A Dragon's Tale Page 10

  And her heart…was gone.

  The quiet of the realm, the stillness of it, would have bothered her before. Now, she found it soothing. There wasn’t another soul on the realm. And that suited her perfectly. She had no desire to be around anyone. She didn’t care about her responsibilities. She didn’t care about those who might look for her.

  When she realized that Con wouldn’t be one of those people, she squeezed her eyes closed, tears leaking from the corners to fall over her nose and down her temple. Rhi drew in a shaky breath, her fingers digging into the packed dirt. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t think of anything but Con.

  The conversations they’d shared ran through her mind. Scenes from their time together played like a movie in her head. She dissected every part of them, searching for something in Con’s expression or words that she might have missed. If there had been anything, he’d hidden it valiantly.

  Her eyes burned from all the tears. She closed them to try and find relief. The next thing she knew, she was drifting off to sleep. Rhi didn’t fight it. Anything was better than the heartache she endured.

  * * *

  “I’ll never get enough of you,” Con said in a husky voice as he pulled her down onto his lap in the library.

  Rhi laughed even as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “That’s good since I have no intention of going anywhere. You’re stuck with me, dragon.”

  “Ah, lass,” he murmured in a sexy voice. “You know just what to say.”

  She pressed her lips against his for a lingering kiss before she lifted her head. “I still can’t believe I found you.”

  “I was the one who found you, remember?” he said and winked. “Standing upon that mountain with the wind playing in your black locks. I’d never seen anything more beautiful, and I knew then that you were someone special.”

  She smoothed her hand down his face, feeling the day’s growth of whiskers before her fingers slid into the cool, golden locks on his head. “Something drew me to Dreagan. I told you that when you landed beside me that day. I thought it was the magic centered here, but it was you.”

  “You were no’ frightened of me in dragon form,” he replied, his black eyes holding her gaze.

  Rhi shook her head. “All I could think about was how magnificent you were—the sunlight dancing off your golden scales. I hadn’t seen your human form, but it didn’t matter. You swept me off my feet that day.”

  “I’m verra lucky, lass.”

  “Oh, I think I’m the fortunate one.” She pressed her lips together and glanced away.

  Con tightened his arms to get her attention. “What is it?”

  “Some Fae think we’re making a mistake. They say a Dragon King and a Fae can never work.”

  “Tell them to bloody well mind their own business,” he bit out irritably.

  That made Rhi smile. “You aren’t worried that we won’t work?”

  “Do you love me?” he asked pointedly.

  She nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “And I love you. That is all that matters.”

  Rhi slid down so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “I love how you make things sound so simple.”

  “Because it is that simple.”

  “We’re going to have a beautiful life together.”

  “Aye, my love, we certainly will.”

  * * *

  Rhi woke suddenly. Her smile vanished when reality intruded, and the last remnants of the dream-like memory evaporated like smoke. Then she heard it. A faint, low rumbling that progressively turned into a drumming boom like distant thunder. She sat up and looked around for rain clouds.

  It had grown dark as she slept, making it impossible to discern if the dark shapes in the sky were thunderheads. The realm was in desperate need of showers. But the longer she looked, the louder the hammering roar became. A shiver ran through her as a gust of wind engulfed her. She lifted her arms to shield her face, even as she turned her head away. Another gust quickly followed. Then, along with the booms, she heard the hissing of the wind as it raced across the sterile landscape.

  Rhi looked into the oncoming gale in time to see something huge headed her way. She ducked, just as a tree flew over her. Sand and debris pelted her face and exposed skin. She couldn’t open her eyes to see where she was going, but she had to find cover. The sandstorm was picking up everything and flinging it around like a child during a tantrum.

  She managed to get to her feet even as the wind pushed at her. She only took a couple of steps before the gale knocked her off balance, causing her to land hard on her side. Rhi immediately tipped sideways and fell down the sloping riverbank. Once in the depression, she was able to find respite from the violent storm.

  With her fingers clinging to the fragile, brittle, exposed root of a long-fallen tree, Rhi buried her face against the ridge as she pulled her legs up and curled into a tight ball. The wind howled vehemently, dust and sand shredding anything in its way and flinging them like minuscule missiles. Debris occasionally struck her. She didn’t lift her head or even move a single finger for fear that the flimsy root would give, and she’d lose her anchor.

  The entire time the storm raged, all she could think about was how she wished that Con were there. She had spent so much time alone before him, that she knew how good things had been with him in her life. She wasn’t afraid of being alone again. She was afraid that she couldn’t survive without him.

  Her mother had once said that Rhi would know she’d found true love if she didn’t want to go through life without the person by her side. That’s how Rhi had known that what she felt for Con was real. It was the kind of love that she would do anything to keep.

  She had already gotten the gown she planned to wear for the mating ceremony. Con hadn’t officially asked her yet, but they had spoken of the future and their lives together. They had traded vows and declared their love. Constantine wasn’t the kind to trifle with someone.

  Then why didn’t he ask you to do the ceremony?

  Rhi searched her mind for an answer, but there wasn’t one. She blinked as tears welled. Had she been so head-over-heels that she hadn’t seen the truth? She hadn’t cared that he was King of Dragon Kings. It wouldn’t have mattered if he was merely a King. She only wanted him.

  He loved her. She was sure of it.

  Then why did he end it?

  “Stop,” she told herself.

  The truth hurts, doesn’t it? But someone has to say it. You certainly won’t.

  “Stooooop!” Rhi shouted and clutched her head.

  She opened her eyes as she realized the storm had moved off. She turned onto her back and immediately gasped. She looked down to find a gash in her side. It wasn’t bad enough to kill her, but it would cause her tremendous pain in the meantime.

  Rhi gingerly climbed to her feet and looked around in the dark. The moon, like the sun, was hidden. She thought about conjuring a light, then decided that she was happy where she was. She slowly lowered herself to the ground and used her magic for a fire. She also called some water, bandages, and food to her, though the idea of eating didn’t appeal at all.

  She used the water to flush her wound, then bound it with the bandages. Afterward, she sat back and stared at the fire. Exhaustion, the likes of which she had never experienced before, weighed on her. She was spent—emotionally, mentally, and physically. At least the tears had stopped for the time being. She lay back and looked at the sky, wishing she could see the stars. The thick fog that hovered in the atmosphere made it impossible to see anything.

  With the sandstorm, and who knew what else the broken realm would deliver, Rhi had to act. She could use magic for the moment, but she couldn’t linger. To do so meant certain death.

  And while Con ending things had utterly crushed her, she didn’t want to die. How she would go on was another matter entirely. First, she needed to find a place to live. The only reason the Fae even knew of Earth was because a Fae had opened a doorway there long ago. She didn’t have the
kind of magic it took to create a portal to a new realm. Not to mention, she didn’t know of other realms. Even if she could produce the doorway, she wouldn’t have any idea what world she might step into.

  Then it’s back to Earth.

  Rhi closed her eyes, too tired to argue with herself.

  The end of it all…

  When Rhi opened her eyes, a new day had dawned, though she had no idea what time it was. She waved her hand over the fire, extinguishing it. After checking her wound, she stood and looked around. There didn’t appear to be another storm coming.

  The last thing she wanted to do was return to Earth, but she had nowhere else to go. She would just have to make sure that she didn’t run into Con—which would be easy. He rarely left Dreagan, and she wouldn’t be allowed to cross their barrier anymore. Which ensured that she wouldn’t venture too close.

  She had never known such misery before, though she had seen others experience it. Her naïveté hadn’t allowed her to truly comprehend what those individuals were going through. Now, she did. And she fekking hated every second of it.

  This was when her da would have told her that it was a learning experience. And that she should take full advantage of every emotion to better understand and grow as a Fae. While her father might have been right, it was her mother she would’ve turned to, if she were able. Her mum had always known just what to do without Rhi even saying a word. How she missed her mother.

  Rhi took a deep, steadying breath and looked around to discern which way she needed to go to get back to the doorway that led to Earth. She hadn’t paid attention on her trek because she’d been too distraught. Whatever footprints she’d left had been wiped away by the sandstorm. So, she would just have to guess and hope it was the right direction.

  She climbed up the embankment and turned in a slow circle. Rhi knew she hadn’t crossed the riverbed, so that eliminated that route. She put her back to the river and started walking. Hopefully, something along the way would look familiar. The longer she hiked, the more she realized that she had made a terrible decision by coming here.

  Some Fae believed that if their realm were going to split apart, it would have happened already. Rhi thought the planet was too far gone and couldn’t be saved. That it was only a matter of time before it was rent in half. She wished it could be healed, but even if all Fae combined their magic, it wouldn’t be enough to undo the damage.

  At least the same thing wouldn’t happen on Earth. The Dragon Kings would ensure the planet’s survival.

  She halted, her heart catching at the thought of the Kings—and Con. Was this what it would be like from now on? Would she burst into tears anytime someone mentioned the Kings? She mourned the loss of Con’s love, but how long would it take for that grief to turn into something else?

  She feared the answer—and the outcome.

  More than likely, she would go the rest of her life without ever seeing Constantine again. That would save her anguished heart. But at the same time, she couldn’t imagine not speaking to him again—never seeing his smile or hearing his brogue.

  Never feeling the safety of his arms.

  She fought against another onslaught of tears. She needed to pull herself together to face others when she returned to Earth. That couldn’t happen if she kept blubbering.

  “Nothing will be the same,” she said aloud. “I’ll need to find something to do, something that will give me purpose.”

  One thing Rhi had never done was follow the rules. She had always gone wherever her heart led her. For the most part, things had turned out well. Despite the current turmoil, she wouldn’t trade it because she had known love.

  “’Every experience shapes us,’” she said, quoting her father. “‘It’s what we do with that experience that defines us.’”

  Until that moment, she didn’t fully understand what her father had attempted to instill in her. But she didn’t want to delve into that quite yet. The hurt was too raw, too new to venture down that road.

  She perked up when she saw a doorway. Rhi rushed to it but stopped short of going through. She looked over her shoulder and saw mountains. When she had come through from Earth, there hadn’t been any mountains in sight. The doorway she stood before could take her to another realm, or it could take her to another part of the planet.

  With the way the Fae Realm was, she didn’t want to chance there being something wrong with the doorway on the other side, making it so she couldn’t get back. She sighed and turned away from the door to continue onward.

  Her thoughts took her to the month prior when she and Con had been in the kitchen, attempting to make some scones.

  She dropped an egg on the floor, breaking it. Con teased her, and in turn, she threw flour at him. Within minutes, white powder covered them both.

  He pushed her against the counter as heat filled his gaze. “I love you.”

  “And I, you,” she whispered, eager for his kiss.

  His gaze searched hers. “Are you happy here? I know this is different than the Light Castle.”

  “I don’t care where I am, as long as we’re together.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are you happy?”

  He rubbed his nose against hers. “Deliriously.”

  “Are you happy with me here?”

  “I will always want you by my side. Nothing will ever change that.”

  Their lips met, and the soft kiss turned fiery. When Con lifted her to sit on the counter, it knocked the bowl onto the floor. They erupted in laughter. When she slid off to clean up the mess, she spotted Ryder and Laith in the doorway, watching.

  Con had sobered and walked to his Kings, exchanging some words.

  Rhi hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but maybe there was something to it.

  “Or I’m searching too hard for answers and reading too much into things.” She blew out a frustrated breath.

  She walked for hours. As time passed without her locating a doorway, an uneasy feeling took root. Rhi ignored it at first, thinking it was just her worry about the planet breaking apart. However, it wasn’t long before she realized that it was much more than that.

  If she hadn’t been so lost in her thoughts of Con or reliving memories, she would’ve realized the sensation earlier. She stopped, listening. Rhi strained, trying to pick up any sounds. The silence she had coveted the day before was now fraught with danger and strangeness that set her on edge.

  She could attempt to teleport back to the doorway to Earth. Since she didn’t know its location, there was no telling where she might land with the jump. Her only option was to find the portal and get through it—posthaste.

  Rhi couldn’t pinpoint what’d made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. There were no animals—they had all died from lack of food and water. But that didn’t mean there weren’t Fae on the realm, doing exactly as she was doing.

  “Bloody hell,” she murmured.

  Had her head been on straight, she wouldn’t have been so careless. But she was in the situation now. The only thing she could do was make sure she didn’t run into anyone as she looked for the doorway.

  One step. Two. Then she heard the twig snap.

  Rhi froze, her heart pounding. A chill crawled down her spine. She knew in that instant that whatever it was would take her life. Her chest heaved as adrenaline pumped through her body. She scanned the area, seeing nothing. But she knew something was there. She could make a run for it. Her best chance would be to teleport somewhere other than her present location. She tried but found herself back in the same spot. That’s when she heard the laugh.

  Her head snapped in the direction of the sound, and she saw a Dark casually leaning against a dead tree, his arms crossed over his chest. His smile told her that he knew exactly what she had attempted. Rhi had never encountered a Fae who could stop another from teleporting before. If Balladyn were there, he’d simply shake his head and tell her to stop being so naïve.

  That’s exactly what she had been. Not just by coming to the rea
lm but also by not paying attention. She swiveled her head to look around her once more. This time, she spotted more Fae. There were five Dark in all.

  She was good, having been trained by her father, brother, and Balladyn, who was the greatest warrior the Light Fae had ever seen. This wasn’t the first time the odds were stacked against her, but she had never faced five before.

  Rhi thought about the wound in her side. It would be a hindrance. If she were to make it out alive, she had to ignore the pain and focus on living. She drew in a breath and called her magic to her. Before she could form an orb, magic slammed into her from behind. She bit back a scream and ducked as the others attacked. She called upon every ounce of her training to bob, weave, dodge, and roll to avoid the magic flying at her. Many of the orbs missed.

  Unfortunately, some found their mark.

  Rhi managed to land a few hits herself. She smiled when one of the Dark Fae fell backward and turned to ash after she lobbed two balls of magic at his chest. She cried out when an orb slammed into her wounded side. Her knees buckled from the agony, but she didn’t stop fighting. Even when she was on the ground, and the other four stood around her, she kept dishing out attack after attack. They were pitiful attempts, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.

  “Fek all of you!” Rhi shouted and tossed another orb.

  She didn’t see if it found its mark. She no longer cared. So much pain poured through her, it was all she could do to stay conscious. She waited for the killing blow as her mind turned to Con and what could have been.

  She drifted in and out of consciousness, unsure if she were alive or dead. At one point, she’d thought for sure she saw someone standing next to her wearing a black ball gown. When she forced her eyes open again, the world was empty.

  Rhi felt her life fading away. A tear fell from her eye, across her temple, and slid into her hair. “Con,” she whispered and let her eyes fall shut.

  A new life begins…