Fire Rising (Dark Kings) (16 page)

There had been a celebration that she hadn’t attended. Would things be different had she gone to the party? Would she have seen Tristan then and let herself give in to the desire?

Sammi knew she wouldn’t have. She had a tight rein on her feelings, especially when it came to the opposite sex. It was only the predicament she was in now that had weakened those protective walls around her.

Tristan, being the amazing man—Dragon King—that he was had shattered those walls.

If he could do that without even trying, what could he do to her if he really tried? That thought chilled Sammi. She refused to be put in a situation where she could lose herself to someone.

Which is exactly where she was headed with Tristan. She didn’t need to see into the future to know that she craved him as if he were the other half of her. It was dangerous ground she found herself on.

It was better that he was gone. It gave her time to collect her thoughts and erect a stronger barrier around herself, one that he could never touch.

Her body wanted him, and she knew she would give in to that temptation again, but she would never allow him close. He might not die on her, but he could still leave in other ways.

She wasn’t strong enough to endure that again. Everyone thought she was made of steel, but it was an act she put on to protect her delicate heart.

Tristan had almost led her to make a fatal mistake, a mistake she would have made had she woken up with him beside her. She had been angry when Laith told her he was gone for the day, but now she was glad.

She would be strong when he returned—strong enough to sever that glorious, wonderful link between them before she did something disastrous like fall in love.

*   *   *

Tristan knew all about the shield over the land and MacLeod Castle that prevented mortals from seeing what was being hidden in plain sight.

He flew through the shield, the magic sizzling startlingly over his scales. As soon as he passed through it, he caught sight of the castle and the homes dotting the vast land.

With barely one circle around the castle, men came running out of the castle into the bailey. To his left he spotted a man with indigo skin and wings flying beside him.

“You can land in the bailey,” he said and dove toward the castle, spreading his wings at the last minute and coming to land atop the battlements before jumping to the bailey.

Tristan tucked his wings and repeated the move by the Warrior, except when he spread his wings and landed in the bailey, the blast of air had the men bracing themselves.

One of the Warriors with a torc stepped forward. He had light brown hair and soft green eyes. Tristan eyed him, recognition just out of reach. It was as if he knew this man, as if he had been a close friend. The gold torc around his neck brought back the memory he’d had while holding Sammi.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

Tristan shook his head, not bothering to shift into human form. He wasn’t completely sure coming to the castle was a wise move.

“I’m Quinn MacLeod. I had hoped … I thought you might remember since you came back.”

Tristan looked at the others around the bailey, all Warriors. But the one he had come to see was missing.

“Ian isna here,” Quinn said. “He and Dani live in Ferness near Charon, Phelan, and Malcolm.”

“I can bring him here,” said a man who had the same features as Quinn, as well as a torc.

Tristan guessed he was a MacLeod, but he couldn’t place a name or the face.

“I’m Fallon, Quinn’s eldest brother,” he said. “I can jump—teleport that is—and bring Ian here if you’d like.”

This was a mistake. All this proved was that he didn’t know these people. Tristan spread his wings to fly when Quinn shouted his name.

“Tristan! Wait! Please. We’ve been hoping to see you. Phelan told us you doona have the memories of when you were Duncan.” Quinn glanced at another brother who came up beside him and nodded. “This is Lucan, the middle MacLeod. I can introduce everyone to you.”

He shook his head and took a step back. What had he been thinking would happen when he arrived? A part of him had believed he would take one look at the castle and all the memories would come flooding back.

The other part had prayed he wouldn’t recollect anything else.

“Do you recall anything?” Lucan asked. “Do you remember Deirdre?”

The name made Tristan jerk back. He hated the name with a viciousness he couldn’t explain, but he didn’t know the woman.

Quinn took another step to him. “Do you remember Cairn Toul Mountain?”

The mountain. That’s where he had been kept prisoner with Ian. There had been others there, he was sure of it, but the faces were too blurred in his memories to make out.

“It doesn’t matter,” said a feminine voice from atop the castle steps.

She had long dark hair with dozens of tiny braids atop the crown of her head with gold bands at the ends. The woman, just like Quinn, looked familiar, but Tristan couldn’t place her.

“We survived Cairn Toul together,” she said as she walked down the steps to stand beside Quinn. “We’ll get through this as well, Tristan.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Tristan wasn’t sure if he was sorry he went to MacLeod Castle or not. They had tried in vain to keep him there, but he had taken to the sky not long after the woman—Marcail—appeared.

The way Quinn had wrapped his arm around her stated the woman was his. But who was she? She acted as though she knew him, as if Tristan should know her.

He shook his head as he quickly—and briefly—checked in with Laith to make sure all was well with Sammi. She was going to want to know why he had left. He wondered if she thought he had run away from what happened between them.

He had, but he wouldn’t tell her that. Tristan had known whatever was between him and Sammi was explosive. He hadn’t counted on being rocked to his very foundation just by having her in his arms.

Life had been as close to ideal as he ever expected. Right up until he saw Sammi. That’s when everything went spinning into utter chaos.

But it was a passion-filled, ecstasy-ridden chaos that he craved more of.

It was Sammi—touching her, kissing her—that had somehow triggered his memories. He was sure of it. Explaining it was difficult, but it was a certainty he felt in his gut.

The memories of his past life alarmed him, startled him. They were as clear and real as the world around him. So far the memories had been fleeting, but the emotions were high. What would happen if the memories lasted longer? Would he find himself living in that world instead of the one he was in?

It was a vicious circle he could find himself in if he wasn’t careful.

He glided upon an air current as he grew closer to Dreagan. His thoughts turned back to Sammi. Whether or not he wanted to face Ian and the fact he’d had a past life, she had somehow forced him to confront it.

Tristan dropped a shoulder and altered his course as he flapped his wings to fly back to Sammi. He would convince her to return to the manor so he could watch over her as well as find Kellan to talk about the Kings and learn more of their history.

He had barely finished the thought when there was a push on his mind. It never entered his mind that it would be anyone other than a Dragon King. Tristan opened his thoughts, and immediately realized he didn’t know who was contacting him.

“Hello, Tristan. Or is it Duncan?”

It was just a little farther to Dreagan land. Tristan flew faster, unsure of who this was or why he wanted to talk.
“It’s Tristan.”

“Hmm. You doona sound so sure.”

The Scots brogue was thick and heavy, the confidence stifling.
“Who are you?”

A burst of laughter met his question.
“Oh, you know who I am.”

Ulrik. It had to be. Tristan crossed into Dreagan land and dove down to land atop the first mountain he reached.
“What do you want?”

“I doona want anything. I simply want to warn you.”

“About?”

“Samantha. She isna safe. Even on Dreagan. The Dark will come for her.”

“You have an alliance with the Dark. You can stop them.”

A low chuckle sounded through his head.
“You’re a good Dragon King, Tristan, but you’ve much to learn yet about us. I suppose Con told you I was the one masterminding everything to expose you. Tell me. Why would I do that if I can no’ shift into a dragon anymore? Why would I do that without my magic? What would I gain?”

“You could force Con to return your magic.”

“If it were that simple, I’d have done it centuries ago.”

“Your revenge then.”

There was a beat of silence.
“Never fear, young Tristan, I will have my vengeance.”

“If it isna you, then who is Dreagan’s enemy?”

“I never said I wasna Dreagan’s enemy.”

Tristan stamped a foot and rocks rained down the mountain.
“Enough of the games. What do you want?”

“I want the dragons back in control. I want to erase every human on this planet.”

With his dragon eyes, Tristan could see Dreagan Manor in the distance.
“That’s obvious. What do you want with me?”

“Join me and I’ll stop the Dark Ones from taking Samantha.”

It was a tempting offer only because it would keep Sammi safe, but for how long? If Ulrik got what he wanted, all humans would be gone. That included Sammi.
“Why me?”

“Why no’ you?”

“I’m going to need more than that before I make a decision.”

“Nice,”
he said, a smile in his voice.
“I expected you to jump at the chance to save your woman, but perhaps I was wrong. The Kings have made a habit lately of falling for humans so easily.”

“The way you did?”
Tristan knew he’d hit a nerve by the silence that followed.

“You’re unexpected, Tristan. By the way you so readily—and quickly, I might add—came to Samantha’s rescue, I assumed you were falling for the mortal.”

“It’s the duty of the Dragon Kings to protect humans.”

“Even when they start attacking you? Think hard about that one, lad, because you didna witness the war. You didna see the humans annihilate smaller dragons in one fell swoop. You didna hear the cries of the dragons as we raced to help them only to have Con hold us back because we might harm a human.”

The hatred in his voice was so heavy and loud that Tristan winced as it bounced around inside his head.
“Nay, I wasna there, but I’m a King now. I will do as we were meant to do. There are no more dragons for the humans to harm.”

“You’re here.”

“If you claim to no’ be the one trying to expose us, what are you doing aligning with the Dark Fae and MI5?”

“Trying to stop Con. He is the one to blame for the way things are now. It was the Silvers who were going to take him and his Golds down before he convinced all the other Kings to send the dragons out of this realm.”

“Con took away your magic so you would stop killing humans.”

“I did kill humans. They were attacking dragons. We are dragons, first and foremost. What kind of creature are we to let our own kind be murdered as we protect the murderers?”

Tristan didn’t have an answer. He hadn’t been there, so he didn’t know what he would do but he couldn’t imagine sitting and watching his Ambers being killed and doing nothing about it.

“Con isna all he claims to be. He never has been. I learned that the hard way when I thought he was a friend. He betrayed me, he betrayed the Kings, but more than that, he betrayed all dragons.”

The link was severed, leaving Tristan more unsure of things than ever before. Ulrik wanted him to join his cause, but what exactly was his cause?

The idea of Con being the one to expose the Kings was absurd. Con went out of his way to keep most mortals as far from Dreagan as he could. He had even tried to keep Kellan and Denae apart.

Tristan called out to Laith who opened his mind immediately.
“I suspect there’s going to be an attack from the Dark soon.”

“How do you know that?”
Laith asked.

Tristan blew out a long breath.
“Ulrik told me.”

“What?”
Laith shouted.

“I’ll tell you everything later. Right now we need to keep Sammi away from them. I have a feeling if the Dark get ahold of her she willna be as easy to find as Kellan and Denae were.”

“Nay, I doona suspect she will be. Surely the Dark wouldna dare come on our land.”

“At this point I expect anything and everything.”

“The only place she’ll truly be safe is in the mountain.”

The mountain the manor was built into was a sacred place for the Kings. It was also where they kept the four sleeping Silvers that had been caught and trapped before they could wipe out humanity.
“Doona give her a choice. Just take her there.”

“Con will never allow it.”

“I’ll deal with him. Just get Sammi, and I’ll meet you at the manor.”

Laith ended the conversation with a curt aye. Tristan didn’t waste any time flying toward the manor. Since there were mortals about—working and visiting—he made sure to shift back into his human form and run the rest of the way.

He bypassed the house and entered the mountain by a side entrance. As always, there were clothes stashed for just such emergencies.

Tristan found a pair of jeans and put them on before he made his way through tunnels to get to what could only be described as Kellan’s office.

The cave was large and lit by dozens of torches on the walls. The entire back of the cave was lined with shelves where scrolls were shelved according to years. The scrolls eventually turned into books.

There were rugs placed all over the cave in a haphazard fashion. In the middle of the cave sat a large desk that looked as old as the Kings. An inkwell and a feather pen were situated on the left-hand corner. On the right was a wooden tankard filled with pens that had obviously been collected through the ages.