Page 43 of Shadows of Light
As he shifted back toward his male form, the wolf’s howl reverberated off the rocks while it battled the shadows and dark fae for control.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
Over the next week,Lexi spent every free second she had exploring the palace. Some of that time came in the day, but most of it was at night, when she couldn’t sleep or when nightmares roused her from sleep.
She couldn’t handle one more night of running through the palace and Dragonia with thousands of unseen faces booing as they called her a failure. Or one more night of bloodshed and death as she discovered herself back in the throne room, fighting the Lord.
The worst were her dreams of Cole, of being back in his arms and whispering words of love. Every time she woke to find herself without him, it was a devastating blow again, and she was tired of tears.
She averaged a few hours of sleep a night. Her body had adjusted to the lack of it, but she still missed it. Usually, she had her best sleep after exhausting herself, searching, and returning to her room.
Her forays in the palace were also a good way to avoid Cole if he returned. She intended to make it clear that she wouldn’t be his occasional pit stop. She wouldn’t accept small pieces of him; she selfishly wantedallof him.
Every day, she reminded herself of this resolve, but if she saw him, she would weaken. She missed him so much.
She also didn’t kid herself into thinking he wouldn’t find her in the palace when he returned for her. But at least there most likely wouldn’t be a bed present when he did.
Instead of tossing and turning through any more nights, she climbed out her window, waved a dragon over, and rode it down to the ground. From there, she started her explorations of the palace without the hindrance of her guards.
Few were awake and about at this time of night, and she avoided them. She wasn’t concerned about her safety as the dragons followed her around the palace.
Over her explorations, she encountered so many destroyed rooms she lost track of them. She opened the door to a musical room full of shattered instruments. For some reason, a lute, saxophone, and grand piano survived the devastation.
Lexi shut the door of the room without stepping foot inside it. One day, she would clean out the numerous destroyed rooms she encountered and make this place beautiful.
She would make it more welcoming to all those who lived here and their guests. It would be a day far in the future when things were much more stable, but she would erase all evidence the Lord ever resided here.
At least she hoped the future would come.
Most of the rooms were barren, or the things inside them were so demolished she sometimes couldn’t tell what they were. A few, mostly the bedrooms, still had their furnishings intact.
She suspected that was so the Lord could entertain or, more appropriately, scare the shit out of immortals by inviting them here and making them stay. Lexi shuddered at the idea of being locked in this palace with him.
Most probably didn’t survive to leave here again; Cole had, but his father didn’t.
On the second day of her search, she came across the giant king’s head in the Lord’s private solar. Brokk, Maverick, Orin, and her dad helped her remove the head, the Lord’s other trophies, and the hundreds of pixies nailed to the beams.
Cole had mercy killed one of those pixies, and as they worked to bury them in the woods, Lexi couldn’t help pondering which it had been. She would never know, but Cole’s act of mercy had caused the Lord to retaliate by killing hundreds of pixies; he had Malakai leave them at her doorstep.
The reminder only made her hate the man more.
She sent word to the giants that she had the head. The next day, a solemn Gibborim arrived to retrieve it. They didn’t speak much, but he thanked her before leaving.
Lexi had the solar permanently sealed off —no one would enter that death room again— before resuming her exploration of the palace the following day. On the third floor, she opened the door to a beautiful, three-story-tall library.
The few windows in the room were on the opposite side of the bookshelves. The dark red, shredded drapes hung in tatters around the open window, and beyond the windows was a meadow with a river running through it.
The shutters that would have protected the room from storms were in the center of the room. Rain, and countless other debris from the changing seasons, had blown into the room.
However, it didn’t matter, as no books were left to protect. What remained of the ones on the floor had their spines ripped in half, and their pages littered the ground. When a breeze wafted through the window, some of those pages fluttered.
On two of the walls, the shelves had been torn down. Their remains mingled with the pile on the floor.
Out of all the destroyed rooms, the library was the only one that made a lump form in her throat as she entered. There was once so much knowledge, entertainment, and countless years of enjoyment to discover in this room.
It was all ruined by a madman with a mind so rotten, he wrecked everything he touched.
Tears burned Lexi’s eyes as she gazed around the room. She missed having the time to read; she missed being able to lose herself between the pages of a book and go on grand adventures.
