Phelan sat back with a sigh. “I’ve no’ told the other Warriors yet, but a war has begun.”
What? How could she not have known? “When?”
“In Edinburgh with Warrick and Darcy.” Phelan ran a hand down his face. “There’s much that has happened, Rhi. Ulrik stabbed Darcy.”
Rhi shook her head, not able to process the information.
“We used our magic,” Aisley said of the Druids. “Until Con could get there and heal Darcy.”
Rhi tossed back the whisky. She set aside her empty glass and got to her feet to pace. Unable to process what they told her about Ulrik, she focused on what she could think about. “The first Fae Wars were horrendous. I lost my brother in that war. That was ages ago before there were so many mortals on this realm. We were able to hide the battles. We won’t be able to hide them now.”
“We?” Phelan asked. “You’ll fight with the Kings?”
She halted and turned her head to him. There hadn’t been any other thought. “Of course.”
“So will the Warriors and Druids,” Aisley said.
Rhi looked from one to the other. “No. You mustn’t. The Dark are insidious. Many of the Druids from MacLeod Castle have children. No amount of Druid magic or the fact that the castle is hidden from mortals will stop the Dark.”
Aisley’s face paled, but she lifted her chin. “This is our world, Rhi. We have magic. We can’t just stand by in this war.”
“We willna,” Phelan said as he got to his feet. “I’m a Warrior. My god demands I join this fight.”
Rhi shook her head in frustration. “Why didn’t you call to me? Why didn’t you tell me before now?”
“Because you’ve no’ been yourself,” Phelan said softly. “You needed time.”
“Tell me everything,” she demanded as she once more took her seat.
As Phelan studied her, Rhi felt someone else’s gaze on her. Her unseen follower. Everywhere she went, he was there. Without a doubt he was Fae. Light or Dark, she wasn’t sure. To be able to remain veiled as long as he did, she suspected he was Dark.
Had Balladyn sent him? As soon as the question emerged, she pushed it aside. Balladyn wouldn’t want anyone but himself to know what she did. It wouldn’t be the king of the Dark, Taraeth. He had bigger things to concern himself with—like bringing down the Kings.
It wasn’t Usaeil. The queen of the Light might be agitated with her, but she would never send a Dark after Rhi.
“Constantine has sent pairs of Kings all over England and Scotland to battle the Dark,” Phelan said. “They’ve invaded Edinburgh, Inverness, London, and all the biggest cities. Even Ryder is being sent out to Glasgow.”
Aisley nodded as he spoke. “Phelan and I were about to go to Dreagan to see if we could help. The Kings are stretched tight.”
Just what the Dark wanted. Rhi had known another war would come eventually, but she hadn’t expected it this soon. “Is the Light helping?”
“No’ that I know,” Phelan said.
“Well I know one that is,” Rhi said as she got to her feet.
If Usaeil was too focused on her Dragon King lover to think of their people, then Rhi would do it for her.
Phelan’s frown was filled with worry and apprehension. “Rhi, what are you thinking?”
“I’m a Queen’s Guard. I can call the army in if I see they’re needed. And I see they’re needed.”
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Lexi woke from dozing again. The light was dimming from the day. It didn’t seem fair that she was beginning to feel better as the hours slipped through her fingers like sands in an hourglass.
She had dreamed of the Dark Fae, of glowing red eyes, and evil so cloying it suffocated her. She had also dreamed of desire, but it wasn’t the Dark she saw. It was Thorn.
Lexi glanced around the studio. She heard him in the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, but she couldn’t see him.
“A pity,” she whispered.
Because if Thorn looked good in clothes, she couldn’t imagine what he looked like out of them. It made her smile just thinking about such a fine body. That is, if she could look away from his eyes. The man’s gaze drew her in like a bee to nectar.
And once she looked into his sensual dark brown eyes, she was a goner. Completely, utterly lost. She had always heard of people who seemed to have old souls. Until Thorn, she hadn’t understood what that meant.
Thorn might dress as if he were part of the modern times, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen—and been part of—so very much more.
She shifted on the bed. Her gaze was drawn to the wardrobe and the door that stood open with the mirror. That mirror showed directly inside the bathroom to Thorn.
Lexi’s mouth parted as she let her gaze run over such a specimen. He faced the sink, shaving. It wasn’t his thick sinew and two percent fat. It wasn’t the way his shoulders tapered to a narrow waist or how the muscles bulged in his arms when he moved.
It was the tattoo.
She had never understood people’s need to mark themselves with permanent ink. Though she could appreciate good art, not once had she seen a tat that remotely appealed to her.
Why then couldn’t she take her eyes off the dragon? It covered Thorn’s chest in a curious mixture of black and red ink. The dragon was in a standing position with its head turned to the side and lifted upward as if looking at Thorn. Its mouth was open on a roar, making the dragon appear fierce and vengeful. Its wings were spread wide like it wanted to take flight.
With such a huge tat, Lexi expected to find more of them on Thorn’s body, and unless they were on his legs, hidden by his jeans, there were no more.
Lexi lifted her gaze to look at his face. He wiped off the rest of the shaving cream with a towel and ran a hand over his jaw. Thorn was putting on his shirt, covering the tat, when there was a knock at the door.
He exited the bathroom and glanced her way. Their gazes locked for a moment before he opened the door to let in a tall redhead.
Lexi sat up as Thorn and the woman said hello. Then both of their eyes were on her.
“You’re awake. That’s good,” the woman said in an English accent.
Thorn walked behind the woman as they made their way to her. “Lexi, this is Dr. Sophie Martin. She’s the one who tended to you last night.”
“Thank you,” Lexi told her.
Sophie sat down and released the black bag she carried. She put her hands in her lap and regarded Lexi. Lexi was doing her own looking. The woman wore a thick black coat that hung to mid-thigh. She unbelted it and began to slowly unbutton it before she shrugged out of it.
The fine doctor wore a white sweater, black pants, and black and white heels. The only color was her vibrant red hair that was gathered at the back of her head in a twist with a few strands falling around her face.
Sophie’s pale complexion was flawless, and her olive eyes kind. “Tell me how you’re feeling?”
Lexi was conscious of her bed hair, only made worse by falling back to sleep with it wet. She wore a nightshirt and nothing else. She didn’t think she could feel any less attractive if she wore a potato sack. “Much better.”
“Good, good.” Sophie pulled out a stethoscope and listened to Lexi’s breathing. “Your coloring is returning.”
“I just can’t stop falling asleep.”
Sophie sat back after examining her eyes, throat, and ears. “It’ll even out once your body feels that it’s had enough.”
“You told Thorn I couldn’t leave the flat, but I must.”
Sophie frowned and tilted her head to the side. “You do realize you were severely ill, right? You should’ve been admitted into the hospital. If you go out, you could relapse.”
Lexi had hoped the doctor would allow her to leave, but she wasn’t surprised at the answer. She couldn’t decide whether to let Thorn and his unknown friends handle the Dark, or to continue with her promise to Christina that she would find her killer.
“You’re on the mend, Lexi. As long as you remain inside, that is. I think my services are done,” Dr. Martin said as she gathered her bag after she put on her coat.