Fire Rising

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Tristan and Ian walked silently through the tunnel. Instead of being infested with the grotesque animals he and Phelan had battled the first time, there was nothing.

The Dark had set the stage to be sure. A warning voice in his mind caused him to stop and listen. Silence. Absolute, sheer silence.

Last time the tunnels hadn’t been filled with noise, but they hadn’t been as unearthly still and soundless as they were now. It set him on edge, and he wasn’t the only one. A glance at Ian showed he was just as unnerved.

“Something isna right,” Ian said in a hushed tone.

Tristan looked around and nodded. “They know you are no’ a King, but I doona think they realize you’re a Warrior and can sense their magic.”

“What are you thinking?” Ian asked with a sly grin.

It seemed as if he and Ian had always been together. It wasn’t just that Ian looked exactly like him. It went deeper than that to a feeling as if he was a part of Ian, and Ian was a part of him.

There had been no more memories, and maybe that was a good thing. They tended to make him try and piece together what happened before or after the memory.

Tristan pointed down the tunnel. “I’m going to go ahead. Stay behind me a ways. Let them think I’m alone.”

“I can stay out of sight for sure, but I’m no’ liking the part of you going to them alone.”

“There’s no other option.” Tristan sighed and looked down at his hands, hands that had once sprouted claws with skin that had turned a pale blue. “Use your power as a Warrior when it comes time.”

“And that time will be?”

“When they refuse to release Sammi.”

Ian’s lips flattened. “I can no’ talk you out of letting them have you?”

“There’s no other way. I’m no’ going to willingly give myself to them. I’ll fight, but in the end, it’s about Sammi. Promise me that you’ll get her out.”

There was a pause before Ian nodded. “Doona make me come back for you, brother.”

Brother. Tristan felt something deep inside him warm and expand as if just coming alive. He was no longer just human. He was a dragon first and foremost. He was part of something huge and powerful, something important.

Yet a part of him would always be a Warrior, a man who had a twin that could read his thoughts and know his every action.

It was exhilarating to know he would always have Ian. He wasn’t just part of Dreagan, he had roots at MacLeod Castle as well.

The Dragon Kings and Warriors had become strong allies. His connection just strengthened what was already there. He didn’t want to give all that up to be bound in a prison by the Dark, but he didn’t see a way out.

Not only were the Dark expecting him, but they were in their territory. They outnumbered the Kings fifty to one. It was bad enough Tristan was going to give himself to the bastards. No other Kings needed to be caught as well.

He started to walk away when Ian dragged him back and enveloped him in a tight hug. For a second Tristan couldn’t move. Then he returned the embrace.

“Give them hell,” Ian said as he released him.

Tristan’s throat was tight from the depth of his emotion. He couldn’t get any words past, so he tried to smile and hurried away.

Every little sound made Sammi jump. She couldn’t rest, couldn’t stop her heart from plummeting to her feet again and again.

It was like being in one of those Halloween haunted houses, but she couldn’t find the exit. Her mind was already going. She would find herself thinking about Jane and reliving their conversations.

Then there was Tristan. She could have sworn he was behind her as she sat on the ground, one shoulder leaning against the wall.

She felt his heat, smelled the wind and power that was distinctly his. He had even touched her, pulling her against his chest and holding her close.

But when she turned her head to look at him, she was utterly alone.

Hours later—or what felt like hours, it could have been minutes—she closed her eyes and rested. All her mind could conjure was Tristan and their steamy, passion-filled night of love.

His kisses had sent her reeling.

His body had been a work of art.

His hands had caressed her, teased her until she writhed with need.

Then he had joined their bodies. It was one of those perfect moments, as if everything in the world had come together just for them.

It had been special, exceptional.

Extraordinary.

And, like a fool, she had run from it. If only she had run to him, to what the safety of his arms provided.

If only …

Those were the words that would be etched on her tombstone. She had been aloof and cold to anyone who could have meant something to her just because she couldn’t handle the pain when that person left.

How many relationships had she let slip away that could have sweetened her life? Even if just for a few weeks? How many friendships had she let fade to nothing that could have been there for her?

Jane would never know how much Sammi needed her as a sister and a friend. Sammi had been selfish and unkind during their last conversation.

Now Jane would think that Sammi didn’t love her. Her own sister? How could Sammi have put Jane through that all those months? Jane, her sweet soul, had never given up on them.

Sammi rewarded her by saying some nasty things and running away from the only people who could have kept her safe. If only she had remained in the mountain she might not be held by the Dark wondering if it was the place she would die.

It was a sobering thought, especially when she wanted to tell Jane she was sorry and that she was the worst sister ever. There would never come a time she could make it up to Jane.

Worse, Sammi would never be able to hold Tristan again, to kiss his lips and fall under his spell. She wouldn’t get to tell him that somehow he had broken through her walls and made her feel again.

He had made her love again.

Love. That word was frightening and … exhilarating. It was freeing and liberating.

It gave her strength and hope.

It was a love she would never get to experience, a love she would never know.

Sammi opened her eyes. No longer was she in the brightly lit room. She was on the mountainside in the middle of a patch of heather. Above her she heard a whoosh. She looked up and saw Tristan flying, his large dragon form blocking out the sun as he circled above her.

She laughed and jumped to her feet. His apple green dragon eyes watched her expressively. There was love shining there, as well as happiness.

He landed, shifting into human form as he did. Sammi drank in the sight of his glorious body, tight muscles, and the black and red dragon tattoo covering his chest.

She ran to him, no longer able to be apart from him. He laughed as he easily caught her against him and kissed her roughly, urgently.

With his arms locked tightly around her, he laid her down on the grass and ripped her dress off.

“Mine,” he whispered while lovingly gazing down at her.

“Yours. Always.”

Sammi pulled him down for another kiss, and just as their lips met, he faded to nothing. The sunshine, heather, and mountains disappeared into the damp room.

It was too much for her. She screamed, jumping up to slam her hands against the walls, not noticing when her bones broke or when blood coated her.

Kiril finished off his fifth glass of whisky and pushed it away. He hadn’t had an update from any of the Kings since they landed in Ireland, and he was getting antsy.

“Another?” Farrell asked.

Kiril held up a hand, palm out and glanced at the bar to the pretty brunette he had spoken with outside the pub hours earlier. “I’m going to have to pass tonight.”

“You don’t plan on leaving?” the Dark asked with a grin. “There’s going to be a big party here in a few hours.”

Kiril knew then that Farrell realized he was a Dragon King. What Kiril didn’t know was if Farrell knew that he knew. Either way, Kiril was going to have to be extremely careful in whatever he said and did.

He slid from the booth and stood. “As much as I hate to miss it, I’ll be otherwise engaged.”

Farrell stood as well. “Trust me, this party will be better than anything you might be doing.”

Just as they’d planned earlier, the brunette sauntered up and wrapped her arms around him. “I was getting lonely,” she said, looking up at him.

Kiril placed a hot, lingering kiss on her lips. “I told you I wouldna leave without you, lass.”

“You mean you’ve been sitting with me while this lovely thing has been waiting?” the Dark asked with a wink to the brunette.

Kiril held the woman tighter when he felt her began to sway to Farrell. “I was waiting on her to meet me here. When she saw us talking, she opted to wait for me.”

Farrell whistled. “Amazing. I willna keep you from your night then.”

Kiril leisurely walked out of the pub and put the brunette in his car. He would have to take her back to his house since the Dark were watching it.

As calloused as it was, Kiril didn’t want to know the female’s name. He would make sure he always had a different woman on his arm so the Dark didn’t try to target any one woman he was with.

It was the only way to keep the females safe and continue with his cover.

“I wouldna advise ever going to that pub again,” he told the brunette as he drove away.

Kiril looked in his rearview mirror and saw Farrell standing in the doorway of the pub watching. His next step would be to invite his new friend over.

He hated dealing with the Dark Ones, but it was worth it if he could help end whatever uprising the Dark were trying to pull.

“I like that pub,” the woman said sullenly. “The men never let me sit for long without a drink.”

Kiril sped the Mercedes SLS AMG faster down the narrow road. “Do you want to have a long life with the possibility of a husband and children down the road?”

“Aye. Someday.”

He had a hard time believing the residents of Cork were really that unaware of the Dark. Or was it that the people liked the Dark Fae and their appeal?

“You’ll no’ have any of it if you return to an Doras.”

He pulled into his driveway and slowly drove down the gravel-lined drive until he stopped at the front. Kiril shut off the engine and looked at the pretty female.

There would be no going to help his brethren, not this time. His work was here—and just as dangerous. All Kiril could do was hope they checked in with him while he continued his spying.

If he didn’t find some way to take his mind off what was going on, he might do something to tip the Dark off. Too much was at stake for something that thoughtless.

“I’m famished,” he told the woman.

Her frown disappeared, replaced by a smile. “I’m pretty hungry as well. Do you have any cheese?”

“I wasna talking about that kind of hunger.”

Her smile widened. “What are we still doing in your car then?”