Lexi was saddened for Thorn, Darius, and all the Dragon Kings to have sent the dragons away.
“There were four of Ulrik’s Silvers who wouldna leave his side. We Kings gathered our magic and bound Ulrik’s. We stripped him of his ability to communicate with the Silvers, banished him from our land, and sentenced him to walk the earth for eternity as a human. We then put a spell on his Silvers to make them sleep and keep them caged in a mountain.”
Lexi nearly dropped her glass. “There are still dragons here?”
“Aye. We ensure they doona wake.”
“And if they do?”
Darius issued a small shrug and met her gaze. “With the dragons gone, the Silvers hidden, and Ulrik taken care of, we returned to our land and slept away a century or two. When we woke, we discovered we had turned into legend and myth.”
“You’ve stayed hidden ever since?”
He nodded slowly. “It wasna easy during the first Fae War, and I worry that now will be impossible with as many humans as there are.”
“The first Fae War,” she repeated, remembering how Thorn had told her the Fae had come to take control of their planet. “When was that?”
“About eleven thousand years ago.”
Lexi couldn’t wrap her head around that amount of time. “The Dark are in the city. They kill every night, and with little thought to be caught.”
“They want to be caught. They want you to know about them, the Light Fae, and the Dragon Kings.”
“Why?” she asked in confusion. “What do they think that will accomplish? We’d find out quick enough what they want, and we would never side with them.”
Darius’s dark eyes hardened a fraction. “True, but then your race would be all too willing to try and kill a Dragon King. A Dark is scary, but he appears human except for his red eyes and his magic. A Dragon King is another matter entirely. We can fly, we breathe fire, we can shift, and we’re massive.”
“I see your point,” she said, a little ill.
“We’ve protected your kind, even during the war between our races,” Darius said. “It’s a vow we all take seriously. The last thing we want is to be fighting the Fae and humans.”
Lexi felt her hair fall loose. She wound it back up again to keep it out of her face. “No. That can’t happen. How will you stop the Dark?”
“By continuing what Thorn and I were doing before. We’ll keep hidden and kill every Dark that crosses our path. There are more Dragon Kings throughout each of the larger cities as well.”
“Just how many are you?”
Darius grinned. “Less than there were originally, but more than you think.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’ll get, lass.”
She smiled, appreciating his need for secrecy. “Where do you hide? By the accents, I’d guess here in Scotland, which is pretty easy considering all the mountains.”
“Aye, we’re in Scotland. Dreagan is our home.”
Lexi frowned. Dreagan. She knew that name, but she couldn’t place where.
“Dreagan whisky,” Darius supplied at her questioning look.
“Oh.” Now she was duly impressed.
This brought a wide smile from Darius. “We’ve been making whisky far longer than anyone, and we’re damned good at it.”
“If you say so. I’m not a whisky drinker.”
“Taste it, and you just might change your mind,” he challenged.
Lexi laughed. “I might take you up on that.” Her smile dropped as her mind turned to Thorn again, as it had during Darius’s story. “Thorn isn’t coming back, is he?”
Darius looked at her a long moment before he shook his head. “Nay, lass, he isna.”
“Was it something I did? Is he angry that I followed you?”
“I know I am,” Darius said with a serious look. Then he sighed and lowered his gaze to the table. “But the answer is nay. Thorn didna leave because of something you did, but rather because of what happened in his past.”
Lexi’s heart thumped with apprehension. “Was he in love?”
“Thorn never fancied a woman enough to want her as a mate, if that’s what you’re asking.” Darius lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Our capital, so to speak, was always Dreagan, but each dragon race had a place they preferred all over the globe. For Thorn and his Clarets, it was the canyons. There was a village there that Thorn gave his protection to, even after the war between our races. He watched over them always, defending them against anyone who would do them harm.”
She finished her wine and waited for him to continue.
“There was a family there who saw him shift into dragon form and fight off a group of Dark Fae. They brought him into their house and fed him. A friendship developed that progressed through the years. When the Fae Wars began, Thorn wasna able to go to them immediately. He wasna worried because they lived in such a remote area.”
“And when he did go to them?” Lexi asked.
Darius ran a hand down his face. “By the time he got there, most of the family was already dead, including the father and two sons. The mother was alive enough to watch as the Dark took turns with her three daughters.”
Lexi shrank into her chair. “How awful.”
“Thorn descended upon the group of Dark and killed them, but it was too late for the daughters. He stayed with the mother until her last breath.”
Yes, Lexi could see Thorn doing that. As gentle as he was with her, he would remain so no one would have to die alone.
Darius caught her gaze. “I doona tell you this lightly. It’s no’ in our way to share other’s pasts.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
“I’m no’ sure. Maybe so you would understand Thorn. He felt as if he had failed the family he’d promised to protect. He made that same assurance to you, and you came close to dying. It doesna matter though. Your flight leaves tomorrow, and you’ll put this place behind you.”
Tomorrow. Was it really already time for her to leave? She wasn’t sure she wanted to after seeing the Dark and the Dragon Kings in action.
“How do you feel?” Darius asked.
She knew he was changing the subject, and she let him. Later she would mull over her thoughts and all she now knew of Thorn. “Better. The Dark have a powerful punch.”
“What did it feel like?”
Lexi raised a brow. “Really? I saw you get hit by one of their bubbles.”
“I know what it feels like for me. I want to know how bad it is for a mortal,” he said.
“I was too shocked at first to even know I was hurt. Next I was arguing with Thorn, and then came that kiss.” She licked her lips, remembering his amazing taste. “When it hit, the pain was awful. It felt like falling off my water skis and not letting go of the rope while being bounced along the water, trampled by a herd of cattle, and kicked in the chest by a horse all at once.”
Darius rubbed his jaw. “So. I’m guessing verra painful.”
Lexi slapped his arm as she stood when he grinned. She walked to the sink and rinsed out her glass. Her first thought upon waking was Thorn. It hurt, worse than the Dark magic, to discover he was gone.
After a kiss that literally curled her toes, Thorn walked out of her life without a word. For once, Lexi really wished luck would turn her way.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
West Ireland
Usaeil’s Castle
Rhi stood outside the castle staring at the gray stones. The wind howled as it came off the sea. The castle sat high on the cliffs overlooking the deep blue water.
Was Usaeil with her lover? Doubtful, with the war starting. Rhi wouldn’t catch whoever it was now. But soon.
“I’m glad you returned.”
Rhi turned around to find her queen. She wanted to demand that Usaeil tell her who her lover was, but Rhi knew in order to get that information, she would have to make Usaeil think she didn’t care.