Page 78 of Shadows of Light
“There.” Amaris slid the last button into place and smoothed the back of her dress. “Now, don’t move while I get my sewing supplies.”
Lexi stared out the window at the shadows of the passing dragons as Amaris bent and opened her kit. After her initial fitting, Lexi hadn’t seen herself in a mirror in the dress, so while she had an idea of what it looked like, she hadn’t seen the final product. Shefinallywould today.
Amaris rose and stuck a pin in the dress before gripping the back, near her nape, and pulling it a little tighter. As she did so, something skittered onto Lexi’s flesh.
The hair on her nape rose as the prick of multiple, tiny legs scampered over her skin. There must have been a spider in Amaris’s sewing kit that hitched a ride onto her, but it was a damn big spider.
“What is that?” she murmured.
Burying her uneasiness over having the creature on her, Lexi went to brush it away as something jabbed her. Lexi gasped at the fleeting, piercing sensation that left a fiery burn on her neck.
“What was…?”
Her words came out slurred, and her question trailed off as the fire in her neck spread throughout her limbs. As it moved, her body felt heavier and less her own until she slumped. Her body sagged to the side like a deflating balloon.
Her legs trembled as she tried to remain standing, but it was impossible. It felt like she weighed a thousand pounds, and all of it was pulling her toward the ground.
Amaris’s lips brushed her ear as she spoke. “That was for Andreas.”
Lexi’s mind spun in confusion. Andreas? Who’s Andreas?
Then she recalled theLordwas Andreas.
I don’t understand.
She tried to look at Amaris, form questions, andunderstand,but it was impossible. Her tongue wouldn’t move, and her legs refused to hold her anymore as her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor.
Amaris smiled as she stepped over her. For a second, the beautiful dark fae straddled Lexi as she smiled, an evil smile that would have sent chills down Lexi’s spine if she was still capable of such things.
And then, it hit her. It wasneverBecca telling the Lord everything. That was always the simplest explanation, but it never fit quite right… at least not to her.
That’s because it had always beenAmaris.
She’d considered this woman her friend; Amaris was the first to welcome her into the Gloaming, accept her, and treat her kindly, but it hadalwaysbeen nothing more than an act.
Amaris was going behind her back and plotting against her the entire time. And she continued to do so.
How did I miss this?
“It won’t be much longer, Lexi.”
Amaris bent to brush the hair away from her face. Lexi yearned to slap her hand away, but her limbs refused to move.
“The bite of a noxus scorpion can only be counteracted by the milk of the crudue vine. Good luck finding that in the thirty seconds you have left to live.”
CHAPTERSIXTY
Lexi’s heartspasmed before clenching. It felt like someone was pushing against her ribs and tearing them open to wrap their hand around her heart.
That hand squeezed down as her heart lurched, twisted, and pounded spasmodically. Her arteries swelled to near bursting before releasing and engorging again. A choked cough wrenched from her, and the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.
She tried to lift her hand to rest it on her chest. She could heal herself, but she couldn’t fix a lethal blow, and she couldn’t do anything when her hand wouldn’tmove.
Then her heart ached for a whole new reason as the awful reality of this situation sank in.Cole.
When the last light falls….
Tears clogged her eyes and blurred her vision. He wouldn’t survive this either, but what would the Reaver do to the realms when he learned of this betrayal? What would he do without her there to ease the shadows from him?
