Darcy shuddered, recalling the few seconds of a battle she’d seen through Ulrik’s dragon eyes. “I know.”
“By that time the humans rose up and began killing dragons. The war Con wanted to avoid was upon us. I still feel the pain of watching dragons being killed. They had to be saved.” He lifted his head and caught her in his gaze. “We had but one choice—to send our dragons away.”
Darcy rubbed her hands on her arms. “Did that stop Ulrik?”
“You didna see this in his memories?”
“No. What I did see was terrifying. I’ve no wish to ever see more.”
Warrick straightened. “It didna stop Ulrik. We managed to send some of his Silvers with the others, but four of the largest remained with him. It took all the Kings to trap them.”
“And send them with the others?” she asked. When he merely looked at her, she gasped. “They’re here? On Earth?”
“The dragon bridge was already closed. We couldna send them. They’re sleeping, Darcy. You doona need to fear them.”
She put a hand over her stomach, feeling ill. “What happens if they wake?”
“They’ll begin killing again.”
She looked at Warrick askance. “Right. There’s nothing for me to worry about.”
“There isna. We willna allow them to wake.”
Darcy couldn’t think any more about the Silvers. “What happened to Ulrik?”
“We surrounded him. It took every one of us using our magic to bind his. In order to stop the killing, we stripped him of his ability to shift and talk to his dragons. We condemned him to walk this realm for eternity in human form. And we banished him from Dreagan.”
“You don’t think all of that was a bit extreme?”
“At the time, nay.” He blew out a breath. “Now? Aye.”
“Now you have him as a powerful enemy. No wonder you’re pissed I was able to return some of his magic.”
Warrick cocked his head. “Do you realize what will happen if he gets all of his magic returned? He’ll challenge Con for the right to rule as King of Kings. If Ulrik wins, he’ll wake his dragons and wipe the realm of humans.”
Darcy tried to swallow, but all the moisture left her mouth. “No.”
“Oh, aye. Did he no’ tell you why he wanted his magic returned?”
She began to shake. This couldn’t be right. She turned and hurried through the two sets of curtains to the back with her plants. There she took several deep breaths, her fingers running through the leaves as she slowed, letting the plants calm her.
“How did he convince you?” Warrick asked from behind her.
Of course Warrick would follow her. He wanted his answers, and she had made a deal with him to share information. Darcy waited until she was at the end of the table before she faced Warrick. He hadn’t come any farther into the conservatory than the entrance, just as he had earlier.
“Ulrik came to me nearly three years ago,” she began. “He told me he had magic, and that it was bound. It’s not uncommon for Druids to bind the magic of others for various reasons.”
“Is that what you thought he was? A Druid?”
She couldn’t hold Warrick’s cobalt gaze. It was as if he could see right through her. “I’ve been in Edinburgh for seven years. His visit was the first I ever received where someone came in and knew I was a Druid. I realized he had to come from a world of magic, but he didn’t act like any Druid I knew.”
Warrick leaned a shoulder against the door. “And?”
“He told me he was a Dragon King.” She had laughed at first, thinking it was a joke. That hadn’t lasted long.
“That’s all it took to convince you?”
“Of course not,” she snipped. She took a deep breath to calm down. “I read palms. I see people’s futures, and sometimes their pasts. It’s my gift. Whether through tarot cards or palms, the truth is there.”
Warrick had a shocked look on his face when he asked, “He let you read his palm?”
“Yes. That’s when I saw truth—that he was a Dragon King.”
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Rhi was edgy. She had been since Balladyn left her in the desert. Not even the new OPI Nordic shades could help, although the deep purple—Viking in a Vinter Vonderland—certainly didn’t hurt. The added glimmer of My Voice Is a Little Norse on her tips usually made her smile.
Not today. Not since her talk with Balladyn.
Rhi held out her hand and curled her fingers inward to her palm and snapped a picture on her phone. She quickly uploaded it to Facebook before noting she had a thousand new likes on her page.
Even that didn’t cheer her.
There was only one thing that could possibly make her forget about her troubles for a bit—irritating Con. It never took much. Usually, all she had to do was make an appearance. That was enough to make the vein in his temple pulse. Few knew that was a clue that he was furious. He hid his emotions so well, but Rhi had known him long enough that she knew many of his secrets.