Stepping onto the crowded dirt road, she ignored the crush of humans and immortals surrounding her as she swung the leather pouch onto her shoulder and slipped into the crowd.
• • •
Cole despised the crowded human and immortal markets that had sprung up in the cities and towns since the war ended. He understood their necessity as humans scrambled to survive, and those who still had fortunes sought to get their hands on things they’d only ever dreamed about. However, he preferred it when the markets only catered to immortals and were hidden from the mortals.
“Watch it,” Brokk growled when a passing lycan’s shoulder hit his.
The lycan turned to look at Brokk, who lifted his hand in the air. The lycan took in the ciphers on Brokk’s hand and kept walking. Not many immortals sought to pick a fight with the dark fae. The lycan was larger and stronger, but they all feared the dark fae’s powers.
“Bunch of hairy assholes,” Brokk muttered.
Cole didn’t take offense to his brother’s comment. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d called vamps bloodsucking leeches around Brokk.
“I do not have a hairy asshole,” Cole said.
“You never know what the future holds.”
“It better not hold hairy assholes.”
Brokk grinned at him before turning to avoid a herd of humans who scurried past with their heads down. Cole barely acknowledged the humans as he tried not to inhale the stench of dirt and body odor wafting from them. The sweet stench of witches’ potions and burnt wood, as well as the ever-present reek of the distant burning city, hung heavily on the air.
The open road that vehicles once traversed was now a thoroughfare crowded with ramshackle huts and hastily assembled buildings. They’d turned the broken and cracked four-lane road into little more than a lane.
Many of the shops belonged to witches, but there were plenty of other immortals looking to sell things they’d crafted and the food they grew on their land. There were also stalls with vamps who sought to pay for blood. The vamp stalls and food booths were the most crowded with humans, but the witches had a fair amount of business too.
He’d prefer not to be here, but if they were going to know what was happening in the world and how things were going, the markets were the best place to go. Plus, there was a chance he might run into Lexi.
It was a small chance, but one he was willing to take. He’d never been to Del’s home, but he knew it was somewhere nearby. And if he didn’t find her here, he’d….
What?
Hunt her down?
And how would he explain that to Brokk? They were close, they always had been, but he’d never gone out of his way to find a woman. Brokk would find it odd; he found it odd.
However, the possibility of seeing her again intrigued and excited him.
As they walked, he listened to the chatter of the humans and immortals who passed. Most conversations focused on securing supplies to keep their families alive, but there were a few murmurs of discontent amongst the crowd.
He ignored those whispers. Of course, these people were unhappy; nothing of the world they knew remained. What he sought were whispers about where some of the rebels were hiding; he wanted to know where his brothers were.
He was shifting through the conversations swirling around him when he detected the faint hint of strawberries on the air. He scanned the crowd as he drew the scent deeper into him.
He’d smelled strawberries thousands of times before, but this was different. It was fresh and welcoming, and he knew it was her.
Turning, he searched the crowd. He stood almost a head taller than most of those surrounding him, so he could see over them with relative ease.
And then he spotted her exiting a witches’ store and shrugging a pouch onto her shoulder. The sun emphasized the different shades of red in her auburn hair and illuminated her delicate features.
She stepped back from a passing lycan before turning and walking in the opposite direction of him.
“I’ll be back,” he said to Brokk.
Before his brother could reply, Cole started after her.
CHAPTER 17
The scent of baking bread tickled Lexi’s nose, and her stomach rumbled in response. She tried to recall the last time she ate, but she couldn’t quite remember.
She should eat something, but she had to get back to the manor so she could give the fae the potion and get him out of her life. However, it was a long walk home, and she’d prefer to have something to munch on while she made the trek.
Unable to resist, Lexi stopped at a cart selling all kinds of baked goods. Her stomach rumbled louder, and it took all she had not to lick her lips as she studied the delicious treats laid out on trays before her.
“Can I get you something?” the woman standing behind the cart asked.
Lexi pointed at one of the cinnamon buns. “Yes, I’ll take one of those.”
The woman beamed at her as she used a piece of paper to pick up the bun. She slid the pastry into a bag while Lexi handed over more of her money. Lexi tried not to drool as she held the bag and waited for change.
In the distance, the faint strains of a guitar floated through the air. The notes were followed by a sweet, lilting voice that barely carried over the din of the crowd.
“I’ll take one too,” a deep voice said from beside her.
Everything around Lexi went as still as a broken clock. Like the clock pendulum that stopped ticking, she swore her heart ceased beating before giving a mighty thump that rattled her rib cage.
She knew that voice; even if she lived another ten thousand years, she would never forget that voice. She would always recall the deep timbre of his words as he stood behind her in the room full of luna flowers. Always remember the way his warm breath felt against her ear and how it stirred her hair.
She hadn’t believed she’d ever see him again, let alone see him again so soon. He was one of the elite immortals, he moved in entirely different circles than her, and she wasn’t returning to the Gloaming anytime soon.
However, she didn’t have to look up to know Cole stood beside her.
She couldn’t stop her head from tilting further and further back until she found his vibrant blue eyes on her even as the woman held a bag out to him. Her breath gave a small hitch. She wanted to touch the tip of one of his ears; would he like it?
The black, mortal shirt he wore clung to his broad chest, and the short sleeves emphasized the thick muscles of his biceps. His jeans were loose-fitting enough to be comfortable but tight enough to make her mouth water.
The corners of his eyes crinkled, and his thick lips curved into the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. He was a good foot taller than her five-seven height and easily weighed a hundred pounds more than her one hundred thirty.
He should intimidate her, and she imagined many were terrified of him, but she didn’t feel afraid. Instead, before she could stop herself, she grinned at him like an idiot.
“It’s you,” she said.
Cole smiled in return. “It’s you.”
A shout from somewhere to her right drew her attention and dampened her happiness as she recalled where they were. Cole took the bag from the woman who was still holding it out to him and slipped her some money. Clasping her elbow, he led her away from the booth.
“What are you doing here?” Lexi asked and then tried not to blush at the abruptness of her question. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound rude.”
A teasing glimmer shone in his eyes. “You didn’t expect to find me here?”
“Not at all.”
“Why not? There are things here I like to purchase too.”
That made sense, but marketplaces such as this always existed in the mortal realm; she’d gone to them often. This one came to life after the war, and unlike the markets of the past, humans also shopped it. There was no reason to keep the immortal markets hidden anymore.
However, during her many trips to the private and open markets, she’d n
ever seen one royal fae. She’d heard countless rumors about them while shopping the immortal wares, but they could get everything they needed in the Shadow Realms.
“Plus,” he said, “the Lord of the Shadow Realms likes us to keep an ear out for any threats that might arise and to search for the rebels.”
His words reminded her of the dark fae locked in her tunnels, and her appetite vanished. She clenched her bag as some of her excitement over seeing him vanished.
She was harboring a rebel, and if he knew about it, not only would he turn in the fae, but he’d hand her over too. It thrilled her to see him, and he seemed happy to see her also, but his loyalty was to the Lord.
She wanted nothing to do with any of the political turmoil the world remained in; however, she’d put herself right in the middle of it when she decided to hide a war criminal.
And she’d pitted herself against this man and the monster who’d ruthlessly unleashed his dragons on countless innocents. She didn’t want anything to happen to the fae she hid, but she wanted even less for Cole to become her enemy.
She liked him, and he made her feel alive in a way she hadn’t since her father died. It was a bad idea to feel anything other than apprehension for a dark fae, but she couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach or the increase of her pulse when she was around him.
“Oh,” she muttered.
She realized she sounded a little dumb, but she had no idea what to say. Oh good, you’re all looking to kill more immortals, didn’t feel like the appropriate, sarcastic response.
“And what are you doing here?” he asked.
Lexi held up her bag of food. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to him, and she doubted she could pull off a convincing lie, so she hoped he would take this as explanation enough.
“They’re some of my favorites,” he said.
“Mine too.”
A commotion from somewhere to her left drew Lexi’s attention to the crowd. Startled cries filled the air as humans and immortals pushed back toward them. When Cole stepped before her, his large body blocked the retreating group from shoving her into the food stand.
“What the fuck?” he muttered.
Lexi was thinking the same thing as a higher-pitched scream rent the air and a child started to sob for her mother. Lexi stepped forward; she wasn’t a fighter, but she’d be damned if she let someone hurt a child.
Then the crying child, enveloped securely in the arms of her lycan mother, rushed past them. Cole clasped Lexi’s arm as he held her firmly behind him. Despite the commotion, she barely stopped herself from gaping at the hand engulfing almost her entire forearm.
Then the crowd parted to reveal a group of lycan shoving through them. With a sinking heart, Lexi spotted Malakai at the front of the pack.
She glanced at the sun beating down on the earth and Malakai. Unlike her, he was a full-blooded vampire who never should have been out in the daylight, but as she thought it, the sun caught and reflected off the red amulet hanging from his neck.
She didn’t know where it had come from, but she sensed its power and suspected it somehow allowed him to walk about in the day. She didn’t understand how anything could be powerful enough to accomplish that. However, it had to be the amulet as she’d never seen him in the daytime before the war, yet he wasn’t catching on fire now.
With his shoulders back, pride and contempt emanated from Malakai as he surveyed the crowd. Then his brown eyes landed on Cole before sliding to her. Surprise widened them for the briefest of seconds, but they hardened when he spotted Cole’s hand wrapped protectively around her arm.
A smug smile curved his lips as he stopped in front of them. He was about five inches shorter than Cole, and he didn’t emanate power like the fae prince, but his eyes shimmered with malice when they shifted from Cole’s grip on her arm to her face.
“Elexiandra,” he greeted in a voice that sent chills down her spine.
“Malakai,” she replied.
CHAPTER 18
“What is the meaning of this?” Cole demanded.
As he surveyed the lycan gathered around Malakai, he recognized all of them, but they weren’t part of his uncle’s pack, and he didn’t trust any of them. They all fought on the same side during the war, but for completely different reasons.
“We’re hunting a traitor,” Malakai replied.
Cole resisted smashing the arrogant grin off Malakai’s face as he glanced at Lexi again. The intensity of his reaction startled him.
Despite his lycan blood, Cole was colder and more calculating like the dark fae than impulsive and explosive like the lycan. However, the look in Malakai’s eyes as he stared at Lexi had him imagining tearing the vamp’s heart out and shoving it down his throat.
There was more than anger in the vamp’s stare; there was also a lust that made Cole feel more murderous than he had during the entire war. He’d never liked Malakai, but the wolf part of him marked the vamp for death.
“Perhaps you’ve seen the traitor,” Malakai said to Cole.
“Who is it?” Cole asked, and the question came out as more of a growl.
“Your brother. Orin. Some of the boys” —he waved a hand at the lycan surrounding him— “almost had him, but he managed to get away.”
“We fucked him up real bad,” one of the lycans bragged.
Cole managed to keep his face impassive as a knife of dread lodged in his heart and twisted deep. They were hunting Orin, and his brother was injured. Was it so bad he wouldn’t be able to hide?
“I haven’t seen Orin in a couple of years,” Cole replied with an indifference he didn’t feel.
He couldn’t lose another brother.
“Hmm.” Malakai rubbed his chin while he studied Cole. “That’s too bad. You could always help us look for him.”
“You can’t handle it yourself, Malakai?”
“Of course I can, but you know him better than any of us. You know how he thinks. Maybe it’s you who can’t handle watching your traitor of a brother die.”
A seething tempest boiled inside Cole until he felt like a volcano about to blow, but he smiled at Malakai. “My brother’s been dead to me for years.”
It wasn’t true. He would always love Orin. Out of all his brothers, the two of them butted heads the most, but Orin would forever be his brother. Orin was the second of his father’s children, and only thirty-five years separated them.
They hadn’t grown up together, but Cole had watched him grow from a babe to a child to a stubborn adult with a powerful will. And once Orin was old enough, they trained together, laughed and drank together, and developed a bond that came with blood and shared experiences.
And now Orin would be hunted as long as the Lord of the Shadow Realms remained on the throne.
• • •
Lexi was extremely glad Malakai and Cole were focused on each other as the blood drained from her face and her stomach plummeted into her toes.
Malakai, her freaking neighbor, was looking for a traitor. A traitor who was attacked by lycan and Cole’s brother. A dark fae who was sitting in her tunnels.
She had to get away from these two and Orin away from her home. What was she thinking by helping him?
It took everything she had not to slump against the stand behind her as the pouch slung over her shoulder suddenly felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. She’d bought a healing potion. If any of them asked what was in the pouch or demanded to see it, she had no idea what she would say.
Sahira easily could have made what the pouch contained; why would she come to the market to purchase it? Her mind spun as she tried to come up with some plausible answer, but the only thing she could come up with was that Sahira was out of the ingredients and they had a sick animal at home.
It was flimsy at best and easy enough to disprove, but it might be enough to get her out of here and back to the manor. She’d have to tell Sahira about it then, but she’d worry about that if the time came.
Why had she decided this would
be a good idea?
She almost clutched the pouch against her chest, but it would only draw attention, so she restrained herself from doing so.
She glanced around for an escape. However, there was nowhere for her to go. She couldn’t exactly run away without making them a little curious.
So, she had to stand here and try not to look like a cornered rabbit surrounded by powerful men who would turn against her if they learned what she’d done.
And if she managed to get out of this, she had to go home, give Orin the potion, and get him out of her tunnels before she put Sahira in jeopardy. No, she’d already done that with her reckless actions. Now, she had to fix it.
“Then, if you happen across Orin, you’ll let us know,” Malakai said.
“I’ll bring him in myself,” Cole replied.
Lexi tried not to wince at the harshness of those words. Cole was talking about his brother. They’d opposed each other, but how could he be so callous about his brother?
Because he’s a dark fae.
No, it was more than that. He was an immortal, and many of them weren’t known for their kindness; Malakai and his pack of lycan proved that. She didn’t belong here amid these ruthless, coldblooded men, but she’d inadvertently inserted herself in the middle of this awful mess.
“I’m sure you will,” Malakai said before turning to her. “I’ll see you soon, Elexiandra.”
The look in his eyes made her blood run cold. He would come to her manor soon. Lexi didn’t reply as Malakai walked away with the lycan following him.
Gradually, the marketplace came alive around them again. With the Lord’s men out of the way, people and immortals resumed their day while she and Cole remained standing by the woman’s food stand.
Then Cole turned toward her, and she saw the steely gleam in his eyes. She forced herself not to gulp as she considered what he would do if he learned she was harboring his fugitive brother, a man he would hand over for execution.
“How do you know Malakai?” Cole asked.
How did she answer that question?
Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) Page 8