Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read Online Free PDF Page A

again because she was working with them.
    And Arian didn’t like that thought at all. He enjoyed Grace. Her accent, her feisty nature, her beauty, and her intellect intrigued him. Not to mention her ability to craft a story. In all his years—and they were endless—he hadn’t met anyone like her.
    Arian surreptitiously looked at her. She seemed absorbed in her work. Her brow was furrowed slightly one moment, and a second before she was smiling at whatever she was typing. How he wanted to know what amused her.
    It was the sound of dragon wings that pulled his attention from her. Tristan and Banan arrived quietly, dropping from the sky with wings tucked as they zeroed in on the Dark Fae.
    Banan’s deep blue claws grabbed a Dark before they were even seen. Tristan opened his amber-colored wings and circled around the group of Dark.
    Arian craved to be out there with them. He actually had to stop himself from shifting and joining in the fight, the instinct was so great. But he wasn’t about to leave Grace.
    Not until he learned if she had wandered into his mountain on accident or not.
    If she was innocent, then she didn’t need to see the battle taking place on the side of his mountain.
    Arian fisted his hands at his sides as he struggled not to join the fight. He needed to be there, wiping the Dark from his mountain instead of standing there watching.
    The Dark threw bubbles of magic at Tristan and Banan. Many they were able to dodge, but a few magic balls found their mark.
    Arian knew how painful Dark magic could be. He clenched his jaw and struggled to remain in his cave as Tristan and Banan led the Dark away.
    Only when the Dark were out of sight did Arian turn back to Grace. A small frown furrowed her brow as she stared at the computer screen. Her fingers rested on the keyboard, but she was no longer typing.
    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. When her lids opened, she typed a few words and then halted once more.
    “What is it?” he asked, curious.
    She slammed the laptop closed and dropped her head back against the rock. “I don’t know.”
    “I hear another accent in your words besides American. What is it?”
    Her head rolled to the side to look at him. “French. My mother is from Paris.”
    “You doona sound like someone who has lived their life in Paris.”
    “Because I didn’t.” She set the laptop beside her and pulled her knees up to her chest. “My father raised me after my mom ran off with a musician. She lived in London for a few years until that relationship ended. Then she returned to Paris.”
    “She left you behind?” Arian could scarcely imagine such a scenario.
    Grace gave a half-snort, half-laugh. “She did. She was in love and didn’t want a five-year-old getting in the way.”
    “I doona ken such a thing.”
    She rested her chin on her knees. “Me either, but she told me that some people just weren’t cut out to be parents. She was one of them. It’s a poor excuse, I know.”
    “Aye. It is.”
    Grace’s deep blue eyes focused on him. “I’ve spent the last three years living in Paris. My father wanted me to see the world.”
    “Yet, you remained in Paris instead of returning to him.”
    “He died. It was the last thing he made me promise. To see the world.” She smiled, as if recalling the memory. “We’d been planning the trip for some time, so all the destinations were chosen and everything paid for. The only difference was that I traveled it alone.”
    Arian moved closer to her. “I’m sorry.”
    She shrugged and blinked rapidly. “It’s all right. Our plan was always to end in Paris so I could spend some time with my mother. I’d already arranged to spend a month in Paris, and after that, I found I liked it.”
    “So you remained. Did you see your mother?”
    Grace chuckled softly. “A bit. She really isn’t cut out for parenting. She doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. She had a new man, so I urged her to go with