Donna Grant - Fire Rising

Balladyn’s red eyes gleamed as he wrapped his big hands around one of the three humans’ head, stopping the man in his tracks. With barely a twist of his hands, Balladyn broke the mortal’s neck.

As if it was a signal, the two remaining humans were quickly dispatched, leaving only the Dark, the Kings, and Rhi.

She twisted her wrist in a circle as she swung her sword around her. The man who had helped her grieve through her family’s death and the loss of her lover was gone. In his place stood a monster filled with only evil and malice.

It was just her luck that Con zeroed in on Balladyn as well. Rhi teleported between the two before Con could attack Balladyn.

“Rhi,” Con said with a grimace.

She ignored the derision in his voice. “This one is mine.”

Con’s black eyes narrowed as he looked over her shoulder to Balladyn. “Why?”

Rhi gave Con a shove and whirled to face her ex-friend with her sword raised and ready.

“Hello, pet,” Balladyn said in his Irish accent, using the nickname he’d given her when she was just a young Fae. “I should’ve known you’d do anything to spend time with this lot.”

“I warned you to pick a side. I warned you that I would kill you.”

“Dangerous times, remember, pet?” His red eyes blazed for a moment.

Rhi hated the lump in her throat full of emotion for the man who had been a rock for her, a rock that had faltered and crumbled. Now she was going to have to kill him.

She took a deep breath and swung her sword.

In the space of a second, the Dark vanished. Rhi had used so much momentum in her attack that she couldn’t stop her sword. It clanged against the tiled floor.

For long minutes she remained in that position while she tried to get her emotions under control after encountering Balladyn again so soon.

“Who was that?” Con asked softly from beside her.

Rhi hated that she hadn’t heard him approach. She lifted her sword and slid it into the scabbard she wore along her back. Of course Con would want to know the very thing she didn’t want to tell him.

“Rhi,” Rhys said from across the room. “How did you know?”

Ah. Something she could—and would—answer. “My queen told me. What was going on to bring the Dark to you?”

Con stepped in front of her. “A situation. You’re no’ going to tell me who that was, are you?”

“No,” she replied simply and walked around him. He could push her, especially since she couldn’t lie without experiencing great pain. Something Con knew all too well. “Dark Fae so close to Dreagan. That’s not a good sign.”

Laith nudged one of the dead mortals with his foot. “And neither is the fact they killed these men.”

She considered that for a moment. “They killed instead of rescued the mortals? That’s someone who doesn’t care who is lost. That sounds like Taraeth for sure.”

“Have you seen him?” Con asked.

He was being too nice, his voice too soft. It grated on her nerves. She saw Laith staring at her again. “No. Is Denae still safe?”

“She’s with Kellan.”

Which meant that of course she was. Rhi rolled her eyes. The conceit of the Dragon Kings. It didn’t help that they had every reason to be so arrogant. “Good.”

She was about to teleport out of the house when Con’s hand latched onto her arm. Rhi turned her angry gaze to him. “What?” she demanded.

“That Dark Fae knew you.”

Rhi shrugged, noticing out of the corner of her eye that the other Kings were watching and listening intently. “If you’ll remember your history, the Dark were once Light who turned to the spells that would eat away at our souls.”

“He knew you. You can no’ lie, and you can only evade the question for so long. Who is he?”

Damn him, but she hated Con. Thanks to her mother she had gotten the unenviable dilemma of feeling intense pain every time she tried to lie.

“He used to be a friend,” she reluctantly answered.

Ryder rubbed his jaw. “A close one by the use of the endearment.”

“He’s my concern,” Rhi said. “I’ve answered your question. Let me go.”

The fact that Con still had ahold of her only set her teeth on edge. Of course, he always rubbed her the wrong way. Their hatred was mutual, so it wasn’t as if she was hurt by his words.

With deliberate slowness, Con released her and stepped back. “So you have.”

“Rhi, wait,” Banan said before she could teleport away. “What have the Light discovered about the Dark’s intentions?”

She shook her head and fisted her hands so she wouldn’t rub the spot Con had touched. “No more than what we’ve always known. They like to cause chaos and wreak havoc. I don’t know what any of you were thinking sending Kiril to Ireland to spy, but I wouldn’t leave him there for long. Already there are rumors circulating that a Dragon King is in Cork.”

“Do they know it’s Kiril?” Con asked.

“Not yet. He’s putting himself right in the middle of things. That can be disastrous.”

“He’s a Dragon King.”

Rhi bent and dusted off her combat boots. “Yeah. And if another one of your Kings is taken by the Dark again? What then?”

“I willna be calling on you, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Now this was the Con she knew and hated. Rhi laughed as she straightened. “You didn’t the first time. I went in because it was Kellan, and I actually like him.”

“And we appreciate that,” Banan said before Con could respond.

Rhi pulled her gaze away from Con to look at Rhys, Laith, Ryder, and Banan. “I can’t show my face in Cork. Get word to Kiril that he’s probably going to be discovered soon.”

“We need what he can get from the Dark,” Laith said.

“So you put a King with a Scots accent in the middle of Fae territory? That’s smart,” she said sarcastically.

Rhys cleared his throat. “We couldna wait on your spies.”

Rhi didn’t take offense at his comment. It was the truth that none of the Light Fae had learned anything of consequence. “The Dark notoriously keep their plans within their own ranks. They don’t trust anyone, especially the Light. It’s not like we can use a human as a spy. They would spill everything at the first look of a Dark Fae their way.”

“Speaking of,” Banan said. “Is it normal for a human to not be affected by a Dark?”

Rhi glanced at each of the Kings around her. There was something going on, and by Con’s dangerous look, it was doubtful she was going to discover what it was any time soon.

“No,” she said. “Denae was the first I’d ever seen. As I told Kellan, the only thing I can come up with is that Denae and Kellan had made love before the Dark kidnapped them.”

“What if a human has had little to no contact with a King?” Banan pressed.

Rhi thought back over the centuries. “Humans might try to withstand a Fae’s seduction, whether it be a Light or a Dark. Some have even managed it for a few seconds, but the humans always give in to the pleasure they know they’ll get.”

Banan reached down and picked up one of the chairs that had fallen over and leaned his hands on the back of it. “What would you think if I told you I saw a Dark look at a human woman today, and she was able to walk away?”

“I’d say he was probably not very interested in her if he let her walk away.”

Banan shook his head. “Nay. He was interested. She walked away.”

Rhi looked down at the dead mortals and noticed their clothes for the first time. It was similar to what MI5 had worn while they had been after Denae.

More humans in military dress. Dark Fae daring to come close to Dreagan. Dragon Kings interrogating the mortals. It all meant only one thing—war was getting closer.