Page 80 of Shadows of Light
Kaylia’s fingers waved in a beautiful dance as the shadows around the room slid back to reveal Amaris. She clutched a dagger in her hand but must have decided to flee when Kaylia started her spell as she had one leg swung over the windowsill.
Amaris let out a startled cry as she threw herself to the side. She started to tumble out the window as the female lycan leapt forward. She transformed as she moved, but it was already too late… Amaris was beyond her reach.
The dark fae disappeared, and the dragons’ bellows vibrated the walls and reverberated throughout the land.
They know.
And then a dragon rose to the window. Screaming and kicking, Amaris hung from its mouth. Pulling its head back, the dragon heaved the woman into the room.
She bounced across the floor before stopping a few feet away. The lycan planted a powerful paw on Amaris’s chest and pinned her to the floor as the dragons roared.
Silence descended over everyone in the room as footsteps and shouts continued from the hall. A few seconds later, Maverick and Del burst into the room. A dozen more guards followed them, but it was too late for them to do anything.
And this was only the start of the horror about to unleash.
CHAPTERSIXTY-ONE
Cole stepped backand smiled as he surveyed the progress they’d made with rebuilding the Gloaming. The palace had remained untouched by the dragons’ fire and the Lord’s men.
The fencing around it still stood, but the buildings within the bailey were burnt-out rubble. All the homes on the once fertile land outside the palace were ash.
Underhill was still a mess, as were the other areas of the Gloaming, but inside the bailey, they’d removed all the debris and started rebuilding. The dragons’ fires destroyed some of the lethal forests outside the walls, but much remained standing.
The dragons weren’t overly concerned about the forests where the fae rarely traveled. A lot of the dark fae still hadn’t returned after fleeing from the dragons’ attack, but as word spread throughout the realms about the Gloaming rebuilding, more started to trickle in.
One of the first to return was Elvin, who dove into helping rebuild. When Cole and his brothers weren’t here, Elvin oversaw the rebuilding.
They’d started with the homes inside the bailey, not because Cole wanted his soldiers housed first, but because it would be safer for those who returned to stay close to the palace and within the gates.
The dragons weren’t a menace to them, but many other things out there were. He would do whatever it took to rebuild his homeland and keep its residents safe.
After they cleared away the debris from inside the bailey, they set to work chopping down trees along the woods line. The horses helped haul things back and forth, which didn’t make his steed, Torigon, too happy, but he didn’t balk too much at having to pull a cart.
They were careful not to go deep into the woods where rats larger than men thrived with all kinds of other creatures. As they progressed with the building and more fae returned, they moved outside the palace gates and started to clear the burnt land.
Though it looked desolate and barren now, the fertile fields of the Gloaming would once again yield crops next year. They’d seen no sign of the craz that resided in the mountains, but a couple of dragons now accompanied them to the Gloaming every day. Those far larger predators would keep the monstrous birds of the Gloaming at bay.
At first, Cole hadn’t wanted the dragons here; he was concerned their presence would frighten the dark fae way; they had destroyed his father and the realm, after all. But now he saw them as the other piece of the puzzle that would keep Lexi alive.
It was time to work with them as the allies they would be from now on. He’d never forget that they’d eaten his father, and many of the immortals would harbor resentment toward them for the damage they inflicted, but they’d been under the Lord’s control.
Now, they were freer and far less volatile without a madman pulling their strings. All the immortals would have to overcome it, as the beasts weren’t going anywhere.
As more returned to the Gloaming, some ventured into Underhill to round up more wild horses that ran free there. Many of those horses had retreated to the mountains and caves when the dragons arrived and had survived.
None of those wild beasts were broken yet, but they would get to work on it soon. The dark fae knew horses and how to work the land. The Gloaming was blooming beneath their hands again.
He never wanted to be king of this realm, but he’d never been prouder to rule here. The dark fae were all coming to rebuild their home.
Cole wiped the sweat from his forehead and examined the wall he and Orin had lifted into place. Brokk and Varo hammered the nails into place and stepped back to inspect their handiwork.
“Looks good to me,” Brokk said.
“It looks like it’s time for alcohol to me,” Orin said.
Varo remained taciturn like he often was these days, but at least he was helping. That help had brought some color back to his face and caused pride to glisten in his eyes.
“I could go for a drink,” Cole said.
