The next day...
“Was it a dream?” Dorian demanded. “Was my interaction with Usaeil just a fantasy?”
Rhi drew in a breath, irritation clear on her face. “For the third fekking time, I don’t know.”
Dorian slapped his hand against his thigh before he paced Con’s office. Alex sat in the chair next to Rhi while Con stood quietly staring out the office windows.
The question had plagued Dorian since he woke from the stabbing. It relentlessly troubled him, waking him in the middle of sleep or coming out of the blue while he was discussing something else entirely.
He stopped and leaned back against the wall. “None of you saw it. Everything here that we know and love wasna just gone, but annihilated. Like a child demolishing a toy. The Dragonwood was burned to nothing, and smoke was everywhere. Even our caverns within our mountains had been gutted.”
Con slowly turned to him.
Dorian glanced at Alex. She’d heard all of this before. She was the one who’d urged him to talk to Con and Rhi. Alex thought Rhi might be able to help him distinguish between a vision and a dream.
He cleared his throat against the rise of emotion. “The mates were savagely murdered, and the Dragon Kings were lying dead near them.”
“Did you see Con?” Rhi asked.
Dorian frowned as he shook his head. “I stood next to Ulrik and Eilish. I saw so many dead.”
“But you didn’t see Con,” Rhi said as she pushed up from the chair and approached him.
“I doona think so.”
Con asked Rhi, “Why does that matter?”
“Because I think this was a trick by Usaeil.” Rhi shrugged, her lips twisting. “It’s a guess, actually. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Dorian, because it could have very well been a vision of what might happen. But it also sounds like something Usaeil would do. She wants Con, so she won’t hurt him.”
“But she does want to hurt you,” Alex pointed out to Rhi. Her hazel gaze turned to Dorian. “Did you see Rhi?”
He shook his head again. “I don’t recall noticing her. Actually, I didna see the mates until after I found the Kings.”
“No Rhi and no me,” Con said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “That could mean anything if this was a trick by Usaeil. It could mean that she wanted Rhi to die another way.”
“Or expected me to be dead by another hand,” Rhi said.
Alex jumped up and came to stand beside Dorian. “I’m confused now. What?”
But Dorian understood. He turned Alex to face him. “We all know, but can no’ prove yet, that Usaeil gave Yasser the weapon. The queen could have added the spell that would show whoever was stabbed exactly what was shown to me. It’s why you were no’ in there. Or Rhi. Because she believes Rhi will die another way.”
“Oh,” Alex said with a nod. “That makes sense.”
Rhi puffed out her cheeks before releasing the breath. “But it doesn’t tell us how she got the damn weapon to begin with.”
“I’m just hoping it’s no’ a premonition of what’s to come,” Dorian said.
Con dropped his arms. “Always be prepared for any eventuality. It’s the only way we’re going to survive this.”
Alex’s gaze came to rest on him before she asked, “Feel better about this now?”
“Aye,” Dorian replied.
“Good, because I’m dying to see what we can learn about the artifact and if it will help.”
Damn. He’d been so focused on his dream that he’d momentarily forgotten the Immortality Stone. Without wasting another moment, he grabbed her hand and gave a nod to Con.
It wasn’t long before the four of them stood in a cavern in Dreagan Mountain where the artifact was being held while encased in layers of dragon magic.
“Was this wise?” Rhi asked.
Dorian frowned. “Nothing is stronger than dragon magic.”
The Light Fae snorted and slid her gaze to Con.
The King of Dragon Kings pulled his hand from his pocket, holding something round and gold within his palm. “We know there is magic surrounding it. It didna hurt either Eilish or Ulrik, but I wasna going to take any chances after the wooden dragon.”
“Or the dagger,” Rhi added.
Dorian gave a nod to the relic. “What can you tell us, Rhi?”
“Nothing as long as there is dragon magic surrounding it. I’ve got to be able to touch it if I’m going to tell you what kind of magic is involved.” She swung her head to Con. “Unless Eilish or Ulrik already know that.”
There was a beat of silence before Con removed the dragon magic around the Immortality Stone. Dorian positioned himself a little in front of Alex in case he needed to shield her from anything.
Rhi moved toward the waist-high boulder that the artifact rested on and walked slowly around it, her eyes taking in details of the relic. Finally, she paused and put her hand over it.
After a heartbeat, she lowered her hand and stepped back. Worry lined her face while concern filled her silver eyes.
“Is it that bad?” Alex asked.
Rhi sighed as she shook her head. “It is Fae writing. And while I can sense the magic surrounding it, I can’t feel what kind it is.”
“Neither could Ulrik,” Dorian said.
“I wonder,” Alex murmured as she took a step toward it.
Dorian stopped her, not wanting her to get close.
She smiled at him. “It’s been in my family for generations. Not once has it hurt any of us. I’ve handled it multiple times.”
Dorian reluctantly released her, but Alex didn’t move from his side. Instead, she intertwined her fingers with his. The action made him breathe easier.
Alex then said, “A Druid and a Dragon King attempted to touch it while it was under my security. A Fae just tried to see about the magic now.”
“Your point,” Con said.
But Dorian understood now. “Each one of us has gone separately. What happens if a King and a Fae look into the magic together?”
“Oh,” Rhi said with her brows raised. “Good idea, Alex.”
While his woman beamed, Dorian began to move toward the stone. But it was Con who stepped up beside Rhi.
“You should let me,” Dorian told him.
The King of Kings shook his head. “If anyone is going to get hurt, it’s me.”
“Oh, let’s not worry about me,” Rhi said with a grumble.
Con shot her a dark look before they both put a hand over the artifact. Rhi sucked in a breath while Con frowned.
“Well?” Dorian urged. He hated not knowing what was going on.
Rhi licked her lips. “The magic is....”
“Intense,” Con finished for her.
The Fae nodded. “It’s not Fae or Druid or dragon.”
“But I sense aspects of all three,” Con added.
“More dragon than anything.”
“Aye.”
Dorian was more confused than ever. “What does this mean? That a dragon is now part of the group?”
Con lowered his hand and met Dorian’s gaze. “This magic is the same as we feel on Dreagan. It has facets of Druid and Fae magic because they’re on this realm with us.”
“Are you saying this isn’t bad magic like the wooden dragon?” Alex asked.
Rhi rested her hand on the artifact and smiled. “That’s exactly what he’s saying. Besides, it saved Dorian’s life.”
“If it’s no’ meant to harm us, why was it kept from us?” Dorian wanted to know.
“To lure you to me,” Alex replied.
Con took the stone from Rhi. “Can you read the writing?” he asked.
“Some,” she replied. “I need more time.”
“You’ll have it.” Con turned to Dorian. “The Immortality Stone needs to be kept safe.”
Alex lifted her chin. “Without a doubt. It also belongs on Dreagan. Consider the artifact now the property of the Dragon Kings.”
There was more discussion on how to read the writing, but Dorian wasn’t really listening. He couldn’t take his eyes off his woman. And he couldn’t wait until they were bound to each other.
“I like when you smile,” Alex whispered.
“You give me a reason.”
She rose up and gave him a quick kiss. “I want to put Meg in charge of everything in New York so I can remain here.”
“Is that something Meg wants?”
Alex grinned and nodded. “She’s anxious to return so she can take over her new role.”
“You doona have to do that. You can return anytime you want.”
She glanced at Con and Rhi still deep in conversation before she pulled Dorian from the cavern. “All my life I’ve wanted a quiet place in the country to live. You’ve not only given me love, Dorian, but you gave me a dream you didn’t know I had. I’m sure I’ll return to New York every once in a while, but I don’t need to go back. I’ve got everything I need right here.”
He wrapped his arms around her and yanked her against him. “I love you, Alexandra Sheridan.”
“And I you.”
His lips found hers as they kissed, giving in to not only the passion, but the love that bound them tighter than anything else ever could.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Donna Grant, discover Dragon King, Dragon Fever, and Dragon Burn.