And just like that, everything fell away—including the spell she hadn’t known was there. Noreen stared into Rhi’s silver eyes and remembered that Rhi had been her target all along, because that was who Moreann wanted Noreen to bring in.
The email to the Kings, the talk of switching sides, all of it had been nothing more than a spell that Moreann had put in place after Noreen came up with the plan. It was a way for them to get at the Kings from the inside, as well as finally getting a hold of Rhi.
“Is everything all right?” Rhi asked.
“Lass?”
The sound of Cain’s voice snapped Noreen out of her thoughts. She dropped Rhi’s hand and forced a smile, all the while shaken to her very core.
When Noreen glanced to the side, she noticed that the woman with the lavender eyes was staring at her—as if she had seen exactly what was in Noreen’s mind.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Cain felt the shiver go through Noreen the instant she touched Rhi. The way Noreen’s body went taut set off alarm bells in his head. He glanced at Rhi, but she didn’t seem to notice anything.
The only one who had an inkling that something had been exchanged was Erith, simply by the way she was staring at Noreen. And with Noreen being Fae, Death could take her soul right then and there.
He shifted so that he put Noreen behind him, breaking her hold on Rhi. Erith’s lavender eyes slid to him.
Cael was the one to say, “That wouldn’t stop us.”
“Everyone take a deep breath,” Ulrik said as he walked to stand beside Rhi.
Rhi looked at everyone with confusion. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Cain replied. He glanced at Noreen to see her gaze on the ground, and he could still feel her shaking. Something had upset her greatly, and he wanted to know what it was.
“Hello?” Rhi said louder, a frown puckering her brow.
Erith didn’t say a word. She kept her gaze on Cain before she teleported away with Cael following instantly in her wake.
Rhi cleared her throat, her arms crossed over her chest. “One of you nimrods better tell me what’s going on right now.”
Cain looked to Ulrik. “I doona know what’s wrong with Noreen, but something has transpired.”
“You better figure it out quick. Erith and the Reapers are our allies.”
“I wasna going to let them harm Noreen.”
Ulrik gave a slight nod. “Because she’s your mate.”
“Aye.”
“Have you told her?”
“No’ yet.”
“Perhaps now would be a good time.”
Cain looked at Noreen. “I need answers, and I doona believe she’ll give them to me with you and Rhi here.”
“Then we’ll leave.”
“Nay. We will.”
Rhi was glaring daggers by this point. “Seriously? Someone talk. Now.”
“I’m sorry,” Cain told Rhi as he touched the cuff on his wrist and took himself and Noreen back to their previous location.
Even when they were alone, Noreen wouldn’t look at him. She didn’t pull away, though. Which was a starting point.
“Talk to me,” he urged her. “What happened?”
She turned away from him.
He could sense her distancing herself from him both mentally and physically. She was hiding something, of that he was positive.
“I know you, lass. There isna anything you could say that would change my mind about you.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I disagree.”
“Then tell me.”
Finally, she looked at him. “Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
He shrugged, his mind searching for something to say. “I doona know.”
“I see a man who is fierce and lethal to anyone who would harm those he cares about. I see a man who would do anything for those he loves. I see a dragon. A King. Someone who has suffered untold pain and deserves nothing but happiness for the rest of his days.”
“You speak of Utopia. There is no such place,” he said, as his concern grew with every word. It sounded as if she were trying to tell him good-bye.
She smiled sadly, her gaze briefly dropping to the ground. “I think there was once such a place. It was on Earth long before any mortals or Fae ever arrived.”
“We are like any species, lass. There are good times and bad.”
“Not like us,” she said and swiped at something on her cheek that he suspected was a tear. “Not like the mortals. The Dragon Kings are what we should all aspire to be. Noble. Honorable. Selfless. I’m none of those things.”
Now he knew something was wrong. His gut clenched in trepidation. “That isna true. Look at what you’ve done for us.”
She laughed and turned away so he could no longer see her face. “You should get far away from me. And forget everything I’ve told you.”
“I can no’.”
“Whatever obligation you feel toward me, I release you from it. Now go, Cain.”
He took a step toward her and reached out a hand but dropped it before he touched her. “I can no’. And I willna. Because you’re my mate.”
She swung around so fast that she nearly tripped on her own feet. He steadied her, but she quickly jerked out of his arms.
“Is this some joke?” she demanded angrily. “You think to woo me to remain by your side with that?”
He sighed and made his arms drop to his sides. “If you’ve no’ noticed, we dragons are no’ much of a jesting lot. And we never joke about things like that. A dragon mates for life. We know our mates.”
“Ulrik was wrong.”
“Nay. He initially thought Nala was his mate, but he’s known for some time that he wanted so badly to find love, that what he thought was love really wasna.”
She motioned between them. “That’s what you’re doing here.”
“If it was, I wouldna have put myself between you and Erith.”
Noreen rolled her eyes. “That was the woman’s name? Who is she?”
“No’ someone you want to mess with.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Noreen replied testily. “You still haven’t told me who she is. And I don’t guess you will.”
He shook his head. “There’s a reason for that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Please leave.”
“Nay.”
“Then I will.”
He grabbed her when she tried to walk away. “What has come over you? You were fine until you and Rhi shook hands. All you’ve wanted was to meet her. Was she no’ what you thought?”
“This has nothing to do with Rhi.”
It felt like a punch to Cain’s gut. “You’re lying.”
Noreen’s crimson gaze met his. “Don’t ask for the truth. I can’t give it to you.”
“Then tell me what changed.”
“Me. That’s what changed.”
He threw up his hands in agitation. “You’re no’ making sense, lass.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Cain was taken aback by the fury in her words. “You’ve never minded it before.”
“I do now.”