She rolled her eyes. “Like I’m going to let that happen now that I know.”
“First, the Fae can use glamour to disguise themselves. Second, you willna be able to resist them. They’re a drug to humans. I’ve seen women strip in the middle of the street to allow a group of them to have her.”
“One came after me. I remember that.”
Ryder did as well. He relived it in his dreams every time he closed his eyes. It was one reason he didn’t sleep often. “I wasna going to allow that to happen.”
“So you showed yourself to me.”
“Aye.” And what had he gotten for those efforts? Kinsey running screaming in terror from him. But at least she hadn’t been attacked by a Dark.
In Ryder’s opinion, that was more than a good trade.
“Why are you and the Fae fighting?”
He rocked back in his chair and laced his hands behind his head. “Once, a verra long time ago, there were the Fae Wars. It was us against the Fae—both Light and Dark. Eventually, the Light helped us defeat the Dark. The Dark are our enemy, but the Light have aided us. You’ve already seen one Light Fae today.”
“Who?” she asked with her head cocked.
“Shara. She and Kiril were the first to come running from around the side of the manor. The second couple was Rhys and Lily, and the third was Warrick and Darcy.”
She scrunched up her nose. “You know I’ll never remember their names.”
“I know,” he said with a grin.
She shook her head, but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Shara was beautiful. Then again so were Lily and Darcy.”
“Shara is the only Fae mated to a Dragon King. The other women you see are mortals.”
“Excuse me?” Kinsey interrupted him with wide eyes. “Did you just say ‘Dragon King’?”
That was one thing Ryder planned to ease into. He could talk forever about their enemies. It was his hope that he could keep her occupied with those stories and not get into who he was. But he slipped up.
Kinsey always did that to him.
He was so at ease with her that he forgot to be cautious and consider his words. It had been that way from the moment they first spoke to the other.
“I did,” he confessed.
She raised both brows as she held out her hands. “And you’re just going to leave it there? I don’t think so. Spill.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m a good listener.”
Of that he knew for sure. They could talk about anything and everything, but there had been times they were content to just sit quietly in each other’s company.
Ryder blew out a breath. “You know I’m millions of years old and immortal. What you doona know is that the dragons were the first inhabitants of this realm from the beginning of time.”
“How many dragons?”
“Millions. Billions. I doona know for sure.”
“Do they all look like you?”
He was happy she was asking questions. That was a good sign. At least he hoped it was. “Nay. Imagine the colors of a rainbow. That’s how many hues of dragons there were. As for sizes, there was a wide range of sizes. I’m one of the largest.”
“And the king part?”
“Each dragon group, or color, had a leader. The strongest and the one with the most magic. I was such a dragon.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Kinsey said.
He frowned slightly. “Why does that no’ surprise you?”
“Because you have that look about you.”
“A look?” he asked with a slight grin.
Kinsey shrugged. “That look that says, ‘I’m in control. Don’t fuck with me.’”
He laughed, and she found herself smiling. Kinsey had always loved to hear him laugh. He did have that look of a man that others knew not to mess with, but she had also seen the boyish part of him who liked to chuckle at the silly things and have a donut in his hand at all times.
His smile died though as his gaze grew unfocused, as if he had gone deep into his memories. “The Kings of each faction held absolute law. But even we answered to someone—the King of Kings. The fiercest and most powerful of the Kings reigned over us. Constantine.”
Con. The name Tristan had mentioned earlier. Kinsey wasn’t keen on meeting this man. She had a feeling that no matter what, he would see her as a threat, just as Ryder had done at the beginning.
“As strong as each of us Kings were, there was only one who could’ve challenged Con for the title King of Kings.”
Ryder’s voice trailed off. For several seconds Kinsey waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she prodded him. “Who?”
He blinked and focused on her. “Ulrik. He and Con were inseparable.”
“Did he challenge Con?”
“Nay,” Ryder said with a twist of his lips. “Ulrik was happy as a King. He didna want to fight his friend or have that kind of responsibility.”
Kinsey tucked a leg under her. “But something happened?”
“Con didna believe Ulrik. I doona know everything that happened, but their once solid friendship was cracked. Ulrik never wavered in his faith in Con as King of Kings. He was always the first to follow Con in whatever he asked of us.”