Burning Desire (25 page)

“You’re wrong,” she stated as firmly as she could.

“Is that right? Why then did you leave my chamber after I deposited you here?”

“I went exploring.”

His smile was tight, cold. “Where did you go, Shara?”

“I was here.”

“With every lie you tell me, I’ll give you ten lashes. And I did promise that if I had to use the whip again it wouldn’t be welts I left.”

Her bottom still ached from the lashes. “I was here.”

“You really are a stubborn one. I’m going to hate to cut open that skin of yours, but you will learn your lesson. You see, the two guards hidden outside this chamber followed you to the doorway to your home and then back here when you returned.”

There was no doubt about it now. She was royally screwed.

*   *   *

“I gather that’s where Shara is?” Phelan asked with a nod to a door.

Kiril nodded. “How long is Balladyn going to stay in there?”

“Take a look around. Count the number of guards posted. That’s his chamber.”

“I know,” Kiril said through clenched teeth.

“Are you sure she isna playing you?”

Nay
. “Aye.”

“I sincerely hope you’re right, because I want to return to my wife,” Phelan said.

Kiril glanced at him and grimaced. “We should find Rhi.”

“Tell me something. How deep are your feelings for Shara?”

“Deep enough that I’m standing here trying to figure a way to get into that chamber and take her away from Balladyn.”

Phelan whistled softly. “That deep.”

“I’ll come back after we have Rhi.”

“Really? And you think I can keep your disguise up from that distance?”

Kiril scrubbed a hand down his face. Everything was falling to shit, just as he had suspected it would. His gut told him to call off everything and return to Dreagan immediately.

Then he thought of Shara.

And Rhi.

“Shara is smart. She’ll keep up pretenses until she can get herself safe,” he said and turned his head to Phelan. “Let’s get Rhi while he’s occupied.”

They retraced their steps, and found the set of stairs that would take them to the lower floors that housed the dungeon. There were only two Dark guarding the entrance to the dungeon that paid them no heed.

“That was too easy,” Phelan whispered as they walked down another short flight of steps.

“Who wants to get to the dungeon? It’s the getting out that’s going to be difficult.” Kiril counted the metal doors on the right until he came to the twelfth one. He looked at the door, and then at Phelan. “There are no locks.”

“Magic?”

“Perhaps.” Kiril tentatively touched the door. When nothing happened, he placed his hand on the handle and pulled it open. The door swung open with ease, making only a slight grating noise as metal rubbed against metal.

He looked inside the gloomy cell through the darkness to a form that was chained to the wall. A thick mass of tangled black hair hung over her face, but Kiril knew it was Rhi.

“Dear God,” Phelan mumbled. “What did they do to her?”

“You doona want to know.”

Phelan’s face was contorted with rage and helplessness. “Look at her! She’s…”

“Chained,” Kiril finished. “Shara didna say anything about chains.”

“They’re just chains. We should be able to break them.”

Kiril shook his head. “Balladyn wouldna put simple chains on Rhi. She has verra powerful magic, and he knows that. Those chains must be special or she would’ve already busted out of them.”

“I’m no’ leaving her,” Phelan stated emphatically.

Kiril swiveled his head to him. “Neither am I.”

He opened his mouth to say more when voices reached them, coming closer and closer. Kiril shoved Phelan inside the cell and quickly closed the door behind them. Phelan flattened against the wall on one side of the door, and Kiril the other.

“I don’t relish bringing you here, but it’s for the best.”

“Balladyn,” Phelan mouthed.

Kiril nodded grimly. He wished there was a window or something so he could see who Balladyn was bringing to the dungeons.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe your shite,” stated a voice Kiril knew all too well.

He felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. Balladyn had Shara and was putting her in the dungeon. Kiril could get Shara and Rhi if he shifted into a dragon.

But getting back to earth from the Fae realm wouldn’t be so easy. No one could see Fae doorways except the Fae because they didn’t want anyone to know where their realm was—or how to get there.

Kiril fisted his hands and tried to control the wrath that was rapidly building inside him. He met Phelan’s troubled gaze before he looked at Rhi.

“You shouldn’t have betrayed me,” Balladyn said to Shara. “I warned you what would happen.”

“You mean you’re a liar. Just like everyone else,” Shara said saucily.

“You’ll be in here until I can make sure every member of your family is wiped out. Only then will I know you aren’t trying to betray me.”

There was a loud bang as the metal door was slammed shut. Kiril squeezed his eyes closed at the sound. They had one chance to get out of the dungeon without being discovered. There wouldn’t be two trips. All he could do now was pray that Shara could walk on her own, because Rhi couldn’t.

Kiril opened his eyes to see Phelan next to Rhi. He walked over the rolling, rocky floor to them. He touched Rhi’s hand to find it as cold as ice.

“That’s no’ good, is it?” Phelan asked worriedly.

“Nay,” Kiril said.

“I tried to break the chains. I couldna even lift them.”

Kiril took a closer look at the chains and scowled down at them. “We’re fucked, my friend. Those are the Chains of Mordare thought lost. They were crafted by the Light Fae to hold the Dark. Once on, they can be removed only by the Fae who shackled her.”

“Balladyn,” Phelan ground out. “Rhi should’ve used her magic.”

“Every time she does, a jolt gets sent through her body. Another perk of the chains. They’re weighing her down, draining her of … herself.”

“Nay.” Phelan carefully moved Rhi’s hair so he could see her face. Then he gently placed a hand on either cheek and tilted her face to him.

What stared back were eyes that were empty … soulless.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“This isna Rhi,” Phelan said.

“It’s what’s left of her.” Kiril stood and walked away, unable to look at the shell of the vibrant Fae that had once been. “There might be a chance if we could get the chains off her, but that isna happening.”

Phelan shot him a scathing look. “I’m no’ leaving her.”

“I doona want to either,” Kiril said in exasperation. “Look around. You can no’ even lift the chains. What does that tell you? If we can no’ remove them, then we can no’ take her out of this shit hole.”

Phelan hung his head. “She wouldna leave me.”

“I doona have an answer.” Kiril put his hands on his hips and stared at the opposite wall. He wanted nothing more than to get Rhi as far from Balladyn as he could.

It had never entered his mind that Balladyn would have the Chains of Mordare. Had Kiril known that, he would have rethought his plan. As it was, he and Phelan were smack in the middle of an army that was on high alert.

“I should’ve never brought you here.”

Phelan released Rhi and sat beside her. “You didna bring me. I came of my own accord. This isna on your shoulders.”

“And if you get caught? You, a prince of the Light? You’ve no idea what they would do to you. It would be a drop in the bucket compared to what they’ve done to Rhi.”

Phelan bent his knees and placed his elbows on them as he dropped his head into his hands. “Rhi gave me a family I didna know I had. She searched me out and never gave up on me. How can I do any less for her?”

“You were fighting an evil Druid, Phelan, no’ locked in a Dark prison. There’s a difference.”

His head lifted as he speared Kiril with his blue-gray eyes. “Would Rhi see a difference?”

“Probably no’,” Kiril said and sighed. “Rhi has always been different from other Light Fae. She does her own thing, makes her own decisions, and risks her life without thought for those she cares about.”

“Who was her Dragon King lover? I know it wasna you.”

Kiril twisted his lips. “It wasna for my lack of trying. Hell, all of us wanted her. All of us. Fae are stunning creatures, but there was always a special light inside Rhi that set her apart, even from the queen. But Rhi had eyes for only one King.”

“You willna tell me his name, will you?”

Kiril shook his head. “It’s no’ my story to tell. If Rhi wants you to know, she’ll tell you.”

“Why the big secret? It happened a long time ago.”

“Because of the story itself. After … everything, we thought to never see Rhi again, and we didna until we began to interact with the Warriors.”

“She was with me then.”

“Exactly. Had it no’ been for our alliance with you and the other Warriors, I doona think Rhi would have ever helped us again. Which means, she wouldna be in this prison.”

Phelan looked at her. “Balladyn wanted revenge. He would’ve found her one way or another.”

“Aye.” Just as it was inevitable that Ulrik and Con clash.

“What do we do now?”

Kiril dropped his arms and glanced at the door over his shoulder. “We get out and regroup. There has to be another way to break those damn chains, and we’ll find it.”

“Do you really think Con will risk Dragon Kings for Rhi? He hates her,” Phelan stated, his gaze hard as he looked at Kiril.

“It willna be Con’s decision. I’ll return, and I know others will as well.”

That mollified Phelan, because he gave a slight nod and rose to his feet. “It seems wrong to leave her, but we willna be doing her any good if we’re caught.”

“Wiser words were never spoken,” Kiril said.

They walked side by side to the door, but as Phelan reached for the handle, Kiril thought about Shara. He put a hand on Phelan’s arm to stop him.

Phelan compressed his lips for a moment. “I wondered when we’d get to her.”

“You think it’s all an act?”

“I doona know. You’re the one who knows her best. Do you trust her?”

“Aye.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Kiril prayed he wasn’t wrong about Shara. If he was, he had just forfeited the life of a Fae prince. It was one thing when it was only his own life he had to worry about, but now he had to consider Phelan’s as well.

“If you’re caught, the Warriors will come looking for you,” Kiril said. “As strong and powerful as all of you are, you’ve never fought the Dark Fae.”

“The Dragon Kings have. Tell me, Kiril, if you’re caught, will Con and the others leave you in here? Or will they come for you?”

Kiril grinned. “They’ll come.”

“Because that’s what brothers do.”

“All right. I get the point,” Kiril said with a shake of his head. “I’ll go for Shara. Stay close, but doona allow yourself to be seen.”

Phelan’s brow furrowed deeply. “I’m no’ afraid of being caught by these fuckers.”

“You should be.” Kiril pointed to Rhi. “Look at her. That would be you. Do you want Aisley to find you like that?”

There was a pause as Phelan briefly closed his eyes. “Nay.”

“Stay close,” Kiril repeated, “but hidden. If I’m taken, get out of here and back to our realm. Go to Dreagan and tell them everything.”

“If they capture you, Balladyn will be expecting more Kings.”

Kiril slowly released a deep breath. “That’s why you need to tell them no’ to come.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Phelan demanded angrily.

“Nay. I’m being practical. One of us caught is bad enough, but if they get their hands on more…” He let his voice trail off. There was no need to spell it all out.

“I want it noted that I loathe this plan, but I see your point. Just doona get captured.”

“No’ my intention,” Kiril said as he dropped his hand and Phelan opened the door.

*   *   *

Rhys hadn’t liked Cork the first time he visited, and he didn’t like it any better now. “I feel as if I need to scrub my skin with acid to get this dirty feeling off,” he mumbled as he walked down the streets beside Con.

“Aye,” Con mumbled as his gaze swept the area.

He glanced at Con to see his gaze taking in the sheer number of Dark Fae mingling with the humans. “I tried to tell you it was this bad.”

“We’re supposed to protect the humans, Rhys. We’ve kept to Scotland for too long if this is happening so close to us.”

“The problem was us not eradicating the Fae during the war.”

“That was impossible, and you know it.”

“Aye, but we could’ve made them leave for good.”

Con shifted his shoulders to the side to make room for a group of college-aged girls. “We were all weary of fighting. The treaty was the only option, or we’d still be in the middle of a war with them.”

“I know.”

“You question my decisions again?”

Rhys shrugged and tugged on the too-small shirt that he’d stolen. “I think we’ve become lax and kept to ourselves too long.”

“I do believe you’re correct.”

Rhys nearly tripped over his feet. His head whipped around to Con. “Of course you’d say that when none of the others were around to hear it.”

Con chuckled briefly.

Rhys flexed his hands in anticipation of killing Dark Fae. “I’m going to rip Kiril a new one if he’s been taken.”

“You willna be the only one. I doona like being lied to.”

“It’s no’ as if he could’ve told you the truth.”

Con cut his black eyes at him as they crossed one of the many bridges out of town. “You try controlling a group of Dragon Kings and tell me how it goes.”

Rhys remained quiet until they reached the end of the bridge. “You know Balladyn will be expecting us.”

“You’re assuming we find the correct doorway.”

“Then there’s that. Kiril has Phelan for help. We doona have that advantage.”

“Oh, really?”

Rhys looked at Con and saw him smiling at someone. Rhys slid his gaze to where Con was staring. He didn’t need to be told the gorgeous woman with coal black hair and eyes the color of molten silver was a Light Fae.

The woman was smiling, a look of aloofness about her that could only come from a Fae. She stood in the middle of the sidewalk so that others had to go around her. Rhys thought she looked familiar, as if he should recognize her face.