Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Cole straightened away to study her angry countenance. She’s a mama bear protecting her young.

  Sahira wouldn’t be a hindrance to Lexi because she disliked him; she would be a problem because she loved Lexi.

  “Now on that, we can agree,” he said.

  She blinked at him, and some of the anger went out of her, but her stance remained rigid. He turned away before their antagonism toward each other became something worse. He’d find Lexi on his own.

  He started for the doorway but stopped when she called his name. He turned back to find her stirring the pot once more.

  “I don’t care that you’re the prince of the dark fae; if you hurt her, I’ll find a way to make you pay,” she vowed.

  He laughed as he walked out of the room. He had no doubt she would do everything she could to keep Lexi safe, but he wasn’t afraid of her.

  However, he wasn’t going to fight with her either. Sahira could succeed in pushing Lexi away from him, and he wouldn’t let that happen.

  He strode down the hallway toward the front door. As he walked, the scent of Lexi drew him to a set of open, double doors. Inside the room, he spotted Lexi curled up on the cushion of an oversized, brown chair.

  She sat with her legs beneath her and her chin on her palm as she held a book. The sun shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room cascaded over her. Its glow brought out the deeper shades of red in her auburn hair.

  Feeling like someone had socked him in the stomach, he stood in the doorway and drank in her beauty. He’d never seen anyone as lovely as her. It was more than the perfection of her face; it was also the soul Sahira mentioned. Its warmth radiated from her.

  Stepping out of the doorway, he strolled toward her. He crossed the Oriental rug to settle in the chair a few feet away from her. She was so engrossed in her book she didn’t realize he was there until he cleared his throat.

  CHAPTER 34

  Lexi squeaked and almost threw her book when a sound came from only a few feet away from her. Her head shot up, and she spotted Cole sitting in the other chair and grinning at her like the Cheshire cat.

  That smile and the carefree way he draped his arm over the back of the chair as he turned toward her caused the rapid beat of her heart to shift from alarm to excitement.

  “I didn’t hear you enter,” she said.

  “I know.”

  It wasn’t fair he looked casual and carefree while she felt so thrown off by his sudden presence.

  “What are you reading?” he inquired.

  Lifting the book, she turned it toward him so he could see the name on the cover. When she entered earlier, she’d sought escape, so she chose one of her favorites.

  His smile grew. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

  “Have you read it?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “It’s really good. The series is one of my favorites.”

  His gaze wandered over all the books before settling on her again. “Do you mind if I pick something to read?”

  “Not at all.”

  She couldn’t help but marvel over his size as he unfolded himself from the chair and rose with a fluid grace she wouldn’t have associated with someone of his size. She knew all lycan were massive, but she hadn’t been around many of them.

  She tipped her head to the side as she watched him studying the shelves. She was extremely curious to see what he picked. “How is Brokk doing?”

  “Much better. He’s still sleeping, but his color has improved, and so has his breathing.”

  “That’s great. Will your father be worried about you?”

  “I sent him a crow this morning.”

  Cole stopped his perusal of the shelves and removed a book. Lexi bit her lip as she impatiently waited to see what he chose. He examined the book for a minute before returning to the chair.

  “Did you find something you liked?” she asked.

  He turned the book toward her, and she laughed when she saw he held the Chamber of Secrets.

  “Someone told me it was a good series,” he said with a smile that showed off his dazzling white teeth.

  “They were correct.” She closed her book and held it across the gap between them. “I’ll trade you. I’ve already read it half a dozen times, and it’s better if you start at the beginning.”

  He took the book from her and handed her the one he’d claimed. Leaning back in the chair, she opened the book, but she couldn’t concentrate as her gaze repeatedly returned to him. He didn’t have the same problem as he flipped through the pages.

  The rustle of turning pages was the only sound in the room as an hour slipped past. She was acutely aware of his presence in the room, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

  A sense of peace enveloped her as his masculine scent teased her nostrils. She had no reason to feel safe in his presence, but she hadn’t felt this secure since her dad died.

  When the grandfather clock down the hall chimed the hour, he set his book down and rose. “I should check on Brokk.”

  Lexi buried her disappointment. He left the room, and she returned to her book, but unable to concentrate, she kept rereading the same page.

  She was about to give up when he returned. She hated the leap of excitement her heart made. Becoming more entangled with this man could be the biggest mistake of her life, but she already craved the rush of life he made her experience whenever he was near.

  However, the dark fae were loyal to very few, and she was well aware of what they needed to survive. She would only be one of many to him, but she still itched to feel the corded muscles of his arms around her again.

  “Is he okay?” she asked to distract herself from her wayward thoughts.

  “He’s still sleeping.”

  “I’m sure he’ll wake soon.”

  “So am I.”

  He said this, but his brow remained furrowed as he reclaimed his seat. He didn’t pick the book back up. Instead, he stared at the empty fireplace. Her gaze swung between him and the fireplace as the unsettling possibility he might somehow see the entrance to the tunnel plagued her.

  There’s no way he knows it’s there. But sweat broke out on her palms and beaded along her nape. Get it together, or he’s going to notice!

  This was true, but she wasn’t one for subterfuge, and she could feel herself unraveling as she waited to see what he would do.

  “How has it been for you since the war ended?” he asked after a few minutes.

  Her shoulders relaxed as she stared at the fireplace and tried not to laugh in relief. The entrance was too well hidden to see. She had to calm down, or she was going to blow it.

  When he turned toward her, she recalled his question and pondered the best way to answer it. He probably expected her to tell him things were great, her father’s side had won, but she couldn’t say that. She lost her dad in the war, and everything had been a struggle since the dragons torched the earth. She couldn’t lie about that.

  “It’s… been… difficult,” she admitted.

  “How so?”

  An unexpected lump formed in her throat. “Not having my dad, for starters. He took care of so much around here, and he was my… everything.” Her gaze fell to her hands as she fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “Trying to keep this place running after his death and after so many workers deserted us has been a challenge, but Sahira and I are doing it.

  “We have a human handyman who still comes to help Sahira and me with some repairs, but our live-in help is gone. The people who used to work and live here know we’re immortals now; there’s no point in continuing to hide it from them. Even if we never hurt them and always helped them, they still fear us. And who can blame them?”

  “Who indeed?”

  “Before, Sahira used to cast a glamour over us to make the humans think we were aging like them, but she gave that up after the war. There was no reason to drain herself by keeping up the pretense.”

  “It’s a big place for the two of you
to take care of on your own.”

  Lexi shrugged. “It’s our home, and we’re not giving it up.”

  Cole nodded but didn’t speak again. When the silence stretched onward, Lexi couldn’t stop herself from asking, “How has it been for you since the war ended?”

  • • •

  Cole stared at his hands as he contemplated this question. It had been hell for him since the war ended. Pure, unadulterated hell. The memory of those vicious battles lingered in his mind; the blood staining his hands would never come off, and the nightmares….

  Well, he was certain the nightmares would haunt him for the rest of his days.

  Before the war, he killed others, but he never slaughtered them with the ruthlessness he did during some battles. To him, many of those he slaughtered were innocents. Yes, they’d stood against the Lord, but so did he.

  He hadn’t fought against the Lord on the battlefield. It had all been behind the scenes, and he’d failed.

  However, no one could have foreseen the crazy bastard letting loose his dragons and slaughtering countless humans and immortals with such gleeful, ruthless intent.

  Now, all he could do was make sure his brothers and so many others hadn’t died in vain by continuing to try to bring the Lord down from within. The ruler of the Shadow Realms, and the dragons, was insane, but he didn’t suspect their treason. That was the only hope they had of taking him down.

  “It’s been… different,” he said. “It’s certainly been quieter at home with half of my brothers dead and two of the remaining ones banished and hunted as traitors.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Lexi’s eyes involuntarily darted to the fireplace before returning to him. When her lungs began to burn, she realized she was holding her breath and released it slowly to not draw attention to herself.

  She stared at him as her heart raced, and she wondered if he could tell his words had sent her into a mini panic attack. She didn’t want to discuss his brothers, but she couldn’t safely steer the conversation away without drawing attention to herself.

  She remained outwardly calm as she replied, “That had to be difficult.”

  “It was,” he said. “It is. Before the war, we were all close.”

  This revelation surprised her. He cared for Brokk a great deal, but the dark fae were selfish, aloof creatures. Or maybe that was only the image they portrayed to the outer world. Or maybe it was because his family was a mix of half-breeds and therefore not as cold as the dark fae were said to be.

  Orin was pure dark fae and a complete asshole, but maybe the others had bigger hearts. The lycan were known for loyalty to their families; perhaps that was the side of Cole she now saw.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured.

  When his head tipped to the side, the sun shining over him emphasized the elegance of his square jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and Persian blue eyes.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, too,” he said.

  Lexi ducked her head as she blinked away her tears. It had been six months, but sometimes it still felt like it had only been an hour, and she would never get over her grief. This was one of those times.

  “Thank you,” she whispered when she trusted herself to speak. And then, because she had to know what her father experienced before he died, she asked. “Was the war horrible?”

  When he didn’t reply, she lifted her head to look at him again. His hands gripped the ends of his chair until his knuckles turned white and a muscle twitched in his cheek.

  Looking at him, she wished she could take back the question. No matter what he said, she would always know the war had sliced many lacerations and scars onto his soul. And now she knew the last of her father’s life had been awful.

  Of course, it was horrible. It was war. Countless immortals and mortals lost their lives.

  He’d fought on the winning side, but that didn’t make it any less atrocious. It just meant he didn’t have a price on his head and countless enemies hunting him now that it was over.

  Even the dark fae with their purported heartlessness would be affected by all the death they waded through to survive. It was only beings like Malakai who came through the war relatively unscathed.

  “Yes,” he said.

  When he didn’t elaborate any further, they sat in silence as the seconds turned into minutes.

  Then he spoke again. “What happened to your mother?”

  “My father didn’t tell you?”

  Cole’s hands relaxed on the chair, and when he looked at her again, some of his tension ebbed. “No, he never spoke of her.”

  “He didn’t tell me much about her either,” she admitted. “I know she was human and she died while giving birth to me. He told me he loved her, but I don’t think humans are meant to birth immortal creatures.”

  “No, they’re not.”

  “Her name was Sharon, and he said she was beautiful.”

  Instinctively, her fingers went to her face, and she touched her cheek. Her father once told her she looked exactly like her mother. There were times when she looked in the mirror and tried to picture the woman who helped create her, but trying to imagine her face on a dead woman was unnerving.

  “Like mother, like daughter,” Cole murmured.

  Lexi’s eyes widened as he stared at her. He found her beautiful?

  She wasn’t an idiot, and she owned a mirror, so she knew she wasn’t ugly, but to hear him say this sent a warm thrill of excitement through her.

  “What about your mother?” she asked.

  “She was killed when I was seven.”

  Lexi’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged, but something in his eyes told her it wasn’t such a casual thing. “It was centuries ago.”

  “It still must have been hard. I miss my mother, and I never knew her. I can’t imagine knowing her and losing her at such a young age.”

  “At least I have memories of her. She was a good woman, kind and gentle. She loved my father and me very much.”

  “What about your father?” she asked.

  “What about him?”

  “Did he love her?”

  “With all his heart. He still does.”

  The look on her face must have expressed her shock as he chuckled and draped his arm over the chair back.

  “Despite what many think, the dark fae are very capable of love. In fact, since they so rarely give their love to anyone beyond their family, they often love deeper than most immortal creatures. My father never recovered from her death. He fathered other children, but she is the only one he loved and the only one he claimed as his wife.”

  Somehow, she managed to keep herself from gawking at him like an idiot. Immortals rarely married, and when they did, it was forever. The bond was severed only by death or extreme circumstances.

  “I didn’t know he had married,” she murmured.

  “There’s no reason you should. They married hundreds of years ago, and while the dark fae like to think all the realms revolve around them, I realize not everyone feels the same way. I wouldn’t expect you to know our history, though many of my kind would.”

  She chuckled as she rested her chin on her hand. He fascinated her; she could talk to him for hours, if not days.

  However, when the clock chimed out the next hour, he rose from the chair. “I have to check on Brokk.”

  She watched as he strode from the room before picking up her book again. There were so many things she should do today, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t bring herself to leave as she hoped for his return.

  Ten minutes later, he entered the room again. Alert for him this time, she caught his footfall in the hall and lifted her head as he glided toward his chair.

  His movements mesmerized her; there was something animalistic about him. Something primal and lethal and utterly seductive in a way that might make her a little insane.

  “Any change?” she asked as he settled onto the chair once more.

  “No.”


  “I’m sure he’ll wake soon.”

  “I hope so.”

  He picked up his book and started reading again. She did the same, though her attention remained mostly on him.

  After a few minutes, he set the book down and turned toward her. “What do you like to do for fun, Lexi?”

  She lifted her book and waved it at him. “Read.”

  “What else?”

  “Riding, and before the war, I’d often go for hikes with my dad. Sometimes Sahira would join us. I also like to fish.”

  “Did you go to parties?”

  “My father had a few here that I attended as a teen, but I never went to the Shadow Realms until your father’s invite arrived. Once the war started, the parties stopped.”

  “That they did.”

  “What about you, Cole? What do you like to do for fun?”

  There was one thing the dark fae loved to do for fun, but she hoped he didn’t answer that.

  “I also like to read and listen to music, and I attended many parties over the years.”

  “Did you travel to different Shadow Realms?”

  “I did.”

  She set her book in her lap as she leaned forward. “What are they like? Are they all as fantastical as the Gloaming? Which realm is your favorite?”

  “My favorite is the Gloaming; there’s nothing like home. But the witches’ realm is amazing, as is the lycan’s, and there are many others inhabited by numerous, immortal species. Many of them, I would never travel to. And then there is the siren realm and the imps.”

  Lexi propped her chin on her hand as he talked about the different realms and all the many immortal creatures she would never meet. The deep timbre of his voice and the pictures he painted enthralled her.

  She could listen to him talk for hours, and though he got up to check on Brokk every hour, that was exactly what they did. The sun was setting when she reluctantly pulled herself away from him.

  She went upstairs to clean up another guest room in case he decided to sleep away from Brokk tonight. When she finished, she went out to bring in the horses.

  She returned to the manor and discovered him sitting at Brokk’s side. She told him about the other room, but she doubted he would sleep in it.