Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read online

  Con raised a blond brow. “Perhaps you made up everything that we’ll find. We’ve friends in MI5, Ms. Clark. We know what lengths someone will go to in order to hide who they are.”

  “Not me,” she insisted. Her voice pitched higher in frustration. “I’m a freaking nobody! I came here to try and find my muse again. My writing groove left me. It said adios and vanished months ago. If I don’t turn that book in three weeks from now, I lose my contract. My book is set in Scotland. That’s why I’m here.”

  Arian knew Ryder had already given Con all there was to know about Grace. Ryder, in his infinite skill, had dug up every single thing there was to know about Grace from the day she was born until now.

  Even Ryder had cleared her. So what was Con up to?

  “And how did you find the cave entrance?”

  Grace gaped at him. “This again? I saw it. With my eyes. Why is that so odd?”

  “Because it was cloaked with dragon magic,” Arian answered.

  Grace’s eyes went wide. “I don’t have an answer then. I saw it.”

  Could Grace have been meant to find his mountain and him? Arian was beginning to think so. Because there was no other explanation. The barrier around Dreagan hadn’t kept her out, and she’d seen his cave entrance—both of which had dragon magic.

  “I doona believe in accidents, Ms. Clark,” Con said in a soft voice. “I doona believe you just happened to find Arian’s mountain.”

  Arian inwardly cringed. That voice had lulled plenty of others before Grace. It belied the anger and awareness within Con, as well as his purpose.

  Grace blew out a breath, her face going white as lightning speared from the sky to the ground. “Well, we’ll have to agree to disagree then, because I believe life is nothing more than a multitude of accidents and coincidences.”

  “You make light of your situation?”

  “Absolutely not,” Grace stated. “I know how serious this is. I also know that Arian believes me. Why isn’t that enough for you?”

  “Because I believe Arian is being ruled by his cock.”

  Grace gasped the same instant Arian narrowed his gaze on Con.

  “Trust me,” Con said in Arian’s mind.

  Arian had always trusted Con, but to have him talk in such a way to Grace was nearly impossible to bear. Slowly, he released the tension in his body.

  Grace was shaking her head. “You think so little of Arian then? That’s...well, that’s just sad.”

  “Sad?”

  “Yes,” she said firmly. “I ran into that mountain to escape the storm. A few hours later, I saw Arian in dragon form fighting the Fae. If I’m to believe everything Arian has told me, all of you are in the middle of a war. You should trust your people.”

  There was a push against Arian’s mind and then Con said, “Ramp up the storm. I need lightning.”

  Arian hesitated. Never before had he wavered in doing as Con ordered, but now he was having serious doubts. Grace was shaking, her face was white, and she was sweating from her fear. To put her through more was too much. Arian couldn’t take it.

  “Arian,” Con urged. “Trust me.”

  Trust. That’s what Grace had put in him. Arian had vowed he would protect her from everyone and everything. He wasn’t doing that now. She was innocent. Con would see that. He had to.

  With a deep breath, Arian did as Con requested. The first flash of lightning made Grace jump in her chair and squeeze her eyes closed.

  It killed Arian to purposefully scare her in such a manner, but if it could end the interrogation earlier, then he would make it up to her later and explain his power.

  If she let him.

  “Trust is something I doona give lightly,” Con said as his head leaned to the side while he studied Grace. “What about you?”

  Grace pulled her eyes away from the window to look at Con. Her head nodded jerkingly. “Yeah. I trust easily. Don’t bother to tell me it’s wrong. Plenty of others have.”

  “So you trust Arian?” Con pressed.

  Grace jumped when more lightning flashed, followed by thunder that sounded all around them. She yelped, then said, “Yep. I do.”

  Arian exchanged a look with Con. Would this be all Con needed?

  “More lightning and thunder,” Con demanded.

  “She’s afraid of it. Can you no’ see that?”

  “Of course I can.”

  Arian should’ve known he wouldn’t get an explanation, but then again, it went unsaid. Everything Con did was to ensure their secrecy.

  It hurt Arian physically to put Grace in such fear, but he had no choice. If Con didna get what he needed then Grace would have her memories wiped. She would wake up at the B&B never knowing how deeply she touched his soul when they kissed or how he ached to be buried inside her once more.

  She would never know how much he wanted to be with her.

  Con was in favor of wiping her memories regardless of if she was working with Ulrik or not, but Arian wasn’t going to let that happen.

  He needed Grace. It was because he needed her that he did as Con asked once more.

  After this was all over, Grace might leave and want nothing to do with him. Arian wasn’t about to give up on her that easily though. If something was worth having, it was worth fighting for.

  That meant against his own kind as well as Grace.

  There was something special between him and Grace. It was something profound, something that never came near Arian before.

  Until Grace.

  He watched her complexion pale with each bolt of lightning. Her body tensed as the thunder rumbled loudly around them. Each moment that passed made her curl into herself.

  And it was slowly killing him.

  “Get on with it, Con!”

  Con cut him a look before he focused on Grace. “Who do you work for, Ms. Clark?”

  “Myself,” she answered without taking her eyes off the window.

  “That’s no’ true. Who do you work for?”

  She shrugged, slinking farther into the back of the chair. “My pub...publisher. I work for my publisher.”

  “You work for Ulrik, do you no’?” Con pressed.

  “No.” She let out a shriek when several rounds of lightning struck in quick succession.

  The more anxious Grace became, the angrier Arian got. And the more extreme the weather became until he couldn’t get it under control.

  Arian desperately tried to rein the weather in, but it was nearly impossible as he listened to Con push Grace again and again to see if she would change her answer.

  Every trembling “no” that fell from her lips only infuriated Arian more. She gripped the chair so tightly that he heard the wood crack.

  “What are you doing at Dreagan?” Con demanded.

  “I already told you!” Grace screamed as thunder made the manor shake.

  Arian looked to Con to find Con watching him. Even with that icy stare, Arian knew Con’s thoughts. Con recognized that somehow in the few hours Arian was with Grace, that something transpired between them. Something more than just sex.

  And Con wasn’t happy.

  “Finish it,” Arian insisted.

  Con’s gaze slid to Grace. “Do you work for Ulrik?”

  “No! For the twentieth time, no!” Grace screamed.

  But there was something in her voice that sent warning bells off in Arian’s head. He looked to her then. Grace’s gaze moved from Con to the window to Arian and back to Con several times.

  Her face crumpled as she rose and hurried around the chair to put distance between them. She shook her head as she stared at Arian with navy eyes that were filled with sadness—and a hint of anger.

  “Grace,” Arian said and took a step toward her.

  She held up a hand to halt him. “Stop,” she ordered and blinked past the tears that began to fall. She then pointed to the window. “That’s you. You’ve been doing this. All this time here and in the mountain. You used my fear against me. How could you?” she yelled.
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  “I ordered him to do it,” Con said.

  Grace ignored Con as she stared at Arian, wincing as another bolt of lightning struck. “I thought you believed me.”

  “I do,” Arian said.

  Grace sniffed and turned to Con then. “Do whatever you’re going to do to me, but I’m done here.”

  “Grace,” Arian began.

  But Con stopped him. “Give her some time, Arian.”

  Arian waited for Grace to look his way. After several tense moments, he realized that wasn’t going to happen. It took numerous tries to halt the storm. When he had, he left the room with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach growing with every step he took away from her.

  Chapter Twelve

  The tears dried quickly as the numbness took hold. It was worse than the day her mother left. Even worse than when her father died.

  She had trusted, as she always did, and it had once more come back to bite her. She should’ve known Arian was too good to be true.

  A man like him who was too gorgeous to even look at, immortal, and a Dragon King didn’t choose someone like her. It had always been about their secrecy.

  If only he had been honest with her from the beginning. But why would he? They were in the middle of a war. Not even that thinking could stop the hurt from spreading.

  “Can I get you anything?” Con asked.

  She closed her eyes. How could she have forgotten she wasn’t alone? Grace blew out a breath and shook her head as she looked out the window. She wrapped her arms around herself while the clouds dissipated and the sun came out. “No, thank you.”

  “I did what had to be done. I’ll no’ apologize for that.”

  “Then don’t.” She’d had enough of Con. He and everyone else needed to go step on a Lego and fall in a hole.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Con push away from the desk and stand. “Remain here, Ms. Clark. I’ll return in a moment.”

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Grace turned and stuck her tongue out. It was immature, but it was either that or cry some more.

  Grace couldn’t believe Arian had manipulated her fear in such a way. Then again, she could. If her very way of life was threatened, there was no telling what she would do. She recalled vividly the extremes she went to in order to save her father from his heart failure.

  On one hand, she didn’t blame Arian, but on the other, she did. They’d shared something personal and beautiful together, and she felt manipulated.

  Grace glanced at the door. She was supposed to wait for Con. If she were braver, she would take her chances and make a run for it.

  She looked at the door again, her heart kicking up a notch at the thought of making a run for it. But that’s exactly what she was going to do.

  A look around Con’s office didn’t show her keys or her laptop. But that wasn’t going to stop her. She didn’t care if she had to steal a car, she was getting out of there.

  Grace didn’t hesitate. She hurried to the door and quietly turned the knob. When the door cracked open, she looked into the corridor. No one was in sight. She opened the door wider and poked her head out, looking both directions.

  There was a small voice in the back of her mind that reminded her something terrible could happen if she got caught. But she wasn’t going to get caught. She had been used enough. It was time to leave Dreagan.

  Grace slid into the hallway and quickly closed the door behind her. She remained against the wall and half-ran, half-walked to the stairs.

  She paused when she reached the steps because once she was on them, anyone could see her. Grace took in a steadying breath and then held her head high as she descended the stairs.

  At the bottom she had a moment’s fear since she didn’t know where to go. Then she decided it didn’t matter. She turned left and found herself walking down a wide corridor with windows on one side letting in tons of light. On the opposite wall were paintings and tapestries of dragons of numerous sizes and colors. She came to a door and peeked inside to find it was a library.

  Grace pivoted and retraced her steps since it didn’t look as if she was going to find a way out in the direction she had been going.

  She found the stairs again easily enough. This time she went to the right. After a bit of maneuvering around open doorways with others inside what appeared to be a parlor, Grace found the front door.

  As soon as she was outside, she breathed a sigh of relief. She faced forward and saw her rental car parked right in front. Grace ran to the vehicle and got inside. There she found her keys in the ignition, her purse and laptop on the seat beside her. Her hands were shaking as she started the engine and threw the car in reverse.

  It wasn’t until she was driving away that she felt something heavy in her chest, as if her heart were breaking in two. All that she had shared with Arian was gone. She thought he was different than other men, but she had been wrong. He was a man who cared more about Dreagan and the Dragon Kings than he did about her.

  Grace pressed the accelerator. The car gained speed as she turned onto the main road. She didn’t have a clue where she was going. All that mattered was that she left the Dragon Kings behind.

  Something fell on her cheek. Grace swiped at her face, infuriated to find that it was a tear.

  “I’m not going to cry for Arian,” she told herself. “He’s not worth it.”

  The sad part was that he was definitely worth it. He was the type of guy she had been writing in her novels for years. The type of guy that she only thought existed in her mind. Not once did she ever believe she would find him.

  But she had found him. That’s what hurt so much. He had been in her arms, real and so wonderful she hadn’t been able to stop touching him.

  Kissing him had been mind-blowing. So much so she hadn’t ever wanted to stop.

  He had been kind and gentle, tender and sweet. All while having an air of danger and mystery that made her so hot for him.

  His immortality made her a bit wary, but how could she be afraid of a Dragon King who made love to her like he was worshipping her?

  She hadn’t expected anything of Arian. Well, that wasn’t true. She knew what she wanted from him, and she had hoped he wanted more from her as well. Knowing what he was and the war he was part of would’ve made things difficult, but it didn’t deter her.

  Arian hadn’t just touched her physically. He had changed her. She always thought she had an open mind, but discovering his secret had forced her to challenge herself and her thinking. She had accepted who he was, as well as his story. Grace yearned to help him any way she could.

  The few hours with him had altered her mind, her body, and her heart. Now she looked at the world entirely different because she knew there was magic and dragons, Fae, and Druids walking around.

  How wonderful she had felt being with him.

  Then Arian had to go and ruin it by using her fear against her.

  Grace shifted gears and found the signs leading back to Inverness.

  * * * *

  Warrick stood with Con at the front of the manor, watching Grace Clark drive away. “Are you sure this was the right thing?”

  “She wasna lying. She’s no’ working with Ulrik,” Con said.

  Warrick raised a brow as he cut his eyes to Con. “That’s no’ what I’m talking about, and you know it.”

  “Is it no’ enough that one more King has chosen a mate? Arian just woke. He needs to be focused on the war.”

  Warrick crossed his arms over his chest and faced Con. “You saw how Arian reacted. I believe Grace could be his mate.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Perhaps?” Warrick repeated. “Just what lengths will you go to in order to keep a King from his mate?”

  Con turned his black eyes to him. “If I think there could be another repeat of what happed with Ulrik—anything and everything.”

  “Grace isna that type of woman.”

  “You doona know her.”

  “Neither do you,” Warrick point
ed out. “The only one who knows her at all is Arian. And I tell you, he’s no’ going to be happy when he learns what’s happened.”

  “And what has happened?” came a voice behind Warrick.

  Warrick turned and spotted Arian standing in the middle of the doorway. Warrick hooked his thumb toward Con and said, “Ask him.”

  Arian met Con’s gaze. “Where is Grace? I went to your office, but no one was there.”

  “She’s gone,” Con said.

  Warrick watched Arian closely. A muscle ticced in his temple and his nostrils flared as he attempted to keep calm. It was just a few days earlier Warrick had felt those same emotions. Just as he imagined, Arian was thinking of throttling Con.

  “Gone?” Arian asked tightly.

  Con nodded. “You were right. She was telling the truth about who she is.”

  “And you allowed her to leave knowing our secret?” Arian asked in disbelief.

  Con glanced at Warrick and said, “Does that sound like something I would do?”

  Warrick watched Con walk from the room. He gave a shake of his head and sat down in one of the chairs. Con had said he would go to any lengths. He had just proven it.

  “I didna see Guy,” Arian said. “I wanted to tell Grace farewell.”

  Warrick wasn’t going to sit there and allow Arian to think Grace had her memories wiped. And surely Con knew that. Which made Warrick wonder just what the hell Con was up to.

  “Her memories were no’ wiped,” Warrick said.

  Arian’s head jerked around, his long black hair falling over the white shirt. “What?”

  “Con didna have Guy see Grace. He left her alone in his office, and just as he expected, she made a run for it. We stood here and watched her leave.”

  Arian ran a hand down his face. “I’m going to kill him.”

  “Ulrik may very well beat you to the punch, my friend.”

  “Why?” Arian asked helplessly. “Why would Con make me believe Grace was out of reach?”

  Warrick shrugged and got to his feet. “Because he’s an arse. Because he doesna want us to be happy. Because he doesna want to be the only one without a mate. Because he can. Take your pick.”