Read Hot Blooded for Free Online Page B

Iona said, a hint of awe in her voice.
    â€œMost of the land Dreagan uses for conservation,” Tristan added. “The forests, the mountains, and such are all protected natural habitats.”
    Her eyes widened a fraction. “Really? That’s nice to hear. I’ve run into plenty of people who could care less about conserving nature.”
    â€œNo’ everyone is a bad person,” Laith said. Though there were more of them out there than she could guess.
    Her coffee-colored eyes softened as they shifted to him. “No, they aren’t.”

 
    CHAPTER
FIVE
    Rhi didn’t know why she returned to Earth. The realm held nothing for her anymore, but then again, she hadn’t found any peace since Balladyn tortured her.
    As she stood on the Ponte Milvio in Rome, she looked down at the blue water of the Tiber River. The bridge was famous in Rome for couples to attach padlocks to as a show of love. Once the lock was clipped on, the couple then threw the key into the river.
    Rhi wondered how many wished they could retrieve those keys. Being chained to someone—or some thing —was the worst sort of torment.
    Even now that she was free of the Chains of Mordare, she was still living a nightmare. Where once she found joy in shopping like humans and driving around in her Lamborghini, now she couldn’t stand any of it.
    She looked down at her fingers. Before her kidnapping, she hadn’t let a day go by without having her nails painted. She collected nail polish in every shade.
    In a fit of rage she destroyed them all before leaving her sanctuary in the mountains—a sanctuary that no one was supposed to know about. Yet, it had been Ulrik who had not only rescued her from Balladyn, but brought her to her secret cabin. She still didn’t know how he discovered her place, but she was going to.
    Her nails drew her gaze once more. The color, some pale pink shade, was all but gone now.
    Rhi loved Rome. Or she used to. She would wander the streets watching the locals and tourists alike. She had been to the Coliseum countless times from its inception right up until last year.
    There were many things on the realm that she had seen from their origins. It was one of the advantages of being Fae. Rhi closed her eyes and lowered her head. She was Light Fae, or she was supposed to be.
    Balladyn had done a good job of pushing evil upon her. She wasn’t an unforgiving person, and yet, it took the slightest thing to set her off now. Many times she had to hold herself back from retaliating against someone.
    The light inside her was … diminished. Luckily it was still there, but it was getting harder and harder to sense. That was Balladyn’s doing. Once so close she considered him a brother, he was now Dark Fae, blaming her for his turning Dark.
    Rhi halted her thoughts and opened her eyes. She spent enough time thinking of Balladyn. It was time to move on.
    She turned away from the side of the bridge and started walking. Right on cue, she heard her queen call to her. It was a call Rhi had been ignoring for several weeks, but Usaeil’s request was growing more and more demanding.
    Rhi could only put her off for so long, but she wasn’t yet ready to face the queen or those of the court. Everyone knew what happened to her. They would be looking for a defect, a thread of darkness.
    A weakness.
    Because no Light had ever come back after being taken by the Dark.
    Rhi hadn’t expected her own people to come for her. There was too much at stake for them to try a rescue. She hadn’t thought the Dragon Kings would help her either. They were already knee deep in their own Dark Fae war.
    Not to mention the hatred between her and Con. Constantine would sooner let her rot than look at her. Yet, a small part of her had held out hope that the few Kings she considered friends might help. Out of everyone, she knew Phelan would try.
    Thinking of the Warrior brought a smile to her face. He had a