“They could’ve let you kill us. All their problems would’ve been solved.”
“Ah, but then you don’t know the core of who a Dragon King is.” Rhi inspected the toe of her boot before she sat back. “This realm is their home. Whether they regret it or not, they made a promise to protect the other beings who also called this home—mortals.”
“Warrick told me the Kings won.”
“They did,” Rhi agreed with a nod. “The Light took advantage of the Kings’ momentum against the Dark and joined forces with the Kings. The Dark were beaten, but the Kings made a fatal mistake. They didn’t push us out as they should have. Con believed the Dark would honor the pact to leave humans alone. But the Dark can never be trusted.”
It was the perfect opportunity for Darcy to ask Rhi about her King lover. “Is that when you met your King, when you joined in the war?”
Rhi’s smile froze in place. “Few have the nerve to even bring him up around me.”
“I’m sorry,” Darcy said hastily. “My curiosity often gets me into trouble. Neither Warrick nor Thorn would tell me his name.”
“Is that right?”
Darcy quickly nodded. “They’re protecting you.”
“And him.”
“I don’t think so. I get the feeling Warrick and Thorn aren’t happy about the situation.”
Rhi smoothed a lock of hair out of her face and back into place. “For someone who doesn’t know the story, you know an awful lot.”
Darcy didn’t hide the grimace from her face. “I apologize. It’s a habit. I see things by reading palms and tarot, but there are times I can see other things if I look hard enough. Your story intrigued me.”
“There isn’t much of a story. We fell in love. I thought he was my entire life, but in an instant he changed his mind and ended the relationship without an explanation.”
Darcy was in turns appalled and angry at the Dragon King who had done something like that to Rhi. “I’ve heard of a lot of douchebaggery, but this one takes the cake.”
For the first time since bringing Rhi’s King up, the Light Fae smiled. “I do like your way with words.”
“You still love him, don’t you?”
Rhi rose and walked to the door. She put her hands on either side of it, a soft glow showing beneath her palms. “I wish I could cut him out of my life like he cut me out of his. Perhaps one day.”
Darcy watched as Rhi moved from the door to each window, repeating the same procedure. The Fae’s magic was visible by the glow. All Darcy knew was Druid magic until she met Ulrik. Dragon magic was immensely powerful, but she had a suspicion that Fae magic was as well.
“Is that some kind of obstruction spell?” Darcy asked.
Rhi shot her a smile. “In a way. I’m hindering the Dark’s ability to know if you’re here.”
“There has to be a way to keep them out.”
After the last window was finished, Rhi turned to Darcy, a troubled look on her face. “There is. We use it against our own, and it was to stay that way. Yet, I encountered it recently while helping another Dragon King, which means another Fae told our secret.”
Intrigued, Darcy asked, “What happened?”
“Have you heard of Rhys?”
Darcy shook her head. “Is he a King?”
“Aye, and a close friend. Rhys is King of the Yellows. The Yellows were always known as the risk-takers, the hotheads, or daredevils. If there was danger, the Yellows were there.”
“So Rhys has those characteristics, I presume,” Darcy said with a grin.
“Which could be why we became fast friends. You’re stepping into a war, Darcy, and you need to know specifics. The Dark are after a weapon to use against the Kings. It’ll kill them.”
“The Darks were beaten in the war with the Dragon Kings. Don’t they know they’ll lose again?”
“Not if they find the weapon. Ulrik is giving them information about Dreagan to get them onto the land and find the weapon. One of the tactics was taking a King and a human. Kellan didn’t tell them anything, even when the Dark tortured Denae in front of him. I helped them get away, but it didn’t stop the Dark from kidnapping another human to get to a King. Then a King went to Ireland to spy on the Dark.”
An ominous feeling came over Darcy. “I gather it didn’t go well?”
“The Dark sent one of their females to capture Kiril, but Shara fell in love with him. Still, both were captured by Balladyn. Rhys and Con went to Ireland to find Kiril, and during the breakout, Rhys was wounded.”
“Warrick said only another King could kill a King.”
“Exactly. Everyone expected Rhys’s wound to mend, but it didn’t. Every time he shifted, the pain was immense. Essentially, the wound was tearing him in two. I was able to stop most of it.”
“You can touch dragon magic as well?”
Rhi shook her head sadly. “I was able to help because Fae magic was used. Ulrik mixed Dark magic with his and used it against Rhys.”