Smoke and Fire: Part 4 (3 page)

“And what exactly do we have?”

Usaeil laughed as she looked up at him and rubbed her breasts against him. “Why, love.”

Con’s blood ran cold. It was so much worse than he’d feared. Why hadn’t he seen the signs? But he knew the answer. He’d been too preoccupied with keeping Dreagan safe and bringing down Ulrik. Usaeil had been there to relieve his body when he had a need.

That’s all it was to him.

That’s all he assumed she’d thought as well, because that’s how it began between them.

“What do you see for us?” he asked her.

Her eyes closed as she rested her head on his chest. “Eternity. We’ll be mated, and I’ll have the tattoo on my arm of the dragon eye. We’ll unite the Light and the Dragon Kings into one faction. Your Kings can take Light as their mates as Kiril has and solidify the union.”

“And the war with the Dark?”

“That’s your war, my love.” She lifted her face and gave him a wink. “You can easily take the Dark. You’ve done it before.”

Con took a deep breath and slowly released it. “And you’ll do what? Stand by and watch?”

“Of course. I’ve got a movie to make starting tomorrow. I can’t take the time to lead my army.”

“Then give it to someone who can. We could use an ally.”

She burst out laughing and patted his chest before walking toward the bedroom. “You’re a Dragon King. You don’t need anything.”

Con couldn’t remember ever fighting so hard to remain calm and cool as he was in that moment. He needed to say something to get her attention. Rhi was definitely a trigger, but there had to be something else.

Reapers!

He followed her, but stopped at the bedroom door, leaning against the doorjamb. “And what of the Reapers?”

Usaeil was in the process of shimmying out of her slinky dress when he spoke. In a blink the gold dress was back in place. “You’ve been talking to Rhi!”

“No’ about you. When I do speak to Rhi it’s about the Dark and the war.”

“Lair. Rhi asked me the same things. She thinks I should be gathering the army to help you and calming the Light about the Reapers.”

Rhi was right. Though Con would never tell her that. “I’d no idea the two of you had such a conversation.”

“No one tells me how to rule!” Anger billowed around Usaeil like wind. “I’ve reigned over the Light for thousands of years and never led them wrong.”

“Why no’ calm them about the Reapers then?” Con shouted over the wind.

She rolled her eyes. “The Reapers are just stories told to frighten the Light away from turning Dark.”

“What if they’re more than that?”

She scowled at him, looking at him as if he were mud on the bottom of her shoe. “I no longer require you tonight.”

And with that she was gone.

The silence was deafening after the noise of the wind. But Con wasn’t fooled. Usaeil could be veiled, though he wasn’t sure for how long. He knew it was longer than most Fae.

Except for Rhi.

Con noticed that Rhi was able to remain veiled for even longer than Usaeil. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to his pilot and driver to be ready to leave Paris immediately. Then he pivoted and returned to the table. He took another bite of steak and a long drink of wine before he walked from the room.

It was a good thing Usaeil couldn’t read minds, because Con was thinking about Rhi. It was disturbing that Rhi had left the Queen’s Guard, and now that she and Usaeil seemed to be on the outs, the queen was acting strange.

Rhi also questioned Usaeil. And urged sound advice. Con wished he was surprised, but the fact was—as reckless and irritating as Rhi could be—she was a skilled warrior with a strong mind that saw so much.

The only reason Usaeil didn’t take Rhi’s advice was because Rhi was the one giving it, and Usaeil’s feelings had been hurt by her leaving the Queen’s Guard.

But Con knew why Rhi left. The Light Fae suspected Usaeil was having an affair with a King. How long before Rhi pieced it together and confronted him? Con suspected it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

He exited the hotel and got into the waiting car. As he was driven to the airport, it angered Con that he couldn’t just shift and fly back to Dreagan as he would’ve before the video leaked of them.

But times changed—and not for the better. He feared it was a permanent change. It wasn’t one he was prepared to defend against his men.

In truth, there were times he regretted keeping his vow to protect the humans. If he’d joined Ulrik, none of this would be happening.

He and Ulrik wouldn’t have argued.

Ulrik wouldn’t have been banished and his magic bound.

The dragons would never have had to leave.

The Kings would never have had to hide in their mountains for thousands of years.

The Fae would never have had reason to come to the realm.

Not to mention there wouldn’t have been Fae Wars or the constant fighting with the Dark.

Con wouldn’t be preparing to kill a dragon who had once been his best friend.

All so the Dragon Kings could continue to hide on Dreagan, shifting only in the mountains—but never flying.

It wasn’t fair to any of the Kings. Or to himself.

Con looked around the plush Jaguar sedan and wanted to bellow his fury. He felt confined, restricted. Restrained.

Because he was. He was a Dragon King. One who not only ruled the entire realm, but other Kings as well. And where was he? Grounded with the possibility of his wings being permanently clipped.

He thought of the Kings. It had taken him longer than he wanted to admit to turn them away from Ulrik the first time. As fractured as they all were now, he wasn’t sure how many would side with him.

The Kings wanted to be in the air in their true forms. They hadn’t been happy about only being able to fly at night, but at least there had been that.

Con fisted his hands. He was backed into a corner, just as Kinsey had said. And the urge to lash out was strong—very strong.

Even if he turned on the mortals and killed them, he would have to face the mates. All but one was a mortal, and he suspected they wouldn’t be pleased with their entire race annihilated.

It didn’t matter which side Con chose, he was damned either way.

From the moment he was a young dragon and he understood what it meant to be King of Kings, he’d set his sights on obtaining the title.

And he had—though it hadn’t been pretty.

Was his time coming to an end? It didn’t matter how strong he was physically or magically, if his men sided with Ulrik, he would have no one to lead.

Con wondered—and not for the first time—if his decisions that altered their course and sent the dragons away had been the right ones.

The more he saw what the humans were doing to the planet, the more he believed he’d made the wrong decisions.

As soon as he saw the lights of the airport, his hand was on the door handle. The car had barely come to a stop before he had the door open and stood on the tarmac.

He strode to the helicopter. The blades were already spinning and it was waiting on him. Con paused when he caught sight of Lily in the pilot’s seat. He then quickly got into the chopper and put on the headset.

“Ready?” Lily asked.

Con nodded and they took off. He watched the lights of the city grow smaller as they lifted off. “What are you doing here, Lily?”

“Flying you.”

“Without Rhys beside you?”

She chuckled, but her white knuckles gripping the stick told another story. “I’m immortal.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s happening at Dreagan?”

Lily glanced at him with her dark eyes. “It’s Esther and Kinsey. It’s like someone took control of them and they fought each other.”

Con didn’t know how much more bad news he could take. “Who was injured?”

“No one. Ryder got control quickly. The women are unconscious for the moment.”

His fingers reached for the dragon-head cuff link and turned it. “Get us home quickly.”

With every mile eaten up, dread filled Con. Because he suspected what he’d long-feared had come to pass—another mortal had betrayed a King.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Ryder stared down at Kinsey who lay unmoving upon the slab of granite in the small cave. Esther was in another cave next to them.

“Con is on his way back,” Thorn said as he walked up.

Ryder expected as much. “Who called him back?”

“No one. Lily was in Paris picking up a gift for Rhys when she learned what happened here. She went to the airfield and took over as pilot.”

Ryder didn’t blame Lily for telling Con. No, the blame for everything rested squarely on his shoulders. Because love had blinded him to the truth.

How had he missed it? There had to have been clues. Was he so intent on winning Kinsey back that he’d missed something important? How did he tell anyone that? Everyone at Dreagan had counted on him, and he’d failed them.

“What’s your plan?” Thorn asked.

Plan? Ryder wanted to laugh. He couldn’t process anything past the point of Kinsey betraying him. There was an emptiness in his chest where his heart had once been.

He didn’t know what the next step was or even what to say. How could he plan anything?

Dmitri came to stand on the other side of Kinsey, but his gaze was on Ryder. Ryder didn’t want to listen to anything they said. He just wanted to be alone with his grief so he could try and sort out when everything had gone wrong.

If he could just find that out, then he would have his answer. He’d be able to know how Kinsey betrayed him and exactly when. Closure. That’s what it was called.

Not that it would help dull any of the pain.

What had they once told Ulrik? That time would help to heal him? That was the biggest load of shite. They had eternity. Something like this never healed.

It sat in their minds and hearts, festering like a wound until everything around it was rotted and black. Dead.

Ryder could hear people talking around him, but none of it penetrated the haze of fury and treachery that surrounded him. He stopped hearing them.

All he saw was Kinsey, the woman he’d loved with his entire soul. Now he was going to have to kill her for her deceit.

Yet when he looked at her, he tried to mesh the woman who’d fought Esther with that of the one in his arms just a few hours earlier. The woman who’d laughed and joked with everyone at dinner. The woman who had looked at the painting of Con with such wonder.

Con had been right. Kinsey was a very good actress to have fooled all of them. All but Con, that is. He’d suspected her from the beginning. And Ryder had only seen a chance to gain Kinsey’s love again.

“Are you going to kill her?”

The words came from behind him as well as in his head. Con. Ryder wanted to ignore him. Instead he looked to the ceiling. “I’ll no’ have you and the others do it.”

“We saved Ulrik a lot of pain by doing it ourselves. He cared for his woman. No matter how angry he was, he’d never have been able to look her in the eye and kill her. And neither will you.”

“I’ve already thought of that. I doona plan to have her facing me.”

Con walked around the chamber and leaned against a wall across from Ryder and Kinsey’s prone form covered with a blanket. “That’s a good plan. You’d still carry the stain of her death upon your soul.”

“She betrayed us. Me.”

“I know,” Con said softly.

So Thorn and Dmitri had told him. Ryder should’ve expected that. “I gave you my word she was innocent.”

“Aye, you did.”

Ryder lifted his gaze from Kinsey to Con’s face. “But you didna trust me.”

“It wasna about trusting you. I trust every King here. However, I saw the love you held for Kinsey.”

“And you knew it blinded me,” Ryder finished with a nod.

Con raised a blond brow and removed his cuff links. He put them in his pants pockets and began to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Doona presume to know what I’m thinking, Ryder. What I was going to say was that I knew you were hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.”

Ryder blinked. Con was right. He had prepared for the worst. Every stroke of the keys by Kinsey had been recorded and logged.

“Love blinds,” Con said. “But so does anger and betrayal.”

Ryder ran a hand down his face, suddenly wanting to sleep for a millennia he was so tired. “She could’ve—”

“Doona allow your thoughts to go down that road,” Con interrupted him. “It willna do anyone any good. Let’s concentrate on piecing all this together.”

“I tracked everything Kinsey did at the computers. I’ll begin there.” Ryder pivoted and started walking away when Con’s voice halted him.

“I’ll remain with her.”

Ryder turned his head to the side, but didn’t look back at either Con or Kinsey. With a nod, he strode into the tunnel heading back to the manor.

It wasn’t until he once more sat in his chair staring at the monitors that he realized everything was different now. He saw the world differently. All because of a single treachery.

Ryder pushed thoughts of Kinsey aside and tapped the table. The virtual keyboard appeared instantly. He moved evidence of Kinsey’s duplicity to other monitors. Then he typed in a few commands and everything Kinsey had done over the past several days filled the screen in front of him.

He began to go through them one by one.

*   *   *

Dmitri waited until Ryder disappeared around a corner before he walked into the cave. He glanced at Kinsey, but his attention was on Con. “He’s a wreck.”

“Aye,” Con agreed. “Any of us would be in that situation.”

“He has that same look Ulrik wore.”

Con didn’t so much as blink as he returned Dmitri’s stare. “Ryder has informed me we willna be repeating the past.”

“You mean he’s going to kill her?” Dmitri asked in surprise.

“He says he is.”

Dmitri shook his head in shock. He knew he’d never be able to do such a feat. “He’ll never be able to do it.”

“I doona believe so either. It’ll crush Ryder in ways he doesna understand.”

“But you do now. Just as you did so long ago. Does Ulrik no’ understand you were trying to help him?”

“When someone is hurt that deeply, they doona see truth.”