Dark Heat: The Dark Kings Stories by Donna Grant

ceased, as had his magic. Hal opened his eyes to find Con, Rhys, and Banan staring at him.
    “Why did you stop?” Hal asked Con.
    Con cocked his head. “I didna stop.”
    “Then why do I still have feelings for Cassie?” Hal could hardly believe it. She was there, every touch, every word, every kiss. The desire, the longing hadn’t been squelched.
    “I doona understand,” Con said as he frowned. “My magic should have worked.”
    It was true. Con was King of Kings because his magic was the greatest out of all of them. For his magic not to have worked seemed too good to believe.
    Hal looked at his hands and then up at Con. “What did you do?”
    “Nothing,” Con said wryly from beside him. “Apparently.”

 
    CHAPTER
ELEVEN
    Cassie tried to appear interested in all that Guy was telling her, but her mind was on Hal. She had a bad feeling about him going to see Con, whoever the hell that was.
    “This is where we add in the…”
    She looked at Guy when he paused to find him with his hand against the outside of the building and his face etched with an expression that could only be called euphoric.
    “Guy?”
    He opened his eyes, and the small smile upon his face faded as he caught sight of her.
    “What is it?” she asked. “What just happened?”
    “I’m so sorry, Cassie,” Guy mumbled before he turned his face away.
    The lump growing in Cassie’s stomach plummeted to her feet. She knew in her heart that she had lost Hal. There was no explanation, just a certainty that made her want to drop, to curl up in a ball, and cry.
    *   *   *
    “Your magic didna work,” Hal said.
    A muscle in Con’s jaw leapt. “I know.”
    Elation filled Hal, but he held it in check. He had won a small skirmish, but the battle was just about to begin. “That means what I feel for her isna just some passing emotion for the first human I came across. It means what I feel is real.”
    “Oh, shite,” Rhys muttered from behind him.
    Hal couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at his lips. “It means I love her. You know as well as I, Con, that nothing else could stop your magic.”
    “Love shouldna have stopped it either,” his King ground out. Con raked a hand through his blond hair. “It worked before. It should have worked now.”
    “I love her,” Hal said again. “Which means Cassie isna going anywhere. She’s going to be a part of my life.”
    Con’s black eyes pinned him with a harsh stare. “You might have proved your feelings for the human, but she has yet to prove them for you.”
    Hal refused to allow his trepidation to show. Cassie was strong, but was she strong enough to learn he was a Dragon King? “I’ll tell her everything, in time. She can prove herself in the meantime.”
    “Nay,” Con said, his voice deep and final.
    Hal closed the distance between them and got in Con’s face. “She’s mine. Nothing—and no one —will stand in the way of that.”
    “We’ll see. I’ll be telling Cassie everything. Today.”
    Hal felt the rage build into a frenzy, knowing Con would do everything he could to scare Cassie off. “Hell no.”
    “I’m your King.”
    “In this, I doona care,” Hal said, refusing to back down as he should have. “If anyone is to tell Cassie, it’s me. It’s my right.”
    Con peeled back his lips. “I’m trying to protect you, you fool.”
    Hal stood his ground, waiting, ready for the battle he knew was coming.
    “Stand down, Hal,” Con threatened, his eyes beginning to brighten with his power.
    “Relent and I will.”
    “Never.”
    It was all Hal needed to hear. He tackled Con, his arms wrapped around Con’s waist as he propelled him backwards and into the wall.
    The sound of Con’s breath leaving his lungs in a whoosh brought a grin of satisfaction to Hal’s lips. In the next instant, he was flat on his back. He blinked to find Con leaping toward him, a battle cry bellowing from his lips.
    Hal rolled away and came to his feet before Con’s fist could land upon