Page 104 of Shadows of Light
Sahira reluctantly released Lexi, but she blocked her niece’s view of Cole and had to move away. She turned to reveal where Cole lay near them in the nest.
When Lexi gasped, the dragon hopped out of her lap, and she scrambled over to her fiancé as the other dragons crept closer. Tears spilled down Lexi’s cheeks as her fingers hovered over Cole’s face, broken chest, and battered body.
Though he’d been cleaned and some poultices applied, she could see the chunks missing from his legs through the paste. Blood had stopped seeping from the wounds, but it had given some of the poultices a pink hue.
The light fae and witches had done their best in the short time he was with them, but many of his injuries remained raw and visible. And there was no hiding the damage done to his chest. What little breath he took was barely visible, and he sometimes made a little rattle that sounded like death.
“What happened?” Lexi cried.
“I’ll talk while you heal,” Sahira said. “I didn’t bring any other potions or healing things with me; I’ll gather them in a little bit, but right now, you’re his best hope.”
You might be his only hope,but Sahira kept that to herself. Lexi had gone through enough without having that possibility dumped on her.
Lexi placed her shaking hands against Cole’s broken frame and leaned over to kiss his forehead. Sahira said another silent prayer to Hecate as she told her niece about what happened.
CHAPTEREIGHTY
Over the next week,Cole remained in Alina’s cave while Lexi traveled back and forth to Dragonia on the dragon. It took him far more time to heal than she would have liked, even with her ability and the numerous potions and poultices Sahira brought to the cave after she woke.
He’d been so badly battered and broken that, for the first few days, Lexi was sure he’d die. Now, she expected him to survive, but his battle in the lake came at a steep cost. He would never be the same again.
None of them would. They were all different from the immortals they were six months ago. They could never return to who they were before all this started, and she could never regain the innocence of her life before the Lord’s war began. She didn’t want to either.
Things were different;shewas different, but also right where she was meant to be and surrounded by love. There was no greater gift in the world.
While Cole healed, she insisted he remain in Alina’s cave, no matter how much he and the dragon didn’t like it. He was getting stronger every day, but too many immortals had more reason to killhimthan her.
Without him, they would consider her more vulnerable and easier to take out. She would prove them wrong, but she’d had enough fighting and couldn’t picture her life without Cole. No matter what it took, she would protect him.
Their wedding date had come and gone, but it didn’t matter; they couldn’t get married without Brokk, Kaylia, and Orin present. And, so far,noneof them had returned.
She’d sent a group into Doomed Valley, but most of them quickly returned with stories of beasts and no sign of Kaylia and Brokk. Two of those she sent didn’t survive the adventure, which didn’t bode well for those who went out to save her.
After losing those two, she decided against sending anyone else. She couldn’t risk the lives of any more immortals when Kaylia and Brokk might already be dead.
She’d also sent out dozens of guards to search for Orin. So far, they all remained alive, but who knew if that would last.
There was a reason Orin hadn’t returned yet. And if those guards stumbled across that reason, they could either wind up dead or in trouble.
She’d put out word for him to return and offered a reward for any valid information leading to his whereabouts, but nothing had come of it so far. It was as if he’d vanished.
And while she wouldn’t put it past Orin to become distracted in his search for the crudue vine, he wouldn’t have stayed away from his brothers for this long without at least checking in on them. Plus, no one had reported seeing him for almost two weeks.
Lexi had no idea what he’d gotten into, but it wasn’t good. She was sure of that. She hoped he was still alive… even if she wanted to kill him most of the time.
No matter how much he irritated her, she wouldn’t get married without him. And neither would Cole.
Lexi ignored the sadness trying to take over when she contemplated the possibility her friends, immortals she’d come to consider her family, had died because ofher.
No, not me… Amaris.
Her blood still boiled when she recalled the betrayal and deception of her friend. During those first few days in the cave, huddled by Cole’s side, she constantly replayed every interaction she ever had with the helot while she worked to save him.
All the things they’d said and done ran through her mind as she tried to figure out how she could have missed this. But no matter how often she replayed it, she never sensed any animosity or deception from the woman.
But she now understood Amaris’s kindness to her when the other dark fae were distant and cold; it was a way to get closer to Lexi and learn more. The woman was so excited when she learned of her and Cole’s engagement and excited to make Lexi’s dress, but that was so she could tell the Lord and attack Lexi when she least expected it.
Allof Amaris’s actions had come across as kind and sincere. She’d seemed like a good friend, someone Lexi could trust and someone she had come to care about.
