Rhi laughed at her own joke. She turned and pointed to a path. “Follow it, and you’ll see the distillery. Before you reach it, you’ll come to a manor. They’ll take you in.”
Lexi opened her mouth to thank her, but Rhi was already gone.
* * *
“Lexiiiiiii!” Thorn bellowed.
Thorn cut a wide swath through the Dark as he fought to get to the building, using his dragon magic of sound manipulation to disorient the Dark. His heart had literally stopped when he saw Fallon take the hit and Lexi fall. One moment she was there, and the next she was gone.
He was a madman, his rage uncontrollable. All Thorn could think about was getting to the building and searching for Lexi.
Thorn was focused, everything falling away but the Dark and the overwhelming, vast need to annihilate every Fae he could find.
Not even blasts of their magic could stop him. He roared through the pain and continued his killing spree as he saw Lexi fall over and over in his mind.
Thorn cut down a Dark Fae and turned to look for another. Blood and sweat dripped in his eyes. He blinked and swung out at the presence he felt beside him.
“Easy.”
He fought them, throwing them off. “Lexi!”
“Enough!” someone yelled.
Thorn shook his head, trying to clear his eyes. Suddenly his arm was held, the hold strong enough to keep him in place.
“Thorn,” Con said. “Enough!”
Thorn paused at the sound of Con’s voice. He blinked several times and found the King of Kings to his right and Darius to his left.
“She’s no’ here,” Con told him.
Thorn looked around, seeing that every Dark who had been on the street was dead. That should’ve made him happy, but all he could think about was Lexi. He was getting ready to jump to the floor where Lexi had been when Fallon appeared next to them holding his side that was already healing.
“I’m sorry, Thorn,” Fallon said. “I had her. I almost got her away.”
Thorn nodded and shrugged off Con and Darius’s hold now that the bloodlust had diminished. “Thank you for trying. How did you know?”
“I heard the Dark talking about meeting up here. I had a bad feeling,” Fallon explained.
Thorn glanced up at the flat as papers fluttered to the ground and furniture leaned haphazardly over the side. “Is she up there?”
Fallon looked from Thorn to Con and back again. “She fell.”
“She’s no’ here,” Con said.
“That’s because I got to her in time.”
Thorn whirled around at the sound of Rhi’s voice. He was so happy to know that Lexi was alive that he went to Rhi and hugged her. “Thank you,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes closed. “Thank you.”
She patted his shoulder and pulled away. “You’re messing up my clothes, handsome. She’s at Dreagan so you can stop worrying.”
“How did you know we needed help?” Fallon asked.
Rhi shrugged. “Phelan told me.”
“Nice of you to show up this time,” Con said.
Rhi gave him an icy smile and turned her back to him, flipping him off as she walked away. “Bite me, jerk.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
Now that Thorn’s mind was clear and focused, knowing that Lexi was safe at Dreagan, the scene before him sank in. “Shite.”
“We need to get them moved,” Fallon said of the Dark.
Con nodded, a grim look on his face. “Quickly.”
Thorn tossed four bodies at Fallon, who caught them and teleported away. A second later, Fallon was back gathering more. Thorn saw movement down the street and spotted Rhi. The Light Fae was also busy removing the bodies.
“We need to hurry,” Con said.
Thorn threw another body at Fallon. “We are.” When Con didn’t respond, Thorn frowned at him as he continued to work. “What are you no’ telling me?”
“Let’s get this done first.”
Thorn straightened and grabbed Con’s shoulder, whirling him around. “Tell me now.”
A muscle ticked in Con’s temple. “Kellan told me two Dark were spotted on the outskirts of Dreagan an hour ago.”
“It’s just two of the buggers. Granted, I’m no’ thrilled about it, but it could be like here,” Thorn said and swept his arm wide.
Con’s gaze was steady, even. It was a look he had perfected eons ago to hide his emotions.
That’s when it hit Thorn. “There’s more Dark now.”
“A few.”
“Lexi is safe as long as she stays on Dreagan.”
Con gave a nod and went back to gathering the dead.
Thorn was relieved once more. Until he remembered that there was a section of Dreagan that wasn’t part of the magical boundary keeping the Dark Fae out—the distillery.
* * *
Lexi stared up at the sky as she lay on the grassy slope of the hill. Her heart was still pounding in her chest. She sent up a prayer of thanks that Rhi had been able to save her.
For a moment, Lexi had really thought her life was over. There had been a second of clarity where she had seen Thorn and heard his bellow.
In that flash of time, there was a world of regret that went through her mind. Not talking to Jessica or Crystal since they returned to the States, or calling Christina’s parents.
The biggest, however, was waiting for Thorn to make the move with her. She had known he was interested, but hesitant. Having been raised in the South, she was taught it was always the guy’s decision to make the move.
“Thorn,” she whispered, an ache in her chest at not being able to feel his arms around her.
Lexi sat up when she saw the dark clouds coming her way. She stood and looked to where Rhi had pointed. Lexi had no desire to get caught in the rain again.
The trail was easy to follow at least, even if the land seemed to stretch forever with the mountains all around her. She hadn’t gotten far when a blast of wind whipped around her. Lexi wrapped her arms about her middle, the cold making her shiver.
The rolling landscape might be pretty, but she just wanted to get inside somewhere to warm up. The farther she walked, the harsher the wind became. Then came the first spattering of rain.
“Great. It’s Edinburgh all over again,” she grumbled.
* * *
The Dark Fae eagerly looked across the invisible border of Dreagan. “It’s nearly time,” Gorul told his comrades.
“They’ll know as soon as we cross over.”
He smiled and pointed to the distillery. “Not there. Too many humans visit every day for there to be a barrier up.”
Vaurin laughed. “Perfect.”
“What would be perfect is getting our hands on a Dragon King. Or a mate,” said the third.
Gorul glanced at the sky and the thick, fluffy clouds that were growing darker. “The Kings are up there, watching. We’ll have limited time to get in and create some chaos. Remember. We need to get them out in the open. We want the world to start focusing on Dreagan.”
“Mikkel’s contact is still reliable?” asked Vaurin.
Gorul shrugged. “Even if the spy isn’t, it doesn’t matter. Mikkel is not our leader. Taraeth is. The orders came from Taraeth.”
“From Mikkel’s request.”
Another Dark chuckled. “Taraeth only agreed to Mikkel’s urging because it coincided with what Taraeth wanted. Don’t you know that?”
“Of course,” Vaurin stated angrily.
Anticipation grew as more cars pulled into Dreagan. Gorul couldn’t wait to disrupt the unflappable Kings. “Get ready. And remember, keep your eyes on the sky.”
* * *
Lexi saw the red roofs and walked faster. Her clothes were drenched and her hair was plastered to her head. The few drops had turned into a torrential rain within minutes.
“Sun. I want sun,” she said with teeth chattering. “And heat. Heat would be really, really good right about now.”
She could no longer feel her nose. It was completely numb, along with her toes. Between her teeth chattering, sloshing through the water pooling on the ground, and the rain, she could hear nothing else.