Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella (11 page)

His green eyes held hers. “This is how we remedy that. I, too, lost my family.”

She held her breath, uncertain that she wanted to hear this. Already she was finding it harder and harder to do her job. If she connected with Asher any more, she might walk away from it altogether.

And she wasn’t entirely sure what Sam MacDonald might do if she did.

“My father was a soldier. He died in battle,” Asher explained.

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask which battle, but she remained silent.

“My mother was inconsolable. My siblings and I did what we could, but nothing replaces a mate of the soul. My eldest sister married and had children of her own, and my two younger brothers followed in my father’s footsteps.”

“But not you?”

He looked down at his nearly empty whisky glass. “My path was different. I was a soldier of sorts myself. I was thrust into a position that I had wanted for a long time. I stepped into the role willingly, only to learn that it would eventually rule my life.”

She didn’t move a muscle. She was even afraid to breathe lest he stop talking. She wasn’t sure how much he would share, and part of her didn’t want to know anything. The more she knew, the more she would have to share with the world. It was the oath she gave herself when her family was murdered. She couldn’t go back on that now––for anybody.

His green eyes swung to her. “My mother died of heartbreak six months later, and to my utter astonishment, I had to send the rest of my family away.”

“Away?” she asked, frowning.

“In order to keep them safe, so they might live.” He tossed back the last of his whisky. “Let me tell you a story, Rae. It starts with the creation of this planet.”

Chapter Eleven

Asher watched as Rae’s face paled. She was physically shaken from sharing the story of her tragedy. That wasn’t faked. Of that he was certain.

Nor was her reaction to his statement.

He remained in his relaxed position––when he was anything but. She had intentionally deceived him. There would be a price paid for that. For now, however, it was time for his story.

After all, she knew what he was.

Before he’d gone down to the bar, Ryder had contacted him through their link. Thanks to Ryder’s ability to ferret out all information, he found a connection between Rae––Rachel––and Ulrik, with his alias of Sam MacDonald.

It hadn’t been easy, because Ulrik covered his tracks so well, but Ryder was that fucking good. Though it didn’t make hearing the news any easier.

He wished he had more whisky. It would take an entire case to get him through this night. He’d wanted Rae to be who he thought she was last night. Not who Ms. Engel and Ryder uncovered.

He wanted her to be special. To be…his.

That was looking more and more impossible.

“This realm is billions of years old,” he began. “For a large portion of it, there were no humans. Only dragons.”

If it was possible, her face paled even more. Her hands clasped together and she glanced at the door.

He wasn’t about to let her escape. Not until he told his side of the story. “Dragons no bigger than a house cat and larger than you could possibly imagine. The dragons were separated by colors, and the strongest of that color was their king. But the most powerful of all the dragons was King of Kings. During this time, the dragons roamed the sky, the land, and the seas, ruling over everything. Until one day mortals arrived.”

Rae didn’t beg him to stop or try to change the subject. A small frown puckered her forehead as she listened. And that was enough for him.

“The day the humans arrived, each Dragon King suddenly found themselves in human form. We didn’t know how, but it allowed us to communicate with the mortals. From then on, we were able to shift from dragon to human at will.”

The fact she didn’t seemed fazed by his words affirmed that Ulrik had indeed told her who Asher was. This was a new tactic from Ulrik, but one they should’ve expected.

He drew in a deep breath and released it. “We made room for the humans, giving them land dragons had occupied for thousands of years. But the mortals multiplied at an astonishing rate. They demanded more and more land, pushing dragons out of their homes and causing friction.

“Despite all of this, many humans found it beneficial to be near a King for protection. Females sought us out as lovers. It went on like that for years until one of us decided to take his lover as his mate, or wife.”

“And how was this wrong?” Rae asked.

“Dragons mate for life. Unlike mortals. This Dragon King was the best of us. Ulrik was kind and always had a smile. He loved to play jokes, but there was none more loyal. He could’ve been King of Kings.”

She shook her head in confusion. “Then why didn’t he?”

“Because he was happy being a King to his Silvers. His best friend was King of Kings, and in order to gain the title, he would have to kill Constantine.”

At the mention of Con, her mouth went slack.

So she knew of Con as well, but obviously not all of it. He continued. “Ulrik believed his woman loved him as deeply as he did her. Days before their mating, Con discovered Ulrik’s woman sought to betray him. Con knew how deeply it would hurt Ulrik, and that Ulrik would feel he had to punish her. Con sought to save his friend such a horror and sent him on a mission. Then Con called all the Kings together and told us what he’d learned.

“Each of us became enraged for Ulrik and because this mortal would dare to betray one of us. We chased her down and killed her.”

Rae’s eyes widened, her body becoming so still Asher couldn’t see her breathing. “What kind of betrayal warranted such a reaction?”

“She was going to kill Ulrik.”

Her face crumpled into confusion. “Why? Ulrik was protecting her, loving her?”

“Why does anyone betray another? This mortal used Ulrik to get close to him. She wanted to start a war between the dragons and humans. Unbeknownst to her, only another Dragon King can kill one of us. Nothing she could’ve tried would’ve worked to end Ulrik’s life.”

Rae’s shoulders sagged. “But had she succeeded, Ulrik would’ve endured firsthand her betrayal.”

“Aye. We protected him and attempted to stop a war. Except it didna work. Ulrik returned and discovered what we did. He felt betrayed by his lover––and us.”

“You were helping him.”

Asher nodded. “It didna matter. He was engulfed with grief and rage. It was a horrendous combination for one such as him. He couldna control it, and with his Silvers, he began to attack the human settlements. The rest of the Kings went into action, either setting up our dragons as protection against Ulrik or attempting to stop him.

“The real heartbreak occurred when the mortals turned on the verra dragons protecting them. The dragons had orders to safeguard the humans, so they didna defend themselves. Dragons were slaughtered everywhere. And that divided the Kings. Many joined Ulrik, intending to wipe the mortals from our realm for good.”

“What side were you on?”

Asher thought back to his Hunters. Such magnificent creatures his dragons were. “I happened to be returning to a village where my dragons stood guard. I saw the humans attacking and killing them. And I released my dragons from their obligation, which allowed them to shield themselves. I didna join Ulrik, but I thought about it after watching what the mortals did to my dragons.

“Con proved why he was King of Kings and eventually won back the Kings to his side. But Ulrik wouldna stop killing. No dragon was safe. The humans wanted us gone. They wouldna talk to us of a truce or come to some sort of agreement.”

She turned more toward him. “I don’t understand. You’re dragons. You could’ve easily wiped them out.”

“We made a vow the day the first human arrived to protect your kind with our verra lives. We have magic and powers. The majority of mortals doona. That vow extended to us as well. When several of the smaller dragons were hunted to extinction, we did the only thing we could. We sent the dragons away to another realm.”

“Including Ulrik’s Silvers?” she asked.

“All but his largest four. They remained with him, refusing to answer to Con. We managed to trap them however. They’ve been sleeping within one of the mountains on Dreagan since then.”

She blinked, her face filled with concern. “Trapped?”

“No’ even that stopped Ulrik. It took us banishing him from Dreagan, binding his magic so he had to walk this earth as a human for all eternity.”

“You banished one of your own?”

“It was either that or kill him. Con didna want to kill his best friend.”

Rae gave a snort. “I think I’d rather die than walk around the very beings I sought to exterminate.”

“Aye. He detests mortals. But no’ even the extremes we went to in order to protect the humans changed their minds about us. We had no choice but to hide on Dreagan, using magic to ensure no mortal would take the land while we slept. We waited hundreds of years before we began to once more venture out. By then, dragons were mere legends and myths.

“For thousands of years we watched Ulrik as we kept ourselves secret. Recently, he has begun attacking us, and once more setting in motion another dragon and human war. Ulrik found a Druid who could touch dragon magic.”

“Wait, what?” Rae asked with a bark of laughter. “A Druid?”

“You didna believe me when I said there were some mortals with magic? The Druids are real and extremely powerful. This Druid was deceived by Ulrik into unbinding his magic.”

She gawked at him. “If Ulrik’s magic has returned, what’s to stop him from releasing his Silvers?”

“Nothing. We know he plans on doing just that, and we’re attempting to stop him. It doesna help that he has some humans, as well as Dark Fae, helping him. It was the Dark who took that video of us during the battle at Dreagan.”

“Dark Fae?” she asked in a tight voice.

Asher released a breath. “We vowed to protect you from everything, and there is a lot of things out in the universe. The Dark Fae were the ones causing such havoc in the cities around the UK during Halloween. They have black and silver hair with red eyes. You humans are drawn to them, but each time they have sex with you, they drain you of your soul.”

“Are there Light Fae?”

“Aye. They joined with us when we fought the Dark during the Fae Wars when the Dark attempted to take over this realm so every human could be a food source.”

She turned her head away, the truth of it all troubling her. “Fae Wars?”

“It was a long time ago, and we managed to keep the war from spreading to the mortals. With the way humans cover so much of the planet now, that willna be possible. Besides, Ulrik is already bringing you into the war without you realizing it.”

“But Ulrik hates us.”

Asher smiled sadly. “More than you can possibly imagine. Your race is the reason he lost his dragons, his magic, and was banished. But he blames us as well. His goal is to defeat Con and take over as King of Kings.”

“Which will mean the end of humans.”

“That it will.”

She visibly swallowed. “Why did you tell me all of this?”

“Because you were given half of the information.”

Her face went slack as it finally dawned on her. “You know.”

“You mean do I know that Rae and Rachel Marek are the same? Aye. You mean do I know that you’ve been following me around the WWC masking your appearance? Aye. You mean, do I know that you’re a journalist who has made a career out of exposing cover-ups, imposters, cheats, and such to the world? Aye.”

He had to give her credit, she didn’t bolt to the door. There was fear in her deep brown eyes as she returned his stare, but she kept herself composed.

She lifted her chin. “I was told that though the Dragon Kings tended to seduce women, they could turn on them.”

“Did you no’ hear anything I just told you?” he asked, disgusted. “We made a fucking vow. We sacrificed our families in order to protect your species. Why would we kill you? We could’ve done that thousands of years ago and none of this would be happening now.”

When she didn’t reply, he shoved to his feet and raked a hand through his hair. “The sad part is how you unknowingly picked a side in this war.”

“The only side I’ve chosen is my own. The world deserves to know you’re here.”

“What about our rights? Have you thought of that?”

She refused to respond, which only frustrated him.

“Did you know that Ulrik has made it his mission to go after every female a King has taken an interest in?” He didn’t wait for her to answer before continuing. “When I say he’s gone after them, I mean he’s either had the Dark kidnap them or attempted to kill them. We were lucky with the Dark. We have a Light friend who risked her life to help us.”

“And the attempted murder?”

He raked a hand through his hair again as he thought of the women. “There were two. Ulrik turned Lily’s brother against her. He killed her. I stood watching as Rhys held her in his arms as her life drained away.”

“I…I don’t understand. You said attempted.”

“For reasons we can no’ understand, Ulrik brought her back.”

“Excuse me?” she asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. “We each have a power. Con can heal anything. Ulrik can bring a person back from the dead.”

“So he brought Lily back? Seems like he’s not so bad.”

“There’s a reason he did it. We’ve no’ figured it out yet.”

She glanced out the window and grudgingly asked, “And the second?”

“The Druid I told you about––Darcy. He stabbed her. It was only the quick actions of Druids who saved her.”

“It seems since I have a connection to you that I should know what this Ulrik looks like.”

Asher smiled ruefully. “You already do. You know him as Sam MacDonald.”

Chapter Twelve

Rachel couldn’t have been more shocked if Asher had told her Ms. Engel was a dragon. She could only stare at him as she fought to drag air into her lungs. The room tilted and she grabbed hold of the sofa to keep herself righted. Sam was Ulrik. Sam. Was Ulrik.

No. That couldn’t be possible.