“Where is Warrick?”
“Around. Would you rather talk to him? That would be a first,” Thorn said with a slight grin.
What was that supposed to mean? Darcy ignored the last comment. “Are the Dark after me because I helped Ulrik?”
Thorn’s grin vanished. He pushed away from the post and ran a hand over his chin that was shadowed with a beard. “If they are, it doesna make sense. Ulrik is aligned with the Dark.”
“All of them?” she asked. “Couldn’t there be some unhappy Dark Fae?”
“That would mean they would go against their king’s orders. Taraeth would never abide such actions. If he doesna know, however, that’s a different story. Unless Ulrik sent them after you.”
She shook her head. “He didn’t.”
“How do you know that?”
Darcy whirled around at the sound of Warrick’s voice behind her. His blond hair was windblown, and his eyes regarded her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
She licked her lips before she said, “I know because Ulrik told me he still needed me.”
“Did you bed him?” Thorn asked from behind her.
Darcy threw him a withering look over her shoulder. “No. Besides, why would he kill the only Druid who can touch dragon magic and not die?”
Warrick’s cobalt gaze narrowed. “Something I’ve been asking myself all night.”
“It’s not Ulrik,” Darcy said.
Thorn walked to stand beside Warrick. “Then why are the Dark after you?”
“Balladyn,” Warrick suddenly said to Thorn. “Henry said how much Balladyn hates Ulrik.”
Balladyn. That name meant nothing to Darcy, but it obviously meant quite a bit to the Kings. It was time she learned all the players in this game to determine just where she stood.
Darcy waited until Warrick looked back to her. Then she said, “If you want any more information about Ulrik, I need details of what’s going on.”
Warrick and Thorn exchanged a look before Warrick nodded. “Deal.”
CHAPTER
NINE
Warrick considered doing serious bodily harm to Thorn when he entered Darcy’s shop. All Warrick wished was to keep an eye out while he considered Con’s plan, but Thorn thought they should take the time to get to know her better.
At first, Warrick hadn’t followed him in. He waited outside, and intended to remain there. Then he began wondering what Thorn and Darcy were talking about and if Thorn was flirting.
Thorn wasn’t a charmer like Kiril or Rhys. He lived life as wild and free as he wanted, which is why he spent the majority of his time sleeping. He and Con constantly clashed because Thorn couldn’t care less if the mortals saw him in dragon form or not.
It wasn’t that Thorn went looking for trouble, but it always seemed to find him. His willfulness and the unconventional way he did things set him apart from most of the Kings. Even Rhys, who was the most daring of them all, didn’t always understand Thorn.
Perhaps that’s why Con paired Thorn with him. Warrick tended to think things through thoroughly. Just like barging in and interrupting Darcy’s day.
The longer Warrick sat out there and thought of Darcy flirting with Thorn, the more irritated he became. He went in through the front door of the shop, unlocking it with magic, and followed the sounds of their voices to the back.
Like any male, Warrick had desires. He recognized the need that flooded him the first time he laid eyes on Darcy. It only intensified when he caught her gaze slowly running down his body after he’d fought the Dark the night before.
If he was to do his job correctly, he was going to have to do something about the desire that ruled him. A visit to his favorite bordello in Glasgow was in order. Quickly.
Then he forgot all about other women when Darcy turned to him. Her auburn locks were gathered loosely at the back of her neck, and the curve-hugging black sweater drew his eyes to her breasts again and again.
“That easy, huh?” she said with a slight grin. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to get much in the way of information?”
The more they learned what Ulrik was doing the better, which is why Warrick didn’t think twice about striking that deal with her. It’s what Con wanted anyway. Darcy already knew about the Dragon Kings. Whatever questions she had couldn’t be much.
“Ask me anything,” Warrick stated.
Darcy silently regarded him for long moments. Then she asked, “Who is Balladyn?”
“First lieutenant to the Dark Fae king, Taraeth,” Warrick explained. “All Dark were once Light Fae who chose evil. Balladyn was one of the best warriors the Light had. He was injured in one of the many civil wars the Fae have, and Taraeth captured him, turning him Dark.”
“Why does Balladyn hate Ulrik?”
Warrick hoped Thorn might answer, but the King of the Clarets simply returned his look. Warrick turned his head back to Darcy. “That’s unclear. We suspect it has something to do with Ulrik being a King.”