Chapter Twelve

His words left Esha cold. She almost told him he didn’t have to finish, but she wanted to know. “How?”

“We were foolish enough to believe we could all live in harmony.”

She winced at the anger that deepened his voice. She didn’t need to prod him to continue. He did that on his own.

“At first, things were good. We carved out land for the humans—there was only a handful of them. But they bred so quickly. It seemed as if they were asking for more and more land all the time. Each of the Kings gave up parcels of their domain for the mortals, but it was never enough.”

She noticed that Kendrick’s breathing had quickened. He had his hands fisted at his sides, and a muscle pulsed in his jaw.

“The humans said a dragon started the conflict by eating one of them. Dragons claimed the mortals hunted the smaller ones. No one knows when it began, only that it erupted into dispute after dispute. We know dragons fed on humans. We know humans hunted and killed dragons. Which of those was in retaliation, we could never figure out. We Kings worked out a treaty with them, and peace returned for a short while. Meanwhile, most Kings were helping mortals build cities. Many, I included, took humans as lovers. One of us, Ulrik, wanted to have one as his mate.”

“You make that sound as if it was wrong.”

Kendrick glanced at her, lifting a shoulder in a shrug. “A dragon knows its mate. We mate for life, however long that is. In the years since the humans arrived, no’ one gave birth to a live bairn. Most miscarried within days or weeks of becoming pregnant. The few who did carry to term had stillborn babes.”

Esha didn’t know what it was like to give birth, but she could well imagine the agony of a child being born dead .

“That knowledge meant that if Ulrik took her as his mate, he would never have children,” Kendrick said. “We still supported him. Unbeknownst to us, however, Ulrik’s jealous uncle had set a plan into motion that tricked the human Ulrik had fallen for, getting her to agree to kill Ulrik. Con learned of the plan and told the rest of us.”

Esha cringed as she glanced at Kendrick. “What happened?”

“Ulrik was like a brother to Con and one of the best of us. He was kind and generous. Of anyone to be betrayed, it never should have been him. Compound that with the decades of issues we’d experienced with the mortals, and we knew something had to be done. We tracked down the human who was set to betray him, and we…we killed her.”

Esha cut her gaze to him and watched Kendrick carefully, imagining herself in his place if she were told someone would betray Savita in such a way. She knew she would track them down herself—and she would stop them.

Kendrick met her gaze.

“Everyone reaches a breaking point. Even Dragon Kings,” she said.

He nodded slowly and slid his gaze away. “Once Ulrik found out, he became enraged. He was furious at us, but we were no’ the ones he took it out on. You’re right. We each have a breaking point, and that night, we all snapped in different ways. We had blood on our hands. Human blood. But Ulrik’s pain went much deeper.”

“Because he loved her.”

“Aye,” Kendrick whispered. “We thought we had saved one of our own, and in a way, we had. But we’d also started a war that we had been fighting to prevent for many years. When Ulrik took his Silvers and attacked the humans, many joined him. We wanted our realm back. The smaller dragon clans had been decimated to critical levels. We were tired of our lands shrinking and the mortals demanding more. We were just…tired of it all.”

He walked for a bit in silence. Esha had slowed her strides as she listened. There was so much sadness and ire within Kendrick that it made her heart hurt.

“So many died,” he said. “I still hear their screams, still smell their blood. I think I always will.”

Esha didn’t know what to say. Kendrick appeared lost in his memories, and she regretted asking him to delve into them now.

After another quiet period, he shook himself. “Con was the only one who didna go after the mortals. Eventually, he brought each of us back to his side. That was when we saw what we had done. The magic chose each of us because we were the strongest of our clans, the ones with the purest of hearts. And we had done…that. Con reminded us of the vow we’d taken when the humans arrived. So, we ordered our dragons to protect the villages and cities. We were saving the mortals, but they didna care. They…attacked the dragons. And the dragons who were told no’ to harm them did nothing as humans slaughtered them. Those are the screams and cries I hear the loudest.”

A tear fell onto Esha’s cheek. She felt Kendrick’s pain as if it were hers. She might not have been there, might not have witnessed the horror, but she felt it.

“We knew whatever peace we’d had would never return,” he told her. “To the mortals, we were monsters who had to be killed, no matter what. We refused to allow more dragons to die. So, we had a choice. We could save the dragons and rid the realm of all humans, turning us into the monsters the mortals claimed we were. Or…we could send the dragons away.”

Shock reverberated through Esha as her head swiveled to him. Her lips formed the word no , but she already knew the answer.

“We gathered all our magic and opened a bridge into the cosmos.” Kendrick’s face creased with agony. “I’ve never felt anything so horrible as the pain of watching my clan leave. Worse, we had no idea where we were sending them. We hoped they found a place to call their own. Their chances were better than remaining on Earth. Once all the dragons were gone, we Kings returned to our central location, created a barrier that would keep humans out, and slept away centuries, waiting until they forgot we existed.”

Esha swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Did they?”

“Aye. We live alongside them now, but we hide who we really are.”

She wiped away the tears that streaked her face. “Your dragons found a home, though.”

“We only recently discovered Zora. Eons of time have passed since we sent them away.”

Which explained why he’d said that being a King was complicated. Esha guided him toward an incline of earth where they could stop for a bit. She waited until they reached it before turning to him. “Now that you’ve found the dragons, will you take them back to Earth?”

“That can never happen.”

“Are you staying here then? ”

He snorted and shrugged. “Another question I can no’ answer. I think some of us would like to, but we’re Earth’s protectors. We can no’ leave it undefended.”

“It’s fortunate that you found this realm for the dragons.”

Kendrick’s wince was visible. “We didna. A goddess named Erith had befriended Con. She’s the one who created this realm in the image of ours to give the dragons a home.”

“Created?” Esha choked.

“Aye.”

Then Esha recalled who he’d said had done it. “A goddess?”

He gave her a small smile. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You could say that.” She’d discovered that shapeshifters were real, that Kendrick wasn’t from this realm, and now that a goddess had created Zora. “Is Erith responsible for the infants who arrive here?”

“We asked her. She had no idea that happened.”

Esha pointed to a mound of rock rising from the jungle. She moved into the shade the raised ground gave her and sat.

“The twins, Eurwen and Brandr, are the children of Constantine and his mate, Rhi, who is a Fae. They knew what happened on our realm, and they made sure that no one would encroach on the land of the dragons here.”

“I don’t blame the twins after what you told me.”

Kendrick leaned back against the rocky hill. “Do elves fear dragons?”

Esha started to answer when the shadows near Kendrick began to move, and a Dark Elf emerged. In an instant, she dove into a roll and came up on her feet, her sword drawn, and the blade pressed against the Dark’s throat. The elf glared at her with yellow eyes but didn’t move.

“Kendrick,” the Dark said through clenched teeth.

Shock went through Esha. “Kendrick, you know this Dark?”

“ Know isna the word I’d use,” Kendrick answered.

The Dark grunted. “I beg to differ.”

“I warned you about the Dark,” Esha told Kendrick.

Kendrick moved to stand beside her. “You told me they were harsh but no’ evil.”

Damn him for pointing that out. She didn’t take her gaze from the Dark. “What does this one want with you?”

“Perhaps we should ask Dain,” Kendrick said.

The Dark’s yellow eyes narrowed on Kendrick. “Nice of you to point that out.”

Everything in Esha told her not to trust the scarred elf. She didn’t like that he already appeared to know Kendrick. Had everything Kendrick told her been a lie? When had the two met? Then she remembered that Kendrick had been alone during the night, giving the Dark an opportunity to approach.

“I don’t trust Darks,” she stated.

Yellow eyes met hers. “I don’t trust you either.”

“Esha.” Kendrick called her name softly. “Let’s hear Dain out.”

She lowered her blade but didn’t sheathe the weapon. Dain touched his neck where her sword had been and checked to see if she’d nicked his skin. His nostrils flared when he met her eyes again.

“What is it?” Kendrick asked the Dark.

Dain swung his head to Kendrick. “We need to leave. Now.”

“Why?” Esha demanded, but Dain was already forming shadows. “We’re not going anywhere until you explain yourself.”

Dain didn’t look at her, however. His yellow gaze stayed directed at Kendrick. “I told you last night that not everything is as it seems. There’s more at work here than you know.”

“Explain,” Kendrick urged him.

Dain’s lips thinned as he pressed them together. “There isn’t time.”

“Make time.” Kendrick crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Esha glanced around. She didn’t see or sense any threats, but it was clear that Dain thought there were.

“The Conclave.”

Kendrick looked at Esha. “The who?”

Esha blinked, confused as she looked at Kendrick. “The Conclave is a delegation of elves from Rannora and Belanore, as well as cities from beneath the water, ground, and in the mountains. They’re elected officials who make sure we live peacefully.”

“They’ve learned a Dragon King is here,” Dain said.

Kendrick shrugged. “Let them come after me.”

“It isn’t you they want.”

As the Dark said the last words, his gaze landed on her. Esha let the full impact of his statement fill her, but even then, she couldn’t imagine what the Conclave would do to her.

“Can you get us somewhere safe?” Kendrick asked.

Dain gave him a flat look. “Would I have come if I couldn’t? ”

“No,” Esha said and jerked away when Kendrick reached for her. “This Dark could be in on it.”

Dain shrugged and stepped back into the moving shadows as his gaze moved past them. “Suit yourself.”

“I think we should go with him,” Kendrick said.

Esha gaped at him as he moved to stand with the Dark. When she saw that he also looked in the direction the Dark had, Esha glanced behind her. She saw nothing, but the ground trembled beneath her feet. The jungle erupted with the sounds of fleeing animals before it went deathly quiet. Something was headed toward them.

She looked at Kendrick and Dain. The idea of trusting the Dark was repulsive, but more than that, she knew she couldn’t go belowground. Just thinking about it made her feel as if she couldn’t breathe.

“Esha,” Kendrick beseeched as he held out his hand.

She stared into his green eyes. He was calm while she was anything but. She knew better than to put her life in a Dark’s hands, but she wasn’t fool enough to stand on her own against whatever was coming.

“Make your decision,” Dain told her. “Because I’m not waiting much longer.”

Kendrick shot him a dark look before sliding his green gaze to her once more.

To hide the panic that grew exponentially, Esha stalked to them and said, “Do anything I deem deceitful, and I’ll cut you in two.”

“You’re welcome to try, Sun Elf,” Dain replied coolly before the shadows surrounded them.