“Which they did,” Rhi added.
“We had to,” Warrick said. “The humans couldna kill us Dragon Kings, but we didna want them to know that. We wanted them to think we left with the dragons. While we hid on Dreagan and set up a perimeter so that no mortal would venture onto our land, we combined our magic once more to ensure that we would never feel deep emotions for humans again.”
Darcy was taken aback. “Ever?”
Rhi snorted loudly and tossed back her long black hair as she walked around the flat. “That was their plan. It worked for so many millennia that Con believed the spell would never be broken.”
“But it was,” Warrick said. “Two and a half years ago, the Silvers moved. We had them caged in our mountain, sleeping. They’d no’ moved since we put them there. Then they did.”
“Not long after that, the first Dragon King met an American and fell in love,” Rhi said. There was a smirk on her face when she said, “No matter how much Con tried to put the spell back into place, it wouldn’t work. Hal fell hard for Cassie.”
“That moment changed everything for us.” Warrick’s cobalt gaze bore into hers. “It’s the same time you unbound some of Ulrik’s magic.”
Darcy felt as if the world had been yanked from beneath her. Was she really the cause of a spell lasting thousands of years to be broken? Just because she wanted to help Ulrik? “I had no idea.”
“No one did,” Rhi assured her.
Warrick nodded. “We’ve never known until now what caused the Silvers to move and the spell to break.”
Rhi came to stand beside Warrick, looking at Darcy, as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s really going to make Con like her.”
“Great.” Darcy threw up her hands at Rhi’s sarcastic tone. “I did what I thought was needed. I’d do it again. Ulrik should be who he was born to be, not hindered because he made a mistake.”
Rhi glanced at Warrick. “She’s got a point.”
“She doesna realize she’s helping to destroy her world.”
“And she’s right here,” Darcy reminded them, pointing to herself with both hands.
Rhi laughed as she walked to the couch and plopped down. “Love the view, Darcy.”
Darcy didn’t quite know what to make of Rhi. Why was the Light Fae there? She gave a shake of her head and got another bowl. Her stomach was growling when she ate her first mouthful.
Warrick grabbed the two bottles of ale and opened them. He brought one to Darcy as they stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter while Rhi flipped through channels on the telly.
“You know her well, don’t you?” Darcy asked.
Warrick cast a quick glance at Rhi. “Aye. She’s helped us out on many occasions. The Dark kidnapped a King and his woman. If it hadna been for Rhi, the mortal would’ve died, and Kellan would still be held by the Dark.”
“Wow.” Darcy peered around Warrick’s shoulder to look at Rhi. She was dressed like a woman who loved clothes, and who knew what looked good on her. Darcy wished she could look that good in anything she put on, but the thought of Rhi being a warrior was what really made Darcy smile. “So she’s not just a pretty face.”
“Rhi is part of the Queen’s Guard. It’s an honor few get, and it shows what kind of warrior she is to have achieved such a distinction.”
“I think I envy her.”
“For the love of all that’s holy,” he whispered, casting a furtive look over his shoulder. “Doona tell her that.”
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Warrick worried about leaving Darcy with Rhi. It wasn’t that he thought Rhi would turn on them. It was more that he was curious as to what she was doing there. Con would never have sent her.
There was a chance Rhys or Kiril might have told her, but then again, they would have let Warrick know she was coming.
The Light Fae was an asset, no doubt. He just wished he’d had a chance to talk to her privately and find out how she learned of Darcy.
“What are you doing out here?” Thorn asked and stepped from the shadows as Warrick exited Darcy’s building.
Warrick sighed. “Rhi.”
“She’s here?” Thorn asked and looked at Darcy’s windows. “I would’ve thought she would get as far from us as she could.”
“She loves him. Love like that doesna just go away.”
Thorn grumbled low. “Then I’d cut it out. She’s only hurting herself by continuing to come around. If he wanted her, he would’ve made his move by now.”
“He’s an ass.”
“Of the first order. I’m no’ debating that fact. I’m simply saying what I would do in her position.”
Warrick walked across the street and climbed the ladder up to the top of the building. Thorn was right behind him.
“When you see her, before you say anything stupid like that, you might want to remember that she helped save Kellan, Denae, Tristan, and Sammi. She was also there to help us battle the Dark with Isla and Laith.”
Thorn held up his hands. “I get it, War. Rhi is a damned saint.”