CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cain wanted to stop the interrogation, but he knew it had to be done. He was grateful that Ulrik was handling Noreen gently. However, he couldn’t say the same for Noreen’s responses. To be fair, though, not many would react nicely to having their word questioned.
Yet, the moment Ulrik asked about her parents’ deaths, something in Noreen changed. There was a harshness around her eyes that hadn’t been there before, and it concerned Cain.
“It doesn’t matter what I say,” Noreen stated. “Every King will continue telling me that it couldn’t have been a dragon, and I’ll continue to believe that it was.”
“None of that matters right now,” Cain said before Noreen could get any angrier. “Ulrik, you came to talk about Moreann and the Others. Keep to that.”
Ulrik’s gold eyes met his as he gave a nod. “Verra true. My apologies, Noreen. I can get carried away sometimes,” he told her.
“It’s fine,” she replied tightly.
The open, smiling woman that had thrown herself into Cain’s arms moments ago was nowhere to be found. And he wanted her back. Yet he knew how important it was that everyone be convinced that she wasn’t trying to betray them.
They walked into the forest and found a comfortable spot as Noreen began repeating everything to Ulrik. Cain listened, noting the tales weren’t verbatim, which meant they weren’t lies. They stayed the course, but had subtle differences that liars tended to avoid.
Little by little, she relaxed. Ulrik would ask some questions, and she readily answered them without hostility. It wasn’t long before they were conversing like old friends. Then again, Ulrik had that kind of effect on people.
When she finished, Ulrik blew out a breath and looked at Cain. “We’re bloody lucky she came to us. There is no way we’d ever have learned any of this information ourselves.”
“I know,” Cain said with a smile.
Ulrik smiled at Noreen. “Thank you for what you’ve done. Cain has already promised you protection, but know that extends from all Dragon Kings. Moreann and the Others willna get to you.”
“Thank you,” Noreen said demurely.
Cain wished they were alone. He wanted to strip her out of her clothes and make love to her for the next few hours.
“What happens now?” Noreen asked.
Cain said, “We get ready for battle, and we keep you from them.”
“I understand why you doona wish to return to Earth,” Ulrik told her. “And I actually think this may be a good place for you to hide, but we need to come up with an alternative if something happens and you need to leave. Cain needs to be able to find you.”
Yes, he certainly did. Cain looked at Noreen. “If you want to be found.”
“I do,” she told him.
Ulrik climbed to his feet. “That’s good. You two figure it out, and Cain can tell the rest of us. I can no’ believe someone is healing this realm,” he said as he shook his head before looking at Cain. “You really think it’s Rhi?”
“Who else could it be?”
Ulrik shrugged. “I doona know. Tell me where you found the orb. I’d like a look at it.”
“We can take you to it,” Noreen offered.
Before Cain could refuse, Ulrik said, “It’s fine. I fancy a look around myself. Besides, you two need some alone time.”
“It’s there,” Cain said and pointed to the east. “Stay on that course, and you’ll see the glow, especially once darkness falls.”
“Which is on its way.” Ulrik gave Noreen a nod and walked away.
Once they were alone, Cain turned his head to Noreen. “I have a question, and I want you to answer honestly.”
“I always do.”
“I know, but doona think about who I am or that it’s me.”
She swallowed. “All right. What is it?”
“If you truly believe a Dragon King killed your parents, can you ever forgive us?”
Silence met his question. He should’ve known it wasn’t the right thing to ask, but he had to know. Because if she still held hatred in her heart, then she could never care for him—not like he cared for her.
And if she couldn’t care, then she couldn’t love.
She waved her hands, and a fire suddenly roared between them. He stared at her over the flames, watching the red-orange color dance across her face. She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap for long minutes.
Finally, she said, “For a long time, I couldn’t think about a Dragon King without feeling such hatred that it consumed me. That loathing fed the darkness within me. Between what happened to my parents and what Moreann told me, all I thought about was ways I could take my vengeance out on all of you.”
That’s pretty much what Cain had expected to hear.
“Years turned to decades, and decades centuries,” she continued. “Other things focused my interests, but always in the back of my mind, I maintained the hatred.”
“If you felt such … abhorrence for us, how did you ever decide to switch sides?”
Her crimson gaze lifted to meet his. “It didn’t happen overnight. I know when I originally spoke with you, it might have sounded like that, but it’s taken a few centuries. Like I said, it was little things at first that later turned into bigger issues. They overshadowed the pain and anger I felt about what had happened to my parents. Mostly, it was Moreann that caused me so much concern. I knew someone had to do something, and it had to be me. Even if it meant going to the enemy.”
“An enemy that you trusted.”
“You trusted me,” she countered.
He cocked a brow. “You had sex with me.”
“Because I wanted you. I still do.” She glanced to the side. “The thing is, when I’m with you, I don’t think of you as a Dragon King. I don’t actually think of you as anyone other than the man who believed me when it was probably wiser not to. A man who vowed to protect me when he didn’t have to, and a man who looked past my red eyes and silver hair to the person I am.”
Cain rose and walked around the fire. He held out his hand and waited for Noreen to take it before he pulled her to her feet. His mouth covered hers in a frenzied kiss that showed her how deep his desires went, how badly he hungered for her.
She was the one who ended the kiss and put her hand over his heart. She looked deep into his eyes and said, “I would never hurt you. Never. No matter what you may think, please believe that.”
“I do.”
She rested her cheek against his chest, and he tightened his arms around her. They stayed like that for a long time, each lost in thought. He kept thinking about the moment he’d seen her when he returned earlier. He’d known in that instant that he loved her.
That she was his mate.
There was no denying what he felt. He knew lust, and this was more than that. He knew desire, and this went much deeper than that. He knew yearning, and what he had for her exceeded that.
He hadn’t been looking for love or his mate. And yet, somehow, she had found her way to him. He never wanted to let her go, but he knew there was a good chance that he would have to.
Either that or leave Dreagan if Noreen wasn’t welcomed.