Lexi cursed the blush creeping up her cheeks as she studied the liquid and her hand fell involuntarily to her belly. She knew it wasn’t possible, but the idea of Cole’s baby caused a small thrill of excitement to course through her.
“Cole is on birth control,” she said.
“Hmm,” Sahira grunted. “It won’t hurt to have you both on it. Besides, he might have used it wrong or messed something up or forgotten to take it, so there is always that possibility. And….”
“And what?” Lexi prodded when Sahira’s voice trailed off.
Sahira lifted her head, and their eyes met. Then she tossed some herbs into the pot. “And you’ll be prepared for the next man.”
Lexi felt like Sahira had slapped her, but she managed to keep herself from recoiling. She kept telling herself she was prepared for Cole not to return, but hearing Sahira say it slammed the reality of it home.
Her aunt didn’t expect him to return, and she expected Lexi to prepare for the next man who entered her life. The idea of another man touching her the way Cole did made her stomach clench; she couldn’t even consider that possibility right now.
“He said he would come back, but I’m not so sure,” she admitted.
“Hmm,” Sahira muttered.
When Lexi grasped the bottle, she didn’t realize how close it was to the flames beneath Sahira’s pot. She yelped and pulled her hand away when the fire burnt her finger.
“Are you okay?” Sahira asked.
Lexi sucked on her burnt finger as she slid the potion into her pocket. “I’m fine.”
If Cole returned, she would use it when she was certain she wasn’t pregnant, but not now. She couldn’t bring herself to use it if there was a small chance she carried his child. It would be difficult to raise a human, vampire, lycan, dark fae baby on her own, but she would do it.
“Thank you,” she said.
Sahira grunted again.
“I know he’s a dark fae, but….” Lexi’s gaze shifted to the window and the crow sitting in a tree across the way.
“But?” Sahira prompted.
“But I think he’s a good man.”
Sahira grunted again. Lexi kissed her cheek.
“I love you too, auntie,” she teased.
Sahira rolled her eyes. “Ass kisser.”
Lexi chuckled and folded the rest of the cheese into a napkin. “I’ll be in the stables.”
Sahira didn’t reply as Lexi made her way out the door and toward the stables. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself before entering the feed room.
She lifted a couple of bags of feed and tossed them aside to expose the trapdoor beneath. The door blended so seamlessly into the floor that anyone who didn’t know it was there would never see it even without the bags on top.
Removing the bottle from her pocket, Lexi hid it in one of the horse’s feed tubs, so she didn’t accidentally break it. Then she lifted the door and slipped into the shadows below.
She closed the door behind her. From experience, she knew the open space the moved bags created wouldn’t attract any attention as there were other spaces like it within the feed room.
Lexi lifted the flashlight from the hook below the door and clicked it on before descending the steps. The beam played across the walls as she sped through the tunnels and in the direction of where she last saw Orin.
She didn’t know if she expected him to be there or not; if he was, she imagined he was pretty pissed over her absence. Despite knowing that, she didn’t feel any apprehension over encountering an irate dark fae down here. She’d had enough of bossy, overbearing men, and she wasn’t about to let this one run all over her again.
She was almost to the place where she last saw Orin when low, gravelly words issued from the shadows. “Where the fuck have you been?”
CHAPTER 55
Lexi sighed and turned to face Orin. The beam found him standing in the corner of two adjoining tunnels. His black eyes glimmered with malice as he studied her with a look that made the hair on her nape rise, but she didn’t back away from him.
“I was helping to save one of your brothers,” she retorted.
Those words knocked some of the ire out of him, and he gaped at her before covering it up. Confronted with him again, that niggling guilt tugged at her again.
She’d kept his presence here a secret from Cole. But she was sure Cole had plenty of secrets of his own, and it wasn’t like they were in a relationship and he’d told her everything.
She tried to reassure herself with this reasoning, but the guilt wouldn’t let go.
“You could have left,” she said. “Believe me, I would have preferred it if you did.”
“I can’t just pop out of here,” he retorted. “I have no idea where any of these tunnels go or what I’d emerge into. Plus, you shut some of the gates, so I don’t have many places to roam.”
Lexi shrugged, but as much as she wanted him gone, she was glad he hadn’t decided to find his way out. It could have been disastrous, especially if one of those ways entered into the manor.
“What do you mean you helped save one of my brothers?” he asked.
She filled him in on what happened with Brokk but emitted all details about Cole and herself. However, she must have given something away as his calculating eyes ran inquisitively over her.
“And you didn’t tell them I was here?” he asked.
“You’re still here, aren’t you?”
Instead of answering her question, he asked another. “And how is Cole?”
She somehow, miraculously, managed not to blush as she responded. “Fine. They both returned to the Gloaming today, which means I can take you out of here.”
She pulled the cheese from her pocket and tossed it to him. He caught it with ease.
“If you’ll follow me,” she said.
“And what if I decide not to go back out there?”
“Then that’s your choice, but I’m not coming back here. You can let me lead you out somewhere safe, or you can wander around here until you’re half-starved and desperate. Once that happens, you’ll have to take the risk of leaving here and someone seeing you.”
“And then they’ll catch you too.”
“I. Don’t. Care,” she enunciated.
It was a bald-faced lie; of course, she cared. They both knew that, but she was not going to be at his mercy anymore. She’d rather be crisp fried by a dragon than continue to live like this.
“I’m not going to keep putting myself at risk by continuing to come down here. Either leave now, or you’re on your own.”
He bit into the cheese and chewed before swallowing. “Lead the way, little human.”
She glowered at him but refused to give him the satisfaction of telling him off. Turning on her heel, she didn’t look back at him as she led the way to a door that opened into a shed on the edge of her property.
The shed housed all sorts of garden tools, fertilizer, and some seeds, but few knew its location as it was tucked within a copse of trees. She had no doubt it would be safe to emerge there.
Climbing the stairs to the door, she slid the bolts locking it free, grasped the handle, and pushed it up. The scent of dirt and earth enveloped her.
Though she was sure it was safe, she still poked her head cautiously out to look around before climbing into the shadowy interior of the shed. She stepped out of Orin’s way before hurrying over to one of the three windows.
Even if someone had their face against the glass, they couldn’t see into the shed. Her father had made sure of that with tinted windows.
Still, she approached the glass slowly before peaking outside. Nothing moved through the trees, so she went to one of the other windows.
She checked that one before going to the last window. The last window held her attention longer than the others. Through the trees encircling the shed, she could see smoke coiling insidiously into the air from the remains of the marketplace.
The smoke made her rec
all the thunderous booms that shook the earth and the way the dragon destroyed without remorse. Screams echoed in her head as that helpless feeling descended over her again.
She despised feeling so powerless in this new, uncertain world. There had to be something she could do to put an end to all the death and senseless violence, but she had no idea what.
Orin’s reflection appeared in the glass as he came to stand behind her. “What happened there?” he inquired.
“The Lord decided there was a traitor in the marketplace.”
“Was there?”
“I don’t think so.”
“That makes sense.”
She turned to face him. “How does that make sense?”
He shrugged as he rubbed at the thick layer of stubble lining his chin. “Because the only thing the Lord does consistently is killing and destroying indiscriminately. Now that the war is over, he has to focus his bloodlust somewhere, and it doesn’t matter to him if that focus deserves it or not. He enjoys killing too much to stop now.”
Her blood ran cold; the beings in the marketplace were most likely innocent, but she wasn’t. Harboring him made her a traitor, but that might not matter. The Lord could get bored and send his dragons here anyway.
However, she preferred to lessen her chances of that happening. Terror spurred her into action, and she pushed against Orin’s solid chest as she nudged him toward the door. “You have to go.”
She expected him to resist her or offer up some wiseass response, but he relented to her desperate hands. When he arrived at the door, he rested his hand on the knob and faced her.
“Don’t ever tell anyone I was here,” he said.
“Do I look like an idiot?” she retorted. “Don’t ever come back. You’ll find the shed locked as well as the entrance to the tunnel. I also plan on shutting some gates and blocking off this section of the tunnel.”
His black eyes were as emotionless as a shark’s as they roamed over her. She didn’t shrink beneath his scrutiny. Instead, she scowled at him as a smile curved the edges of his mouth.
“Farewell then,” he said.
He opened the door and stepped outside. She started to close the door behind him, but he held out his palm to stop her and nudged it back open.
“If I were you, I’d stay away from my brother. Cole’s even more ruthless than me.”
With those final words, he released the door and sauntered away like he didn’t have a care in the world. The bastard shoved his hands in his pockets and whistled while he walked.
It took everything Lexi had not to slam the door behind him. Instead, she quietly closed it and turned the locks. She would have to remember to bring the keys with her the next time she came to the shed; there was no way she was leaving this door unlocked again.
She refused to consider his words as she slipped into the tunnel and slid the bolts back into place before retreating into the tunnels. She closed a few gates behind her to ensure the tunnel was blocked off further.
When she finished, the only thing she had to do was think on Orin’s parting words as she walked back toward the stables.
CHAPTER 56
“You’re home,” his father said as he glided across the floor toward them.
He embraced Brokk first, and they hugged each other before breaking apart. His father grasped Brokk’s shoulders and leaned back to study him. “How are you?”
“Much better now,” Brokk replied. “Though I could use a shower and my clothes.”
“Go do what you must and then meet me in my solar.”
Brokk nodded before leaving.
“And how are you doing?” his father inquired as they embraced.
“I’ve been worse,” Cole said. “But I have to agree about my clothes.”
His father laughed and squeezed his shoulders. “Go on then; meet me in my solar as soon as you’re finished.”
Cole slipped away. He retreated to his room, where he showered and dressed in clothes that fit him. His clothes were far more comfortable, but he missed the ones he’d worn as they still smelled of Lexi.
The soap and water had washed her scent from him. However, the memory of it teased his nostrils as he recalled the feel of her in his arms. And the sooner he returned to his father, the sooner he could see her again.
He left the room and practically jogged across the palace to his father’s private solar. The candles floating in the air cast shadows across the dark floors and walls.
His steps reverberated off the stones as he passed countless closed doors to rooms he’d never entered. He had no idea what lay beyond most of them.
When he arrived at the solar, he knocked and waited for his father to bid him enter before stepping into the room. His father sat in his favorite chair with a glass of whiskey by his hand. The fire crackling in the hearth filled the room with the sweet aroma of fae wood.
Cole helped himself to a glass of the amber liquid and settled into the chair across from his dad. The warmth of the fire helped soothe some of his lingering anxiety, but he was impatient to get back to Lexi.
“What happened out there?” his father inquired.
Cole had only given him scant details in his letters, and now he filled him in on the rest of it.
“You were lucky to find the witch,” his father said.
“Luck had nothing to do with it. I knew she was there.”
“And how is that?”
“It was Del’s mansion; his sister was the witch.”
“I see. I recall her from the party. I also recall that his daughter is a beautiful woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
“You sound intrigued by the girl.”
“It’s more than that; she’s my mate.”
“Your lycan mate?”
“Yes.”
Cole sipped his whiskey as he gazed over his father’s shoulder. One of the moons, Carpton, hung outside the window. The sight of it caused the lycan part of him to stir in a way it never had before.
He’d never transformed because of the moon’s pull, but now that Lexi had awakened his more primitive urges, they were making themselves known more often than they had before. Lycans didn’t transform with every full moon, but they felt connected to the moon’s cycles that often drew the beast out of them as the moon became fuller.
His need to shift grew as he imagined feeling the earth beneath him and the wind in his hair while he raced back to her. The impulse was so strong his fangs lengthened, and the scent of the night air intensified as it filled his nose.
His fingers clenched on his glass. It would have shattered in his grasp if his father didn’t lean across the distance separating them to remove it from his hand.
“Easy, son,” he murmured as he set the glass on the table.
Cole took a steadying breath as he leashed the lycan part of him once more.
“Have you claimed her?” his father asked.
“No. I didn’t have the chance to discuss it with her before your last letter asking us to return.”
“It will be easier for you once you do. It was for your mother.”
He fucking hoped so. He’d never liked feeling out of control; it was why he’d always identified more with his dark fae side, but the lycan was nowhere near as detached and calculating. It was making that clearly known.
“Do you care for her?” his father inquired.
“More than I ever believed possible.”
Until he said the words, he hadn’t realized how much he cared for Lexi. Not only was she his mate, but he liked her and admired her determination to keep her manor going and the ones she loved safe.
His father’s grin lit his eyes. “I’m so happy for you!”
Cole didn’t know how to reply, and before he could respond, the smile slid from his father’s face.
“Protect her, Colburn,” he said. “Don’t lose her like I lost your mother. It’s not something… it’s not something you ever fully recover from.”
His father’s eyes flickered
away as anguish briefly replaced his joy. When he looked at Cole again, his smile was back in place, but it no longer lit his eyes.
“I will keep her safe,” Cole vowed.
“Good. Why didn’t you bring her back with you?”
“She refused to come. She has responsibilities in the human realm, and she couldn’t leave them. I plan to return to her as soon as I can.”
“Ah, so she is stubborn.”
“Very.”
His father laughed as he sipped his whiskey. “I was with a stubborn woman once. She drove me crazy, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I was fortunate I got the time I did with her and my firstborn son, but I’ve missed her every day since I lost her.”
“So have I,” Cole admitted.
It was these times, when it was just them, or them and his brothers, that Cole enjoyed the most. No one else would ever see this side of his father. It was reserved solely for his family.
His father was a ruthless ruler who didn’t tolerate disobedience from his followers. He handed out punishments with no remorse and rarely smiled. But when he was alone with those he loved, he was an entirely different entity.
“I never thought I’d see the day when you would find a woman,” his father murmured.
“Neither did I.”
His father finished off his drink before pouring himself another. Then he dipped a hand into his shirt, pulled out the chain he wore around his neck, and unclasped it. Cole had seen the chain countless times over the years, but he’d never seen his father remove it.
His dad slipped the two rings from the chain and hefted them in his hands. Sorrow radiated from him as he inspected them before rising and walking over to Cole. He tipped his head back as his dad stopped in front of him.
“Hold out your hand,” his dad commanded.
Cole did as he said, and his father placed the rings on his palm.
“These were mine and your mother’s,” he said.
“I know,” Cole murmured as he inspected the delicate bands.
The light reflecting off the silver bands emphasized the markings etched onto them. His mother’s ring was so delicate he was afraid he’d crush it in his fingers, but made of fae metal, it was far stronger than it looked.
Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) Page 23
