Read Online Smoke and Fire: Part 1 by Donna Grant - Free Book Online

and briefly closed his eyes. This he wouldn’t lie to her about. “I am worried. Ulrik has a habit of targeting anyone a Dragon King has shown interest in.”
    “If he wanted to target me, why wait three years?”
    “Who says he did?”
    Kinsey’s violet eyes widened. She blinked, her long black lashes briefly closing. “What does he look like?”
    Ryder sent a picture of Ulrik in a suit to the monitor above her. Kinsey stared at it a long while without uttering a sound. Ryder then sent several more pictures of Ulrik getting out of his car, in jeans and a sweater, with his hair pulled back, and with it down.
    Finally, Kinsey said, “He’s good-looking, and certainly knows how to wear clothes that make him look amazing. A woman doesn’t forget a man like that.”
    Jealousy simmered through Ryder. Kinsey thought Ulrik handsome. And unforgettable. It cut through Ryder, sinking deep into his soul.
    He’d never forgotten about Kinsey or the love he felt for her. Even though he’d seen a spark of desire in her eyes earlier, he was beginning to suspect she had moved on.
    Not that he blamed her. Ryder had walked out of her life without an explanation. Even if he had been able to tell her who he was, he wouldn’t have. Because of exactly what she had done when he saved her a few weeks ago.
    He always feared she wouldn’t be able to accept him. Ryder had wanted her as his desperately, but it wasn’t just that he couldn’t tell her who he really was. There was the spell put in place to stop the Dragon Kings from feeling anything for mortals.
    It was only recently that they discovered when the Silvers moved in their mountain, it was because Ulrik had gotten back part of his magic.
    That’s all it had taken to break Con’s spell. That’s when Ryder realized he loved Kinsey. He returned to Dreagan to see if he could understand what had happened. Then Cassie arrived and Hal fell in love with her.
    After that, all Hell seemed to break loose. At every turn, someone or something was trying to get onto Dreagan. The Dark were relentless in their attempts to discover where the Kings hid a weapon that could kill them—so far unsuccessfully.
    Ryder was still adjusting to the knowledge that Con and Kellan—the Keeper of History—were the only two Kings who knew where the weapon was. And what it was.
    Everyone targeting Dreagan could be traced back to Ulrik. It took Ryder time, but he discovered that Ulrik’s network of spies, mercenaries, corporations, and everyday people was extensive. That wasn’t even counting Ulrik’s affiliation with the Dark Fae.
    Kinsey’s head twisted toward him. “I’ve never seen Ulrik.”
    “You didna have to.” Ryder hated that his words came out harsher than he’d intended. He knew it wasn’t Kinsey’s fault that he’d left her. That had been his decision. Now he was paying the consequences. “Ulrik has many people working for him. Any one of them could’ve gotten to you.”
    She gave a bark of laughter. “Do you really think I’m that naïve that I wouldn’t know when someone was trying to scam me?”
    “No’ at all. But these people are good, Kins. Verra good.”
    “All right,” she conceded. “Let’s say that one of them did get to me. How? When? Why? You and I haven’t spoken in three years.”
    “Until a few weeks ago. Someone must’ve seen me shift, and then watched you run away.”
    Her lips pressed together for an instant. “Those who weren’t throwing themselves at the Dark Fae were running away.”
    “That’s true. But they weren’t you. As to the how and when? It could’ve been anywhere, anytime. You visit individuals and corporations as part of your job. You could’ve been approached at any one of them.”
    She raised a dark brow. “I see your point. And I suppose you’ll say the ‘why’ is because we were once together.”
    “Precisely.”
    “Have any of the other Kings been contacted by past lovers? What about any of your other lovers? With as long