Cole examined the statues as they passed. It had been a thousand years since the last arach ruled the Shadow Realms and Dragonia. He’d never met an arach, but his father had known them and would sometimes tell stories of them.
Besides controlling the dragons, the powerful arach could withstand being burned by flames, throw fire from their hands, and cast spells like witches. Some of those spells remained on this palace as they blocked vampires from teleporting out.
No vampire could teleport into a residence, even if they were invited in at some point, but they could all teleport out unless something stopped them. And here, the lingering power of the arachs kept them trapped.
The arachs weaved a powerful brand of magic, but despite their many powers, they were now the cautionary tale many children heard at bedtime and many rulers tried to avoid becoming.
The long-lost rulers of the dragons looked like most other immortal creatures. They didn’t have wings like the pixies and didn’t shapeshift like the lycan, but they had fangs like vampires, and if the statues were any indication, they had the arrogant stance of an immortal sure of their place in this world.
They shouldn’t have been so confident as that place no longer existed.
His father once told him that in the beginning, the arach were a rather peaceful species. Still, disagreements on how to rule the Shadow Realms resulted in a civil war that dethroned the original ruling family and sent them into exile.
But the war didn’t end there, and eventually, all the powerful creatures destroyed each other.
That war nearly destroyed the Shadow Realms when it spilled out of Dragonia. The dragons wreaked havoc throughout the realms as the arach battled to the death.
When the dust settled and nothing remained of the arach, their once-tamed dragons ran wild throughout the realms. His father once told him they’d believed they were all doomed. They’d managed to kill some of the dragons, but there were far too many, and the realms were falling apart.
However, when the first non-arach ruler sat on the throne, the dragons returned to Dragonia. That was when the immortals learned whoever held the throne controlled the beasts.
It didn’t take them long to realize that whoever held the throne couldn’t handle its power, and it eventually eroded their sanity until they became a corrupted, broken version of their old selves.
The first ruler had only taken the throne on a whim. The warlock entered Dragonia in the hopes of avoiding the dragons now living in the other realms. He’d been lured by the power of the throne and decided to sit on it. That decision was the turning point in the war against the dragons as his presence on the throne called them back to Dragonia.
That warlock went from a peace-loving man to one consumed by the paranoia that others were trying to kill him. He became determined to stop his imaginary assassins before they stopped him and set the dragons free again. That mistake cost him. He was dethroned by a lycan who moved in for the kill while the dragons were gone.
The lycan ascended to power only to suffer the same fate.
The messenger stopped outside a set of immense double doors. Each door held the carving of a dragon in midflight. The dragons’ tails curled before them, and their wings spread open as fire erupted from their mouths.
Almost everything within this place was drab, but these dragons were a splash of vivid, detailed color amid all the gray. The fire looked so real it seemed it would burn his fingers if he touched it. The rubies in their eyes gleamed in the rays of the sun streaming through the windows. The emeralds of their green scales cast green color across the floor.
The messenger pulled both doors open and stepped back. He gestured for them to enter the enormous, grand hall. It was at least the size of two football fields long and another football field wide. The room was so large that the throne on the other end, and the man sitting on it, were barely discernible.
Half a dozen dragons lounged inside the room. They were coiled up with their tails near their heads as they dozed contentedly in the sun streaming down on them.
When the doors opened, the dragon closest to them cracked its yellow eyes open and lifted its head. The spikes along its back rose before settling in a wave. Then it opened its colossal jaws and released a yawn that displayed its hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
It settled its head on its front paws and closed its eyes, but Cole knew it remained focused on them. And though none of the other slumbering beasts stirred, he was certain they were aware of their presence.
His father plastered on a smile before descending the five steps to the great hall. Cole swiftly followed.
CHAPTER 62
Their boots thudded against the stone as they strode toward the throne at the end of the hall. Overhead, a domed ceiling arched a thousand feet above them. Black scorch marks surrounded the opening in the middle of it.
That opening revealed the clear blue sky beyond. Then the sun shining through vanished as a dragon soared overhead.
They were halfway to the throne when the dragon in front of them unfurled from its sleeping position and rose onto its hind legs. His father’s footsteps didn’t falter as the dragon bellowed, spread its wings, and launched off the ground.
Its wings made a loud, thumping sound, and the wind it created blew back their hair and plastered their clothes to them. It was nearly free of the hall when it released a blast of fire that charred the stones before it disappeared into the day.
Cole hid his apprehension, but he looked forward to getting out of this room and away from these nearly unstoppable killing machines.
“Tove!” the Lord exclaimed when they were twenty feet away. “How good to see you! I hope you didn’t mind waiting, but I’ve been so busy that it took me far longer to get to you than I anticipated.”
“Of course not, my Lord,” his father replied.
They stopped only five feet away from the dais the throne sat on. The Lord sat fifteen feet above them.
“The wait allowed my son and I to work on his chess game. Besides, I needed a little vacation from the Gloaming,” his father continued.
“That’s why I like you, Tove. You’re always so easygoing.” The Lord steepled his fingers before him as he studied Tove. “The pressures of leadership are such a bore.”
“They can be rather tedious.”
The Lord’s hazel eyes gleamed with malice as his mouth twisted in amusement. His brown hair hung to his broad shoulders in limp strands. The sharp angles of his face made the contours of his skull evident.
They were so close Cole could almost smell the Lord’s blood on his hands. If he could get his hands on him, Cole could slaughter him. It was the getting his hands on him part that was tricky.
As he contemplated how he could kill the Lord before being eaten by a dragon, the gold-colored beast behind the throne lifted its head. Dragons couldn’t read minds, but when the creature’s green eyes locked on him, it slipped its tail around the throne like it was embracing the Lord.
The Lord leaned forward, and when he did, he provided a better view of the throne. The gold back of it was composed of two dragons with their wings spread wide. Behind the Lord’s shoulders, those dragon heads nearly touched, and their tails created the seat holding a red cushion.
“I suppose you’re curious as to why I wish to speak with you,” the Lord said.
“I admit that I am,” Tove replied.
Cole stiffened when a shuffling sound alerted him that a dragon was moving behind him. Though he wanted to know what was happening, he didn’t look. He refused to let the Lord think these creatures unnerved him, even if they could swallow him like a frog with a fly.
“I’m hearing rumors about a growing rebellion,” the Lord said.
“I’m sure they’re just rumors, my Lord. The rebellion is broken, and the traitors are running,” Tove replied. “As we speak, they are relentlessly hunted across the realms. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they’re all found and destroyed.”
“Now you see,
that’s where I have a problem. I don’t want it to be a matter of time. They should all be dead by now, including your sons.”
The Lord’s tone dripped venom, and his eyes shone with a malevolence the likes of which Cole had never seen. Cole glanced at his father as he sensed an unraveling in the monster sitting across from them.
“Varo and Orin are also being hunted as we speak,” Tove replied. “I’m sure someone will find them soon.”
“And if they’re not?”
“Then I will personally help to hunt them down. I want all traitors persecuted as badly as you. I have two loyal sons who fought by my side and for you. That is enough for me.”
The lie rolled so easily off his father’s lips that Cole almost believed it. The Lord’s gaze shifted to Cole.
“Yes, and here is one of those loyal sons,” the Lord purred.
“Loyal to my father, to you, and the cause,” Cole replied. “I had just returned from the human realm, where I was tracking Orin when you summoned us here.”
“And did you have any luck in locating your brother?”
“No, but I did uncover a couple of leads. Unfortunately, my brother Brokk and I were ambushed by traitors before following through on those leads. Brokk was badly injured. However, I plan to return to hunting Orin and Varo as soon as I can.”
However, he planned on making sure they stayed out of the Lord’s hands once he found them.
“Wonderful,” the Lord said and settled back on his throne. “Because some of those rumors claim that Orin is the one gathering more recruits for the rebellion.”
Cole’s blood ran cold. He wanted to look at his father, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off this madman for one second.
“I’m sure they’re rumors, my Lord,” his father demurred. “But if not, then we will stop such a thing before it ever gets started.”
The Lord didn’t look at him as his gaze remained focused on Cole. “Oh, I’m sure I can count on you not to fail me.”
“Of course, my Lord,” Cole said.
“Because no matter how close they are, brothers always secretly hate each other. That hatred is ingrown into them. They compete for their parents’ love and, in doing so, they grow to loathe one another.”
Orin, Varo, Brokk, and all his brothers had pissed him off countless times over the years, but even when they were pummeling each other, he’d never hated them. Not even when his impetuous, stubborn brothers joined the rebellion did he hate them.
He’d grieved their deaths, and he still did. However, he was not going to correct the Lord. He’d let the crazy prick think he hated his brothers if it made the Lord happier.
“Unfortunately, no matter what a child does to its parent, that parent still retains some love for them. Isn’t that true, Tove?” the Lord inquired.
An uneasy feeling twisted in Cole’s stomach. He did not like the direction this conversation was taking.
His father hesitated before replying. “I love all my children, yes, but my loyalty is to you. Orin and Alvaro chose the wrong path and will face the consequences of their actions.”
“That they will,” the Lord agreed. “But I must question if you’ll help them escape when the time comes.”
“I would never help them escape, my Lord,” Tove said.
Cole’s uneasy feeling grew, and this time, he couldn’t stop his gaze from traveling to the dragons. Two of the beasts had crept closer and were only ten feet away.
He contemplated grabbing his father and running from this place, but the dragons would never let them go.
“I want to believe you, Tove, I really do. However, though I have no children, I know the bond between a parent and their child is special. I do recall the love of my parents; my mother died to keep me alive,” the Lord said.
Cole wished his mother hadn’t been so selfless.
“I assure you, my Lord, that I would hand over any traitor, son or not,” Tove replied.
The Lord tapped his fingers against his chin and stared down at them. “I truly want to believe you, but I can’t. Kill him.”
Cole had just processed the command when the dragon closest to them surged forward. With a snap of its powerful jaws, it consumed the top half of his father’s body. Blood sprayed over Cole. His father had to be in serious pain, but he didn’t make a sound when the dragon chomped down again.
Cole twisted his head away when the next snap of those jaws caused another wave of hot blood to spray him. And then the dragon swallowed.
CHAPTER 63
It took a few seconds for the full impact of what happened to hit him. In that time, Cole became acutely aware of the blood sliding down his face and dripping off his chin. Each drop hitting the gray stone floor sounded like a gunshot fired inside a steel room.
His head slowly turned back to where he last saw the father he loved so much. In the place of the man who’d been his dad, mentor, and best friend was only a pool of red liquid.
The man who broke through his unbearable grief over the loss of Cole’s mother and saved a lost boy who was drowning in his sorrow was gone. The man who, for a month after his mother’s death, had come into Cole’s room every night when he woke crying.
When Cole proved to be inconsolable, his father would carry him into his room and settle him in his bed. Nestled against his dad’s side, Cole would finally fall asleep again.
Over the following five months, his dad didn’t bother to put him in his room first but simply let him sleep beside him from the night's start. Cole had outgrown such things, but he still recalled those nights and the love sheltering him even after his mother’s love was gone.
His father was as broken by her death, but his love for Cole triumphed over his sorrow. During those troubled days, he nursed his son back to life while a part of him remained dead forever.
Then Cole’s shock and grief wore off, and a white-hot fury the likes of which he’d never known erupted through him. It was so intense that his claws lengthened and his fangs extended as the lycan broke free in a way it never had before.
He launched himself at the dragon. The creature reared back as Cole sank his claws into its throat. The dragon’s eyes rolled as Cole sawed at the wall of muscle surrounding its throat. The beast’s teeth snapped as it twisted its head to get at him, but Cole was wedged up beneath its head and out of the way of its powerful jaws.
“Stand down!” the Lord bellowed, but Cole barely heard the command, and he didn’t obey it.
Animalistic snarls filled the room, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize those sounds were coming from him. However, they were not enough to deter him. He was lost to the mindlessness of the wolf and the thirst for vengeance.
The dragon swiveled enough that teeth raked his arm. He ignored the agony and blood those teeth created as he hacked through sinew as thick as steel. Warm breath plumed against his back as the dragon twisted its head to snap at him.
Smoke burst from its nostrils, and seconds before it released a plume of fire, Cole slid to the side to avoid it. He was too lost in the bloodlust of the lycan to be able to control those flames. The dragon’s fire blasted against its neck but didn’t leave a mark on its flesh.
The blood soaking Cole dripped off and filled his mouth as he slashed through the monster’s flesh. The metallic liquid caked his nostrils until he could barely breathe, but he continued to avoid the dragon’s jaws while seeking to destroy the monster.
Around him, the slithering sounds of the others barely penetrated the beat of his heart rebounding in his ears.
“That is enough!” the Lord shouted. “Stay back!”
The command rebounded throughout the great hall, but Cole barely heard it as the dragon’s movements grew sluggish and its head tilted at a funny angle. Then its powerful jaws sank onto his arm and clamped down.
The pain the bite created only fueled his desire to destroy as he sank the claws of his free hand into the gap he’d made in the beast’s neck. His flesh gave way as the dragon’s teeth scour
ed his bone.
As the creature sought to tear his arm from him, Cole lifted upward with his free hand. Sinew and skin gave way, and a hissing scream issued from the dragon as he tore the thing’s neck upward.
Bone cracked and popped as a rending sound filled the air. The dragon bit down harder as its blood spilled over him.
Cole continued to pull upward until he severed its spinal cord and it couldn’t hold onto him any longer. The dragon released its grip on his arm seconds before Cole succeeded in tearing its head the rest of the way off.
When the dragon’s head fell to the ground with a wet thump, Cole released it and dropped down. His shoulders heaved as he spun on the Lord.
CHAPTER 64
With a snarl, Cole stepped toward the Lord. He was about to rush up the steps of the dais, but the dragon behind the throne had slid its head in front of the Lord while Cole destroyed its friend.
Its face was only inches away from Cole’s. Its hot breath blew Cole’s hair back from his face when it bared its lethal, six-inch-long teeth at him.
Then he felt the hot breaths of the others and realized they’d all enclosed on him. He didn’t turn to look at the monsters, but if the hate in the eyes of the one guarding the Lord was any indication, they were all pretty pissed.
None of them were as irate as him.
“Uh-ah.” The Lord wagged his index finger at Cole like he was some kind of recalcitrant toddler throwing a tantrum.
It only enraged him more. His shoulders heaved, his muscles swelled, and his fangs filled his mouth as his breath came in ragged exhalations. His claws bit into his palms until his blood spilled free; it mixed with his father’s and the dragon’s while he glowered at the monster before him.
He might be able to kill this one too, but the others would be on him before he reached the Lord. A big part of him didn’t give a fuck if he died trying to slaughter this prick. The other part told him he had to live to fight another day.
If he died here and the Lord survived, Lexi would be vulnerable. And he could not leave her unprotected in a world where this monster ruled.
Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) Page 26
