Dmitri finished exploring the last cave. He should feel better that no other dragon bones were there, but he couldn’t manage it.
With Con’s news about Usaeil, and the picture of his King and the Fae queen together going viral all over the world, Dmitri knew he should be at Dreagan.
Then again, there was the matter of Dr. Reynolds and the dragon skeleton. Now that he was alone, he didn’t worry about being seen and launched himself to the top of the cliffs with a jump.
It was the closest he could get to flying—for now. Even that little bit was a risk, and not one he could take often.
He walked the area where the tents stood with his mind in turmoil. The Dark were there. Dmitri could easily—and eagerly—take care of them.
Matter of fact, he was itching for just such a fight. The Dark had put the spotlight on Dreagan with the taping of their battle.
The Kings couldn’t turn the tables on the Fae, because the Dark couldn’t care less if the mortals knew about them. It was too bad the Kings didn’t feel the same way.
His head whipped around when he heard the sound of a chopper. His heightened senses picked up the vibration much sooner than a human’s would. And his enhanced eyesight was able to see the helicopter flying toward the airport.
It was most likely someone to claim the body, but with them would come a human who would soon learn that the dig worker died without explanation.
That would lead to an investigation into everyone at the site. He needed to get rid of the Dark well before then. One death was enough. Any more, and the spotlight would be shining on Fair Isle, as well.
Now that all the mortals were at the village, leaving the bones alone, the Dark would head his way. All Dimitri had to do was sit and wait for them.
He’d never been so relieved to have Faith and the others gone than he was at that moment. He would guard the remains of his dragon kin with his very life.
His head turned in the direction of the village. Faith was safe. She was surrounded by others who would watch out for her.
“She’ll be safe,” he said aloud.
But voicing his wishes wouldn’t make them come true. Not with the Dark Fae walking around.
His oath to protect mankind drifted through his mind. He had the means to defend Faith and all the others on Fair, but to do so meant showing them who he was—the very thing Con had forbidden him to do.
How could the Kings continue to protect the humans and not do it in their true form? The Kings were constantly fighting with one hand tied behind their backs while the Dark—as well as Ulrik—had an entire arsenal at their disposal without caring who saw them or the outcome.
Dimitri turned on his heel and ran to the edge of the cliffs. He dove over the side, tucking his body to roll once before he landed on the ledge before Faith’s cave.
He strode inside and checked on the bones before he moved into the shadows and waited for the Dark.
Because they would come. It was what they did.
* * *
“I’m sorry, but could you repeat that?” Faith asked the Deputy Inspector standing before her.
He looked at her with suspicious, dull gray eyes. “Fair Isle doesna get many murders with it having such a meager population.”
“I understood that part.” She was tired and frustrated, and D.I. Batson was not making things easy.
“When we learned about the lack of proof regarding how Mr. Thomas died, we brought in a doctor to perform an autopsy.”
She nodded while the inspector spoke. “Yes, yes. I understood that part, as well.”
“Then what part did you no’ get, Dr. Reynolds? The section where I said there was no evidence of how Mr. Thomas died?”
“That’s it. Right there. That part.” She stared, waiting for him to elaborate.
He drew in a deep breath and released it. “I have nothing else to say.”
“I’m afraid you’ve got that wrong, D.I. Batson. There is always some explanation of how a person passes away. Perhaps you need to find another physician. One that can actually figure out how Roger died.”
The way his gaze narrowed had nothing to do with him taking offense to what she’d said, and everything to do with him hiding something.
“You know how he died.” She took a step back, appalled. “Why won’t you tell me? I may not have known his name, but he was part of my crew. I’m responsible for him. I have to tell his family.”
“That has already been done, Dr. Reynolds.”
She briefly closed her eyes as the truth settled around her. “He was killed, wasn’t he?”
“He was.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” she demanded, anger now taking hold.
Batson merely raised a brow. “I wanted to see your reaction. Everyone confirmed you weren’t in the village last night, and when I went to ask the man guarding the site, I couldna find him.”
Where was Muscles? But then she knew. In the cave. No way Batson would climb down to the cave. “Dmitri is standing guard over my find.”
“That’s what your assistant, Tamir, said, as well.” Batson crossed his arms over his chest. “You didna kill Mr. Thomas.”
“No, I didn’t. But I would like to know how he died.”
“His heart shriveled to the size of an egg.”
Faith had known the reason would be horrific, but she hadn’t expected it to be so . . . odd. “How does that happen?”
“It doesna. We’re ruling Mr. Thomas’s death a homicide.”
She had been sitting in the nurse’s front room for hours, waiting for the doctor to finish the autopsy. When she walked outside, the sun was sinking into the horizon behind thick, dark clouds.
There was a murderer out there. Was it one of her people, or a local? Did it even matter? A man was dead, a man that had been part of her team.
The first drop of rain landed on her cheek. The second, on the tip of her nose. She wiped off the two and looked upward. As soon as she did, the sky opened up.
She was soaked within minutes as she ran toward the B&B. The dense rainfall made it difficult for her to see, especially with her head down. She slammed into the side of a motorcycle and grabbed her thigh, howling in pain.
“Damn it to hell,” she growled and sidestepped around the bike.
She only got twenty yards or so before she ran into Tamir. Faith bounced back and looked at him. He stood in the rain, staring straight through her.
“Tamir?” she shouted over the rain.
He blinked and focused on her face. “Faith.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
She shivered as the rain soaked through her jacket and sweater. Dmitri. He had the cave for shelter, but it wasn’t right to leave him out there in this. “I need to go to the site.”
“The storm is going to get worse.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Dmitri needs to be here with us.”
Tamir stood there for a second more before he motioned for her to follow him. “We’ll go together, then.”
She didn’t hesitate to rush to the van and hurriedly climb inside. As soon as the engine roared to life, she turned on the heat and rubbed her hands together.
Her mind drifted back to the night before and Dimitri standing against the wind as if daring it to try and break him. Muscles was the type of man who could never be broken.
He wasn’t just strong in body. He was strong in mind and soul. She saw it in his eyes as he looked at the world around him as if it were his kingdom.
That made her smile. He would probably love that she thought of him as a king. What man wouldn’t?
A king like him needed a queen who would stand just as strong. Someone who could bend but never break. The kind of woman she was not.
She wasn’t ashamed of it. Life had dealt her a blow with her father, but the love of her mother had made up for it. Yet it was her father’s actions that shaped the woman she was now.
Trusting someone enough to give them her heart was not an action she’d ever wanted to experience. She’d been infatuated before. She’d crushed on guys. But there had never been anyone who made her want to forget everything just to be with them.
It happened for some people. Those people who stood strong against the wind. People like Ronnie. And look what Ronnie had found? A love that even a cynic like Faith could see and practically touch it was so strong.
Faith’s mother had often joked that in this life, she was meant to be a mother only. That in another life, she would find someone.
Perhaps it was the same for Faith. She was fine with that. Her work was fulfilling enough to stave off the lonely nights. Not that she allowed herself those kinds of nights. There was always too much work to do.
She blinked through the windshield as the wipers worked frantically to clear it of water. The white flap of one of the remaining tents could be seen through the downpour.
Had they already arrived? She couldn’t believe she’d spent the entire drive lost in her thoughts. Apparently, that didn’t bother Tamir as he seemed lost just as deeply in his own mind.
He parked the van close to the main tent. “It’s much worse here than in the village.”
“It sure seems that way.” She leaned one way and then the other, hoping for a glimpse of Muscles. “Surely he saw our lights.”
“Unless he’s in the cave.”
Of course. “Do you know his cell number?”
Tamir pulled out his phone and tried to call, but the line wouldn’t connect. “I think it’s the storm.”
“I’m not leaving without him.”
“You can’t seriously be considering propelling down the cliff in this weather?”
She zipped up her jacket. “I wouldn’t leave you out there.”
“Yeah, but he’ll survive it. Have you seen those muscles of his?”
She’d done more than that. She’d felt them. And how glorious they were. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve lost one member of my team. I’ll not lose another.”
“And we can’t lose our leader. I’ll go.”
She grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving the van. “You don’t want to be here at all. I’m not letting you go down.”
He looked out the window, his lips flattening. “All right. Let’s compromise. I’ll go down, but you stay at the top and watch. I’m a better climber than you anyway.”
“Deal,” she said. Tamir was a better climber, and she wasn’t in any hurry to die. “Let’s get moving so we can get back to the village and into warm clothes.”
They got out of the vehicle and walked as fast as they could against the gale-force winds to the cliff. The gusts stung her face, making it impossible to see anything while she faced the storm. The only relief came when she put her back to it, but the power of the rain made it feel like blunt bullets slamming into her.
Finally, Tamir was harnessed and went over the side. She put her hand over her eyes to shield them as she turned and looked down.
Tamir shouted something.
“What?” she yelled.
He pointed to her. She straightened, confused. Then she began to turn around.
Just as a hand slammed between her shoulder blades and sent her over the cliff.