Smoldering Hunger Read Free Page A

was Ulrik’s right to do so. Instead, Ulrik stood behind Con as their leader.
    Would things be different if Ulrik had challenged Con and won? Ulrik might’ve still been betrayed by his female human lover, but he wouldn’t have exiled himself. No doubt he’d still have started the war with the humans, but Ulrik would have wiped the realm of them.
    There’s one thing for certain, if Ulrik was King of Kings, none of the Dragon Kings’ problems would be there now. They wouldn’t be hiding from the humans. Nor would they be in a war with the Fae. The Fae wouldn’t be on the realm if it weren’t for the mortals.
    Perhaps Ulrik had been right all along. It was better to end the humans’ existence from the beginning.
    But that’s not what happened. Con was ruler, and Con had put an end to Ulrik’s war with the mortals. In order to keep the peace, their dragons were sent away and every Dragon King had hidden in their mountain on Dreagan for several centuries until the humans forgot about them.
    The Kings hid once. They wouldn’t hide again. It was already too much for them to curb when they could fly. Before the disaster with the video, they were only able to take to the skies at night or in a thunderstorm, and they remained on Dreagan when they did.
    Now, they were all effectively grounded since every mortal eye in the world was looking for a glimpse of a dragon.
    Part of Darius wanted to show the humans exactly who had been living beside them for thousands of years. He wanted all the Kings to take to the skies and demonstrate their power once and for all.
    The realm had been theirs from the beginning. They willingly shared it with the mortals, but now the Kings were shells of the great dragons they once were.
    And it saddened Darius to see how they had fallen so.
    He took a deep breath and pushed to his feet. He lowered his gaze to the streets around Edinburgh Castle. A frown puckered his brow when he thought he spotted a white-haired Fae on the street below, but in the next instant, he was nothing.
    Darius stared at the spot for a long time. The Fae could veil themselves. However, none but the most powerful of them could remain hidden for more than a few seconds.
    He scanned the streets and surrounding buildings, but saw nothing. Was he so desperate to kill that he was beginning to see Dark where there were none?
    And a white-haired Fae? There was no such thing as far as he knew. The Light Fae had hair as black as the night and eyes as silver as moonlight reflecting off a loch.
    The Dark Fae had silver streaked throughout their black locks. The more silver, the more evil they’d done. And their eyes were red as blood.
    It was true a Fae could cast glamour that allowed them to change their appearance, but why would one intentionally bring attention on themselves like the white-haired one?
    Darius rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He was tense, his thoughts troubled, and the need to take to the skies and soar along the currents was strong.
    How he longed to shift and spread his wings, to roar long and loud into the night and announce to one and all that he was there. How he yearned to feel the flap of his wings as he flew and felt the sun and moon upon his scales, to dip and dive, to turn and glide.
    He rubbed his chest, wondering at the ache that had settled there. His gaze lifted to the moon half-hidden by the thick clouds. There was a hunger inside him, but it wasn’t just to be in dragon form.
    It was for a red-haired beauty who enchanted him with her fiery kisses and willing body.
    Before he knew it, he was walking away from the castle. Darius was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t see Ulrik before he turned the corner.
    Darius quickly altered his steps and followed Ulrik. The exiled Dragon King walked alone. His steps were slow and unhurried as he looked around the city as if seeing what damage the Dark had done.
    Ulrik wore thick-soled black boots that made nary a sound, dark denim, and a