Dorian dove from the sky breathing dragon fire on the approaching Dark Fae. Their screams of pain were music to his ears. He dipped a wing and swung back around before he landed.
Orbs of dark magic slammed into him, burning like acid through his scales and into his muscle and bone. But there wasn’t time to think of the pain when more and more Dark Fae came.
He swung his tail, cutting a dozen of his enemies in half. With every one he killed, ten more took their place. They kept coming, like ants, never stopping, never hesitating.
Dorian didn’t know how long he battled, didn’t consider how deep his pain went before he realized something was wrong.
Other Dragon Kings should be with him. They would never leave him alone to battle so many. He opened the mental link and called for help. But there was no answer.
Only a laugh that chilled him to the bone.
It was a sound filled with delight. And triumph.
It was also distinctly female.
He hated the sound of it. Why couldn’t he have heard Alex’s laugh?
At the thought of her, his mind exploded with his memories of her—right up until the blade plunged in his chest and he’d fallen.
This battle wasn’t real, but it didn’t make the agony of the Dark’s magic any less when it hit him. He tried to ignore the Dark Fae, but that was a mistake.
They swarmed him, climbing onto him and bombarding him with their orbs. He roared and jumped into the sky, tucking his wings and rolling through the air to dislodge them. A lucky few managed to hang on.
He quickly rid himself of them by flying so close to the mountains that he scraped his own scales. Fortunately, the Fae couldn’t hang on after coming in contact with the rocks.
Dorian then flew straight up, getting lost in the clouds until he could no longer see the ground below him. He had no idea where he was, but he knew how to get home. He headed in the direction of Dreagan.
No matter what, a dragon always felt the pulse of magic that resonated up from Dreagan. Dorian didn’t pause, didn’t rest. He flew hard and fast toward his home, thinking of Alex and his brethren.
Something was seriously amiss. He didn’t know how he’d left New York and Alex, but he had. Something or someone had seen to that.
The laugh sounded again. He growled, instantly wanting to stop it.
When he found who was responsible, he was going to douse them in dragon fire. It didn’t matter if they were mortal or some other being. They. Would. Die.
As soon as he reached Dreagan, he began his descent from the clouds. The smell of smoke and burning flesh reached him first.
He was so shocked by the smell that was so reminiscent of the war with the humans that he actually drew up short, flying in place as he let himself come to grips with what was happening.
His wounds from the Dark Fae had healed, but the revolting stinging remained. If there were more Fae waiting for him, he needed to be prepared. In the next heartbeat, Dorian used his power and turned invisible.
Only then did he leave the clouds. The smoke was so thick over Dreagan that even his dragon eyesight couldn’t penetrate it. Finally, he emerged from it. And his heart clutched painfully in his chest when he saw that Dreagan was gone.
The manor was a demolished, burning ruin while smoke billowed not only from the scorched Dragonwood but from every mountain, as if someone had gone inside each of the Kings’ sanctuaries and destroyed them. He could hardly comprehend what he saw. No one should have been able to do this to Dreagan.
The anger that built inside him at the destruction came to a screeching halt when he saw his dead brethren scattered over the land.
He roared his anguish and grief. Dorian landed hard, the ache of disbelief slamming into him. He wanted to scream, to cry. To hit something.
Instead, he slammed his hands upon the earth, threw back his head and roared. But that did nothing to ease his misery.
Slowly, he walked among his brothers. He paused when he came to Ulrik. Still in dragon form, Ulrik had fallen, but it looked as if he were reaching for something. Dorian followed Ulrik’s outstretched hand and spotted Eilish.
Dorian frowned and raised his head. He’d been so focused on the Dragon Kings that he hadn’t noticed the dead mates lying among them.
While he didn’t know what had killed the Kings, the mates had died first. Each had their upper torso caved in. Almost like something was thrown at them.
Eilish and Ulrik weren’t mated yet, so Dorian understood why the Druid could have been killed. But as he stood over Cassie and Elena, who had the same wounds, it didn’t make sense.
They had undergone the mating ceremony and had the dragon eye tattoo on their upper left arms to prove it. That mark gave them immortality. So how had they died?
Who had killed the Dragon Kings?
And who had destroyed Dreagan?
Through the smoke that drifted over the land he saw someone walking toward him. Dorian didn’t shift into his human form. Whoever it was would deal with him in his true shape.
To his surprise, it was a woman. As she drew closer he recognized that she was Fae. He took in her long black hair and the comely shape of her face.
There was much to appreciate about a Fae—Dark or Light. They were gorgeous. Even the males. There wasn’t an ugly one among them, but that didn’t mean their souls weren’t hideous.
Dorian raked his gaze over the female’s body. She wore a long black coat that billowed around her, showing off the tight, black dress that hugged her body and the tan suede boots that came over her knees.
She walked as if she had all the time in the world. As if the death and devastation around them meant nothing. That’s when he knew she was responsible.
“It’s about time you came,” she said in her Irish accent as she drew near.
He didn’t even try talking to her. It wasn’t as if she could understand him.
“Oh, I understand you fine, Dorian.” She smiled slowly, her silver eyes locked with his.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
She shrugged. “You might know had you not withdrawn yourself from the others. They needed you.”
“I’m here. I answered Con’s call.”
“Not the first time.” She shrugged, her face scrunching. “Or the second. You chose to ignore him. Your King.”
He stalked forward until he towered over her. “Who are you?!”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Rhi.”
“I know your name. You are friend to the Kings.”
“Afraid you have that wrong, big guy. I used to be friend to the Kings. Then, I let the darkness have me. I kill planets now.”
Dorian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He shook his head. “Why?”
Her smile was gone, replaced with that of utter evil. “Unrequited love has a shelf life, handsome.”
“Is this where you kill me?”
She threw back her head and laughed. It was the same sound he’d heard earlier, the same laugh that sickened him. Then her silver gaze landed on him and he saw her begin to glow.
Dorian drew in a breath and blew out dragon fire. If he was going to die, he wasn’t going down without a fight.
There was a bright flash and he bellowed as arms grabbed him. He fought with all his might, hitting and kicking.
“Dorian!”
He paused, realizing only then that he was in human form. It took several tries before his eyes focused and he found himself in a small room with Con and Ulrik holding him pinned to the wall.
His eyes scanned the room, jerking back to the door when he spotted blond curls peeking around Cináed’s arm. “Alex?”
“I’m here,” she said and ducked past Cináed before he could grab her.
Dorian grinned when she yanked on Con and Ulrik until they released him. As soon as Alex’s arms went around him, Dorian closed his eyes and held her close.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Some bad juju, handsome.”
His eyes snapped open at the Irish accent. The tall woman strolled into the room and leaned against the wall next to Cináed.
“You’re lucky,” the Fae said.
Dorian shoved Alex behind him and faced the female. “Who are you?”
“Oh, sorry,” she said with a wince. “I forget we’ve never met. I’m Rhi.”
He shook his head as he let out a loud grunt. “Nay, you are no’.”
She gave him a scathing look. “Ah, yeah, I am. I’ve been me for, well, ever. I think I’d know.”
“She is Rhi,” Con said. “Why did you say she isna?”
Dorian rubbed his forehead. What was real and what wasn’t? He wasn’t sure anymore. Was this the dream and the other place real?
Alex came to stand before him once more. “You gotta tell us what’s going on. You’ve been out for hours. We didn’t think you’d wake.”
“What changed?” he asked, gazing deep into her hazel eyes. She grounded him, her touch clearing his head of all the horrible things he’d witnessed.
“The artifact,” Ulrik told him. “Con tried to heal you, but his magic did nothing. We brought the relic in here to discuss it and what to do with you. That’s when we noticed that whenever we brought it near you that it drew out the evil.”
That got his attention. “Evil?”
“The blade that struck you was from the first Fae murder,” Rhi said. “It’s been missing for ages.”
“Or someone was saving it,” Con said.
Dorian squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. “I was in a place that seemed verra real.”
“What place?” Alex asked.
He glanced at her before looking around the room. “Earth, but drastically different. I fought waves of Dark Fae. They were everywhere. I got away and flew to Dreagan. Only when I got there it was destroyed. Every mate had been viciously murdered.”
“Doona stop,” Ulrik said when Dorian paused.
Dorian wasn’t sure he could get out the next part. Alex linked her fingers with his and gave him a nod. Dorian pressed his lips together as the image of his brothers lying dead flashed in his mind.
“All of you were dead,” he said.
Merrill raked a hand through his hair. “Fuck me.”
“Tell us everything. Every detail,” Con said.
Dorian slid his gaze to Rhi. “A woman appeared. I knew she was Fae instantly. She said her name was Rhi. She claimed responsibility for all the death and claimed to kill realms. Right before I woke, she began to glow.”
Ulrik strode to Rhi and pointed at her. “Is this the face you saw, Dorian?”
“Excuse me,” Rhi said in outrage and shoved Ulrik’s hand away. She walked closer to Dorian and looked at him. “Was it me you saw?”
He shook his head. “Nay.”
“Did the Fae say why she killed everyone?” Con asked.
Dorian tightened his grip on Alex. “She said that unrequited love had a shelf life.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Rhi ground out angrily. She held out her hand as a mobile appeared. After typing something she held up the small screen to Dorian. “Is this the crazy bitch you spoke with?”
As soon as he saw the face, he recognized her. “Aye. That’s the woman.”
Rhi blew out a breath and looked at Con. “UBitch strikes again.”
“Who is UBitch?” Alex asked.
Ulrik sighed loudly. “Rhi means Usaeil.”
“Queen of the Light?” Dorian asked in shock.
There was death in Con’s eyes when he said, “The verra one.”