Inferno, page 21
Con gave a nod. “Be safe.”
Ulrik, Banan, Kiril and Rhys left, but Con waited as Rhi gave Phelan and Aisley each a hug. They spoke for a moment before Rhi walked to him and held out her hand. Con liked how she didn’t hesitate to reach for him. He intertwined their fingers and continued watching her as she spoke to the others.
He was so focused on Rhi that Con never saw Phelan approach him. The Warrior came up behind him and whispered, “I can no’ believe I never noticed how you watch her. It’s obvious you love her, and while I doona agree with what you did, I can understand it. But if you hurt her again, I’m coming for you.”
“I’d die before I caused her pain again,” Con said as he turned his head to the side.
Phelan gave a nod. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
The Warrior stepped away when Rhi turned to Con. With a farewell wave, Rhi jumped them back to her quarters in the Light Castle. It was the first time they had been alone since that morning, and Con wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t get a chance to do anything as Rhi faced him.
She looked down at their joined hands and then slowly released him. “I was out of line this morning.”
“You only said what you felt.”
“Which was out of line.” She swallowed. “You’re right. I know nothing about ruling. I was trying to push things back on you. I’ve done it for so long that it’s become a habit now, and … I’m sorry.”
Con wanted to pull her into his arms so badly that he ached with the urge. “I hurt you, and you wanted to get back at me. I deserved it. There’s no need to apologize. I’m the one who should be begging you for forgiveness.”
“A few days ago, I would’ve agreed. But now?” She shrugged and turned away to walk a few paces while picking at her thumbnail before she faced him again. Her arms dropped to her sides as she met his gaze. “You gave me answers I’d long sought and I threw them back in your face. It’s no wonder you didn’t want to tell me the truth.”
“I didna want to tell you because I knew it would hurt you again.”
Rhi shook her head of black hair. “Well, it did, but it was better than thinking of all the different reasons you could’ve wanted to end it. I had answers, but I wasn’t in a good place to hear them. I … I should’ve listened instead of blaming you.”
“It was my fault. All of it. Including Usaeil.”
Rhi winced at the mention of her enemy. “I can’t get angry at you for Usaeil when I had Balladyn.”
“Aye, you can, because I was furious with you about Balladyn,” he confessed. “I tried to tell myself that you had a right to be happy, but it didna help. I might have ended our relationship, but my heart never let you go. Seeing you at Dreagan was both a joy and the worst kind of torture because I couldna have you. But knowing Balladyn got to hold you was … hell.”
Rhi’s eyes glittered as she hurriedly looked away. “I was only thinking of myself when I went to Balladyn. It was wrong of me. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.”
“What was that?” Con pressed, hoping she might admit to it.
She licked her lips and shrugged. “My heart. Every day you and I weren’t together, I blamed you, wondering what I’d done to tear us apart. I was so angry that you wouldn’t come to me so we could talk about it and work it out.” She slid her gaze back to him. “We used to tell each other everything, which is why it hurt so much that you just cut me off.”
“I should’ve talked to you.”
“No,” Rhi stated with a firm shake of her head. “Had you done that, I would’ve done everything I could to talk you into ways we could remain together and not upset the dynamic at Dreagan.”
“And I would’ve listened.”
“Then everything you’d worked so hard to give the Kings would’ve fallen apart. You were the only one thinking rationally. You put your own personal wants and needs to the side and saw the bigger picture. I couldn’t have done that. Not then. Not now. It’s why you were chosen to be King of Kings.”
Con briefly closed his eyes. “I wanted to put you first.”
“A good leader, a true leader, doesn’t do that. I know that now. And, sadly, I should’ve realized that about you when it happened.”
“You were hurt.”
Rhi’s shoulders lifted in a half-shrug. “I’ve had time to put aside my anger and think about things, but I didn’t. And when the Kings began to find their mates, I waited for you to come back to me. When you didn’t, it made things worse.”
“I wanted to,” Con confessed. “Every time I saw you, all I wanted to do was pull you into my arms and kiss you. The times you came to me when Usaeil hurt you, I wanted to tell you that I loved you still. Always.”
Her brows drew together. “Why didn’t you?”
“I was afraid you’d reject me. I’d thought it would be enough to see you at Dreagan, but it wasna. The more you were there, the more we spoke, the more my heart ached for you. And the more my soul craved its mate. I made many mistakes, but I’m here now. And I’m never going to leave you again. That is, if you’ll have me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
A tear fell down Rhi’s cheek. She had been waiting thousands of years to hear those words. She wanted to fly into Con’s arms and hold him tight for eternity.
His black eyes grew troubled as he studied her. “Rhi?”
“You’re immortal. Usaeil can’t hurt you.”
Con’s frown deepened. “I doona like the way you’re talking.”
“It’s true, though.” Rhi quickly brushed away the tear. “No matter how much magic Usaeil takes from Druids, she can’t harm you or any of the Dragon Kings.”
“You’re forgetting about Moreann,” he replied.
Rhi sniffed, hating the raw emotions that governed her. She wanted to rejoice in hearing that Con still loved her. And she wanted to cry because she had the awful feeling that no matter what, they’d never be together.
“You told those at MacLeod Castle that it would take everyone in the upcoming battle with Usaeil,” Con said. “That includes you.”
“The truth is, I’m not sure I can defeat Usaeil a second time. Not if she has Druid magic, as well.”
Con’s lip lifted in derision. “That’s shite. One of the reasons she was always jealous of you was because of the power that came so easily to you. You had it, and didna even know it, much less know to use it. Look what you did to the Fae Realm. You’re healing it.”
“I can destroy and create worlds,” she said with a shrug. “We both know that.”
“Aye, but healing takes even more power. Even you have to acknowledge that.”
She rubbed her hand across her brow before she turned away and walked to one of the chairs. Rhi sank into one of the new ones and slouched down so her neck rested on the backrest. “Fine. I acknowledge that. It still doesn’t mean I can best Usaeil. I knew when I fought her the first time that there was a chance I wouldn’t live through it.”
“I saw you. The fire in your eyes said otherwise. Especially when she killed Balladyn.”
“He’s not dead,” Rhi confessed.
Con’s lips turned up at the corners. “Erith told me.”
“It’s fitting, isn’t it?” Rhi asked with a smile. “He gets a second chance since he was betrayed so viciously by Usaeil.”
“I didna like him because of his love for you and your affection for him, but even I can admit he did good as King of the Dark. I think he’ll make an excellent Reaper.”
Her smile dropped. “All I could think about on the battlefield that day against Usaeil was that you were with her. I thought I had truly lost you.”
“The vows we took bound me to you, heart and soul. No’ even death can keep me from you.”
There was something in his comment that caught her attention. Before she could ask him about it, Con spoke.
“You will find that same fire within you the next time you and Usaeil meet.”
Rhi drummed her fingers on the arms of the chair. “I let the darkness in so I could fight her.”
“Good. Use it again.”
“What if it takes me?”
Con chuckled as he came to sit in the chair near her. “If the darkness hasna taken you by now, it never will. You’d have to give in to it.”
“I did.”
“Nay. You only think you let it in. You believed that Fae were either good or bad. You never considered that every being has both inside them, and they choose which to be. You think you let the darkness in, when in fact, you only accepted that part of yourself.”
Rhi shook her head as she scowled. “That’s not true. I heard the darkness. It spoke to me. It still speaks to me.”
“Does it?” Con asked, brows raised. “What does it say?”
She shrugged, not wanting to admit to anything. “Various things.”
“And you believe it’s the darkness?”
“Absolutely.”
Con smiled. “Maybe it is. Most likely, it’s your conscience telling you the things you need to hear.”
“No,” Rhi said with a shake of her head. “I know what my conscience sounds like. This is the darkness.”
Or was it? She wasn’t sure anymore.
“It doesna matter. My point was to tell you that you’ve always had light and dark inside you. A mix of both, something I’ve never seen in another Fae. The light within you has always shone so brightly that you never noticed the dark until you had no other choice but to acknowledge it. Once you did, you believed it was taking over. What you’ve no’ perceived is that you have control over whether you let it take over or no’. For instance, when your eyes flashed red after Usaeil’s body was taken. It was just for a moment, but it happened. Then you disappeared. That’s when everyone began searching for you, but I knew you wouldna be found unless Erith went looking for you.”
At the mention of Death, Rhi rolled her eyes. “What is it with her? Why is she so interested in me?”
Con lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We might find out one day. But getting back to things, where are you?”
“The Light Castle,” Rhi said hesitantly. “Why?”
“Would you be here if you were Dark? Would you have taken the throne and used glamour as Usaeil did to betray the Light?”
Rhi was indignant that Con would even ask such a thing. “Never.”
“Exactly. You didna become Dark when your eyes flashed red, nor will you.”
“You seem awfully certain of that.”
Con flashed her a heart-stopping grin. “Because I know you.”
“I’m not the same person I was when we were together.”
“Nay. You’re stronger. You never would have opposed Usaeil back then or even thought to take the throne. You used your pain and became something more.”
She lowered her gaze to the floor. “I don’t need the compliments.”
“I’m stating facts.”
Rhi hesitated before she met his gaze. “Thank you.”
He waved away her words. “Doona thank me. You should thank yourself.”
“You make me sound like some … I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “But I’m just me. You talked about making mistakes, but I’ve made millions. Most worse than yours.”
He leaned forward to put his forearms on his knees. “Look where you are now. Whether you remain on the throne or no’, you’ve forged one hell of a path. If you question that, look to how the Light have received you as their queen. They adore you.”
“Usaeil set the bar pretty low,” Rhi quipped with a quirked brow.
Con laughed, which caused her to smile. She loved when he laughed, and it was even better when she caused it.
“Regardless, they love you. You make a good queen,” he told her.
Rhi swallowed, unsure what to say next. “I know I told you that you had to remain here, but you don’t. Your Kings need you.”
“Everyone at Dreagan is fine. I’ve put Ulrik in charge, and he’s doing great. I’m here because I want to be. No’ because it’ll upset Usaeil or that you demanded it. I’m here because of you.”
She glanced away, her heart thumping. “I suppose we should start planning for Usaeil’s arrival, but I don’t know where to begin.”
Con sat up straight. “You’ve already done it. You have the Queen’s Guard as well as the Light Army at the ready. You’ve notified the occupants of the castle, as well. The only other thing you can do is alert all the Light Fae, but I’m no’ sure what good that’ll do since Usaeil no doubt has spies roaming around.”
“She definitely has spies here,” Rhi said with a flat look. “Otherwise, how would she know about me on the throne or us together?”
“True,” he admitted. “The first steps have been taken. You need to remember to remain calm when she arrives with the Dark Army. She’ll do her best to provoke you.”
Rhi slouched back in her chair. “Unfortunately, she does it well.”
“You can fight it. You’re queen now.”
“I don’t feel very queenly,” she quipped.
Con grinned as he leaned back, stretching his legs out to cross his ankles. “Maybe no’ right this minute, but you do anytime you face the Light. You’ll do the same when confronted by Usaeil.”
“That’s all well and good, but what happens when I manage to get riled?” Because she would. It was inevitable when it came to Usaeil.
Con drew in a deep breath and then slowly released it. “We have a couple of options.”
“Wait. Before you go on, there’s something I need to show you.” Rhi got to her feet and waited for him. She wasn’t sure why it had suddenly popped into her head to show him the book, but she knew it was the right thing to do.
Con quickly stood. “Lead the way.”
“We’re not walking there.” She held out her hand and waited for him to take it. Once they were linked, she jumped them to the hidden room in the library.
He looked around slowly before meeting her gaze. “I must confess that I found you here the other night. I knew you were inside, but I didna disturb you.”
Rhi tugged him to the pedestal that held the book. “This is what I’ve been reading. I just happened upon the room. The door was left slightly ajar, and when I came in, the words were moving on the page until I touched the tome. Then they fell into place, and I’ve been coming here to read it ever since.”
“It’s a verra large book,” he said as he leaned from side to side without touching the pedestal or the tome. “It must be important to have been locked in here.”
“It’s about the Dragon Kings.”
His head jerked to her, his black eyes intense. “What about us?”
“A Fae was here long before Usaeil and even before Moreann came to dump the mortals. The writer speaks of the Kings.”
A muscle worked in Con’s jaw. “The entire book is about the Kings?”
“I’m halfway through, and it’s all about the Kings so far. Some pages are about specific dragons, but sometimes, it’s just the clans as a whole. There are documented interactions, battles, and even matings.”
Con rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe you should finish reading it. There must be something in there the author didna want to be found if the words moved, and the book was hidden.”
“They’ve not moved since I first found it. It’s almost as if the book wanted me to read it. Touch it.”
“No,” he said with a frown.
Rhi gave him a flat look. “Con. Touch the book.”
He paused for a moment before he lightly put a finger on the page. Nothing happened, which made Rhi smile.
“It wants you to read it, as well,” she said.
Con flipped a page, his face filled with confusion. “How was a Fae on this realm, and none of us knew it?”
“There’s a passage in there about you becoming King of Kings,” Rhi said with a smile.
He stepped back from the book, wariness lining his face. “Finish reading it. There might be something important. I’ll get with Varek and Merrill to begin strategizing.”
“You should have the generals of the army as well as the Captain of the Queen’s Guard with us. I can read this tonight.”
Con bowed his head. “Then let’s get on with it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Dark Palace
The eighth Dark lay dead at Usaeil’s feet. She stepped over the body and dusted off her hands as she looked at Coslar. He pulled his gaze from the disintegrating form of the Fae and focused back on her.
“Is that the last?” Usaeil demanded.
Coslar nodded. “It is.”
“Good. Are the Dark accepting my leadership now?”
“They are.”
“Just what I wanted to hear. My meeting with the generals of the army went swimmingly. We’ll be setting out soon for the Light Castle.”
Coslar clasped his hands behind his back. “You really think the new queen will bow to you?”
“Never,” Usaeil replied with a laugh. “She’ll fight me tooth and nail, which is just what I want. I’ll give her the option to step aside and let me unite the Light and Dark in an effort to save so many innocents from death.”
“The Light will love you for that.”
“I’m their queen. Of course they’ll love me.” When Coslar lowered his gaze, she narrowed her eyes. “What is it? Spit it out.”
He lifted a shoulder as he briefly looked at her. “You’re not their queen anymore. Rhi is.”
“That matters not. They loved me once, they will again. Rhi will bring them death. I’ll bring them peace.”
“What of the Dragon Kings? Constantine is with Rhi at the Light Castle.”
Usaeil lifted her lip in annoyance. “Do you doubt me?”
“I’m merely making sure you’ve thought of everything.”
She laughed. “I’ve been at this game longer than you’ve been alive. Trust me, I’ve thought of every possible outcome. Nothing can trip me up this time. Not Rhi, and especially not Con. Once Rhi is gone, Con will have no choice but to come to me.”
“I heard once that if a Dragon King loses his mate, he dies.”
