It was a dream Ulrik had held onto for thousands of years. He couldn’t believe how close he was to fulfilling it. All that had gone wrong so long ago would be set right.
Ulrik searched for a twinge of remorse at the thought of killing Con, but there was nothing there. Whatever had bonded him and Con together millions of years ago had been severed with Con’s betrayal.
Con had been part of his family at one time. Ulrik would’ve died for Con. How had he not seen the true Constantine?
That was because Con was a great actor. He pushed all his emotions aside. He shut down and refused to let anyone in. Con was a master at it.
All too soon the peace that Con built around himself would be shattered. Ulrik had refused to fight him when Con became King of Kings. It was a mistake Ulrik had made because of love. He’d loved Con as a brother then.
That ridiculous emotion changed Ulrik’s life forever. It made him an outcast, banished from his home and his brethren.
Con used to tell him not to allow emotions to rule his life. It took the treachery of his most trusted friend for Ulrik to see how true Con’s words were.
All emotion but one was erased within Ulrik. He lived, breathed, and cultivated the resentment housed inside him. It pulled him past the brink of madness.
It focused him.
For tens of thousands of years Ulrik had been setting a plan in motion. And it was going beautifully.
Ulrik walked from the shadows to his Silvers. “Hear me,” he whispered.
He didn’t need to speak to them. Their link was mental, but they liked the sound of his voice. In response, the one closest to him moved his front limb.
“A wee bit longer,” he soothed. “Then you’ll be free of this cage and the sleep. We’ll bring our own brand of justice down upon the mortals. And this time nothing will stop us.”
Ulrik walked to each of the dragons, whispering their names as he touched them. Being near them gave him strength, reminded him of how important it was that he win.
He would win. Of that he had no doubt. Ulrik had known from the beginning he could beat Con. He hadn’t wanted to before. Now was a different story.
Ulrik returned to the shadows. Just as he was about to teleport away, he heard voices. His enhanced hearing picked up Dmitri’s and Thorn’s voices.
“He wants her,” Dmitri said.
Thorn chuckled. “Of course Ryder does. It’s obvious in the way he looks at her.”
“She’s verra beautiful.”
“I’m just thankful she’s on Dreagan.”
“I’d feel better if we could locate Ulrik,” Dmitri said.
They walked into the cavern and stood beside the cage looking at the Silvers. Thorn crossed his arms over his chest. “After the last run-in we had with Ulrik, I think it’s imperative we know where he is at all times.”
“He must’ve been watching all of us for years. How much did we give away without knowing?”
Thorn exchanged a look with Dmitri. “Probably too much. I believe Ryder is the only one being targeted right now.”
“Can we assume that? With the network Ulrik has, he could be aiming his malicious intent at any number of us at once.”
“With MI5 crawling over Dreagan, there isna much Ulrik can do without exposing himself as well.”
Dmitri squatted down and rubbed the forehead of one of the Silvers. “Do you really think that will stop him? He wants the humans gone. This is the perfect time for him to strike, because he knows we willna do anything.”
Ulrik smiled knowingly. Everything was lining up. There were just a few more critical things that needed to happen before he could challenge Con.
“You sided with Ulrik before,” Thorn said. “Will you again?”
Dmitri blew out a breath. “The truth is, I’m tired of hiding who I am. We’ve done it for so long that we’ve accepted the invisible chains around us. This was our realm, Thorn.”
“Then we agreed to share it.”
Dmitri gave a shake of his head. “Did we? Or were the mortals put here for us to annihilate? Did any of us ever consider that?”
“I’m mated to one of those humans,” Thorn said in a low voice.
Dmitri held his gaze. “You’ll no’ find me taking one into my bed. It’s why I’ve always chosen the Light Fae. I’m glad you and the others have found love, but can you really trust your women? Look what Ulrik’s woman did. It’ll happen again, Thorn. Mark my words.”
Ulrik’s smile grew. This discord within the Dragon Kings was growing, just as he knew it would.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ryder picked up a jelly donut and bit into it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kinsey glance his way. Since his return from visiting the Silvers, Ryder had ignored her.
And she didn’t like it.
He found her looking his way every so often with a side glance. She hadn’t said a word, but her constant shifting in her chair was giving her away.
Ryder clicked a tab on the computer and music filled the air. Seether’s “Words as Weapons” began to play. Ryder set the playlist to shuffle and repeat before he checked on the scans of Ireland.