Her legs buckled and she slid awkwardly to the ground. She looked at her wound, the hoarse sounds of her breathing coming loud and sparingly. Her gaze weakly looked around until she found him.
“Ulrik,” she whispered, the healthy glow of her skin fading rapidly. “Help me.”
He slowly walked to her. By the time he reached her, she was already dead. Ulrik squatted beside her and rubbed his thumb along his fingers. His dragon power was the ability to bring someone back from the dead. Con might be able to heal anything, but Ulrik was the only one who could give life to the lifeless.
Ulrik straightened and walked away. Just like everything he refused to think about, Abby and her betrayal were forgotten as soon as he put his back to her.
*
Rhys could’ve heard a pin drop; the room was so silent after he explained his plan. He looked around Con’s spacious office to the Kings there.
Warrick, reclining in the chair with his arms crossed and his legs stretched out in front of him, said, “It’s just ludicrous enough to work.”
“It’s fucking insane,” Kiril stated and shot Rhys a smile. “I like it.”
It was Kellan who sat forward in his chair and sighed. “If things go bad, that means Ulrik, through Dennis, could have the weapon. Because of that, I doona think we should even consider this.”
“It might help if we knew what this weapon was,” Laith said.
Con tossed the pen he’d been holding onto the desk. “I willna divulge that information. There’s a reason the King of Kings holds the secret alone.”
“Except you doona,” Rhys stated. “Kellan also knows.”
“Because I’m the Keeper of History. Trust me, I wish I didna know,” Kellan said and looked away.
Rhys frowned, a niggle of worry growing. “If only you and Con know, then there’s no way Dennis will be able to find it.”
Ryder rubbed his hand across his jaw and said, “If Ulrik has enough magic that he can do such damage to Rhys, we have to consider the fact that he has a way for Dennis to disappear once he’s on Dreagan. That means either Ulrik or the Dark. We have methods in place to alert us if anyone crosses our borders. Thanks to Iona and her guarding the Campbell land and the hidden doorway onto Dreagan, we have that covered as well.”
“No one has come onto Iona’s land,” Laith said. “No’ since the last battle with the Dark.”
Ryder nodded to Laith. “For the few who do cross our borders, we’re able to find them quickly. But what happens if we can no’?”
“I refuse to believe someone can be on our land and we willna be able to find them,” Con said with a brooding look.
Rhys itched to check in on Lily. It was all he could do to remain in his chair. “If Ulrik is able to stop me from shifting, I’d say anything is possible. No matter how much we want it no’ to be.”
“You could be right, Rhys,” Kellan said. “Dreagan is made up of sixty thousand acres. It would take a mortal years to search every cave of every mountain, especially if he doesna know what he’s looking for.”
Kiril grimaced. “Have we considered that Dennis does know?”
“Impossible.” Con shook his head and rose to walk to the sideboard and pour whisky in seven glasses. He began to hand them out. Once everyone had theirs, he turned to face the room. “The Dark tried in vain to get the information from Kellan, Tristan, and Kiril. Tristan and Kiril couldna tell what they didna know, but Kellan didna give up anything, even though they were torturing Denae in front of him. If Kellan didna tell them anything, and I’ve no’, then nobody knows.”
“For shits and giggles, let’s assume Ulrik knows,” Warrick said. “Now what?”
Kellan turned his glass in his hand. “Then we’re screwed.”
Rhys wasn’t going to give up that easily. “Con, you’ve hidden this weapon on our land for eons. Each King of Kings before you hid it. It’s never been used against us. Perhaps it’s no’ as deadly as everyone thinks.”
“It is.” Con drained his whisky in one swallow. “You doona want that weapon found, Rhys.”
Laith threw up his hands in defeat. “Then our only course is to kill Dennis as soon as he comes onto Dreagan.”
“What of our promise to protect the humans?” Warrick asked.
Kiril gave a loud snort. “He’s coming onto our land with the intent to harm us. We need to protect ourselves.”