He heard Ulrik say his name in his mind. Cain opened the link. “Did you find the orb?”
“No’ yet. I wanted you to know that I understand why you were so adamant about believing Noreen. She’s verra convincing.”
“Meaning?”
Ulrik chuckled. “Meaning, I also believe her. I hope she understands this wasna a personal attack on her. We just needed to be sure.”
“I’ll make sure she knows.”
“Something still bothers you?”
“Aye. The attack on her parents.”
“That isna sitting well with me either.” Ulrik sighed loudly. “It happened so long ago, I doona know how we can ever know for sure.”
Cain wasn’t going to give up that easily. “If a King truly did kill her parents, then there has to be a reason why.”
“You are no’ going to like this, but I doona think a King had any part in it. I think she was fed a lie.”
“I thought of that, as well, but she swears by it. A child who suffered that kind of trauma wouldna let their memories be turned.”
“Maybe she didna realize they were. Moreann isna lacking in powers.”
Cain’s gut clenched. “If I tell Noreen this, it’ll sound like we’re attacking Moreann instead of trying to take responsibility.”
“I saw the way you looked at her. She’s your mate. If you want a future with her, then all of us need the answer to who killed her parents. I’ll keep thinking.”
Ulrik severed the link, but Cain knew he was right. He did want a future with Noreen, and that meant they had to know for certain if a King took her parents’ lives or not. That was the only way she’d ever be able to truly love him.
The fact that she felt desire was a good step, but it was far from love.
“I’m very glad you’re back.”
He smiled at her Irish lilt. He loved the sound of it. “Me, too.”
“I had horrible dreams last night.”
That made him frown. “What kind of dreams?”
“None of them made sense. It was like all kinds of images were jumbled. Almost as if they were puzzle pieces that needed to fit together.”
“Has anything like that ever happened before?”
She shook her head. “Never.”
He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Maybe it’s the magic here.”
“Wouldn’t I feel something all the time? It was only when I was alone.”
“That doesna make sense.”
Noreen gave a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t know.”
“If you have any more of those dreams, will you try to remember the details? And wake me up to tell me about it when it happens?”
“I will.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I still want you to return with me to Dreagan eventually. If you want to, that is.”
“I’d love to see it, but more than that, I want to be with you.”
“Even though I’m a Dragon King?”
She leaned her head back. “A Dark Fae and a Dragon King. We aren’t supposed to match up.”
“Says who?”
There was a smile on her face when she chuckled. “The Dark are evil.”
“You, lass, are no’ evil.”
Her face sobered. “Look at my eyes, Cain. Look at my hair. I’ve done bad things.”
“As I told you before, those are simply colors. When I look into your eyes and into your heart, I doona see evil. I see someone who is trying their best to set things right. An evil person doesna do that.”
The smile that pulled at her lips was big and bright. “I’m so glad it was you who found me.”
“Me, too, lass. Me, too.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The moment Erith stepped onto the Fae Realm, she knew something was different. The scene that greeted her was one she knew well—destruction.
She had been on the world when the fighting between the Light and Dark had taken its final toll. While most of the Fae had managed to leave, many hadn’t been so fortunate. Most left behind had died on the realm, while a few others managed to find a doorway that took them elsewhere.
Erith wondered why none of the Fae had bothered to ask either Usaeil or Taraeth why they had known there was a place for them on Earth. Perhaps they hadn’t cared once they saw the number of humans walking about.
With a sigh, Erith tried to ignore the destruction. Earth was a stunning place, but it hadn’t held a candle to the Fae Realm. It had been that beautiful.
Erith didn’t understand why Rhi had returned to this place. There was nothing for her here. There was nothing for anyone here. The fact that Usaeil had continued to meet Moreann here was something Erith didn’t understand either, because the planet was barely being held together.
She wasn’t concerned, because she would survive it. That didn’t hold true for Rhi or anyone else who dared to venture there.
Erith’s magic reached out, searching for Rhi. Almost immediately, she felt the force of magic so strong it surprised her.
“I’ve felt that only once before,” she murmured to herself as she started off in the direction from where it had come.
She could’ve teleported, but she wanted to see everything, to make sure she didn’t miss a single particle. With sure footsteps, she headed toward the source. And then she encountered it. Not only did Erith feel the waves of magic coming from the wall in front of her, she could see it.
Her lips parted in shock. In all her long years, she had witnessed magic up close like this only one other time. The prismatic colors shifted and constantly changed, moving up from the ground toward the sky. She couldn’t stop staring at it, it was so bewitching.
“Cael,” she called, knowing her lover would hear her across the cosmos and find his way to her.
In moments, she felt a presence behind her. In his deep Irish voice, he said, “What is that?”
She shouldn’t have been surprised that he could see it since he was nearly as powerful as she was now. “Magic.”
“That’s what magic looks like?”
“That’s what this power looks like,” she replied.
He came to stand beside her, as enchanted as she by the sight. He raised his hand to the streams of magic and let his palm brush against it. It caused him to smile widely. “Do you know who did this?”
“Yes.”
Cael’s head swung to her. “Rhi.”
She nodded as she met his gaze.
“How?” he asked. “When? And why?”
“I suspect when we find her inside, we can ask her.”
His lips twisted as he turned back to the barrier. “Do you think she’ll talk to us?”
“We won’t know until we try.”
“She set up a wall, love. I think that’s her way of telling everyone she wants to be left alone.”
Erith cocked her head to the side. “I’m not sure it’s a wall exactly.”
“Then what is it?”
“Only one way to find out,” she said and walked through the magic.
The feeling of it passing through her was euphoric. It filled her with such peace and happiness that it was like she was floating. And when she came out the other side, she stared in awe at the scenic vision that met her eyes.