“Thrilling,” she replied as they reached the top of the first flight of stairs. Lily slowed as she turned to the next flight so that Darcy came even with her as her smile faded. “I was in a bad situation before, and I … well, I died.”
Darcy stopped in her tracks. Surely she’d heard that wrong. “I’m sorry?”
“I died. My brother shot me. It’s a really long story that involved the Kings’ enemy who used me to get on Dreagan. My brother was part of it.”
“I know I’ve not gotten a lot of sleep these past few days, but if you died, how are you here?”
Lily started up the second flight of stairs. “I didn’t know it at the time, but Ulrik brought me back.”
Well, if Darcy thought her week had been strange, it now exceeded that.
Lily shrugged. “I don’t know why he did it, especially since he was responsible for sending my brother here.”
“Wow.” What else was there to say?
Lily chuckled. “That pretty much sums it up. I was a little freaked out when I came to and found myself alive once more.”
“So you remember what it was like to be dead?”
“It faded pretty quickly,” Lily said when she reached the third floor and started down the corridor. “I told Rhys everything, which is why I know what I do. I don’t have any memories of it, but based on my description of the man, it was Ulrik.”
Darcy thought she knew Ulrik’s secrets, but it looked like she knew next to nothing. Why did she think seeing his memories made her an expert? All that did was give her a glimpse into his past. She had seen nothing of his future, and he shared even less.
“I hear you helped Ulrik.”
There was no heat in her words, but Darcy heard the censure nonetheless. “I did.”
“Why?”
“Because it was a challenge. Because he had been wronged.”
“The Kings bound his magic for a reason.” Lily’s forehead was creased in a frown. “You do know why, don’t you?”
Darcy nodded. “Warrick told me the Kings’ side of the story.”
“And Ulrik told you his?”
“No. I saw his memories.”
It was Lily’s turn to halt. Her eyes widened in astonishment. “What did you see?”
Darcy didn’t want to share Ulrik’s memories. They were private. She had no right to them, and even less of a right to tell others of them. “I saw a lot, but I felt even more. He went through hell. There was betrayal, grief, and then anger. They all mixed in such a way that he couldn’t tell one from the other.”
“You feel for him.”
“In a way. I know he has ulterior motives. I helped him because I wanted to see if I could, and then I continued because I couldn’t not help him. I didn’t comprehend my role until he told me the other Druids had died.”
Lily continued on to a door on the left and opened it. She leaned against the corridor wall. “Now that you know both sides of the story, will you continue to unbind his magic?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s evil,” Lily insisted.
Darcy glanced at more of the hanging dragon lights adorning the hallway. “I was raised on the Isle of Skye, and we Druids have edicts we live by. It’s so ingrained in us that at twelve, we each spell ourselves to ensure we stick by those rules or lose our magic. We can’t use our magic to harm an innocent, and we can never use it to help evil. If Ulrik was truly evil, my magic would have stopped the moment I tried to help him.”
“You’re the only one who knows both sides of the story, and it does make me think. However, I know that Ulrik cursed Rhys so that he couldn’t shift and put him in a tremendous amount of pain. I also know that Ulrik sent my brother after me.”
“But Ulrik didn’t pull the trigger. Let’s not forget that he brought you back from the dead as well. As for Rhys, I don’t know anything about that. I know the hate between Ulrik and the Kings runs thick and deep. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Lily cocked her head to the side, the length of her long black hair falling over her shoulder. “You don’t think cursing Rhys makes him evil?”
“He didn’t kill Rhys.”
“But he cursed him.”
“Is Rhys still cursed?”
Lily paused, taken aback. “No.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Lily pushed away from the wall. “I like you, Darcy, and I know you’ve been through a lot these past few days. I also know you have your own thoughts about Ulrik, but you might want to think twice before telling others what Ulrik did was nothing. I saw Rhys dying a little every time he couldn’t shift and take to the skies. That curse changed him.”
“I didn’t mean to make light of what happened to Rhys,” Darcy hastened to say. “I’m just saying that an evil person would have killed Rhys.”
“Mixing dragon magic with Dark magic was enough that it almost happened.” Lily held up her hand when Darcy tried to speak again. “I’m not angry. I’m trying to explain. You won’t find any sympathy for Ulrik at Dreagan.”
Darcy nodded woodenly. “I understand.”
“By the way, please don’t mention Ulrik in front of Iona. He was responsible for her father’s death.”