Fire Rising

CHAPTER EIGHT

Sammi didn’t stop walking until the sun began to set. With the growing darkness she remembered all too vividly why she wasn’t an outdoorsy kind of girl.

She absolutely hated bugs and all the creepy-crawly things that seemed to come out in the night. Then there were the unknown sounds that kept her wondering what was going to jump out at her the minute she closed her eyes.

“If only you could see me now, Mum,” she whispered and lowered herself to sit against a tree.

She might prefer a nice, warm bed, running water, and toilets, but she was prepared to live without them in order to stay alive.

Not even as a child had she been afraid of the dark, but that was quickly changing. The snap of a twig behind her had her jerking around and peering into the growing shadows.

The only sounds she did recognize were the hoot of an owl and the screech of a fox, and even then it seemed much scarier out in the wild alone in the dark.

Sammi opened her purse and took out a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels. It wasn’t exactly a fine dining experience, but it was food.

The crackle of the cellophane seemed abnormally loud and caused the creatures of the night to be silent for a few moments. If she thought the sounds were scary, the silence was terrifying.

Sammi didn’t breathe a sigh of a relief until the sounds returned once more. She finished her pretzels and drank half the bottle of water before her eyes began to grow heavy.

Knowing she wasn’t going to get much in the way of sleep, she settled more comfortably against the tree and tried to rest.

Cork, Ireland

Kiril stood in his back garden and looked at the night sky. He desperately wanted to take flight, but he was being watched by the Dark Fae. They suspected he was a Dragon King.

Most Dark Fae had no clue what a King looked like in human form, which played to his advantage. On the other hand, many of the Dark knew certain Kings in dragon form after the Fae Wars.

Kiril had killed his share of Dark, and he was prepared to do it again. The recent skirmish had only whetted his appetite to take out more of the vile beings.

There was nothing good about a Dark Fae. They preyed upon everything and everyone and expected no repercussions. He was going to be the one to bring down fire upon the lot of them.

He swirled the amber liquid in his glass and inhaled the fragrant aroma of Dreagan scotch. At the pub he managed to get down some Irish scotch, but it lacked the artistry and love that went into making Dreagan.

Kiril went still as he sensed movement off to his right. The Dark drew closer to his house every day while he was gone. They had gotten as close as the pool today. He could smell their stench. Whatever they looked for, they wouldn’t find it.

There was nothing they would find. It was one of the main reasons he made sure not to have anything even resembling a dragon in his home. He wasn’t sure how long he would have to go without shifting, but he prayed it wasn’t too long.

Already he itched to take to the skies and soar upon the currents. His friends were counting on him as well. The union between humans and the Dark was enough that he would risk being captured by the Dark Ones.

To make matters worse, Banan had notified him by their mental link that Sammi was in trouble. Kiril had never met Jane’s sister but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do all he could to help Banan.

Kiril took a drink of the whisky and sank into one of the wicker chairs on the patio. He straightened his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles.

If he could figure out what the Dark Fae were getting out of an alliance with the humans and the Kings’ enemy, then he could determine who it was.

Kiril hoped it wasn’t Ulrik, because if it was the banished King, there was only death in Ulrik’s future.

Tristan was surprised Sammi fell asleep so quickly after watching her nearly come out of her skin from the sounds of nature around her.

He moved closer and situated himself so he could see her and anyone who might try to follow the track she had taken. After she stopped, he made a wide circle around her, scouting the area and found nothing that would cause him alarm. For the moment.

Tristan watched her as long as he dared before he stood and stripped out of his clothes. He folded them neatly and hid them among a cluster of ferns before he took off running and leapt into the sky as he shifted into dragon form.

He’d had no choice. If he remained near her he would do something foolish like try and get closer to her so he could touch her again. He still didn’t understand the growing—and overwhelming—need he had to feel her silky skin.

In two flaps of his humongous wings he was high above the mountains. Tristan circled back the way Sammi had walked and let his dragon eyes survey the area. He was both relieved no one followed her, and irritated because he really wanted to ease the ever-increasing frustration within him.

And he knew that frustration lay with a gorgeous, sandy-haired, blue-eyed temptation that had walked into his life. She was an enticing lure, an inviting compulsion.

A tantalizing invitation.

One he had been warned against.

A quick glide over the village showed nothing unusual either. With that, he turned, dipped one wing to turn around, and flew back to Sammi.

It wasn’t as if Tristan blamed Banan for cautioning him to keep his distance. Tristan might well do the same if he’d had a sister. How could he stay away from someone so beguiling, so fascinating as Sammi?

She had been in his mind since he first saw her. His body had responded swiftly, rapidly. As if it recognized Sammi.

He gave a mental shake of his head. There wasn’t time to think about all the ways he wanted to make love to Sammi when she was in such danger.

To his annoyance, he immediately thought of Ian. From one problem to another. Tristan forced his mind away from thinking of the twin he was supposed to have and focused on the issues at hand.

He had hoped to hear from Banan by now regarding what information they had gotten from the three men. Tristan wasn’t going to wait any longer. He used the mental link connecting all Dragon Kings and zeroed in on Banan’s.

“What have you found out?” he asked.

Banan’s sigh was loud, even over the mental link. “It’s no’ good.”

“Just tell me.”

“We learned nothing more than we already knew.”

“I find that hard to believe. Are you still questioning them?”

The silence was deafening. When Banan finally did answer, there was an undercurrent of anger and impatience Tristan knew all too well. “We were about to get the name of the mastermind, but just as the human was telling us, Dark Fae arrived.”

Tristan was so shocked he almost didn’t tilt to the side in time to fly between two of the mountains. “How did they know?”

“A verra good question. They knew exactly where we were.”

Tristan flew higher, his gaze never leaving the area where Sammi was. “I had a bad feeling ever since I saw that Dark One. We now know this so-called Mob after Sammi is the same group who caused the stir with Denae at MI5.”

“Doona forget they got the Dark Ones and humans to join together.”

“Do you still think its Ulrik?”

Banan grunted. “Who else would etch a dragon into a bullet? It was a sign to us.”

“I know I’m still new as a Dragon King, but are you telling me we doona have any other enemies who would want to expose us?”

“You have a point, but there are too many instances where only Ulrik would know things.”

Tristan wasn’t quite ready to lay responsibility at Ulrik’s door. For one, he hadn’t met the King. For another, it was only stories he was hearing. Perhaps when Kellan and Denae returned to Dreagan after their holiday he could have Kellan find him the history of what happened since Kellan wrote it all down without taking sides.

“There’s something else,” Banan said.

Tristan instantly knew he wasn’t going to like whatever Banan had to say. “What is it?”

“Rhi was here. I asked her about Sammi’s reaction to the Dark One in the village. Rhi said that she hadn’t heard of a human walking away from a Fae, but if a Dark had taken notice of her and she didna react, he would likely find her again until she did succumb.”

“No’ what I wanted to hear, Banan.”

“Me either. How is Sammi?”

Tristan glided atop the trees and scared away a fox that was headed straight for her. “Sleeping now. She thinks she’s alone, and I want to keep it that way. She was smart enough to buy food and water while in the store, but I doona know how long it’ll last.”

“Whoever is after us knows we’re onto them.”

“Which means they’ll be coming for her.”

“And know you’re protecting her. The Dark Ones will probably come with them. You shouldna be alone out there.”

Tristan wholeheartedly agreed. He wanted to be the one to watch over Sammi, but the truth was, the Dark Fae could easily outnumber him and capture her.

He had seen exactly what the Dark could do to a female. Denae had been lucky since she was somehow immune to the Dark, but Sammi wouldn’t be so fortunate.

“It’s for the best until I can somehow persuade her to return to Dreagan.”

“If you do that, you’ll have the eternal gratitude of my mate.”

“It’ll be tricky, if I can do it at all. I’ve got to convince her that I just happened to stumble upon her.”

Banan chuckled wryly. “Good luck with that.” Then all humor left his voice as he said, “Stay on guard, because they will come for her.”

“They can try.”

The communication was severed, but it gave him a lot to think about. Tristan remained in dragon form for another hour before he needed to be closer to Sammi. The idea of a Dark Fae finding her left him on edge.

He glided low to the ground and shifted back into human form. Tristan dropped the few feet from the sky with his legs bent. He remained still, his gaze raking the area for any signs of danger.

Only when he was satisfied there was none did he straighten and look at Sammi. Her head was tilted to the side and her lips were parted as she slept sitting up.

Tristan silently made his way to her. He told himself he wasn’t going to get too close, but the next thing he knew, he was beside her.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. Her glorious waves of sandy blond hair were too tempting not to touch. Even as he knew he shouldn’t, Tristan lifted a thick strand in his fingers. This was as near as he could get to her. Not only was she Banan’s sister-in-law, but Tristan somehow knew that Sammi was different from any woman he had met before.

Suddenly he was transported to a dark, dank prison as he sat against the stones with his hands clenched. There was another voice in his head, a deep, resonating voice demanding he kill, demanding he cover the earth with blood.

“Easy, brother.”

He looked up into a face that mirrored his own.

“All will be well.”

The words reverberated in his head when Tristan blinked and found himself once more beside Sammi with her hair in his hand. That was the second time he had touched Sammi and the second time some memory decided to reveal itself.

Or was it as simple as that? Was there more to his repressed memories?

Tristan shook his head and dropped his arm as he stepped back. There wasn’t time to think of such things. Sammi was in danger, and not just from the Mob. The Dark Fae were most likely after her as well.

He could have gone the rest of eternity without ever encountering the Dark again. They were nefarious, unpleasant beings that stopped at nothing to get what they wanted.

The fact no one knew what they wanted is what made everyone nervous and irritated. The Dark could attack anywhere, at any time.

Then there was the Kings’ unknown enemy. That’s what made Tristan anxious. Not knowing an enemy meant you couldn’t prepare. And that usually caused someone to get hurt. Or worse—dead.

His gaze shifted to Sammi. Banan was so sure it was Ulrik, but that almost seemed too easy. Then again, as a Dragon King, Ulrik would know every move they would make.

Tristan stood before he pulled Sammi into his arms and took her lips as he hungered to do, to learn her taste, to know what her curves felt like against him.

She had a sensual way about her that seemed second nature and caused a very carnal, very physical reaction within him.

He had to move, had to release some of the energy, the coiling need to battle. With long strides he patrolled the area, always keeping Sammi within sight.