He closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck. She smelled so damn good. And holding her was the balm he hadn’t realized he so desperately needed.
“How do you bear it?” she whispered.
He shrugged. “What other choice do I have?”
“I thought I understood the Kings before, but my respect for all of you has only increased.” She kissed the side of his neck gently. “You have all survived what surely would’ve killed others.”
Cain didn’t want to release her, but he made himself loosen his hold and lean back. Otherwise, he might hold onto her for eternity.
And that didn’t sound so bad at all.
She blinked at him, her black lashes spiked with tears. He lifted a hand and tenderly wiped the moisture from her face. “We have endured all these millennia because we wanted to be here when our dragons return.”
“Will they? Return, I mean?” she asked.
“I doona know. Maybe. Hopefully.”
She glanced away. “But not as long as humans inhabit the Earth.”
“Aye,” he said with a nod.
She inhaled deeply and caressed her hands from his shoulders to his chest. “You didn’t know how the mortals came to your realm, but now you do.”
“It’s another piece to the ever-growing puzzle. Even knowing who Moreann is and why she wants us gone is something we’ve long needed.”
Noreen flashed him a quick smile. “I’ll tell you everything. I was going to anyway, but now, I want to give you all the information I have right this second.”
Cain chuckled. “We’ve time.”
“I don’t want to think that we do. Moreann is viciously vindictive. I can guarantee that whatever she has done with Usaeil is not only not pleasant, but the former queen will also be there for eternity.”
At that statement, Cain shook his head. “If you believe that, then you doona know how powerful Usaeil truly is. She hid a lot of it from us, which means, she most likely hid it from everyone else. Including Moreann.”
“If you’re right, and I think you are, then that means Usaeil betrayed Moreann before I did.”
“Aye. Usaeil’s plans have been in place for a verra long time.”
“And she wanted Con,” Noreen said as her eyes grew wide. “Bloody hell. Usaeil wasn’t ever going to help us wipe out the Kings. She was going to help you.”
“I wouldna go that far,” Cain cautioned her. “I think Usaeil wanted Moreann gone, but only so that we could mate with the Fae. Usaeil believed that no humans have been able to bring our children to term because they doona have magic.”
Noreen’s face scrunched up. “Some of the Kings mated Druids. Not to mention, there is Shara.”
“Exactly. Once all of that occurred, Usaeil had no choice but to reevaluate things, but it didna alter the fact that she held firm to the belief that it was the Fae who could give us children.”
“With as weak as most Druids on Earth are, she does have a point. Though I hate to admit it.”
Cain looked over her head to the grove of trees behind her. “I doona trust Usaeil, but if there is one person who possibly knows Moreann better than you, it’s her.”
“I understand your worry about Dreagan being attacked, but before you get to planning a war, there are things you need to know.”
“You’re right, of course,” Cain said as his gaze returned to Noreen. “Once you tell me, I’ll need to relay it to the others at Dreagan.”
She winced, her lips twisting. “Is there an easier way? Maybe a mobile we could use so I can tell you and the others all at once?”
“A mobile wouldna work across realms.”
Noreen’s red eyes flashed with wickedness. “Well, we are creatures with magic.”
“As true as that statement is, it wouldna work.”
“What about the connection you have to the other Kings? To talk to them through your mind?”
He hesitated. “It might work.”
Despite Cain’s attempts, however, he wasn’t able to reach anyone at Dreagan. He suspected it might be because of the shield around them.
“It isna working,” he finally told her.
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It was worth a shot. You’ll just have to remember everything I tell you. As soon as I’m done, return to Dreagan.”
“I’m no’ leaving you.”
Noreen’s crimson eyes softened as she smiled at him. “I appreciate that, but we both know I’m doomed. Moreann or one of the Others will find me. You’ll have a chance to save all those at Dreagan as well as potentially end the Others once and for all. You have to do that.”
“Then come with me. You wanted to fight against the Others.”
Instead of agreeing, she shook her head. “The moment I return to Earth, Moreann will know. She’ll seek me out, and there will be no time for you or any of the Kings to prepare for battle.”
“You think I can no’ protect you?” He didn’t want to be angry, but he was. He was a Dragon King. He knew he could keep her safe from anyone and anything—even Moreann.
Noreen let her hands fall from him to her sides as she stepped out of his arms. “I know you can. That isn’t the issue, and you know it. You brought me to the Fae Realm for a reason. Here, behind this barrier, I’ll be safe.”
“You doona know that.”
“And you don’t know that I won’t.” She smiled sadly. “I won’t spend any more time debating this. You need information and fast. I have it, and you need to be ready to listen. Are you?”
Cain wanted to argue, he wanted to make her see his point, but he also realized that there was more at stake here than either of them. “Aye.”
“There is a place in Istanbul where we meet occasionally. It’s below the Ayasofya in the many tunnels under the city. Only someone with magic can reach it,” she explained.
Cain nodded, thinking of the ancient building that had been constructed in 537 AD, first as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral before it became a Roman Catholic Cathedral, and then an Ottoman Mosque before finally being transformed into a museum. “Why there?”
“Moreann chose it. I don’t know why. I never asked.”
“How often does the group meet there?”
Noreen’s lips flattened. “About once every five years. What the mortal Druids don’t realize is that the Fae, Moreann, and the other Druids from her realm meet more frequently. Moreann often made the comment that she couldn’t stand waiting for the mortals to make the trek. Never mind the fact that she could’ve brought them wherever she wanted them.”
“She doesna strike me as the kind who helps anyone,” Cain said.
“Oh, she’s definitely not.”
Cain had a hard time keeping his eyes from Noreen’s naked body. “Perhaps we should get dressed.”
Noreen began to smile. “Something distracting you?”
“Aye,” he stated while letting his gaze run slowly down her body. The moment her nipples hardened, a moan rumbled in his chest, and his cock stirred in response.
An instant later, Noreen cleared her throat. “Yeah. Clothes might be good.”
Cain chuckled and dressed while Noreen used her magic to put her clothes back on. All the while, she spoke.