Rhys set down the shears with a frustrated sigh. “I like her. Now, if that’s all, leave me to my work.”
“It’s no’ all.” Con stopped beside him. “Did you see another Dragon King in Ireland while we were battling the Dark?”
Rhys gave a shake of his head. “Did anyone leave Dreagan?”
“Nay,” Con stated angrily. “Everyone has been accounted for.”
That left only Ulrik. Rhys squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “It can no’ be Ulrik. We took all of his magic. You and I both know if his magic were returned he’d be back here in an instant for his Silvers.”
Con leaned back against the table and rested his hands on the wood near his hips. “The simple fact is that he was in the Fae realm. He talked to Kiril, and he took Rhi.”
“Of course he took her,” Rhys said with a small shake of his head. “You expected anything different?”
“It doesna matter what I expected,” Con said with a wave of his hand. “Shara told me of a tale spread among the Dark that Ulrik came to Taraeth and struck a deal.”
Rhys’s head swiveled to him. “What kind of deal?”
“I’d like to know.” Con’s nostrils flared. “A Dark’s magic can no’ trump ours. There is nothing a Dark Fae could do to reverse what our dragon magic did to Ulrik.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Rhys asked, his brows raised.
Con pushed away from the table and walked to Rhys’s other side. Rhys remained as he was and turned his head to track Con’s movements.
Something else was bothering Con, but Rhys learned long ago it was better not to ask questions. Con had a way of turning things around in short order, and Rhys didn’t want to be party to anything at the moment.
“How bad is it?” Con asked offhandedly.
Rhys glanced at the shears and pretended not to know what he meant. “Only two blades are bent. I’ll repair it.”
“I was referring to your wound.”
Rhys briefly closed his eyes before he stepped away from the table. “I doona know what you’re talking about,” he said and looked into Con’s eyes.
“You’re usually a better liar than that. I can see how you favor your right side. It’s minimal, pain that comes and goes, but it’s enough for me to notice.”
“I’m fine.”
“Another lie. If you were ‘fine,’ as you put it, you’d have taken that striking blonde out to dinner and then given her a good fuck as you usually do your women. The fact you’re out here in the barn raises some flags. Now, are you going to tell me or no’?”
Rhys ran a hand down his face and considered Con for a moment. “Swear to me this goes no further than the two of us.”
Con bowed his head, his black eyes holding Rhys’s. “I give you my vow.”
“It was dragon magic that struck me, but there was something else added to it. I can still feel the wound. The pain is at times nonexistent and at others immense. Whatever happened is no’ through with me yet.”
*
It was well into the afternoon before Kiril was able to abscond with Shara after Con had taken them into his office and grilled her for hours.
“I’m fine,” she said, devouring the tacos on her plate.
Kiril reclined in the chair opposite her at the table in his room and watched her. The lines of strain around her eyes and mouth said she was anything but.
She swallowed a bite and playfully kicked his foot beneath the table. “Stop it. Con had questions, and I’m happy that I could give him answers. I want to help.”
“Aye, and I’m happy you are, but I refuse to allow him to interrogate you as if you’re a prisoner.”
Shara shrugged after she took another bite. Her look said it was worth it. Kiril, however, thought differently. The longer she was with him, the more protective he became.
There was a soft knock on his door, and then Denae’s voice came through the wood. “Kiril? Is Shara rested now? We’d love to chat with her.”
“No’ yet,” he answered before Shara could.
Shara gave him a droll look and set down the last of the six tacos. “Why are you keeping me from them? Are you embarrassed of me?”
“Embarrassed?” The word shot from him with a blast as he jerked upright. “Never. I keep you here because I want you all to myself. The entire time we were in Ireland I longed for any glimpse of you I could get. The moments we were able to snatch were altogether too short.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I told you that.”
So she had, but it still wasn’t enough. “I wasna jesting earlier. I want you with me always.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I wasn’t teasing when I agreed.”
“I doona think you realized my intent. When I say always, Shara, I mean as my mate.”
“Need I remind you that it didn’t work between a Fae and King before?”