Burning Desire by Donna Grant Page A

started toward the bus. If the Dark knew what he planned they would teleport away before he could reach them. The tourists milling about didn’t help, but their attention was on the majestic scenery, not him.
    Kiril stopped to talk to the bus driver as he covertly swiped one of the canes set against the outside of the bus. He then walked around the tour bus and spotted the two Dark. They were facing each other, one with his back to Kiril, talking.
    He threw the cane, pegging the Dark who faced him squarely in head, knocking him to the ground instantly. Kiril moved with lightning speed to get behind the second Dark as he began to turn around.
    Kiril grabbed the Dark around the back of the neck. Before he could break the Dark’s neck, the glint of sunlight off the blade of a push dagger caught his attention. Kiril leaned to the side to avoid the small but lethal blade and grabbed the Dark’s hand that wielded the weapon while continuing to apply pressure around his neck.
    Kiril kicked his feet out from underneath him, dropping him to the ground on his arse. He had more leverage since he was kneeling and used that to his advantage as he used his strength to turn the Dark’s hand toward his own chest. Kiril ground his teeth together and gave a shove, sending the push dagger right into the Dark’s chest. The Dark jerked, his eyes widening as the life drained from him.
    Kiril pulled out the push dagger and looked at the blade to realize it wasn’t just any weapon. It was a weapon from a Light Fae, forged in the Fires of Erwar. It was a weapon that would kill a Fae—any Fae.
    He flipped the dagger in the air and caught it deftly as he stalked to the second Dark and plunged the blade into his throat before he had time to wake. After tucking the push dagger in his pocket, he pulled in a deep breath and called forth his dragon magic. As the breath passed his lips, it was pale blue, making ice coat his lips.
    When his breath touched the two Dark, they were frozen instantly. Kiril heard the approach of footsteps and punched both of the icy corpses, shattering them into millions of tiny pieces. He stood and walked to the back of the bus, a smile on his face as the strong sea wind lifted the shards of ice and scattered them.
    There was no trace of either Dark, and neither had then reported back about Phelan. Not to mention Kiril had worked off some of his aggression. It was a win-win in his book.
    He returned to his car and started the drive to his estate feeling much more in control of things.
    *   *   *
    Shara was surprised at how orderly Balladyn ran things in his compound. She tried to see everything, but spending an entire month there wouldn’t reveal everything. There were too many passages, too many rooms even X didn’t know anything about.
    After passing so much time on her own while her family was dealing with Dark Fae politics, wars, and who knew what else, and then being locked away for her screw-up, she was so out of the loop of what the Dark were doing. Because she knew it was much more than just taking the souls of humans. The Dark were always planning something, always trying to take over one realm or another.
    It was odd to see the Dark in all their sinister beauty, lounging on the floor amid huge pillows and reclining on chaise lounges while the music of Pitbull thumped through the speakers and humans—male and females—either begged for attention or prayed to be ignored.
    “We’re going to rule them,” her companion stated when he caught her gazing at a human male.
    Shara nodded absently. A human male with wheat-colored hair caught her attention. He was handsome enough, and at a quick glance resembled Kiril. The more she looked, however, the more she spotted the differences.
    The human was thinner, not having nearly the bulk or definition of Kiril. The human’s hair was short instead of having Kiril’s long waves. The human’s eyes were a plain brown and not the shamrock green of Kiril’s.
    The