Page 22 of Shadows of Light
The vivid, hunter green of her eyes, with their vibrant emerald flecks, haunted his dreams. No matter how much the shadows tried, they couldn’t bury those memories.
Those memories didn’t do the woman justice. Her beauty and sensuality were far more alluring in person.
He lifted his hands to examine his palms. Blood didn’t stain them anymore; he’d scrubbed himself before coming here, but he couldn’t erase the countless lives he’d taken.
And he didn’t regret any of them. He’d slaughter everyone in all the realms, if it meant keeping her safe, even if every death pushed him closer and closer to becoming one of the shadows.
The shadows bobbed enthusiastically up and down while they rejoiced over his conviction. Tonight, he’d destroyed a group of warlocks, but their thirst for blood never eased. They’d mistakenly plotted to kill Lexi and take the throne from her.
The shadows laughed throughout the slaughter, and Cole smirked as he watched the men fall. Together, they’d eradicated this new menace, but countless others remained. He would find and destroy them all.
But he was becoming more of a monster than a man. His love for her, and a few others, were the only things keeping any piece of his humanity intact.
Cole’s head turned toward the door, and shadows slithered beneath it as the guards outside spoke in low murmurs before falling silent again. They didn’t know he was here, and they never would.
His attention shifted to the windows; the shadows had carried him up to them. Some dragons circling the palace might have seen him enter, but they wouldn’t interfere.
No matter how much the shadows craved killing, the Shadow Reaver wasn’t dangerous to them, and especially not to her. She was the one they sought to protect, though they worried she could take him from them.
When his attention shifted back to Lexi, a force he couldn’t resist pulled him toward her. She was the sun, and he was the earth, moon, and every other thing caught in her gravitational pull.
He simply wanted to touch her before leaving.
Cole stopped beside her bed and gazed at her before lifting the silken strands of her hair. As it slid through his fingers, it was as comforting and familiar as he remembered.
When the shadows encompassed her, he tried to pull them away. Cole didn’t like them touching her, but they were also drawn to her.
Finally, he reeled them back, and his jaw clenched as he restrained them from her. These murderous things wouldn’t touch her. He was certain they’d never harm her, but their darkness would never know the feel of her flesh.
Cole retracted the shadows further before retreating to the corner of the room. They enveloped him while they whispered their demands for her.
Outside, a dragon roared. Cole’s head turned to the window, and his senses went on high alert as the shadows slid toward the sound. They probed the night as Lexi stirred.
Cole froze when Lexi blinked; the dragon roared again, and she sat up. Her attention shifted to the window, and her heart beat so loud he could hear it. In response, the shadows turned toward her.
Cole ached to comfort and assure her it would be all right, but he didn’t move. If he moved, he didn’t think he could maintain control.
Everythingin him screamed for her. The dark fae was starving, and the lycan had been denied its mate for too long. It didn’t help that the full moon’s pull only increased the lycan’s need for its mate.
Outside, the dragon quieted, and when no others picked up its cry, the night grew hushed again. Lexi threw aside her blanket and sheets, swung her legs out of bed, and rose.
The green tunic she wore caused his breath to hitch. It washis.
Despite the fact she looked ethereal, beautiful, and oh-so-tempting in his too-big shirt, that wasn’t the reason air stopped entering his lungs. He stopped breathing because he realized how much she hurt, how muchhehurt her.
She slept in his things because she missed him, and he couldn’t be with her.
He’d washed away the blood that so recently stained his hands, but the memory of it burned into his flesh. It served as a reminder of what he’d become.
The shadows that incessantly whispered of death were muted around her, but they were always there, always talking, andalwaysdemanding more. They would never be satisfied or quenched, and he couldn’t let them near her.
When she turned away from the window, her eyes landed on the corner where he stood. Her beautiful green eyes were luminous in the night; the moon bathed her in its silver radiance, but her shield remained in place, so she didn’t glow.
“Cole?” she whispered.
At first, he didn’t move. She wasn’t sure he was here; he’d heard the uncertainty in her voice.
He could slip away from here, and she’d never know, but it would be cowardly. No matter what he was now, and he wasmanythings, he wasn’t a coward.
