“Are you telling me that you’d walk away from Ryder today and no’ look back?” Thorn asked.
Kinsey took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I had a past with Ryder. I thought it was something special. I bet my life on it actually. Then he left. For three years I didn’t see him until a few weeks ago when Glasgow was under attack.”
She pushed away her plate and laid one arm over the other on the table. “The idea of dragons and shifting is common for you because it’s your life, but let me assure you that the idea of Fae and dragons haunt my nightmares. I saw so much death and blood that night. Wars are supposed to be fought elsewhere or on the telly. They’re not supposed to happen right in front of me.”
“Ryder saved your life,” Lexi said.
“He did.” Kinsey rose to her feet. “I’ll owe him a debt that will never be able to be repaid. But whatever was between us is gone.”
Thorn raised a dark brow. “Are you sure of that?”
“Positive. I’ve had years to get over him.” Another lie in an effort to make herself believe something she was more confused about than ever.
Lexi got to her feet then. “What if Ryder still has feelings?”
“Then perhaps he should’ve acted on them instead of allowing years to pass.” Kinsey gave them a nod and strode out of the kitchen.
She wasn’t yet ready to go to the computer room, but no longer could she stand the questions Thorn posed to her.
It wasn’t until she reached the third floor that she realized she had breakfast with a Dragon King and hadn’t thought twice about it. She was even curt with him, not worrying about him shifting or attacking her.
That could be because she’d seen him and Lexi together beforehand. Regardless, it made her breathe easier.
If only she could relax when she was with Ryder.
*
Con turned the corner into the kitchen and watched Kinsey walk away.
“How much did you hear?” Lexi asked him.
“All of it. I was about to come in for food when I spotted Ryder on the stairs. I decided to wait.”
Thorn leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the doorway where Kinsey had departed. “I think she might still care for Ryder.”
“I know she does.” Con saw Lexi’s eyes widen while Thorn’s head swiveled to him.
It was Lexi who asked, “How do you know that?”
“Just watch the two of them together. It’s obvious.”
Thorn nodded slowly. “It’s true she went out of her way to stay away from him so they didna accidentally touch.”
“While Ryder remains near her,” Con said.
Lexi picked up Kinsey’s plate and brought it to the sink. “Are you going to try and keep them apart?”
It wasn’t in Con’s nature to share such things. He was going to refuse to answer, but changed his mind at the last minute. “Kinsey’s fear of Ryder’s true nature will no’ allow her to accept him.”
“She could get over her trepidation,” Lexi said, but Thorn was already shaking his head.
“I agree with Con,” Thorn said. “Kinsey wasna just in the middle of a war with the Dark Fae, who she didna even know existed until recently, but she saw the man she cared for shift from a dragon. Her mind willna be able to acknowledge such things easily. I believe Kinsey when she said that whatever might’ve been between them is gone.”
Con saw the argument on Lexi’s lips, but she kept it to herself. This was another case of how different the Kings were from mortals.
Humans were tenacious in their need to hold onto hope. Whereas a Dragon King realized the futility and let it go.
Kinsey was a complication Dreagan didn’t need. The sooner she was gone, the better. It was why a handful of Kings were scattered throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland looking for Ulrik or anyone connected to him.
Con heard Ryder’s voice in his head, heard the anxiety. He raced up the stairs with Thorn right behind him. They rushed past Kinsey before she reached the computer room.
Dmitri and Henry were in the room as well. Con looked at each of them as Kinsey walked around them, a curious frown puckering her brow.
“This can’t be happening,” Henry said, his English accent thick. His plain brown hair was sticking up at odd angles. His clothes were rumpled, and he had a full beard from not shaving. Lines of strain bracketed his mouth. Dark circles were under his eyes, but it was the stunned and shaken look in his eyes that caught Con’s attention.
Even the normally cool Dmitri seemed dismayed by whatever was on the monitor.
“Ryder,” Con said.
Ryder lifted his eyes to Con and used his hand to swipe across the screen. The pictures went onto the wall behind Con.
Con turned to the pictures. The first one showed Henry with a much younger girl as he walked her to school. They were both smiling. They had the same nondescript brown hair and hazel eyes, the same plain features that allowed them to blend in anywhere.
Next to that picture was one of the girl several years older walking into The Silver Dragon.
“She told me she declined MI5’s offer,” Henry said.