Page 87 of Shadows of Light
It was easy enough to tell who did what in the aftermath. The dragons either left smoldering remains behind or ate them. Decimated body parts followed Cole.
He had no idea what those fools were thinking when they tried to invade, but their plans were cutveryshort. They must have assumed Amaris had succeeded in killing Lexi and Dragonia would be in a state of chaos after the fall of its queen; they paid dearly for their mistake.
But without Lexi to rule, it was only a matter of time before word got out and more tried to invade. While she lived, they couldn’t take the throne, but they could cause a lot of damage and throw all the realms into chaos. And if Lexi didn’t wake….
Well, he didn’t like thinking about what would happen then.
Orin gulped as he stepped onto a barren realm he’d never seen before. The rocky outcroppings were desolate, no sun shone upon the cold land, and the icy breeze sent a chill down his spine.
The crudue vine could grow anywhere, though it rarely did, butnothinglived on this realm. He retreated into his portal as he tried to think of somewhere else to go.
He’d visited a couple of the outer realms he knew. He was aware there was no crudue vine in those realms but hoped for a lead on where to find some, and maybe some details about outer realms he didn’t know. With those details, he could picture them and go there.
He’d already exhausted all those leads and was now picturing barren rocks while he opened portals, as that’s what most outer realms consisted of. He was discovering new places this way, but many lacked any life.
The opening of so many portals was starting to beat him down, but he had enough strength to keep going for a few more. He’d have to take a break after that.
Eventually, his destination-less portals would either take him to the vine, to some realm where he’d never been, and to other immortals who could help him or try to kill him. Or, he might run out of places to go.
That last option seemed highly unlikely as many hypothesized the outer realms were limitless. Orin believed that.
Sooner or later, he would have to stop picturing barren rocks simply because there were probably outer realms without these rocks. But for now, it was what he knew and where he went.
Finally, when he was about to call it a day and find somewhere to crash, he emerged from a portal and into a town with a busy center street cutting through the two and three-story buildings shading the dirt road before him. The craggy rocks known throughout the outer realms rose in the distance.
Those rocks loomed over the land and blocked what remained of the setting sun. Colors streaked across the darkening sky, but those colors faded as the sun lowered.
Music and laughter came from a building further down the road, and a woman squealed in delight. The collection of immortals walking the street varied; they all got along as dwarves stopped to talk with warlocks and vampires emerged from some of the buildings.
At the end of the road was a large lake, a rare find in an outer realm. That meant witches were most likely here too, and they’d started breathing life into this place.
A pegasus soared overhead, and water flicked from her tail as a mermaid dove beneath the water. The buildings were an eclectic mix of shabby wooden ones that tilted a little or had lopsided windows, brick, and elegant, sweeping ones bordering on being mansions.
Storefronts and homes blended, and when Orin turned to look behind him, more of the street unwound before taking a corner and vanishing. It was rare to find an outer realm as well established as this one, but more homes were nestled into the craggy face of the black rock rising beyond the end of the street.
The immortals here had really settled into this outer realm. Shrugging, Orin turned away from the end of the road.
While he was here, he could gather information, recharge, and feed on some of the women dancing on the balconies of the stately brick building at the end of the road. He smiled as he sauntered toward the party.
CHAPTERSIXTY-SEVEN
The shadows whispered incessantlyto Cole as they begged him to unleash the death and brutality the realms deserved. He and Lexi had brought them peace, given them a stable environment, and were working to rebuild.
They would be fair rulers who wouldn’t unleash brutality on the realms like the Lord had, andthiswas how they were thanked. The ungrateful pieces of shit kept plotting against them and trying to steal the throne from Lexi.
They kept plotting and attacking, and now they’d succeeded in taking down theoneimmortal who deserved it the least. While Lexi remained frozen, and they couldn’t find the crudue vine, then she was as good as dead.
And they would keep coming. Her absence would only embolden, not deter them.
His claws bit into his palms. Blood welled against his fingers, but he didn’t feel it as he stalked forward.
And he’d never seen Amaris coming; neither had the shadows. The devious bitch had been smarter than their other adversaries; thankfully, not smart enough to succeed… yet.
Amaris wasn’t the last of their enemies either. Plenty more of them remained out there, scheming, and he’d never be able to locate them before they tried to strike.
They would continue to go after her and him as they sought to destroy everything he loved. But not ifhekilledthemfirst.
Cole closed his eyes as he struggled to shut out the whispers. He’d experienced peace from the insistent bloodlust since Lexi took the overflow of shadows from him, but now, without her, they strove to take over again.
