Free Fire Rising (Dark Kings) by Donna Grant Page A

history, the Dark were once Light who turned to the spells that would eat away at our souls.”
    “He knew you. You can no’ lie, and you can only evade the question for so long. Who is he?”
    Damn him, but she hated Con. Thanks to her mother she had gotten the unenviable dilemma of feeling intense pain every time she tried to lie.
    “He used to be a friend,” she reluctantly answered.
    Ryder rubbed his jaw. “A close one by the use of the endearment.”
    “He’s my concern,” Rhi said. “I’ve answered your question. Let me go.”
    The fact that Con still had ahold of her only set her teeth on edge. Of course, he always rubbed her the wrong way. Their hatred was mutual, so it wasn’t as if she was hurt by his words.
    With deliberate slowness, Con released her and stepped back. “So you have.”
    “Rhi, wait,” Banan said before she could teleport away. “What have the Light discovered about the Dark’s intentions?”
    She shook her head and fisted her hands so she wouldn’t rub the spot Con had touched. “No more than what we’ve always known. They like to cause chaos and wreak havoc. I don’t know what any of you were thinking sending Kiril to Ireland to spy, but I wouldn’t leave him there for long. Already there are rumors circulating that a Dragon King is in Cork.”
    “Do they know it’s Kiril?” Con asked.
    “Not yet. He’s putting himself right in the middle of things. That can be disastrous.”
    “He’s a Dragon King.”
    Rhi bent and dusted off her combat boots. “Yeah. And if another one of your Kings is taken by the Dark again? What then?”
    “I willna be calling on you, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
    Now this was the Con she knew and hated. Rhi laughed as she straightened. “You didn’t the first time. I went in because it was Kellan, and I actually like him.”
    “And we appreciate that,” Banan said before Con could respond.
    Rhi pulled her gaze away from Con to look at Rhys, Laith, Ryder, and Banan. “I can’t show my face in Cork. Get word to Kiril that he’s probably going to be discovered soon.”
    “We need what he can get from the Dark,” Laith said.
    “So you put a King with a Scots accent in the middle of Fae territory? That’s smart,” she said sarcastically.
    Rhys cleared his throat. “We couldna wait on your spies.”
    Rhi didn’t take offense at his comment. It was the truth that none of the Light Fae had learned anything of consequence. “The Dark notoriously keep their plans within their own ranks. They don’t trust anyone, especially the Light. It’s not like we can use a human as a spy. They would spill everything at the first look of a Dark Fae their way.”
    “Speaking of,” Banan said. “Is it normal for a human to not be affected by a Dark?”
    Rhi glanced at each of the Kings around her. There was something going on, and by Con’s dangerous look, it was doubtful she was going to discover what it was any time soon.
    “No,” she said. “Denae was the first I’d ever seen. As I told Kellan, the only thing I can come up with is that Denae and Kellan had made love before the Dark kidnapped them.”
    “What if a human has had little to no contact with a King?” Banan pressed.
    Rhi thought back over the centuries. “Humans might try to withstand a Fae’s seduction, whether it be a Light or a Dark. Some have even managed it for a few seconds, but the humans always give in to the pleasure they know they’ll get.”
    Banan reached down and picked up one of the chairs that had fallen over and leaned his hands on the back of it. “What would you think if I told you I saw a Dark look at a human woman today, and she was able to walk away?”
    “I’d say he was probably not very interested in her if he let her walk away.”
    Banan shook his head. “Nay. He was interested. She walked away.”
    Rhi looked down at the dead mortals and noticed their clothes for the first time. It was similar to what MI5 had worn while they had been