Page 105 of Shadows of Light
And it wasalla lie.
The whole time Amaris was running back to the Lord, feeding him all their actions, and monitoring them. Theentiretime, she was helping to plot their demise.
And when the Lord fell, she took matters into her own hands.
Lexi rubbed her nape as she recalled the scrape of the scorpion’s tiny feet against her flesh before the creature struck. She shuddered at the memory as the betrayal burned like acid in her gut and throat.
The whole time, Cole believed it was Becca, and while that woman also had her dark moments, and Lexi would never mourn her death, she had been loyal to Cole… for the most part. She was devoted to the Cole shewantedhim to be, not the one who existed.
She’d paid for that with her life.
And Lexi was terrified Amaris’s betrayal had cost some of those she loved their lives.
CHAPTEREIGHTY-ONE
On the seventhday after her return from the nearly dead, when Alina flew her back to the cave, Lexi wasn’t surprised to discover Cole standing outside it. She was annoyed and concerned, but she’d known this day was coming. He was too stubborn to listen to reason.
Trying to act as if the wall wasn’t helping to support him, he leaned casually against it while he kept his arms folded over his chest. He’d been increasingly frustrated with her insistence to remain hidden while she traveled back and forth to the palace.
She’d been able to keep him at bay, mainly because he could barely stand, let alone walk or fight. That had changed, and no matter how much she didn’t like it, there wouldn’t be any stopping him now. The set of his jaw made that abundantly clear as she slid from Alina’s back.
The shadows slithered around her as some drifted across his face and through his eyes. Now that she knew she could help control them, they didn’t unnerve her as much as they once did, but she still didn’t like seeing them like this. It meant his control was wavering.
She hadn’t taken the shadows from him since Amaris ambushed her. They made him stronger and offered an extra layer of protection while he was barely coherent, but it was time for her to do so again. If she didn’t do it soon, they would start driving him mad again.
“You shouldn’t be up yet,” she said while she rubbed Alina’s snout.
“It’s time, and I feel great,” he replied.
“Liar.”
He smiled as he stepped away from the wall. Without missing a step, he strode toward her with the grace he’d always possessed and the confidence that came from who he was.
If Lexi hadn’t known him as well as she did, shemighthave believed he wasn’t still hurting, but she saw the slight difference in his gait as he leaned a little more to the left. His right leg had taken the brunt of the attack from the horrible fish Sahira told her about.
Lexi had done her best to heal him completely, but she couldn’t regrow missing things. Though the chunks taken out of his legs had mostly healed, the scars and some indents in his flesh remained. They probably always would.
Those scars would serve as an everyday reminder of how much he loved her and everything he was willing to endure for her, but she hadn’t needed them to know that. She simply needed him.
She was grateful and happy he was still here when he’d been so close to death. What he’d done to save her only made her love him more, something she hadn’t believed possible. But then, she grew to love him more every day.
“Excuse me, my children are hungry,” Alina said when Cole stopped before Lexi.
Lexi supposed that was true, but Alina couldn’t have missed the hunger in Cole’s gaze as it roamed over Lexi. The dragon wasn’t in the cave before his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer.
“I’ve missed you,” he murmured.
“I’ve been with you all week.”
“You know what I mean.”
That she did, as the evidence of his arousal prodded her belly. She planted her hands on his once-again-solid chest. It was a relief not to feel his bones grinding beneath her palms like she did those first two days.
“You should be resting,” she chided.
“I’ve rested enough. Now, I should be returning to the realms, but first, sex will help revitalize and strengthen me further.”
She couldn’t argue with that. As part dark fae, it was true, and his wolf was probably seeking to connect with its mate, but… “I’m not sure you’re up for it.”
