It shouldn’t still hurt so fiercely, so violently to talk about Ceana. But it did.
It really did.
It was as if he was still there, watching his beloved gentle sister sacrifice herself so he could get the younglings to safety.
Dorian blinked, doing his best to pull himself from the past. To his utter surprise, Alex was kneeling before him, holding his hand between hers while she cried the tears he never could—because to do so would allow the grief to take him.
And he feared he’d never come back from that.
He reached up and gently wiped away one of the tears. Dorian stared at the bit of water on his thumb, confused as to Alex’s emotions.
His gaze slid back to hers. For several heartbeats he took in the sorrow, the heartache that lined every inch of her face. The same things he felt deep inside him.
“Why do you cry?” he asked, needing to know.
Alex sniffed, seemingly unfazed by his question. “Because you lost someone you loved. Because she died a horrible, needless death to save others. Because you loved her. But also because in every word that you spoke, I can see and hear the hurt you feel. And the blame you carry.”
“I should’ve been with the younglings, no’ her. I wouldna have died.”
“You said your sister raised you.”
Dorian nodded slowly. “Aye. She was mother and father and sister. If it hadna been for her, I wouldna be here now.”
“Then don’t sully her sacrifice by blaming yourself. Ceana was one of those rare individuals who thought of others before herself. She was helping you, yes, but she also saw the younglings and knew no one else was there for them.”
He turned his head away and cleared his throat which was clogged with emotion. His eyes burned, his vision blurring. Then he felt something hot and wet land on his cheek.
“You were very lucky to have her,” Alex said. “Between you and Ceana, the younglings survived.”
He nodded as another tear fell on his face. He didn’t know how long they remained locked in their positions, but when his eyes finally dried and he took a deep breath, he didn’t feel the weight of shame and regret that he had carried for so long.
Dorian swiveled his head to Alex, marveling in her ability to help him with her touch, her wisdom, and her anguish for his loss.
She smiled.
He wanted to pull her against him, to press his lips against her, but he didn’t. She was next to him, holding him, but he hadn’t finished his story.
“Do you wish to know the rest?” he asked.
Her head nodded eagerly. “Very much.”
He lowered himself on the floor next to her so they were facing each other, legs crossed and knees touching. “Once all the dragons were gone, we searched the realm for any left behind. The ones who were dead we destroyed so there was no trace of them for the humans to use.”
“Did any alive get left behind?”
“Four of the largest Silver dragons who refused to cross the bridge.”
She frowned as she bobbed her head. “They were that loyal to Ulrik.”
“Aye. We used our magic to put them to sleep and caged them far beneath Dreagan Mountain. After, we surrounded the area of Dreagan with our magic to keep humans out and we sought our mountains.”
Her eyes widened. “You each have one? There’s that many of you?”
“Dreagan is comprised of sixty thousand acres, and aye, there are.”
“Wow,” she mouthed.
Dorian ran a hand through his hair. “The only one who remained awake was Con. He kept vigil over the land and the Silvers. After nearly a thousand years when stories of us turned to legend and myth, he went to each of us telling us we could wake if we wished. I knew I couldna do that and no’ do exactly as Ulrik had done and slaughter mortals. We’d already lost the dragons, and I couldna do more damage to my brothers.”
“So you didn’t leave your mountain,” Alex finished softly.
“The years passed. Con put a spell on us so that none of us would feel any deep emotions like love or hatred for humans.”
“But it didn’t work on you?”
Dorian shook his head. “My hate was already too strong.”
“Another reason you remained asleep.”
“Aye. I told Con the spell didna work on me, so we agreed that I would remain asleep. Through the years, we kept tabs on Ulrik, who amassed a fortune in the human world. He created a massive empire, and all the while he plotted against us. Before he left Dreagan, he promised retribution for what we’d done.”
Alex rubbed the back of her knuckles over her nose. “And you let him?”
“He was Con’s best friend, his brother in the truest sense of the world. Con couldna kill Ulrik when he banished him, and he couldna do it now.”
“I see.”
Dorian looked down at the rug they were on. “While I remained in my mountain, the other Kings battled many times. Namely to keep the humans safe in the Fae Wars.”
“Fae? Really?”
He gave a nod. “Light and Dark. Their civil war destroyed their realm, so they came here. The Dark feed off the souls of mortals by literally sexing them to death.”
Alex’s face scrunched in revulsion. “Yuck.”
“The Light only allow themselves to make love to a mortal once. While we won the Fae Wars, it helped that the Light finally sided with us. The Fae were supposed to leave here, but they didna. They took up residence in Ireland. The Dark in the lower half, the Light in the upper. The Kings watch them to keep them in check, but it’s a never-ending battle. If that wasna enough, Ulrik began looking for Druids who could touch dragon magic and no’ die. He finally found one who unbound his magic, which destroyed the spell Con cast.”
Surprise flashed on Alex’s face. “Are you telling me that the Kings began to feel things again for morals?”
“Aye. At present, nineteen have found their mates.”
She laughed, the sound filling the flat. “That’s good. You all deserve some happiness.”
“We also discovered that Ulrik’s uncle, Mikkel, remained behind. In that second that Ulrik’s powers were locked, Mikkel shifted into a human.”
“Is he a Dragon King now?” Alex asked.
“Nay,” Dorian stated. “But he wanted it. He set out to destroy us and use Ulrik. Mikkel aligned with many humans to do his bidding, but in the end, Ulrik won with the help of his mate, a Druid with exceptionally powerful magic.”
Alex leaned back against the couch and planted one foot flat on the floor, her arms wrapped around the bent leg. “Please tell me that Ulrik’s banishment was lifted and he’s back among you.”
“He is.”
“Good. I hate stories that don’t have happy endings.” Her smile faded as a frown furrowed her brow. “But your enemy. Is it the Dark Fae?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “They will always be an enemy. The one I speak of is actually a group. It began some months ago when an archeologist found what she thought was a dragon skeleton on Fair Isle in Scotland.”
“But, wait,” Alex said. “I thought you got all of them.”
“We thought we did. It seems this group used magic to hold the dragon. They killed it and cloaked it from us.”
Alex drew in a quick breath. “You make it sound as if they were waiting for a certain time to reveal the skeleton.”
“We believe they were. Fair Isle was Dmitri’s territory, so he went back to see if it was indeed a dragon. It was. Faith, the one who found the bones, and Dmitri fell in love while they dug up the skeleton. They discovered a small wooden dragon carved to look exactly like Con.”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Alex said with a shiver.
Dorian blew out a breath. “It was the beginning of verra bad things. When a human touched the carving, their hate for us drove them to attempt to kill one of us.”
“Like Ulrik’s woman.”
“Exactly.” Dorian was impressed that Alex was keeping everything straight. “When a King touched the piece, they immediately wanted to kill mortals.”
Alex hunched her shoulders up to her ears. “Like Ulrik.”
“It was only with the help of a Light Fae named Rhi who encased it in magic before anyone else could touch it that things didna escalate. That’s when she felt the combination of Dark and Light Fae magic as well as good and bad Druid magic.”
Alex dropped her leg to the ground and sat forward. “This is your new enemy? Druids and Fae? But I don’t understand. You said Ulrik is mated to a Druid.”
“They’ve no’ performed the ceremony yet, but aye, they are together. There are five more who have Druids as mates. Then there is Shara, a Dark Fae turned Light who is mated to a King.”
“What about Rhi? I gather she’s a friend.”
Dorian ran a hand over his jaw. “Rhi was once in love with a Dragon King. He ended their relationship for reasons none of us know.”
“And she continues to come around?” Alex asked, shock on her face. “Then she’s still in love.”
“Aye.”
“But none of this makes sense. You’re friends with the Druids and Light Fae. Why would they go against you?”
He stared into her hazel eyes. “It’s what we’re trying to find out. We think there might be a chance that this group of Druids and Fae were here during our war with the humans.”
“And my artifact can help how?”
“It dates back to that time, and we think by the carvings on it that it was made by the Fae. We need to know what they’ve done—and just how far they intend to go with this.”
Alex looked away, contemplating his words. After a few minutes her gaze returned to him. “The story you’ve just told me is...well, amazing. And terrifying. But I keep coming back to a couple of things I’d like answers to.”
“Ask,” he offered.
She shrugged and pointed to herself. “Where did we come from? To just show up? That doesn’t make any kind of sense. If some kind of space ship came, wouldn’t you have seen that?”
“Aye,” he replied with a grin.
“And we just appeared?”
He nodded slowly. “There was no magic in any of the mortals we found, so we knew they didna use magic to get there.”
“What if someone with magic sent them?”
“It’s something we’ve considered.”
Alex sighed, tapping her finger on her leg. “And the wooden dragon. To make it a replica of Con appears to mean that they’re targeting him. Is it because he’s King of Dragon Kings? Or something more?”
“It’s likely the former, but at this point, we’re imagining the worst.”
“And why wait so long to come after you? It’s like they wanted some kind of alignment of things to take place.”
That wasn’t something the Kings had thought of, at least that Dorian knew. “We have to locate the Fae involved. The Druids we know are dead since they’re no’ immortal, but the Fae are another matter entirely. If we can find them, we get answers.”
“And the artifact I have might lead you to the Fae.” She gave him a sexy smile. “Then let’s go get it.”
He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Are you sure?”
She laughed as she got to her feet and held out a hand to him. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I go to Dreagan with you.”