Flame

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  To Monique

  There is a special kind of relationship between an author and editor. After fifty-one books together, I can honestly say that I’ve loved every minute of it. Thank you!

  CHAPTER ONE

  June

  Scotland

  This was suicide. Noreen knew it.

  But there wasn’t another way. Which left her no other choice. No matter what happened, she would pay for the consequences of her actions.

  It was the least she could do.

  She swallowed hard and stared at the laptop screen sitting before her. On her left was a cup of tea with tendrils of heat rising from it. She looked up and let her gaze slowly wander the café.

  The glamour and magic she used prevented humans from seeing her true coloring—or feeling the attraction they always experienced when a Fae was near. It was necessary to keep a low profile.

  Though it wouldn’t keep her hidden from everyone.

  Noreen glanced out the windows of the internet café to the passersby. The world looked normal. But then again, it usually did right before everything went to shite.

  She didn’t like being so exposed. It was only a matter of time before she was found. There wasn’t a single person she trusted. Already, they scrutinized her every word. She was a good liar, but when so many were double-checking the things she told them, it didn’t matter how thorough she was. They would find out.

  Of all the options she had, this was the best one. There was no way she could walk up to a Dragon King. They would likely kill her before she got the first word out. She opted not to ring them either since she would prefer to keep her identity a secret.

  Noreen quickly crafted her message using a buffer email account and a VPN. The virtual private network would allow her to make anyone who read the email think she was halfway around the world. With a throwaway email as well as using Proton Mail as the host, she was as anonymous as she could get.

  As soon as she hit send, she signed out of everything and rose from her seat. No one around paid any attention to her. She tugged her baseball hat low over her face and strode from the café.

  As soon as she walked outside, it felt as if every eye in Scotland was focused on her. The nearest Fae doorway was over thirty miles away. She could teleport there, but there were those who could follow the trail of her power. Was this how humans felt? Always having to do everything on their own without the use of magic? She hated it.

  However, if she wanted to live, she would do it.

  And she very much wanted to live. Now more than ever.

  Noreen stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the Light Fae walking with a human female. The two were laughing and talking. She gazed at the Fae with the thick strip of silver in her black hair and realized that she was looking at none other than Shara.

  The Fae had once been Dark but turned Light and mated with a Dragon King. Noreen hadn’t believed the story the first time she’d heard it, but it was soon revealed to be the truth. Seeing Shara with her own eyes was much different than hearing a story, though.

  Noreen took a step toward the Fae. Maybe Shara would listen to her. No sooner had the thought gone through her head than Noreen realized it was a terrible idea. She ducked out of sight and went the opposite way so as not to run into Shara.

  “Suicide,” Noreen whispered to herself. “If the Dragon Kings don’t get me, then the Others will.”

  She’d known the reality of her situation when she decided to take action, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified. How many more times would she stand before the Others and lie? How long before they realized what she was about and executed her?

  One of her skills was the ability to deceive others convincingly. She did it with little effort, actually. It came naturally. Then again, she’d never had so much on the line before. She worried that she would try too hard, and others would start to see through her lies—and she’d be caught.

  The constant worry was exhausting. It was bad enough that she had the Others watching her. Now, because she just had to go and do the right thing, she was about to have the Dragon Kings on her arse, too.

  Because no matter the steps she’d taken to be anonymous, they were smart enough—and powerful enough—to figure out who she was.

  That was fine. She was prepared for that. She just wanted to make sure that she was long gone from this realm when it happened. All she had to do was get one King to listen to her—and believe what she was saying. Then, they could take it from there, and she could high-tail it to safety somewhere else.

  At least, that was the plan. A part of her thought about sticking around and fighting with the Kings against the Others, but she didn’t particularly like the sight of blood or death. Strange for sure for a Dark Fae, but everyone had their quirks.

  Noreen’s mind went through options of what might happen with her email. She hoped the words she’d used would alert the Kings that it wasn’t a hoax. Surely, they would take such information seriously.

  How long should she give them before she sent another message? The only option she’d left them was to reply to her, but they didn’t have to do that to believe her. For all she knew, they could have already read it, taken her words to heart, and were in the process of getting things ready for war.

  She rolled her eyes at her hopefulness. That wasn’t going to happen, and she knew it. But it would be nice if it did. It would solve all her problems.

  Well, not all of them, but a majority of them. Yet, she wouldn’t be able to leave until she knew for certain the Kings had listened to her.

  “Shite,” she mumbled.

  That meant she would have to check the new email account she’d set up in case the Kings contacted her. More than likely, she’d have to send several more messages. All the while keeping her actions secret from the Others.

  Maybe it would’ve been better to take her chances by just going straight to Dreagan and knocking on the door. She nearly laughed out loud at the thought. She—like all Fae—knew of the barrier around the sixty thousand acres owned by the Dragon Kings. The moment she stepped through it, they would know of her arrival and be on her in seconds.

  It was one way to get their attention, but with the way things were going, the Dragon Kings were more the strike-now-and-ask-questions-later kind of guys, and that didn’t really work for her.

  She rubbed her thumb over the pads of her fingers as she itched to use magic to make a laptop appear so she didn’t have to visit another internet café, but it was a chance she couldn’t take at the moment.

  “Things really go to shite when you try to do the right thing,” she said as she walked into the abandoned house that she’d come across.

  But was this the right thing? For so long, she’d believed the Others were in the right. Noreen wasn’t sure when she’d changed her mind. It wasn’t one thing she could pinpoint, but she suspected several instances had happened over the thousands of years. And now here she was, her loyalties changing sides. She’d debated on this course of action for the past fifty years, but it was the most recent turn of events that had finally swayed her.

  For one, she had really liked Balladyn. She hadn’t wanted to. She had actively hated him at first. Then, she’d seen what he’d done for the Dark when he became king. He wasn’t just after power. He wanted to unify the Dark and make them great again.

  Then, Usaeil had killed him. Noreen fisted her hand as she recalled seeing the Queen of the Light sink her sword into Balladyn’s back and take his life.

  And she hadn’t been the only Dark outraged by the murder.

  Then, the infamous Rhi had killed Usaeil. Or so they’d thought. Leave it to a power-hungry bitch like Usaeil to ensure that she couldn’t die. But that was something few knew about.

  It would be a cold day in Hell before Noreen bowed before Usaeil and accepted her as queen. It didn’t matter if Usaeil was really Dark or not. She had crossed too many lines, even for a Dark.

  It was an oxymoron, Noreen knew. The Dark were the epitome of wicked to the Light, but the truth was, there were varying degrees of evil within the Dark. It’s why it was so difficult for the Dark to band together on anything.

  Noreen swiped at a long strip of black hair that had fallen into her face as she plopped down on the torn cushion of the hideous floral chair. She dropped her head back and looked at the ceiling.

  She had lived for six thousand years. During that time, she had done a great many things, seen every inch of the planet, and thoroughly enjoyed life.

  Without a doubt, she knew these were the last days of her life. Instead of doing what she wanted and using her magic, she was hiding.

  All because she felt she had to help the Dragon Kings.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Dreagan br />
  “You won’t miss one donut, Ryder,” Cain stated as he reached for one of the last two remaining pastries in the box.

  Ryder didn’t take his eyes from the row of monitors before him as he moved the box to his other side. “Get your own.”

  “Let me take one, and I’ll buy you two more boxes.”

  Ryder snorted loudly. “You owe me six already.”

  Cain winced. Fuck. He did owe him six. “Then I’ll bring you eight boxes. Today.”

  “No.”

  Kinsey, Ryder’s mate, who sat on the other side of him, let out a loud sigh. “For goodness sakes, you two. You’re worse than kids. Ryder, let him have one. And Cain, bring him the eight boxes within an hour, or I’ll make sure you never get another donut again.”

  Cain met Kinsey’s violet gaze and nodded. “You have my word.”

  Ryder rolled his eyes but held out a jelly donut for Cain. Before he could walk away to enjoy the delicious pastry, Ryder called his name.

  “While you’re here, you can go through the emails Dreagan has gotten in the last twenty-four hours,” Ryder said with a small smile on his face.

  Cain glanced at the donut and sank his teeth into it, the strawberry jelly filling his mouth. He didn’t care that it had cost him several boxes or time at the computer going through monotonous emails. It was worth it.

  After he stuffed the last bite into his mouth, he moved his hands over the table to await the keyboard to appear through the glass.

  “Wipe your hands first,” Kinsey cautioned.

  Cain glanced in her direction and saw the murderous expression on Ryder’s face. “Right,” he said and hastily licked his fingers clean before wiping them on his jeans.

  Ryder shook his head in agitation, but he returned his attention to whatever it was he was working on. Cain had learned long ago not to ask. Ryder’s skills were something that Cain had no interest in. He was grateful that Ryder was able to do the things he did, but Cain was doubly thankful that he didn’t have to do them himself. Answering emails was bad enough.

  One by one, Cain went through the various messages from satisfied customers, to those asking questions, as well as some who wrote in to complain about one thing or another.

  It didn’t matter how many he read, he was always shocked at the manner in which humans felt they could say such horrid things, simply because it was through an email. Face-to-face, those same people wouldn’t speak in such a way, but a screen had a way of making people more daring than usual.

  Cain was just about finished when five new emails came through. At this rate, he’d be answering the messages for eternity. As soon as he finished one, two more came in. He didn’t know who normally answered them, but he suspected it was Ryder and Kinsey, and it gave him a whole new respect for them.

  He didn’t read the subject line of the next email as he opened it. It wasn’t until the first few words registered that he stopped reading and glanced at the subject. IMPORTANT! READ IMMEDIATELY DRAGON KINGS.

  The fact that someone was calling them by their name wasn’t common. Cain slowly read the email, his gut twisting into a knot as he did. When he finished, he sat for a moment and let it sink in. Then he reread it.

  Was it a joke? Or could it be for real?

  “Ryder,” Cain said. “There’s something you should read.”

  Ryder kept typing as he said, “I’m sure you can handle it.”

  “It’s important.”

  There was a sigh before Ryder said, “Read it to me.”

  Cain swiveled in his chair so he faced Ryder. Then he began to read. “To whom it may concern. I know whoever is reading this is a Dragon King. I know because I’m a Dark Fae. I took this route in contacting you because I didn’t believe you would listen to me if I showed up at Dreagan. However, what I have to say is important, so I hope you take this seriously since I’m putting my life on the line.”

  By this time, Ryder had stopped typing and was staring at him, as was Kinsey.

  “For most of my life, I’ve been a part of the Others,” Cain continued. “I truly believed it was better for everyone if your kind was gone. It no longer matters what justification I had for my thoughts and actions before now. No species has the right to be annihilated by another. I’ve seen the truth of what the Others truly are, and I want no part in it. It’s why I’ve come to you. I can help you take them down.

  “Now, some might believe this is a trap. Honestly, I would as well, but it isn’t. This is one Fae who wants to stop the Others. I can tell you where they will be so you can attack and end all of this once and for all.”

  There was a deep frown on Ryder’s face. “How was it signed?”

  Cain glanced at the signature. “Just with an N.”

  “We can discover who it is,” Kinsey said. “The IP address is easy enough to find.”

  Cain glanced at the top of the email and shrugged before he scooted the chair away. “Have at it.”

  Ryder rolled his chair to the keyboard and monitor Cain had just been using. Though Cain could’ve taken the opportunity to leave, he found that he wanted to stay and find out if this was real or not.

  He watched as Ryder entered some code, though he was too fast for Cain to see exactly what it was.

  “They’re hiding their location,” Ryder said. “Whoever this is wanted to stay anonymous. They’ve used Proton Mail, which makes it difficult for most people to track.”

  “But not you,” Kinsey said with a grin.

  Ryder looked at his mate and winked. “Damn straight, sweetheart.”

  Cain grinned at the two of them. They were something together. With so many Kings finding their mates, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get as lucky. Not that he was going to hold his breath for such a thing.

  “Got it,” Ryder said and sat back with a smile. “The email originated in Scotland, about twenty-five miles from here.”

  “That’s close,” Cain said.

  Ryder glanced his way and nodded. “Yes, it is.”

  “Give me the IP,” Kinsey urged.

  Ryder did something on the keyboard, and then Kinsey was furiously pounding away at hers. A short time later, she let out a little whoop. Cain watched the two rows of monitors act as one huge screen as Kinsey hacked into the CCTV of where the email had come from.

  “It’s an internet café,” Ryder said.

  Cain’s gaze roamed around the screen to the various computers and people sitting at them. “We’ll never be able to figure out who it is.”

  “Oh, ye of little faith,” Kinsey said with a smile.

  Ryder chuckled, and all Cain could do was watch in awe.

  “Here we go,” Kinsey announced as she hit the enter button with a flourish.

  The monitors blinked, and Cain found himself staring at a woman’s face. The silver in her hair and her red eyes may be absent, but there was no doubt she was using glamour to hide herself. She kept her baseball cap pulled low, and her gaze scanned the café frequently as if she were worried about being followed.

  “She looks scared,” Cain said.

  Ryder blew out a breath and laced his hands behind his head. “If her email is legit, then she has every reason to be.”

  “Or,” Kinsey said, letting the word linger for a moment, “she knew that we’d hack in and find her, so this is all a show.”

  Cain shrugged. “Is it a chance we can take?”

  “I doona believe it is, and I think once we tell Con, he’ll agree,” Ryder pointed out.

  Kinsey’s lips twisted in a frown. “All I can think of is a trap. We’ve suffered enough.”

  “But the Others need to be dealt with.” Cain got to his feet. “I’ll find Con and tell him the news.”

  Ryder gave a nod. “I’m forwarding the email to his computer so he’ll be able to read it for himself.”

  Cain left the computer room and made his way to Constantine’s office. The King of Dragon Kings was rarely far from Dreagan, but it wasn’t just their businesses of sheep and cattle as well as distilling whisky which kept him there. Con was the glue that held everyone together.

  He was the one who had forged a way of life for them on Dreagan when they sent their dragons away after the war with the humans. He was the one who found a way for them to live among the humans thousands of years later while still hiding. It was the whisky that made them the most money, and no mortal who came to Dreagan even realized immortals lived there.