“Why areyouhelping them?” shedemanded.
“I’m not the hideous monster you think Iam.”
“Oh, no?”
“No,” he said, and for the first time, therewas no amusement in his gaze. “They need help, and I’m going togive it to them. Plus, the more fighters we have to stand againstthe Lord, the better chance we have of defeating him.”
“So, it’s not entirely from the goodness ofyour heart?” she asked sarcastically.
He didn’t respond.
“They’re not fighters,” she said.
She refrained from saying there was no way tobeat the Lord as long as he had the dragons on his side, but sheheld her tongue. This day was depressing enough without adding moregloomy crap onto it.
“Not yet,” Orin said.
The little girl let out a small sniffle andwhispered, “Mommy.”
The man holding her shushed her as he swayedher gently from side to side. At first, Lexi thought he was rockingto comfort her, but she realized he was doing it because he wasabout to fall over.
“We lost her mother yesterday,” Orinsaid.
Lexi winced and lowered her shovel.
“Are you going to turn them away?” Orinasked.
She scowled at him, but when she glanced backat the refugees, some of her anger deflated. Then she looked towardwhat remained of the marketplace.
Smoke no longer rose from the ashes, but thestench of fire lingered in the air. For over a week now, she’d feltutterly helpless as she brought food to the broken masses passingher property.
The Lord must be stopped; it wouldn’t be withthis ragtag bunch of fugitives, but could she turn them away?
She glanced toward the manor, but shecouldn’t see it through the trees. However, she knew her home wasthere. The manor and Sahira were all she had left in thisworld.
No, they weren’t all she had left. She alsohad herself, and how could she possibly live with herself if sheturned these broken refugees away and the children died?
However, if she agreed to this, she wasputting everyone and everything she loved at risk. What would herfather think about her jeopardizing everything he worked toaccomplish?
But she knew he wouldn’t have turned any ofthem away. Her father had presented a gruff, tough exterior to theworld, but he’d been a big old softie at heart. He’d fought for theLord, but heneverwould have approved of what that monsterdid to the human realm.
The war over the mortal realm had been waged,but it wasn’t over. Instead, a new war was beginning, and she hadto choose a side.
But if she chose this side, it would pit heragainst Cole.
She immediately hated herself for thinkingthat. It didn’t matter if they ended up on opposite sides of thisnew war. He wasn’t coming back, and she had to accept that.
And even if he was coming back, this washerstance to take. No matter how much she cared for him,she wouldn’t let any man dictate where she stood in this world.
She had to get on with her life, and nomatter what side Cole and her father chose, she had to do what shebelieved was best. And there was only one decision that would allowher to have any respect for herself for the rest of her life.
What about Sahira?
Guilt tugged at her. Her aunt couldn’t knowabout this; it would only put her in danger. If Lexi was caught,Sahira could truthfully plead that she hadn’t known anything aboutthis. It might be enough to save her.
I’ll have to make sure I don’t getcaught.She didn’t think it would be that simple, but she woulddo whatever it took to protect her aunt.
Knowing she was putting everything she lovedat risk, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying.“I don’t have much food to spare.”
