Page 20 of Shadows of Light
Her family sought to keep her protected and alive, and so they did. There was no way they could have foreseen that she might, one day, have the ability to help bring down the Lord. They never could have anticipated Cole entering her life and giving her the ability to forge an army and rebellion.
But now, the other immortals saw her as weak, especially without Cole. Many of those immortals would fear and respect him, even if they considered her an easy target.
Shewouldprove them wrong, but they would have to attack for her to do that. And if they attacked, there would be more fighting and death, the two things she’d hoped to avoid by taking the throne.
Eventually, those who plotted against her would learn she wasn’t a weakling and be too afraid to attack, but immortals were stubborn and prideful. By the time that happened, more lives would be lost.
Lexi tried not to let the idea this had all been pointless niggle at the back of her mind. Yes, the realms would be more stable and safer without a madman on the throne, but if some immortals continued to attack, they would constantly undermine that stability.
Theywouldconstantly undermineher, and she wouldn’t allow that. Fisting her hands, she kept her chin high.
If they continued to attack, she’d make them regret coming for her, and so would Cole, but where was he? What was his state of mind? And could he ever come back from all of this?
She sure hoped so, but the more he gave in to the shadows’ darker impulses, the harder it would be for him. Lexi wished she could see him; there had to be something she could do to help, if he’d give her a chance, but she suspected the shadows were working to keep him from her.
So, she had to focus on a problem she could solve—making sure her enemies didn’t succeed in taking the throne from her. The dragons would protect her, and she did have a small army of those who remained after the war.
She wasn’t sure how much she could trust them all, but Lexi had to have faith in them, or she’d become a paranoid psycho like the Lord. With the death of Alston, Cole had made it clear he was still destroying any who were a danger to her, so that might make some back off.
Lexi doubted he could get them all, but he would find some of them, and she would take down any who entered Dragonia. Until they eradicated all threats and firmly established her rule in Dragonia, they would insist she always had a guard at her side.
And the dragons would also be there to protect her. Shadows crossed the windows and fell across the stony floor as the dragons followed them through the halls.
While they were abigdeterrent to any who might try to harm her, they wouldn’t keep everyone at bay. Enough of them would think they could get past the dragons and to her.
Lexi had known taking over the rule of Dragonia would be challenging, but she was tired of this endless battle.Whenwould it all stop?
It might never stop.
That sad truth whispered through her mind. One endless threat after another and one enemy after another could be how she spent the rest of her life.
Lexi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus on the good in her life right now. Maverick looked a lot better by the time she left him.
He’d settled into a deep sleep; his skin, while not healed, was a deep red color instead of that crispy, burnt awfulness it was before she and the others started working on him. It would take time before he fully healed, but he’d survive.
Her healing ability had done wonders on him. However, the damage was so extensive that unlike Morgan, the little witch whose life she’d saved, she couldn’t heal him completely.
They’d also uncovered Niall’s sword. It wasn’t exactly great news, but it was something. They had nothing else of the man left except a bloody footprint in the ground; they could at least bury his sword.
Varo had already taken it back to the Gloaming, where they would inter it with others who the dark fae held in high esteem. When the time came, he would get a hero’s burial.
Tears pricked her eyes, and the lump in her throat made breathing difficult. She missed her friend.
“We have to build what remains of our army faster,” her dad said.
“How do we do that?” Lexi asked.
“Money. The Lord amassed a lot of it; we’ll have to pay well.”
“Money doesn’t buy loyalty,” Brokk said.
“No, that will come when they see how great Lexi is as queen. But money will keep them happy, and it’s a start,” her dad said.
Lexi was glad he had so much faith in her because she sure didn’t. She was doing this because she had to, but she was far from great and didn’t know if she ever would be.
“Money is a start,” Lexi agreed. “I guess we should find where the Lord kept it.”
“Varo and I will look for it tomorrow,” Brokk said.
