Page 36 of Shadows of Light
“What if Idohave to destroy him?” she whispered.
Orin winced, and Maverick bowed his head while her dad closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Brokk remained stone-faced.
“That stupid prophecy says he’ll destroy the realms,” she continued.
“Only if the last light falls, and since we’re going to keep you protected, that won’t happen,” Orin said.
“But you all keep saying prophecies are garbage and get things wrong. What if it doesn’t matter if I fall or not? What if the prophecy got that wrong?”
No one answered her.
“He believed I could destroy him,” she continued. “Before drawing the shadows into him, he put that responsibility on my shoulders if it became necessary.”
“It won’t be necessary,” Orin stated.
“It won’t?”
“No. Colewillregain control of himself. Besides, those fuckers in there got what they deserved.” Orin waved a hand at the house, but no one glanced at it. The smell and sight were forever ingrained in their memories. None of them required a reminder of what lay behind them.
“No one deserves that,” Lexi whispered.
“They were plotting to killyou.”
“I’m well aware, butnoone deserves to die like that.”
“What do we do?” Maverick asked.
“He’s losing control,” Brokk said. “I don’t like admitting it, but what happened in there is a sign of that.”
“He’s not losing control,” Lexi said. “Or at least… I’m not sure how to describe it or if you would call it control. I feel like this was a way for the shadows to exert their dominance because, while he was with me, the dark fae and lycan were more in control than the shadows. Once the shadows caught wind of what was happening here and drew Cole away from me, they could unleash their anger over that on these immortals.”
They all stared at her, but she kept her eyes on the distant city. “Parts of Cole return; I’ve seen it, but I don’t know how to break the shadows’ control over him.”
“The lycan will exert its dominance again,” Maverick said. “The wolf can’t go long without its mate.”
“So will the dark fae,” Orin said. “We are not dominated by anything.”
“It’s not a competition,” Lexi muttered.
“Everything’s a competition,” Orin said.
“Oh good, the dark fae and lycan can both be winners when I kick him out of my room the next time he decides to stop by.”
Her dad muttered something she didn’t catch before rubbing his nose again. As if sensing her increasingly foul mood, one of the dragons turned its head toward her. Puffs of smoke billowed from the nostrils of the others.
Lexi reined in her temper while she contemplated this mess. Even if there did come a time when Cole had to be destroyed to save the realms, she still had no idea how to do it.
Yes, she had powerful abilities, but the shadows were ruthless, and the dragons wouldn’t stand against the Shadow Reaver. Her fire could chase away the shadows, but could she unleash her flames on the man she loved so much?
Everything in her screamed against it. She’d rather watch all the realms burn than hurt Cole, but she couldn’t let all those immortals, mortals, and creatures die because it would destroy her to kill him.
And itwoulddestroy her. She would, in the end, do whatever was necessary, but she wouldn’t survive it either. Of that, she was certain.
Maybe, she would continue breathing and functioning, but it would be a miserable existence.
“So, what do we do now?” her dad asked.
“We find him and help him,” Orin stated.
