“I’m just glad you’re here. I was about to go back in that awful place to look for you.”
She took in a deep breath. “Don’t do anything stupid, stud. Aisley will skin you alive if you get yourself in trouble. How’s Denae holding up?” she asked to change the subject.
“Pretty good. I heard her gasp when Kellan shifted, but she’s not uttered a sound since then.”
Rhi patted his shoulder before she turned and walked the short distance to where Denae stood against a forked tree with a base as wide as a small car.
“How ya holdin’ up?” Rhi asked, using the best Southern accent she could muster.
Denae smiled as she glanced at her. “Close. You’re too Southern and not enough Texas. I’ll get you there though.”
Rhi actually laughed. “I bet you will.” She looked over to see the shape of a bronze dragon diving and soaring all around the Dark Ones. “Does he frighten you?”
“Yes. And exhilarates me. He twists me inside out, makes me forget my name, and turns my knees weak. He’s simply … wonderful.”
“Ugh,” Rhi said and rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell him that. Kellan is already conceited enough without him knowing you think of him as a god or something.”
“I’m not stupid. I know I don’t belong in his world.”
Rhi couldn’t look at her, because Denae spoke the truth. A few of the Kings might have found mates, but that was just a handful of them over thousands of millennia.
“Thanks for not trying to lie to me,” Denae said.
Rhi looked down to find she had chipped another nail. She thought of Balladyn and the grief that had consumed her when she thought him killed.
The world as she’d known it for so long was already changing. There was a battle going on between the Dark Fae and Dragon Kings that hadn’t happened in over fifty thousand years.
“You’re part of this world now,” Rhi said to Denae. “Whether you want it or not, you are. You’ve seen things, heard things, experienced things that no amount of time will erase. Do you think you can walk away and forget?”
Denae’s eyes followed Kellan for several seconds before she looked at Rhi. “No. Never. I’ll always remember.”
“I don’t know what the Dark have planned, but whatever it is isn’t good. There has always been a line drawn between our world and yours. That line is fading fast.”
“Can’t you and the Light Fae do something?”
Rhi shrugged helplessly. “I’m not sure anymore. We’ve always had a difficult time battling the Dark, but they are different now. More powerful, almost.”
“Has that happened before?”
“No. I don’t believe in coincidences, and there’ve been too many recently. The Dark Ones’ power growing, MI5’s association with them, and someone trying to expose the Dragon Kings.”
“I agree,” Denae said and took a deep breath. “I suspect if we dug deep enough we would find one source connecting all three.”
“It sounds like you want that job.”
“I do have a history with MI5. With Henry helping me and getting me back inside headquarters, there’s no end to what I might find.”
“And the rest?” Rhi prompted.
“You mean the Dark Fae and the unknown person?”
Rhi nodded, her eyes tracking the Dark who were focused on the Dragon Kings. “Con suspects the unknown person trying to expose them is Ulrik.”
“Kellan told me of him. He certainly has motive to want to harm Con, but the rest?” Denae asked, her lips twisted. “I don’t know enough about him.”
“I don’t think Ulrik would. He vowed revenge on Con, but only Con. It’s been thousands upon thousands of years though. Ulrik’s rage might have turned him insane.”
“Then I’ll look into him as well,” Denae stated. “As for the Dark Fae, I figure I’ve got an ally who can help me there.”
“Who?” Rhi asked with a frown.
“You.”
Rhi slowly smiled. “Oh, you’re good. It’s no wonder Kellan fancies you.”
“Get ready,” Phelan said, growling low in his throat as two Dark Fae approached the grove.
Rhi walked past him. “Oh, let me,” she told him.
She sent a blast of magic that beheaded one Dark Fae as she spun out of the trees and whipped out a long blade that pierced the heart of the second, ending his life instantly.
“I want one of those,” Deane said in awe.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Rhi wiped off the blade and held it by her side. “Kellan might not like it, but I think you’re going to need a weapon.”
Denae couldn’t wait to get her hands on such a weapon. It wasn’t in her to stand on the sidelines and watch. She had extensive training, and though she might not be immortal or able to do magic, she could take off a Dark Fae’s head or pierce their heart.