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  “’Tis only the dragons,” he said sadly as they watched a pair of dragons black as pitch circle the air.

  She looked up at him and found his eyes full of gloom. “You sound distressed. Why?”

  He sighed and attempted a smile. When he started to shrug his shoulders she pulled out of his arms.

  “You can tell me.”

  He searched her face eagerly. “I can, can’t I?” He pulled her back into his arms and rested his chin on her head. “Did I ever tell you just how much I love this city?”

  She didn’t respond. She thought she would garner more information by being silent. She wasn’t wrong.

  “As many times as I roamed over my realm I always came back here,” Lugus continued. “It holds my heart like no other place. All the years I stayed next to you in the glen I always thought of Caer Rhoemyr.”

  “The city of kings,” she whispered.

  “And its about to be destroyed.”

  No sooner had those words left his mouth than the sky filled with black dragons. They watched as the black dragons raced across the sky to meet blue dragons that came toward the city.

  Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the beautiful blue dragons. The scales were the color of the dark blue waters of the Fae realm and became lighter on the underside of its thin, short body. She knew they would be no match from the black dragons until she saw the elongated limbs of the blue dragons and the four splayed digits on each foot with long, sharp claws.

  The battle began in earnest. Huge fireballs erupted from the dragons’ mouths to hit the glittering buildings of the city. She was surprised to feel Lugus’ stiffen. Could this be affecting him as badly as it was her?

  Her eyes followed one blue dragon as it flew close to them, his close-set wings running from his shoulders to the middle of his tail.

  She raised her head to Lugus. “Can you stop them?”

  “Nay,” he said and closed his eyes to the devastation. “Once the Death Dragons are released, there is no stopping them.”

  “When will they stop?”

  He shrugged. “In the millions of centuries that the Fae have been here, they were released only once at the very beginning of our time.”

  “And what happened?”

  “They destroyed that realm. To this day that realm is barren for the Death Dragons will continue to destroy everything in its path. It’s all it knows how to do.”

  “You knew this and you released them anyway?” She couldn’t believe he would do such a thing to his beloved Caer Rhoemyr.

  With a sigh he dropped his arms from around her and leaned against the stone hedge of the tower. “I did not find out until after I had released them. My quest for glory will destroy everything that I hold dear.”

  A greedy man she knew how to handle, but a man who was conquered by the very power that ran through him she didn’t have any idea how to handle. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen and it changed her way of thinking.

  She walked to him and put her hand on his arm. “There has to be a way to stop them. Surely the Fae wouldn’t have created beasts that couldn’t be controlled.”

  “Controlled?” He gave a bark of laughter. “We didn’t create the dragons. They have been around for as long as we have.” He turned his head to her. “They once roamed your realm.”

  "Why do the blue dragons fight the Death Dragons?"

  Lugus raised his gaze to the sky. "There is a dragon hierarchy. Since the blue dragons are fighting, that means the green and yellow dragons have failed."

  Moira swallowed. "And if these dragons fail?"

  "There are a few more dragons, though our last hope is the white dragons. If they fail all is lost."

  She couldn’t stand to stay there another moment and see the magnificent blue dragons and the city being destroyed. She began to turn away when Lugus caught her hand.

  “I don’t want to be alone,” he said softly. She could understand exactly how he felt. With a nod she returned to his side, hoping against hope that the smaller blue dragons would win the battle.

  * * * *

  The ceremony crowning Moira queen of the Fae was a somber affair. Only she, Lugus and Gwrtheyrn attended. Ever since that morning when Lugus had watched part of the city burn, he had remained silent and withdrawn.

  Even now as they sat on the throne beside the old king and queen who were still held captive, Lugus said not a word.

  She got to her feet and walked to him. She stood in front of him for the longest time, yet he didn’t notice her. With his elbow on the arm of the chair and his head resting against his fist, he looked off into the distance. She sat by his feet and took his hand in hers.

  “Lugus?”

  Slowly his blue eyes turned to her. The despair and sadness moved her as nothing else could.

  “What are you going to do?”

  He turned her hand over and traced her palm with his thumb. “My father’s death was an accident.”

  His confession stunned her. She held still and waited for him to say more. “How so?” she asked when he grew pensive.

  “We were arguing as we always did. My mother used to say we argued so much because we were just alike.” He shrugged. “I suppose she was right.”

  “What did you argue over?”

  “Theron.”

  Moira jerked her eyes to the old king and saw him watching Lugus. “Had Theron done something?” she asked.

  Lugus lifted one side of his mouth in a smile. “Theron did everything right. My father was constantly comparing me to him. When Father said Theron would make a better king than I ever could think of becoming, my temper got the better of me.”

  “I can understand how that would make you angry.” Her palm tingled where he continued to caress her. “What happened?”

  “We had been training. I pushed him when he started yelling in my face. He fell back on a dagger.”

  “You didn’t defend yourself?”

  “Everyone always thought the worst of me. I let them because at the time I wanted them to think I had killed him because I wanted him dead.”

  Hope blossomed in her heart at his words. He wasn’t a murderer. It had been an accident. He didn’t wish to see his world destroyed. Bitterness and guilt had eaten away at his soul. Yet there was a chance that it could be changed.

  A small chance, but a chance all the same.

  Suddenly he pulled her to her feet and rose with her. “Go to your chamber. I wish to be alone for awhile.”

  She was surprised to find that she wanted to comfort him, but she had come to know him and found he wasn’t a bad person.

  “I can help you.”

  He smiled and ran the back of he knuckles down her face. “Just knowing you are mine helps, but right now I need some time alone.”

  She nodded and couldn’t stop worrying about what he would do. “If you need me, you know where I’ll be.” She started to turn away when he stopped her.

  “Don’t venture outside and keep away from the windows,” he warned.

  The reminder of the dragons was enough to keep her locked safely in her room

  until he came for her.

  * * * *

  Dartayous didn’t bother to open his eyes when he heard the door swing open. It was most likely Lugus or MacNeil returned to meet out more of his torture, and he had no

  wish to be blinded by the never ending bright light of the chamber to find out.

  No taunting remarks were forthcoming. He cracked open his eyes and found Lugus standing in front of him, but what surprised him the most was that the chamber was no longer brightly lit.

  “I wouldn’t have done this to you had you stayed away,” Lugus said.

  Dartayous suddenly found himself free and fell to the floor in an agonizing heap. Pain shot through his arms as he moved them. He shut out the mind numbing pain and climbed to his feet so he could meet his fate like a warrior.

  He staggered and would have fallen if Lugus hadn’t caught him. Lugus set him on
his feet and backed away.

  “What are you up to?” Dartayous asked suspiciously.

  “There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to have Moira. I’ve promised her that she would rule the Fae. I will not go back on that vow.”

  Dartayous narrowed his eyes. “You don’t want to be king?”

  “Oh, I do. I just didn’t want it this way. At first I did, but now....” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “And what will happen to me?”

  “You will still be killed. I cannot have you around tempting Moira. I have erased you from her memory, but it won’t hold forever. I need her. She has healed me in ways I never dreamed. To live without her is to die.”

  Dartayous inhaled deeply and rubbed his aching shoulders. “You will take care of her?”

  “She will want for nothing,” Lugus vowed.

  Dartayous nodded and leaned against the wall as the last of his strength gave out.

  He slid down the wall as Lugus left the chamber. His wounds might have healed but his heart was severed in two. Lugus was right. To live without Moira was to die. He’d rather be dead than to see her with another. Lugus would take care of her, of that Dartayous had no doubt. That eased his mind somewhat, but what would ease the growing ache within his heart?

  * * * *

  Lugus walked from the chamber that housed Dartayous to his brother as he ignored the roars of the dragons. He released the hold he had on Theron’s voice. “I would let you go free, but I’ve promised Moira she would be queen. I’ve got to see it through.”

  “You will stop at nothing to see hope ripped from me,” Theron ground out.

  Lugus sighed, his heart and mind heavy. “Revenge was what kept me alive in Realm of Shadows all those thousands of years, but it is gone now.”

  “You always were a good liar. I can hear the dragons now. You released them to destroy the city.”

  “Theron,” Rufina chastised him. “Let Lugus speak.”

  Lugus laughed softly. “Who would have thought Rufina would speak for me?” He didn’t wish them to know just how badly he hated seeing the city destroyed.

  “Not me,” Theron muttered.

  “I will release you after tomorrow. Once the prophecy is fulfilled all the Fae will be released.” After a stretch of silence he looked at his younger brother. “Maybe I’ll make as good a king as you were.”

  “Maybe I’ll take back what was mine,” Theron threatened his blue eyes narrowed in hatred.

  “You know as well as I that once I take in that power nothing will stop me.”

  “I will find a way.”

  Lugus nodded and turned to Rufina. “I hope that you will help ease the wounds

  I’ve caused both of you. I would ask for your forgiveness, but I’m not worthy of it.” He left before he muttered anything more stupid and went to find Moira. She would ease his sour mood with her bright smile and flaxen hair.

  * * * *

  Frang left the safety of the stone circle and went to the nemeton. The sacred clearing was valued by the Druids for its fortress that separated it from the rest of the world.

  He wasn’t surprised to find Fiona and Glenna waited for him. “’Tis good you are here,” he said.

  “You have news?” Glenna asked.

  He shook his head. “I only know that the winds of Fate have shifted.”

  Fiona played with the end of her long brown braid. “How is that?”

  “I know not how, I only know what I feel within me.”

  “Is there still hope?” Glenna asked the question all wanted to know.

  He gazed deep into Glenna’s dark eyes. “That I don’t know.”

  “Then can you tell us if Moira is all right?”

  He turned to Fiona and smiled. “I have never felt that Moira was in danger physically.”

  Glenna grunted and then turned and left the nemeton. Frang wanted to call her back, but allowed her to go so she could confront her worries another way.

  “She didn’t mean any insult,” Fiona said. “She’s just worried.”

  “We all are,” he said and leaned heavily on his staff. He pulled at his long beard. “I wish I had more encouraging news, but the fact is I’m getting very little. My sight has been hindered.”

  Fiona’s forehead creased. “When did this happen?”

  Frang could have kicked himself for letting that bit of knowledge slip past his lips. “I’m not sure,” he lied. There was no need to let her know he was connected to the Fae.

  He looked down at the many dead leaves that littered the ground. Autumn had come to the glen and with it the time of the prophecy.

  “I think Glenna and I are seeing more than you, High Priest.”

  Her words brought him up short. “What have you seen?”

  “Many things,” she said softly and looked off into the distance. “I’ve seen Moira wearing the crown of the Faerie queen. But the most haunting image is that of Dartayous without hope.”

  “He’s lost hope?” Frang let his shoulders drop and shut his eyes. “That doesn’t bode well for us, I’m afraid.”

  “What do we do?”

  He raised his eyes to Fiona. “We wait, lass. That’s all we can do. That and pray Moira will hold strong and choose Dartayous.”

  “I think that prayer would be in vain.”

  He thought so too, but there was no need for her to know that. He waited until Fiona had departed before he sighed heavily and turned to the Faerie mound.

  For many years he had raved against the curse against him, but now he missed his connection with the Fae, small though it was. He would do almost anything to have it returned so he could know that Moira was all right.

  He laughed. Things had drastically changed if he wanted the link that kept him cursed, but then again never before had the girl he had raised been in such danger. “Moira, forgive me. There is so much I should have told you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Moira had never been more nervous in her life. Her knees were literally knocking together and they hadn’t yet left the land of the Fae. How would she hold up once they returned to the glen? At least the dragons were no longer fighting. She hadn’t been brave enough to see who had won.

  Any moment now, Lugus would tell her it was time, and then she would face her sisters.

  “I’m going to be sick,” she said and reached for the goblet of wine. She drank deeply and sighed when she felt the heady liquid warm her.

  She had just set the goblet down when her chamber door opened to admit Lugus. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  It was hard to ignore the fact that he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Is there something wrong?”

  He took her hand and led her to the window. Smoke rose all around the city as the death dragons rode high in the sky. In the distance she saw a few blue dragons flying away.

  “Is it over?”

  “For now,” he said and turned away. “The battles are becoming fiercer.”

  “The Death Dragons did not kill all of the blue ones.”

  He snorted. “Not yet. We must go. It is time.”

  She licked her lips and walked out of the chamber ahead of him. The fact that the fate of the world rested on her did little to calm her racing heart. It beat so fast and hard she was sure Lugus would hear it.

  They were in the hallway outside of the throne room when his hand touched her and she jumped. His brow creased in worry. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

  She nodded, unable to find her voice. “I’m just scared to leave Caer Rhoemyr.” It wasn’t a lie. She was petrified to face her sisters and what they would think she had done.

  He pulled her into his arms and gently squeezed. “Everything will be fine. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.” He pulled back and tilted her face to his. “I love you, Moira. I would take the moon from the sky if you asked it of me.”

  Tears blinded her at his words, for she knew them to be the truth. It pained her that she couldn’t return his love, but he didn
’t need to know that, and she did have a charade to continue.

  “Have my words hurt you?”

  She brushed away her tears and smiled. “Never. I had no idea your feelings ran so deep.”

  “Do you...Is there a chance that you might feel the same?”

  His hesitation touched her deeply. He might be a Fae with powers to control realms, but he had feelings like a man. He felt pain and hurt.

  She touched his face. “There is a very good chance,” she lied.

  It was worth it when she saw his blue eyes light up. He enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. When they pulled apart Dartayous, Aimery, Rufina and Theron were standing with MacNeil.

  The fury in Rufina’s eyes nearly laid Moira flat. She was pulling the charade off well if the queen thought she had indeed turned. But her plan to kill Lugus was becoming a problem. She didn’t know if she could do it now that she had come to know him.

  Then her eyes found Dartayous. For him she would do anything. She had much to make up for. Maybe once this was over they could learn to trust each other. She refused to think about the fact that he might not want anything to do with her.

  She silently called to him. When he didn’t raise his eyes to her she thought that maybe her powers were no longer with her. It had been a long time since she had used them.

  With a sigh she turned away from Dartayous but was struck by the intense look Aimery gave her. His eyes bored into hers as if reading deep into her soul.

  Did he know of her lie? Would he ruin all by letting something slip?

  She quickly looked away and kept her gaze on Lugus. After all, he was the one she was supposed to be in love with, or at least that was what everyone was expected to think.

  * * * *

  Dartayous followed Aimery as they walked to the doorway that would take them to the Druid’s Glen. His gaze constantly sought Moira and the seductive sway of her hips as she walked beside Lugus.

  Had he imagined it or had Moira called to him? He knew she had been able to communicate with her sisters mentally, but she had never tried it with him.

  He laughed at himself. He was going daft. Moira had turned. She had chosen Lugus. Her love for the Fae was evident in the way they held hands and talked with their heads close together.