but to use our magic so they would sleep.”

“And if Ulrik wakes them?” she asked.

Thorn looked at her over his shoulders. “We willna allow them to hurt any humans.”

Which was all fine and dandy as long as Thorn and the other Kings were around. What if Ulrik won against Con? He would then be King of Kings and making the decisions.

Lexi gazed at the Silvers, the color fading from a deep silver at the base of their necks and along the spines to pale silver under their stomachs.

These weren't Dragon Kings that shifted, but real dragons who cared not about puny humans. It made Lexi wonder what her world would have been like had there not been a war between their two species. Would magic be a way of life? Would seeing dragons or hearing their roars be as common as the sound of a jet?

“Do you want a closer look?”

Lexi shook her head and looked at Thorn.

He faced forward and continued on. “Just a little farther.”

By the look on Thorn's face, she knew she had done the wrong thing. “I'm not afraid of them,” she said as she followed. “It's just that after seeing you, nothing else compares.”

He slowed, allowing her to catch him. There was a smile on his face as he looked down at her.

They came to a halt then with Thorn turning her toward an entrance. She looked in and couldn't believe her eyes. There in the middle of the small room was Gorul. The very Dark who had killed Christina.

The Dark was surrounded by four Dragon Kings. Whatever they were doing kept the Dark from teleporting away. Gorul was turning in a circle looking at the Kings with contempt. Then he spotted her.

He looked her up and down and sneered. “You should be dead.”

Thorn moved behind her and whispered, “They've been holding him for you.”

If there wasn't such a surge of anger at seeing the Dark, she might have cried for what the Kings—and Thorn—were doing for her.

She glanced at Thorn and touched his hand as she walked into the cavern. Her gaze then turned to Gorul. “Taraeth didn't keep me for himself.”

“As if I believe that,” Gorul said.

Lexi shrugged and stopped in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest. “I don't give a damn what you believe. But I'm here. What does that tell you?”

“That you're going to get what your friend got.”

For the first time in … days … Lexi wasn't afraid. She knew the Kings were powerful. She knew they wouldn't allow Gorul to do anything to her. Then there was the fact she had been through so much, as well as having killed a man.

She would have to deal with the ramifications of taking a life later, but for now Gorul didn't scare her as he once had.

“You're not going to lay a finger on me,” Lexi said. She felt Thorn move up beside her.

Gorul looked at Thorn before the Dark's gaze slid to her. “You got yourself a Dragon King. It won't matter. Not in the end.”

Con came in from another entrance that Lexi hadn't seen. He stood opposite her behind Gorul. The Dark Fae swung around and began laughing when he saw Con.

“Your days are numbered, Constantine.”

Con stared at Gorul with soulless black eyes. With some unspoken command, Darius and the other three Kings guarding Gorul stepped back.

Lexi didn't move. She was waiting to see who was going to kill the Dark. Watching the life fade from his eyes would finally give Christina justice.

“You attacked Dreagan,” Con's voice rang clear and strong in the cavern. “You attacked and killed mortals on our land. You were part of a plan that took Lexi away from safety and attempted to take Shara.”

“She's a traitor,” Gorul said of Shara. “She was Dark.”

“Was,” Con said softly.

“Taraeth has put a price on her head. They'll be coming for her.”

“Let them try,” said a deep voice to Lexi's right.

She turned her head to see a man with wheat-colored hair and shamrock green eyes blazing with a warning. He must be Shara's King.

Lexi wondered what it would feel like to have Thorn come to her defense like that. She knew what it felt like to be in his arms and to witness his power. But to be the center of his world? It's what she longed for.

How did she tell him she loved him? Thorn wasn't like other men. Nothing they had done had been normal. How did she even know if there was anything more for them?

Gorul lunged at Con. Lexi expected him to be drawn up short from magic that kept him in the cavern, but there was nothing. Right before he reached Con, Thorn was there, holding Gorul's arms behind his back.

“The almighty Constantine can't fight his own battles?” Gorul asked.

“I willna be killing you,” Con stated.