Taraeth was the most powerful. He held his position only by taking down any opponent who dared to challenge him. And many had. The fact he had run away during the battle with the Dragon Kings and was scarred by one was a bane upon his existence. Despite that, he had managed to lead the Dark Ones ever since.
Rhi stilled when a Dark Fae came up behind her. She didn’t turn around, didn’t so much as breathe. She was veiled, but that didn’t mean she was invisible to a Fae. If they concentrated hard enough, some could detect another Fae.
“I know you’re here,” he said.
Rhi inwardly cursed at how close he was behind her. If she hadn’t been so intent on wishing Taraeth be taken down she wouldn’t have been caught unawares.
The last thing she wanted was to be caught by the Dark. They might be unkind to mortals, but they were deadly to one of the Light. Her torture would last to infinity, and it would be horrendous.
“Why not come out and play?” he coaxed, his voice laced with an Irish accent.
Rhi slowly moved to her right until she was away from him. She then turned her head to look at him and felt her stomach fall to her feet like lead as she recognized him.
Balladyn.
“There is only one I know who can remain veiled so long. What are you doing here, Rhi?” he asked softly, his red eyes darting around to try and locate her. “These are dangerous times.”
She swallowed and fought not to answer him. Balladyn had been one of her closest friends. He had been the only one who had helped her and her Dragon King lover. She thought he had died in a battle with the Dark Ones.
Now she knew the truth.
And it made her want to cry.
Balladyn, the stalwart one, the loyal one. Never would she have imagined him turning to the Dark.
“What happens, pet, when you’re too weak to remain veiled?” he asked succinctly. He paused for a couple of seconds and swung out his arm.
He missed her by scant inches. And still she couldn’t move. To know Balladyn was alive was a shock to her system. She had mourned him. How she wanted to hug him, then hit him for not letting her know he wasn’t dead.
Suddenly his head turned to her and his red eyes blazed as he looked right at her. Rhi almost dropped her veil, but if she did, hundreds of other Dark would see her.
With one last look at her friend, she disappeared back to the tunnel. Only then did she allow the veil to drop as she braced her hands on the stone wall and hung her head.
“Oh, Balladyn.”
*
Denae looked at the lock and sighed. Of course it wasn’t a traditional lock she could pick. No, it had to be magical like the ones on Raasay.
“As I stated, only a Dark can unlock it,” Kellan said.
She held up a finger to quiet him as she stared at the lock. “No. There has to be another way, and I’m going to find it.”
“There is no other way with magic. It is what it is.”
“I don’t believe that.” She couldn’t believe that, because if she did, she would die there. And she refused to do that.
The chain rattled as Kellan reached for her. His hands grabbed her arms as he made her face him. “I didna expect you to come back. Thank you for that.”
“You expected me to leave you?”
“Aye. I’m immortal.”
She shook her head as anger spiked. “So? Is that supposed to make it easier for me to walk away?”
“Aye.”
One word. One simple word had the ability to make her see red. “You asinine, obtuse jackass. You lumped me in with every human you’ve ever known and thought the worst. I should leave you here just for thinking that, but I don’t leave friends behind.”
“Is that what I am?” he whispered casually as if the idea amused him.
“I don’t spend a wonderful night in a man’s arms and not have some kind of connection. I felt something, and though I know you didn’t, I couldn’t live with myself if I abandoned you. Regardless if you’re immortal or not. It’s just not right.”
When he didn’t say anything, Denae turned from him so that he no longer had ahold of her. She grabbed the chain with both hands. It was heavy, the links a half-inch thick. It would be difficult even if she had a bolt cutter.
What an idiot she was to think there might be something between her and Kellan. He hated humans, and although they had shared an amazing night, where she thought there might be some kind of connection between them, he felt nothing.
It was just her luck to finally find someone who affected her the way Kellan did, and he didn’t want her. The unfairness of it all made her squeeze the chains to release some of her anger.
“I’ve never had a human call me friend.”
Denae told herself not to look at him, but she couldn’t stop herself. When she saw him staring at her with his celadon gaze warm and full of emotion, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she warned him.
He frowned. “Like what?”
“Like I’ve surprised you, like you might actually like me a little. It’ll make my anger dissipate, and I’d like to hang on to it a bit longer.”
Kellan suddenly smiled. “You constantly amaze me. I never know what you’re going to say or do.”