Smoldering Hunger (2 page)

And now? Now he hated the quiet.

He detested being alone.

It wasn’t that he missed the other Dragon Kings. He could communicate with them via their mental link at any time. It was something much deeper, much stronger that twisted his gut.

He’d told the other Kings he wanted to end the war with the Dark Fae so he could return to his mountain and the dragon sleep. It had been the truth. For a bit. Now, he found himself searching for something he didn’t understand or know.

No matter how many times he walked the streets of the city, no matter how many times he killed the evil Dark Fae who sought to slaughter the innocent humans, Darius was never satisfied.

It was as if he were missing something. That only made him hunt longer and harder. He’d tracked the last remaining Dark Fae who hadn’t been smart enough to leave the city, running the bastards to ground.

Since the Dark fed off the souls of the humans, Darius took great pleasure in killing them. But not even that helped to ease the tension within him.

But it did help him remember that he was a lethal warrior. He did what he did not just for himself, but for his brethren at Dreagan who hid amongst the humans distilling world-famous whisky. And he did it for the humans.

The realm might’ve been the dragons’ first and foremost, but the humans were part of that world as well. The Dragon Kings fought for themselves and the mortals who once tried to kill them.

Darius removed his shirt and folded it before neatly stacking it on the table on the other side of the warehouse. After removing his boots and setting them tidily together, he unfastened his jeans and stepped out of them. Folding them, he set the jeans beside his shirt and turned to face the dead Fae.

With just a thought, he shifted, his body transforming from that of a human into a dragon. He shook his great head and blinked his eyes as he fastened them onto the Dark.

The greed and extravagance of the Dark Fae had caused the city to erupt in chaos. Edinburgh hadn’t been the only place bombarded with the Dark, however. Every major city in Scotland and England had been attacked.

It caused the Dragon Kings to take drastic action against the Fae. In doing so, the Kings played right into the Darks’ hands.

The Dark Fae filmed the Kings on Dreagan flying, fighting, and shifting. That video was then released onto the Internet, and a fury storm of questions fell upon Dreagan.

Their leader, Constantine, King of Kings, ordered that no Dragon King could shift out of human form. Darius was doing what his brethren hadn’t been able to do in weeks.

He wasted no time in breathing fire upon the Dark. There was nothing on any realm as hot as dragon fire, and it scorched the bodies into ash almost instantly.

Darius immediately returned to human form and dressed. He wouldn’t stay in his true appearance when the others couldn’t. It wasn’t fair. And it only made him hate the Dark Fae even more.

Once, long ago, there was a war on Earth between the Fae and the Kings. The Fae Wars had lasted for decades with hundreds dying.

The Kings eventually won. It was supposed to have been a war that would never be repeated. It would’ve remained that way if the Kings hadn’t had to hide their true selves. There was only one race to blame for that: the humans.

Darius dressed and left the warehouse. It was just after five in the morning. There was still time to do some hunting. Perhaps he’d get lucky and see who was killing the Dark.

He hadn’t gone more than five blocks when he found himself turning to the left. Darius walked another two before he realized he was on his way to the Royal Victoria Hospital.

His feet halted instantly.

Every time Sophie entered his thoughts, he hastily squished it. She was a distraction he didn’t need—and couldn’t afford. Yet, when he walked the streets, every time he saw a flash of red hair, he hoped it was her.

There was only one time in the two weeks since he’d made love to her on the street, shrouded by shadows with a hunger for her riding him hard, that he had allowed himself to see her.

A day after their encounter he’d remained hidden atop a roof watching as she left the hospital. She hadn’t even looked in the direction where they’d had sex against the building.

Did she remember how her nails bit into his flesh? Did she recall how her body shuddered with the force of her climax? Did she forget how he had to swallow her screams of pleasure with a kiss?

He had no trouble recollecting all of that and more. So much more. For days after he had the taste of her on his tongue. Even now he recalled the feel of her soft, warm skin beneath his hands. He knew the weight of her breasts and how sensitive her nipples were.

If he allowed himself, he could get drunk off her kisses alone.

It was for that reason alone that he hadn’t returned to the hospital or gone anywhere near Sophie’s home. She was much too alluring and entirely too much of a temptation to put himself in close proximity to her.

So why was he now heading toward the very place he’d shied away from? His thoughts had been on the Dark and eradicating them forever from this realm. He hadn’t even been thinking of Sophie.

Darius turned on his heel and retraced his steps. He had to get far from Sophie. Nothing good could come of him seeing her again.

For hours he walked without a trace of the Dark to been seen. It agitated him, but he knew there were still a few of the bastards in the city.

The sun climbed in the sky and then began its descent, all the while he marched through the city from one end to the other. A few times he thought he was being watched, but he could never discover who it was.

Darius made his way to Edinburgh Castle. He was sitting staring out over the city when he felt a push against his mind. He instantly recognized Con’s voice in his head.

He opened the link to Con. “
Aye
?”

“
How are things
?” Con asked.

“
If you’re asking if I’ve discovered who else is killing the Dark, I’ve no’.
” Darius had hoped to have better news. The Kings needed some good news soon.

Con blew out a breath. “
It has to be Fae. They’re the only ones who can remain veiled.
”

“
If it’s Fae, then why no’ show themselves? It doesna make sense.
”

“
I never said it made sense, I just said it had to be them.
”

Darius could hear the weariness in Con’s voice. He hadn’t been to Dreagan since before the video leaked. Darius could well imagine that tensions were running high with everyone doing their best to appear as human as possible to MI5, who had descended upon their business and home.

“
And you?
” Darius asked. “
How are you?”

There was a long pause before Con said, “
We’re fine.
”

“
I didna ask about Dreagan. I know the bloody whisky is going to be fine. I asked how you were, you stubborn bugger.
”

“
How the fuck do you think I am?
”

Darius smiled when he heard the anger in Con’s voice. Constantine was known for being as cold as ice in any situation. Few had seen him angry and lived to speak of it. “
I
almost
feel sorry for the Dark for what we’re going to do to them.
”

“
They need to be wiped from this realm.
”

“
All Fae need to go. Even Rhi. They’ve caused nothing but problems.
” Darius expected Con to agree regarding the Light Fae who had helped them in many situations, but the silence stretched on.

“
Rhi has too many friends among the Kings.
”

“
And you want Usaeil as an ally.
”

“
The Light Fae queen has nothing to do with this,
” Con said tightly.

His tone made Darius frown. Was that a tinge of irritation in Con’s tone? Over the Fae queen? Interesting. There were rumors among the Kings that Con was disappearing a lot of late. Many suspected he and Usaeil were now lovers.

That
wasn’t going to end well in any scenario.

Darius changed the subject. “
How is the tracking going on the Dark?
”

“
No’ as well as before. Henry is making it his mission to track the Fae.
”

Henry. The only human who wasn’t a mate of the Kings. He’d been allowed to know their secret and enter their private domain. Henry was no mere human, however. He was one of the best spies Britain had to offer.

“
Are the nasty buggers back in Ireland like they’re supposed to be?
”

“
Most. There’s still some stragglers. Too many for my comfort.
”

“
If they’re in Edinburgh, I’ll find them.
”

Con’s sigh was loud enough to make it through the mental link. “
We have to find Ulrik, Darius, and make him answer for this video. I’ll no’ have any of you take to your caves to hide from the mortals again. We survived it once. I’ll no’ ask it a second time.
”

“
We understand what’s at stake. Ulrik knows we’re looking for him. We’ve been searching for weeks. Perhaps it’s time we ask Broc.
”

“
Nay,
” Con said with finality. “
The Warriors and Druids already brought attention to themselves during the battle with the Dark in Edinburgh. This is our fight. We can find Ulrik ourselves.
”

“
He’ll no’ stray far from Scotland, I’ll wager.
”

“
Just be on the lookout. And remember, Darius, he can no’ be trusted.
”

Con severed the link before the last syllable was uttered. Darius looked over the lights of the city and thought of Con’s words.

Ever since Darius woke and ventured from his cave a few months earlier, he’d known his time would be spent in battle. Con visited every King who slept and updated them on the world. Darius was well aware of Ulrik’s growing threats before he walked from his mountain.

Now he, like the other Kings, was hunting one of their own. Ulrik was a menace to all the Dragon Kings. Ulrik might’ve brought Lily back from the dead for Rhys, but soon after he attempted to kill Darcy.

Ulrik’s actions were chaotic and seemingly indiscriminate. Every time they thought they knew what he would do, Ulrik changed his motives. He surprised them with his decisions at every turn.

It was a brilliant tactic to keep them guessing and on edge, not knowing what he would do next. No doubt it was driving Con mad with fury.

Darius grudgingly acknowledged Ulrik’s cleverness. Then again, it was no surprise. Ulrik was one of the strongest of the Dragon Kings. He could’ve been King of Kings, and probably would’ve been had Con not wanted the position.

The two of them had been close brothers. They were inseparable. Until Con took over as King of Kings. Ulrik never challenged him, even though it was Ulrik’s right to do so. Instead, Ulrik stood behind Con as their leader.

Would things be different if Ulrik had challenged Con and won? Ulrik might’ve still been betrayed by his female human lover, but he wouldn’t have exiled himself. No doubt he’d still have started the war with the humans, but Ulrik would have wiped the realm of them.

There’s one thing for certain, if Ulrik was King of Kings, none of the Dragon Kings’ problems would be there now. They wouldn’t be hiding from the humans. Nor would they be in a war with the Fae. The Fae wouldn’t be on the realm if it weren’t for the mortals.

Perhaps Ulrik had been right all along. It was better to end the humans’ existence from the beginning.

But that’s not what happened. Con was ruler, and Con had put an end to Ulrik’s war with the mortals. In order to keep the peace, their dragons were sent away and every Dragon King had hidden in their mountain on Dreagan for several centuries until the humans forgot about them.

The Kings hid once. They wouldn’t hide again. It was already too much for them to curb when they could fly. Before the disaster with the video, they were only able to take to the skies at night or in a thunderstorm, and they remained on Dreagan when they did.

Now, they were all effectively grounded since every mortal eye in the world was looking for a glimpse of a dragon.

Part of Darius wanted to show the humans exactly who had been living beside them for thousands of years. He wanted all the Kings to take to the skies and demonstrate their power once and for all.

The realm had been theirs from the beginning. They willingly shared it with the mortals, but now the Kings were shells of the great dragons they once were.

And it saddened Darius to see how they had fallen so.

He took a deep breath and pushed to his feet. He lowered his gaze to the streets around Edinburgh Castle. A frown puckered his brow when he thought he spotted a white-haired Fae on the street below, but in the next instant, he was nothing.

Darius stared at the spot for a long time. The Fae could veil themselves. However, none but the most powerful of them could remain hidden for more than a few seconds.

He scanned the streets and surrounding buildings, but saw nothing. Was he so desperate to kill that he was beginning to see Dark where there were none?

And a white-haired Fae? There was no such thing as far as he knew. The Light Fae had hair as black as the night and eyes as silver as moonlight reflecting off a loch.

The Dark Fae had silver streaked throughout their black locks. The more silver, the more evil they’d done. And their eyes were red as blood.

It was true a Fae could cast glamour that allowed them to change their appearance, but why would one intentionally bring attention on themselves like the white-haired one?

Darius rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He was tense, his thoughts troubled, and the need to take to the skies and soar along the currents was strong.

How he longed to shift and spread his wings, to roar long and loud into the night and announce to one and all that he was there. How he yearned to feel the flap of his wings as he flew and felt the sun and moon upon his scales, to dip and dive, to turn and glide.