Fire Rising

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Near Cork, Ireland …

Taraeth looked his men over as he walked up and down the line they had formed in the great hall of the castle he had taken over centuries ago. “There is a Dragon King who thinks he can make deals, a Dragon King who believes he can control his own destiny. Tonight we will take him from the sanctuary he imagines is safe from us on Dreagan. Tonight, we will have a Dragon King!”

The hall erupted with shouts from his men. Not all would be going on this important mission, because there were other assignments, but Taraeth had picked his best men to go to Dreagan.

“What fools the Kings are to think we would keep off their precious Dreagan,” Taraeth continued when his men had quieted down. “We had one Dragon King in our grasp, and we will have another. This time, there will be no escape for the King called Tristan.”

Taraeth rocked back on his heels and smiled. The Kings were fools if they didn’t consider the Dark a worthy opponent, but Taraeth would show them how wrong they were.

He had waited a long time to retaliate against the Dragon Kings after they defeated the Dark during the Fae Wars. The Kings thought themselves above every other creature throughout all the realms.

Not anymore.

They had weaknesses, most especially their human mates.

He hadn’t wanted to believe his new ally could force the Kings to do his will, but that’s exactly what the Dragon Kings had been doing for two years.

The only thing no one had expected was a new Dragon King. It didn’t concern him, but his ally had been stunned.

To Taraeth it was just another King to bring down. Any enemy could be brought low once he found a weakness. The Kings had been strong, impenetrable.

Until Con’s magic preventing the Kings from having feelings for humans was shattered and they began to fall in love.

“The Kings are not as strong as they once were. They still believe themselves the fiercest beings of this realm. Let’s show them who is going to rule now!”

The cheers were deafening as the Dark shouted their excitement.

Out of the corner of his eye, Taraeth saw Balladyn standing near the wall, silent and still. It hadn’t taken much of a nudge to have the former Light turned to Dark. It was the idea that none of his comrades came looking for him that sent Balladyn over the edge.

One more ace up Taraeth’s sleeve. Balladyn wasn’t a Dark anyone wanted to tangle with. Tristan would learn that soon enough.

Taraeth gave Balladyn a nod. The Dark merely looked at his men, and as one they filed out of the great hall. Taraeth’s other lieutenants stepped forward and handed out assignments to some while others got the night off to enjoy whatever human they had brought in.

Still others would guard the castle. There was no chance of a human falling into their home, and anyone else would have to find the doorway that was carefully hidden, which wasn’t impossible—and why they had guards.

Taraeth rubbed his hands together. He was counting down the minutes until Balladyn returned with Tristan.

Sammi tried to read, but her mind was too caught up in everything to pay attention to the words. It wasn’t until she read the same page five times that she gave up.

But she couldn’t just sit and do nothing. She reached for the iPad on the table and found Angry Birds Space. It felt good to knock those piggies over and blow them up. For a few minutes it gave her the feeling that she was in control.

All too soon that wore off as well. She set aside the tablet and sighed. Ian glanced at her, a small grin turning up his lips.

“Waiting is the hardest,” he said.

She dropped her head back onto the sofa. “I think I have to agree. We should have the bad guys text us a time we should expect them.”

Ian chuckled and moved from the window to the chair opposite her. “What will you do after all this is over?”

“How can you ask that? I’m in knots wondering if I’ll live or not.”

“You’ll live. Never doubt that. Tristan willna allow anything to happen to you.”

She licked her lips and raised her head. “You make it sound as if we will get out of this.”

“I could be here for days telling you stories of how each Warrior was able to get out of a scrape with the droughs we fought. We had each other, and we were fighting for the love of our women. There were times it was dire and things could have gone differently, and yet here we all are with our wives. Everyone except Duncan.”

The sadness Ian was always careful to keep hidden around Tristan was blinding. “He spoke with you. He’ll come around. It’s not like time is a problem for either of you.”

“True,” Ian said with a laugh, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. He clasped his hands together and looked at them. “What I’m trying to say is no’ to give up hope. No matter how bad things look, you have to believe in something.”

“Like my sister?”

Ian’s dark eyes met hers. “Or Tristan.”

That Sammi didn’t know if she could do. “That’s asking a lot.”

“Why? Because he used his power to learn what you were keeping hidden in an effort to save you?”

She shrugged, shifting uncomfortably under his direct gaze. “I admit, I was angry about that at first, but it’s hard to stay that way when I know why he did it.”

“Then why are you pushing him away?”

“Because I don’t want to get close to anyone.” Sammi couldn’t believe she told him that so easily. She hadn’t ever told anyone that, but there was something about Ian that made her feel … secure, like he was a big brother she could lean on.

“What happened?”

“My mother died. We had each other, and it was always just the two of us. Then she was just gone. I still feel that pain.”

“Just as I feel the pain of losing Duncan. That kind of closeness isn’t shared by many, but as a twin, I know exactly what you mean. It’s hard for most to comprehend the depth of our despair.”

“You moved past it.”

Ian gave her a ghost of a smile. “Dani helped me. I’d still be in that cave if she hadna appeared. She gave me something to focus on, but I willna sit here and tell you it wasna frightening to love someone again. I might have wanted to push her away, but I loved her too deeply to ever try it.”

Love. Why had the topic turned to that emotion? Sammi had never said anything about being in love. She didn’t even know what being in love meant since she had never let anyone get that close.

“Why no’ give Tristan a chance?” Ian asked.

“I’m not that strong.” She laughed at her own words. “I’m really not. The only reason I survived my mum’s death was because of the pub. We bought it together, so I did everything to make it the best it could be.”

“And now it’s gone,” Ian said softly. “You could be letting something magnificent pass you by. Have you thought of that?”

Every damn second of every day, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. There were only so many secrets he would pull out of her. “There isn’t just one person for each of us out there.”

“Whoever told you that is full of shite,” Ian said angrily. “The people who say that have never loved deeply, they’ve never found the other half of themselves.”

“Some are destined to be alone.”

He gave a shake of his head. “Nay, lass. Those are the people who doona see love when it’s standing right before them, they are the ones who turn their backs on happiness, the ones too afraid to get hurt. How can you know what love is if you doona get hurt?”

“I’ve hurt enough for ten lifetimes,” she said defensively.

His face crumpled into a frown. “Everyone feels the pain of loss, Sammi. That’s part of life. You’re no’ doing yourself any favors by shutting yourself away.”

“I know. I can’t stop it though.”

“Do you want to?”

That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? Did she want to allow herself to feel deeply for—and possibly fall in love with—Tristan?

She thought of the way she found it easy to go to him, to let his arms wrap around her and hold her. How she needed his kisses as much as she needed food to sustain her. How she craved his body to a degree that it frightened her.

“I don’t know.”

There was a brush of air and Sammi felt a hand over her mouth as a scream welled within her. Ian jumped to his feet, his face a mask of fury.

“No need to bother,” said a man with a heavy Irish accent behind her. “We’ve come for you, but I’ll be taking this pretty thing as my reward.”

Ian laughed. Sammi’s eyes grew large the longer he laughed. She began to wonder if he’d lost his mind, but when she noticed the Dark eyeing each other with wariness she realized what Ian was doing.

“Nice try,” Ian said. “You willna be going anywhere with her, and I’m certain I willna be going with you.”

Sammi jerked, startled when Rhi appeared in the chair next to Ian’s. She sat nonchalantly with her legs crossed and one high-heeled foot swinging. Rhi had on slim white cargo pants and a gold-and-white top with a harlequin pattern. She looked ready for a night out on the town, not a battle.

“We meet again, Balladyn,” she said, her gaze never leaving the Dark behind Sammi.

Sammi chanced a look up. Her heart hammered as she recognized him as the man she had run into in the store and the face she’d seen in the stream. This was the Dark after her?

He had long black hair that hung midway down his back with thick strips of silver running through the obsidian locks. His eyes glowed red as he focused on Rhi.

“I warned you I’d have to kill you if I saw you again,” he said.

Rhi sighed dramatically. “That you did, big guy. Since this is the second time we’ve … met … since then, you’ll see how I don’t believe you.”

There was a second of silence, a beat of stillness, like a moment before a hurricane hits or a bomb detonates.

And then all hell broke loose.