“Any time, sweets.”
“But why?” Warrick shook his head and tried again. “You’ve always been there to help us, Rhi, but you’ve just stopped yourself from getting to her in the flat.”
She let the smile drop from her face as she glanced at the window. “I can remove those symbols anytime since I put them up. If I tell you I just wanted to help, will you leave it at that?”
“Maybe. I get the feeling, though, that there’s much more to your actions than liking Darcy’s quips.”
Rhi leaned over the side of the building. “Life gets so tedious at times. At least I know that I’ll die one day.”
Now Warrick was really worried. “Rhi?”
She laughed and straightened to face him. “You worry too much, War. Take my advice and kiss Darcy the next time you’ve got the chance. You never know when it’ll be yanked out of your grasp.”
He didn’t know what to say. Warrick never had the right words in such a situation. He grew uncomfortable, unsure if he should offer her a shoulder or say something to take her mind off the one-sided love she carried.
“It’s all right,” she said with a soft smile. “I’ll be fine. I got advice recently to just cut it out of my life.”
“Who would tell you that?” Though he guessed it was her queen, Usaeil.
Rhi met his gaze. “The same person who asked me to keep Darcy safe—Ulrik.”
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Dreagan
Con looked at the files on his desk without seeing them. His mind was on other things. Or should he say, on someone else.
“What could possibly drag you away from the pile of paperwork?”
Con shifted his gaze to his door to find Kellan standing there. He noticed how Kellan’s celadon eyes watched him carefully. “What could possibly be on my mind?” he replied acerbically.
“Hmm.” Kellan shut the door and sat in one of the two chairs set in front of Con’s desk. “You’ve been gone a lot, and you have an odd look on your face. Why do I think that doesna add up to you putting together an attack on the Dark?”
Con tossed down his pen. “We’ve all come up with dozens of different ideas on how to confront Ulrik and attack the Dark. All of it involves the mortals seeing us. If we wish to remain secret, that isna a possibility.”
“Deflecting my initial question. No’ a good sign.”
“I’m no’ deflecting.”
Kellan raised a caramel-colored brow. “So that’s how this is going to go?”
Con merely returned his stare. There was no way he would tell Kellan who he was thinking about or why. That was private. Nor would he divulge where he had been going when he left Dreagan.
“You’re right,” Kellan said. “We can no’ risk the humans seeing us. The Dark doona care. If we attack, they’ll draw the humans in.”
“Exactly. I want nothing more than to take the fight to them, but it would be detrimental to us.”
Kellan rubbed his chin as he contemplated something. “What if we drew them here?”
“They’re idiots, but no’ so much as to willingly come to Dreagan.”
Kellan smiled. “Ah, but they’re willing to do anything to find the weapon.”
“I doona like the idea of them on our land in any capacity.”
“No’ even Rhi?”
Con chose to ignore his comment. “There’s a chance the Dark could get away and find the weapon.”
Kellan twisted his lips. “No’ only was it hidden well, but they wouldna know it was a weapon if they saw it. Just to be safe, one of us could guard it in case the Dark actually grow a brain.”
“Like Balladyn?” Con said the name with distaste. “To think that at one time I considered him an ally.”
“Balladyn is someone we need to keep an eye on. He’s dangerous.”
“Verra dangerous. Taraeth I doona worry about, but Balladyn is another matter entirely. He used to come to Dreagan regularly.”
Kellan stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed one ankle over the other. “Aye, but he didna see anything of importance.”
“Because I doona trust any Fae.”
Kellan snorted loudly, shooting Con a scathing look. “That’s no’ true. And we both know it.”
For him to argue the point would bring up things Con would rather keep to himself. So he ignored Kellan. Con rose from his chair and walked to the sideboard to pour two glasses of whisky. He turned and handed one to Kellan. “If we brought the Dark here, we would have to take down the spells we put in place to keep them out.”
“It would be risky for sure. Now, if we had the complete symbols found on the cottage door frame that would keep the Fae out, we could put those with the weapon so we could all fight the Dark.”
“Rhi willna give those to us, and I willna ask for them. Our magic will have to be enough to keep the Dark away from the weapon. It’s the mortals I’m more concerned with. Ulrik is using them more and more.”
Kellan swallowed his drink of Scotch. “And at odd times too. I can no’ figure out what he’s thinking.”