It wasn’t long before Dani and Ian met him in the bailey. Charon looked around the cobblestones beneath his feet. “Odd that this place used to be filled with horses and carriages and people. Now, it is used for the vehicles.”
“You’re scaring the hell out of me,” Dani said. “Please, tell us what it is.”
Now that Charon stood before Ian, he wasn’t so sure he should share his news. Perhaps Phelan had been right, and it was something that should just happen.
Ian glanced overhead as thunder rolled. “Spit it out, Charon. What has you so upset?”
“Duncan isna dead.”
Charon thought it might be better to just blurt it out, but as Ian’s face lost all color, he was beginning to doubt everything.
“How can you say that?” Dani shouted to him as she stood in front of Ian and touched his face.
Charon rubbed the back of his neck. “Because it’s the truth.”
“How?” Ian asked, his voice harsh and croaky.
This was the part Charon didn’t want to share. After becoming allies, things could splinter depending on how Ian took the news. “Phelan just found out and shared it with me.”
“Wait. What?” Dani asked as she shifted to look at him. “You’re not making any sense. If Phelan discovered it, why isn’t he here?”
“Because he didna think I needed to know,” Ian surmised.
Charon shook his head. “Phelan didna want to tell you the way I am, and since I’m making a complete muck of it, he was right.”
“So, Phelan found out. How?” Ian’s voice had gone hard, his eyes steely.
“He was helping the Dragon Kings. That’s when he met Tristan.”
“Who’s Tristan?” Dani asked.
Charon briefly closed his eyes. “Duncan. It seems that Duncan was made into a Dragon King.”
“He’s alive?” Ian asked quietly, shock making his face go slack even as delight shone in his eyes. “My brother is alive? Why did the Kings no’ tell me?”
“Because Tristan has no memories of his former life as your brother.”
The excitement that had filled Ian’s face crumbled with Charon’s words. And he hated himself at that moment. He’d thought coming to Ian was the right thing to do. Now he knew it hadn’t been.
“I want to see him,” Ian said. “Does he know of me?”
“Phelan spoke with him at length. He does know of you now. And that’s all I know.”
Ian looked down at his wife. “I must go see him.”
“I know. I’ll be beside you the whole time,” she vowed as she caressed his face.
Charon watched them walk back into the castle as the rain began to fall. He waited another few seconds before he got into his car and drove back to Ferness.
Cork, Ireland
Kiril opened the front double doors and stepped inside his new home with a smile. It needed a bit of sprucing up, but it would fit his needs perfectly. Especially the cellar.
He’d just stepped into the foyer when his mobile rang. Kiril answered without looking at the screen, since he knew it was one of the Dragon Kings.
“Hello?”
“Con blew up, just as you knew he would,” Rhys said.
Kiril laughed. “It does him good to lose that infamous cool of his every now and again.”
“What are you doing?”
“I just bought a house.”
There was a pregnant pause. “You did what?”
“I bought a house,” he said as he wandered the main floor. “Think about it, Rhys. We have houses all over the world, but no’ a single one in Ireland.”
“That’s because of the Dark. Or do I need to remind you?”
“I refuse to live out of a hotel for however long I’m here. Besides, if things come about like we want, you know as well as I that we’re going to need this place.”
Rhys sighed through the phone. “You’re right. I still doona like you there by yourself.”
“I have to be by myself if I’m to spy on them.”
“You going back to the pub?”
“Of course.”
Rhys mumbled something Kiril couldn’t make out. Then Rhys said, “Any potential problems?”
“There’s one guy who has been staring. Of course, he could just want my body.”
Rhys laughed, but both knew things could turn quickly from bad to worse.
“Call me before you go into the den of evil, and I want a call when you leave.”
“Aye, Mum. If I’ve got the female, I’ll text. Calling might be a bit difficult.”
“You’re walking into Hell and intentionally messing with demons.” Rhys’s growl rumbled through the connection. “I doona like it.”
Gone was any jesting from Rhys’s voice. Kiril stopped in the kitchen and leaned against a wall. “Someone has to do it. You were too noticeable the last time. It had to be me. I’ll be fine. And if I’m taken, I’ll get out. Kellan did.”
Rhys grunted. “Be safe, jerk.”
“You too, bitch.”
Kiril disconnected the phone and laid it upon the counter. He was willingly walking into Hell, because someone had to do it. Con wouldn’t have agreed to it on the chance a King could be taken.