Darkest Flame (31 page)

“That gives us time to set up,” Kellan said.

Phelan turned his gaze to Kellan. “We need a plan first.”

“Plan?” Kellan chuckled, the sound icy. “The plan is to kill as many of them as we can while making sure Denae isna taken again.”

“We’re no’ the only Kings in Ireland,” Tristan suddenly said. He smiled widely. “Rhys and Kiril came looking for you.”

“Call to them,” Kellan said and then faced Denae. “It’s going to be all right.”

She grabbed ahold of him when he started to turn away. “It’ll be all right when we’re out of here. I just want one promise from you.”

He seemed shocked she would ask for such a thing. “What promise?”

“That you don’t let them take you again. No matter what.”

His brow furrowed as his celadon eyes stared at her. “I doona give promises easily.”

“I know.”

“And if they take you?”

“Then they take me. This promise will trump your first one. You’ve gotten me out of there.”

“But you are no’ safe.”

“I’ve never been safe, Kellan. Whether it’s from the Fae, sickness, danger, or my enemies. Make me this promise. Please.”

“Why?” he asked, all emotion erased from his face.

Denae could come up with some lie, but she wanted him to know the truth of how she felt. Even if it was for naught. “The thought of you in those chains again makes me ill. I don’t know what they’re searching for, but it can’t be for anything good. You aren’t meant to be a prisoner. You’re powerful and incredible.”

“You’ve no’ seen me in dragon form.”

“I don’t have to. I see the man before me now.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Kellan couldn’t give Denae the promise she wanted, because he would do anything in order to keep her out of the Dark Fae’s clutches.

The certainty, the irrefutable reality was that Denae was his. He should be surprised, but he wasn’t. She had proven herself time and again. Yet, it was more than that.

There was a part of him that had recognized Denae as his the moment he opened his eyes and saw her in his cave. It was his hatred of humans that had kept him from acknowledging the truth as long as he had.

“Give me the promise,” Denae urged again.

Kellan shook his head and tugged on her long, coppery brown hair. “I can no’.”

“I’m just a human, remember?” she argued, her brow furrowed with frustration and a hint of worry. “I mean nothing.”

He put his finger over her lips to silence her. “Doona ever say such things again. I can no’ give you the promise you ask because you are yet unsafe. We might be out of those damn tunnels, but the Dark are about to attack. Anything can happen.”

She gently moved his finger from her lips. “That’s right. Anything can happen.”

He looked for anything to change the subject and turn her mind away from the promise she sought. That’s when he spotted the blood on the grass at her feet. “Are you injured?”

“It’s just a cut on the bottom of my foot.”

Fear, an emotion he hadn’t experienced since he saw his Bronzes killed, swarmed him. A cut could kill a human. With the foul odors inside the tunnels, there was no telling what she had stepped on.

There was nothing he could do. For the first time he wished he had Con’s power.

“It’s just a cut,” she said again. “I’m fine.”

But the worry had already settled around him like a thick mist. He had just admitted to himself what she meant to him. To think that he might lose her … He couldn’t even finish the thought.

As if sensing his worry, Denae said, “I’ve had worse, Kellan. Go kick some Dark Fae ass, then you can help me tend to my very minor wound.”

Her saucy attitude made him smile. At least she had forgotten about the promise. He was still unsure about how minor the wound was, but she was a warrior. With a sigh, he relented. “With pleasure.”

“What do I do?”

“Remain here. Phelan will be close, and hopefully Rhi as well. Tristan and I will keep the Dark occupied until Rhys and Kiril arrive.”

She visibly swallowed and handed him the manacle they had taken from their prison. “I thought I had seen evil before, but I was wrong. The Dark Fae embodies evil in a way I didn’t know existed.”

“I’ll wipe them from your mind.” Kellan was already planning months alone with Denae, making love to her and learning everything there was about her.

Denae smiled then. “Go, since you won’t give me my promise,” she said and gave him a wink. “The others are waiting for you.”

“They can bugger off,” he said and jerked her against him for a quick, hard kiss.

As soon as she melted against him, Kellan was tempted to get her away and leave the others to the fight. Then he recalled how Taraeth had touched Denae.

His woman. Violated, tortured, all because the Dark searched for the one thing they couldn’t have.

Kellan ended the kiss as his mind focused on killing one Dark Fae in particular.

“Good luck,” Denae said before he turned on his heel and strode away.

Kellan stood beside Tristan as they opened their minds and called to any Dragon King nearby. If the Dark Fae wanted a war, they were going to get one.

Tristan jerked off his shirt and kicked off his boots. There was a smile of anticipation on his lips that Kellan understood all too well.

“You crave battle,” he said.

Tristan chuckled. “In a way most wouldna understand.”

“You just came to us, so doona get caught by those arses. I’d rather no’ have Con in my face because you didna return to Dreagan.”

“Ditto. Except it would be Denae in my face. Personally, I’d rather deal with Con than her.”

Kellan grinned as he glanced at his woman. She was a force to be reckoned with. He took in a deep breath and felt the dragon within him stir, rouse.

He couldn’t wait to feel the wind beneath him, to stretch his wings and soar upon the clouds. It had been so long. He wouldn’t fly for pleasure, but a purpose a long time coming.

The Dark Fae had been a scourge upon the realms that had dared to travel to Earth. The mistake had been trusting that the Light Fae could keep the Dark in check and push them out of the realm of Earth.

With the Kings being intent to remain secret, the Light had stopped fighting the Dark.

And the Dark … they had grown into a powerful group.

Tristan glanced at him before he jerked off his jeans and leapt into the air, shifting into the form of an amber dragon as he did.

Kellan watched as Tristan’s wings spread and caught on a current that propelled him up. There were few clouds to hide in, but then again, Kellan didn’t plan on doing any hiding today.

He shifted his gaze to find Phelan concealed near Denae, his gaze focused on the doorway.

Denae had her whisky-colored eyes trained on him as he put the manacle over his wrist so it appeared as if it was still locked. The need to protect, to defend and secure what was his swallowed him like a tidal wave.

He didn’t fight against the tide. He simply let it take him, accepting that somehow, someway a human had opened his eyes.

And taken his heart.

His gaze jerked to the doorway as Taraeth stepped through with his red eyes blazing.

“I figured you would’ve run,” Taraeth said when he spotted Kellan in the field. “Do you miss your room already? Are you waiting for me to bring you back, perhaps?”

“I’m here to kill you,” Kellan said.

“Kill?” Taraeth laughed as he looked around at his fellow Dark Fae that were steadily filling out around him. “You can try, but we all know our chains prevent a Dragon King from shifting. You’re nothing but an immortal who can die over and over again at our leisure. Just as the last two Kings we had.”

The Dark Ones laughed at Taraeth’s words.

A pleased, confident look stole over Taraeth’s face. “I’ll have you back in your prison with more chains added. Then, I’ll find that pretty human of yours and take her repeatedly in front of you until she no longer remembers your name.”

“You can try, but you willna succeed.”

“And why is that?”

Kellan smiled just before he shifted.

He stood in the open field and roared his fury. His wings opened and flapped as a dozen Dark rushed him. The force of the air from his wings sent them tumbling back.

Just as they got to their feet Tristan suddenly appeared out of the sky and clamped his huge jaws around half of them. The other half tried to rush back to their comrades, but one swipe of Tristan’s tail cut them in two.

“Kill them!” Taraeth bellowed.

Kellan kept his eyes on Taraeth even as he worried about Denae. The Dark Ones were too intent on him and Tristan. And Kellan was going to make sure they remained that way.

Kellan waited until the Dark were close before he jumped into the air only to swoop back down, his claws tearing through the Dark like a hot knife through butter.

He tucked his wings and spun before shooting up to the sky. As he did, he felt a blast of magic narrowly miss him.

It only made him angrier.

*   *   *

Rhi jumped to the field to discover a battle. She was glad she had remained veiled, especially with the Dark all around her.

She easily meandered through the thick throng of Dark Ones until she spotted Phelan in a grove of trees, his face a mask of fury for being kept out of the battle.

But that was because he was the last line of defense for Deane.

Rhi used her magic and appeared next to Phelan, dropping her veil as she did.

He glanced at her, his face still grim. “About bloody time. Where have you been?”

“Learning more than I wanted to.”

His gaze jerked to her as he frowned. “Are you all right?”

“Yep.” She plastered a bright smile on her face. “Remember, stud, I’m Fae.”

“I’m just glad you’re here. I was about to go back in that awful place to look for you.”

She took in a deep breath. “Don’t do anything stupid, stud. Aisley will skin you alive if you get yourself in trouble. How’s Denae holding up?” she asked to change the subject.

“Pretty good. I heard her gasp when Kellan shifted, but she’s not uttered a sound since then.”

Rhi patted his shoulder before she turned and walked the short distance to where Denae stood against a forked tree with a base as wide as a small car.

“How ya holdin’ up?” Rhi asked, using the best Southern accent she could muster.

Denae smiled as she glanced at her. “Close. You’re too Southern and not enough Texas. I’ll get you there though.”

Rhi actually laughed. “I bet you will.” She looked over to see the shape of a bronze dragon diving and soaring all around the Dark Ones. “Does he frighten you?”

“Yes. And exhilarates me. He twists me inside out, makes me forget my name, and turns my knees weak. He’s simply … wonderful.”

“Ugh,” Rhi said and rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell him that. Kellan is already conceited enough without him knowing you think of him as a god or something.”

“I’m not stupid. I know I don’t belong in his world.”

Rhi couldn’t look at her, because Denae spoke the truth. A few of the Kings might have found mates, but that was just a handful of them over thousands of millennia.

“Thanks for not trying to lie to me,” Denae said.

Rhi looked down to find she had chipped another nail. She thought of Balladyn and the grief that had consumed her when she thought him killed.

The world as she’d known it for so long was already changing. There was a battle going on between the Dark Fae and Dragon Kings that hadn’t happened in over fifty thousand years.

“You’re part of this world now,” Rhi said to Denae. “Whether you want it or not, you are. You’ve seen things, heard things, experienced things that no amount of time will erase. Do you think you can walk away and forget?”

Denae’s eyes followed Kellan for several seconds before she looked at Rhi. “No. Never. I’ll always remember.”

“I don’t know what the Dark have planned, but whatever it is isn’t good. There has always been a line drawn between our world and yours. That line is fading fast.”

“Can’t you and the Light Fae do something?”

Rhi shrugged helplessly. “I’m not sure anymore. We’ve always had a difficult time battling the Dark, but they are different now. More powerful, almost.”

“Has that happened before?”

“No. I don’t believe in coincidences, and there’ve been too many recently. The Dark Ones’ power growing, MI5’s association with them, and someone trying to expose the Dragon Kings.”

“I agree,” Denae said and took a deep breath. “I suspect if we dug deep enough we would find one source connecting all three.”

“It sounds like you want that job.”

“I do have a history with MI5. With Henry helping me and getting me back inside headquarters, there’s no end to what I might find.”

“And the rest?” Rhi prompted.

“You mean the Dark Fae and the unknown person?”

Rhi nodded, her eyes tracking the Dark who were focused on the Dragon Kings. “Con suspects the unknown person trying to expose them is Ulrik.”

“Kellan told me of him. He certainly has motive to want to harm Con, but the rest?” Denae asked, her lips twisted. “I don’t know enough about him.”

“I don’t think Ulrik would. He vowed revenge on Con, but only Con. It’s been thousands upon thousands of years though. Ulrik’s rage might have turned him insane.”

“Then I’ll look into him as well,” Denae stated. “As for the Dark Fae, I figure I’ve got an ally who can help me there.”

“Who?” Rhi asked with a frown.

“You.”

Rhi slowly smiled. “Oh, you’re good. It’s no wonder Kellan fancies you.”

“Get ready,” Phelan said, growling low in his throat as two Dark Fae approached the grove.

Rhi walked past him. “Oh, let me,” she told him.

She sent a blast of magic that beheaded one Dark Fae as she spun out of the trees and whipped out a long blade that pierced the heart of the second, ending his life instantly.

“I want one of those,” Deane said in awe.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Rhi wiped off the blade and held it by her side. “Kellan might not like it, but I think you’re going to need a weapon.”

Denae couldn’t wait to get her hands on such a weapon. It wasn’t in her to stand on the sidelines and watch. She had extensive training, and though she might not be immortal or able to do magic, she could take off a Dark Fae’s head or pierce their heart.