A Dragon's Tale Read online

  The warm sunshine stirred her, but it was the loud chirping of birds that dragged her from the recesses of sleep. Rhi opened her eyes to find herself on her side, looking out an open window with an array of blooms sticking up from the flowerbed outside. In the distance, she saw the rolling hills—hills she knew.

  For several minutes, she didn’t move. She wasn’t sure if she was dead or alive. The pain of her wounds was gone as if they had never been. The last thing she remembered was being delirious with pain. There was no way she could have picked herself up to keep searching for the doorway. Or fend off the four Dark.

  The door to her bedchamber creaked open. She remained still, unsure of what to think. The floorboards groaned as someone moved closer. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a shape at the foot of her bed.

  “Finally.”

  Startled, she jerked her head to find Balladyn, her best friend. She was so surprised to see him that words escaped her.

  “I didn’t think you’d ever wake,” he said as he came to her side of the bed.

  Rhi swung her legs over the side and moved so he could sit. When he held out his arms, she leaned against him. His grip was tight and strong as he held her. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head.

  “What happened? How did I get here?” she asked.

  Balladyn let out a long breath. “A Dragon King found you.”

  She jerked upright and frowned at him. “They can’t find our doorways.”

  “What?” It was Balladyn’s turn to frown.

  “I–I was on the Fae Realm,” she confessed. “I went there because I…couldn’t…”

  Words failed her as the agony of losing her relationship with Con filled her again. Tears welled and overflowed her eyes. She thought she had cried all the tears she had, but obviously, she was wrong. Rhi slumped forward, covering her face with her hands. Balladyn gathered her into his arms and simply held her through the day and into the night as she sobbed uncontrollably.

  The next morning, as they stood outside her family’s cottage looking at the sunrise, he asked, “What are you going to do now?”

  “You didn’t ask me what happened.”

  He shot her a sideways look. “There isn’t a need. Your river of tears said it all. He’s a fool, I’ll say that.”

  “Maybe,” she murmured.

  “Did you go to the Fae Realm to die?”

  She shook her head, shrugging. “I needed to get as far from this planet as I could. It was rash, but my heart was broken, and I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

  “You were nearly dead,” Balladyn stated. “Him saving you and bringing you home is the only reason I won’t give him a piece of my mind.”

  “Don’t.” She turned and faced the only other person she had in the world. “If I’m going to move forward, if I’m going to continue on, then I need a clean break. I want nothing to do with the Dragon Kings ever again.”

  Balladyn smiled, his silver eyes crinkling at the corners. “The Fae don’t belong in Scotland. Ireland is our home.”

  “Our home was destroyed. Ireland is merely a place we live because the Dragon Kings allow it. We should never forget that.”

  “Fek the Kings,” Balladyn said, resentment dripping from every syllable. “One day, Con and I will meet. And I plan to tell him exactly what I think.”

  Rhi shook her head. “You two will never have reason to run into each other. That’s for the best. I’m letting everything go. So should you.”

  “All right.” Balladyn kissed her forehead and smiled.

  She returned the grin. “Now, stop looking at me as if I might break.”

  “You did break.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I? I’ll get through this.”

  One side of his lips quirked up. “I have no doubt. I’ll always be here if you need me.”

  “I know. Now, go. You have duties with the Queen’s Guard.”

  “So do you.”

  She twisted her lips. “Right.”

  “I’ll see you later,” Balladyn said with a wave and teleported out.

  Rhi turned back to the sunrise and blew out a breath. She had told the greatest lie of her life to a man who was both friend and family. No matter what she did, no matter what she said, she would never get over Constantine. The King of Dragon Kings had stolen her heart. It was his.

  And it always would be.

  It wasn’t in her to stop living. He had thrown her love away as if it meant nothing. She thought him a better male than that. At least she knew his true colors now. She might never stop loving him, but she wouldn’t be foolish enough to fall for him again.

  “The best revenge is to live well,” she said. “And I plan on living really well.”

  With those words, the pain in her heart hardened, and the first seeds of anger sprouted.

  CONSTANTINE

  A tough decision…

  Con buried his head in his hands as he sat on a boulder in his mountain. He didn’t want to think about what Darius had told Rhi. He hated himself for not having the courage to say it himself. But how could he tell the love of his life that they had to end their relationship because of what he’d foreseen?

  He was sick to his stomach at the thought of hurting her. But hurt her he must in order to save the Kings. He was the King of Dragon Kings, which meant it fell on him to ensure they continued on—no matter what.

  Ever since they’d sent the dragons away after the war with the humans, the Kings had teetered between demise and continuing on. Con shouldered the responsibility to keep them together and going—regardless of how much it might be detrimental to him.

  That’s what happened when a dragon had the role of King of Kings. Con had wanted it, sought it. He’d been born to rule. Nothing had ever satisfied him like being King of Golds and then King of Kings.

  Until Rhi.

  He squeezed his eyes shut as his heart broke. He sucked in a breath and lifted his head as he looked around the dark cavern. How would he go on? How could he get through one hour without Rhi, much less an eternity? She was the balm to his soul, the other half of his heart.

  Something wet fell onto his hands. He looked down to find a droplet. Another quickly followed. Confused, Con reached up and felt his cheek to discover tears.

  “Och, lass,” he murmured as his throat clogged with emotion.

  He’d thought sending the dragons away had been the hardest thing he’d ever have to do. But he’d been wrong. It was nothing compared to letting go of the most beautiful creature in all of creation, one who had loved him with everything she had.

  Waking up next to her, having her with him all the time, it had made his life go from tolerable to amazing. Rhi gave him laughter. She showed him the beauty and wonder of the realm that he had forgotten after the war and all the turmoil. She was always ready with a laugh and a smile. All she saw was the goodness in the world—when he saw the bad.

  She balanced him in a way that no one else could. She was, to put it simply, everything to him.

  Despite that, he couldn’t continue being happy while his Kings were miserable. The looks of jealousy were becoming more frequent. None of them would outright tell him that they were envious, but they didn’t need to. His job was to notice the tiniest details. He’d disregarded the first signs of resentment, hoping he was reading too much into things because he was so happy and in love.

  Then it became apparent that he wasn’t.

  Con grappled with the idea of doing what was right for the Kings as opposed to what his heart yearned for…longed for. He searched for a way to have Rhi and the Kings’ happiness. And in the process, allowed his affair with Rhi to go on longer than it should have. Though it wouldn’t have mattered when he ended it with her. It was always going to be an impossible task.

  It would be easier for him to reach inside his chest and yank out his heart.

  He swallowed as his eyes burned with tears. From the first time he’d seen Rhi, he’d been head over heels. She had stolen his breath as she
stood atop that mountain, watching him. Their first kiss had sealed the deal. With every new moment that he was with her, he’d fallen more and more in love. Their souls were connected in a way that he couldn’t begin to describe or explain.

  Just as he had always known that his mate wouldn’t be a dragon, he had known Rhi was his.

  And now, he had to let her go. He told himself there was hope they could be together again, but he knew it was a lie he told himself to make things easier. Dragons mated with dragons, and with them gone to another realm, that left very little chance of the Kings finding mates.

  Most detested humans to an extent that was unhealthy—and dangerous. For the mortals. The only other option was to find mates amongst the Fae. And while the Kings had welcomed Rhi, none seemed interested in discovering if another Fae might be their mate. That’d led Con to conclude that if he wanted his Kings to live and be united with their dragons once more, he had to keep them together.

  Unfortunately, in order to do that, he had to end things with Rhi.

  He rose and paced the cavern, fighting the urge to shift and return to the manor to take Rhi in his arms once more. He knew he could be happy with her for eternity. But every time he decided to give in to that thought, he felt the magic of the realm. It didn’t speak to him, but it didn’t need to. Just the feeling of it reminded him of what he had promised when he became King of Kings.

  There was no option for him to say that he was no longer King of Kings. The only way that could happen was if one of the Kings challenged him. And the only one who had enough power to potentially defeat him was Ulrik.

  Con didn’t want to think about the best friend he had lost to the war with the humans. He had done what he thought was right for Ulrik in an attempt to keep the peace. Instead, it had turned the King he knew into a raging beast hell-bent on the extermination of the mortals. And had left Con with no choice but to banish Ulrik from Dreagan and bind his friend’s magic.

  For thousands of years, Con had carried the burden of that, and it was a heavy weight. Now, he was going to add Rhi’s pain to it. Con wasn’t sure he could handle it.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

  There was a way out. All he had to do was return Ulrik’s magic. As soon as that happened, his once-best friend would challenge him immediately. With all those years of fury and vengeance to aid him, Con was sure that Ulrik would win and take over his position.

  The King of Silvers, the male that Con had once known, would have been an amazing King of Kings. But much had turned Ulrik’s heart. More than that, Con knew that if the magic of the realm really wanted another to take his place, it would have returned Ulrik’s magic long ago—or chosen someone else.

  Con had wanted to be King of Golds. He had known that he would be King of Kings, and he had wanted that position, as well. Not because he wanted the power but because he knew it was his destiny. Looking back, he had to question the magic’s decision in choosing him. He had done much wrong.

  Losing Rhi, cutting her out of his life would make him less than. He wasn’t strong enough to survive without his mate. No dragon could.

  Con halted when the magical barrier around Dreagan alerted him that Rhi had left the estate. He sagged against a wall, grief tearing through him. That might be the last time she was at Dreagan. He should have spoken to her. He should have been the one to look in her eyes and tell her everything. Then he could’ve held her as they both cried.

  But that was wishful thinking. He had waited too long to do this because he had grasped any and all excuses to keep her with him. The moment he told her why they needed to end things, she would’ve attempted to come up with a solution so they could remain together.

  And he would’ve grabbed hold of it with all he had.

  Which would’ve been the downfall of the Kings.

  Con wished it weren’t true, but he had gone through every scenario over the past few months, only to come to the same conclusion each time. His duty to the Kings precluded his wants and needs. The Kings looked to him for answers, looked to him to lead. He pretended he knew the way, but for the most part, he stumbled around blindly.

  They were Dragon Kings without dragons, hiding on a realm from the mortals they had opened their home to and protected. How could he turn his back on the Kings when they were in this position because of his decisions?

  Con pushed away from the wall and looked around the cavern. He wished he could take the dragon sleep as all the other Kings had, but he couldn’t. If he did, he might not wake—not after losing his mate. Because there had never been an instance where a dragon lived after losing his mate.

  Which meant Con had no idea how long he would remain alive. There was a lot he needed to take care of and get in order. But his heart and head weren’t there yet. The grief was too raw, too visceral to think of anything but the life he had given up with Rhi. One he had dreamed about for many years.

  Out of the blue, a memory of his father surfaced. From a time after Con had become King of Golds.

  “You’re going to be a terrific leader, son,” his father said.

  Con shrugged. “I hope so.”

  “I know this is what you wanted, and I know the magic selected you because this is your destiny, but I wouldna have chosen this life for you.”

  Con frowned as he looked at his father. “Why would you say that?”

  “Take a good look around. A Dragon King might be able to have a family, but his attention is always divided. There isna a Dragon King who has lived who hasna also thought about being King of Kings. But look at the King of Kings, son. He doesna just have his clan to worry about. He has all the clans to watch over. When does that leave time for a wife or bairns?”

  “Then maybe I’m no’ meant to have a wife or a family.”

  His father sighed softly. “You’ve no’ yet met your mate if you can say that. To have someone loyal to you, one who loves you and will stand with you in all things, is no’ something to so easily cast aside.”

  “Being a Dragon King, being King of Kings is much more important than love.”

  * * *

  Con grimaced as the memory faded. He hadn’t thought about that day in ages. Now that he’d experienced Rhi’s love, he understood exactly what his father had tried to tell him. How he wished his da could’ve met Rhi. He would’ve loved her. Everyone loved Rhi because she had so much love in her heart.

  Darius’s voice filled Con’s head, but Con ignored the King of Dark Purples. He didn’t need Darius to tell him what had taken place or what Rhi might or might not have said. That would only make matters worse, and Con was already teetering on the edge of a knife. It wouldn’t take much to send him spiraling into a chasm of torment that he would never recover from.

  That wouldn’t do him any good since he’d made his choice. That meant he had to pull himself together somehow.

  Hope cuts deeper than a sword…

  Con suddenly jerked, his attention shifting to the manor where he felt Rhi teleport. He had always been able to discern when it was her or some uninvited Fae who’d come to Dreagan. Hope leapt in his heart.

  He was in his mountain because if Rhi did look for him, what had to be said was for their ears only. But another part of him, the bit that clung to hope with everything he had, knew Rhi would demand an answer. If she came, he’d take it as a sign that he could work through this somehow and have his mate while still keeping the Kings happy.

  Con turned to the cavern entrance, waiting for her to appear. His heart slammed hard against his chest, even as he shook.

  “Please,” he begged the magic. “Please doona let me lose her. Show me another way because I can no’ be the Dragon King you need without her.”

  With every second that passed, Con became more frantic. Where was she? Why hadn’t she come? Just as he was striding out of the cavern, the barrier alerted him that Rhi had left. Again.

  Con dropped to his knees, a bellow of profound grief tearing from his throat. He knew, in that instant, that he
had lost her. Possibly forever.

  He shifted into his true form and let loose a booming roar filled with grief and resentment. He slammed his tail into some boulders, smashing them to pieces. He drew in a breath and then released fire as his heart broke again and again. He slashed the granite with his claws, burned rock with more dragon fire until there was nothing left of the original cavern.

  Con drew in a shuddering breath and collapsed, all hope, all wrath depleted. He closed his eyes, the lure of dragon sleep beckoning him. He had been awake for so long. He had endured eons of loneliness. And he couldn’t imagine facing another second without Rhi. He needed rest, something the other Kings had taken for granted. When the world got to be too much for them, they sought out their mountains and slept away decades and centuries.

  Con hadn’t gotten that privilege.

  As much as he wanted to sleep and drift away into forever with dreams of Rhi, he couldn’t. But Con didn’t get up, shift to human form, or return to the manor. He couldn’t find the will to do anything. He had experienced centuries of solitude. Endless, lonely nights. They had been relatively easy to get through. Now that he’d found his mate, had found love, he wouldn’t have a peaceful day without her.

  Kings kept calling for him through their mental link, but he ignored them. He needed time to heal from the loss and determine what it meant for him going forward. Con curled his tail around himself as he stared at the cavern wall. But it wasn’t the stone he saw. It was memories of him and Rhi, each recollection moving smoothly from one to the other.

  Sometime later, he heard the other Kings flying and realized they were on night patrol. It was his favorite part of the day because it meant he could return to his true form and take to the skies. But not even that could get him to move.

  The more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if he had made yet another mistake. He had given up Rhi so his Kings could remain together and find some semblance of happiness until they found their dragons again. But without Rhi, Con couldn’t find the drive to even fly. How in the world would he continue leading the Kings?