Midnight's Captive(97)

“I do. Just want you to be cautious, lover.”

Aisley rolled her eyes again. The two of them made her physically sick.

Suddenly, Dale’s large hand came to rest atop hers. “I’ve got a bad feeling,” he whispered.

“Me, too,” she agreed while nodding her head. “They kept on the run. Why stay in the same place now?”

“It’s a trap.”

Aisley flattened her lips as her gaze roamed the rows of wheat in front of the headlights of the car. “Yes. A trap.”



By the time Charon and the Kings finished explaining the plan to Fallon, it was late into the night. Fallon didn’t have all the answers about the Dragon Kings, but for now he would leave it alone.

Charon had no doubt Fallon would be back after the battle.

After the battle. He hoped there was a time after the battle. Both Con and Fallon liked his plan, the question was—would it succeed?

“You can no’ see Laura worrying so,” Guy said as he caught up with Charon on the stairs.

Charon paused, a hand on the banister and one foot on the step above. “I know.”

“We’ve all agreed it’s a good plan. It’ll succeed.”

“You’ve no’ battled Druids.”

Guy shrugged nonchalantly and grinned. “You’ve never battled dragons.”

“You said the humans were able to kill dragons.”

Guy’s smile disappeared instantly. “Dragons aye, but no’ Dragon Kings. All dragons have magic, but they could be killed.”

“And you can no’?”

“There is much you doona know. Suffice it to say, a drough’s magic willna kill us.”

“It can halt us in our tracks, though.”

Guy shrugged one shoulder. “I agree it willna be an easy battle. Whatever you did or said to get Con’s attention, I’m glad of it. With us on your side, the scales have now tipped in your direction.”

“Which scares the hell out of me,” Charon confessed as he looked away. “We thought things were done. After killing both Deirdre and Declan, it should’ve been over.”

“It’s never over.”

Guy’s tone, harsh and low, brought Charon’s gaze back to him. There was something in Guy’s eyes that let him know as powerful as the Kings were, they weren’t without enemies.

“You’ll get periods of peace,” Guy continued. “But remember, it’s never over. Enjoy those times of peace and prepare for the next periods of hell.”

“What are you fighting?”

Guy glanced down at the stairs. “One of our own. People who want to expose us as shifters. And others of us fight the unending march of time.”

“How old are you?”

“We’ve been here since the beginning of time. The exact number I couldna give you, because I lost track. We all have.”

And Charon thought his life had been long. There were times he hadn’t believed he could get through another day. How did the Kings do it?

“Go to your woman,” Guy said as he walked past him and clasped him on the shoulder.

His woman. Charon wanted to think of Laura that way, but could he? Did he dare? He’d made love to her. He’d kissed her repeatedly.

There was no doubt he couldn’t keep his hands from her. The fact she was a Druid should have made things easier. But it didn’t.

He ought to let her go. He should get her far away from Scotland so she would never be touched by the same type of evil that seemed to breed here.

Yet, he couldn’t.

Charon took the stairs three at a time until he reached the landing and strode down the hallway to the room given to Laura.

He placed his hand on the doorknob, but hesitated instead of turning it. Music drifted to him through the door. With his enhanced senses, he heard Rihanna’s voice singing a fast melody.

So as not to startle Laura, Charon slowly turned the knob and opened the door. Only to find her sleeping in the overstuffed chair next to a table laid out with food.

He smiled as he closed the door softly behind him before he took the glass of wine dangling from her fingers. Charon had been dreaming of making love to her, but there was no way he was going to wake her after all she’d been through.

Charon set the half-empty wineglass on the table and walked into the bathroom to strip off his clothes. He could use a long hot shower, especially when he knew what was coming.

Wallace wouldn’t attack that night, and neither would the selmyr, thanks to the dragons. So they had a slight reprieve. And he intended to make the most of it.



Laura came awake to the sound of the shower mixed in with the music from her iPhone. She stretched and yawned as she glanced at the table to find everything just as she had left it while trying to stay awake.