“Dragon and Dark magic,” Con answered.
Lexi looked at Thorn to see lines of worry bracketing his mouth. “I gather that’s bad.”
“Extremely,” Thorn said as he glanced at her. “Ulrik used it against one of us recently. It prevented Rhys from shifting, making him choose between living a life as a dragon or a human.”
Lexi looked at Con, but his gaze was straight ahead on the road before them. “What happens when that kind of mix hits a Fae?”
“I doona know.” Thorn shook his head. “It’s no’ good that she’s no’ waking.”
Lexi faced forward and looked at the dashboard to see that Thorn was driving a hundred miles per hour. “How far to Dreagan?”
“Over two hours,” Con bit out.
Lexi fastened her seat belt. They were far from out of danger, but at least she was with Thorn again. That in itself was enough to let her breathe easier.
She caught Thorn glancing at her every few seconds. Lexi smiled and leaned her head against the seat as she looked at him. “It wasn’t a bed of roses, but I’m all right.”
“You killed Kyle.”
“Kyle?” Con asked.
Thorn nodded. “Kyle was there.”
“The jerk was trying to force himself on me.” Lexi shivered, thinking of his hands on her. “He said he killed his sister, who is a mate.”
Thorn took a curve and laughed. “He has no idea Lily is very much alive. I can no’ believe Ulrik brought him back from the dead to begin with. Perhaps it’s better if Lily doesna know what Ulrik did.”
“Agreed. Lexi,” Con said. “We’re going to need to sit down with you and go over every detail of your time with Ulrik.”
“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.”