She trudged back to the manor, entered, andclosed the door behind her. She kicked off her sneakers beforereturning to her room. Some of the tension eased from her as shetook in the familiar comfort of her surroundings.
This had been her room since she was a baby.Her nursery's pink walls were replaced by her childhood's purplewalls, which became the color-splashed walls of her teens, and werenow the dove-gray walls of her twenties.
Photos of her, Sahira, and her father hungaround the room. In one, she was sitting on her dad’s lap next tothe lake. They were both smiling as their heads leaned against eachother. Looks of love and serenity lit their faces.
She recalled the night the photo was taken.Only six at the time, she’d walked to the lake while holding herdad’s hand. They spent some time looking at the stars while hepointed out the constellations. Later, she learned he made most ofthem up, but she’d marveled over them as the crickets and treefrogs sang their songs.
When they arrived at the lake, the moon washigh in the sky. He pulled out a loaf of bread, and she sat in hislap. He regaled her with stories as the ducks, woken from slumberby the prospect of food, swam over to them.
Sahira snapped the photo after all the breadwas gone, and Lexi’s head was resting against his chest. Sherecalled his heartbeat beneath her ear as he held her. She’ddrifted off, secure in the knowledge he would always protecther.
He’d seemed indestructible to her, but she’dbeen wrong. Her hero had fallen on a battlefield, and she had onlymemories and photos left of him.
With tears clogging her eyes, she turned awayfrom the photo. She tugged off her barn clothes and tossed theminto the hamper tucked inside her walk-in closet. One side of thecloset contained some of the fancier clothes she wore to the few“special” events she attended in her life, but it was mostly fullof jeans, sweaters, and hoodies.
She did have a collection of shoes she loved.Unfortunately, she didn’t wear them often as sneakers and bootswere her main source of footwear for work around the manor. Butoccasionally, she would take them out, put them on, and admire thembefore slipping them away again.
Gathering some new clothes, she left thecloset behind and set the clothes on the pale, yellow comfortercovering her queen-size bed. She flicked on the bathroom lightswitch, but nothing came on.
Lexi lifted the flashlight from where sheleft it on the counter and turned it on. Hopefully, there was stillenough hot water in the tank to get her through a shower, but itwouldn’t be her first cold shower if there wasn’t.
Remodeled when she was fifteen, the bathroomheld the claw-foot tub she insisted on having. There was also astand-in shower with a glass door.
The beige walls were simple and unadorned,but the shelves lining them held various bottles of some ofSahira’s concoctions. Lexi pulled down a lavender mix she lovedbefore stepping into the shower.
She’d been looking forward to a hot shower,but the lukewarm water didn’t last long enough for that to happen.In the hopes of calming her nerves, she rubbed the lavender overher skin and washed it away before fleeing the cooling water.
Wrapping a towel around herself, she left thebathroom and dressed in a pair of jeans, a loose-fitting T-shirt,and her socks. She stood in front of her bureau’s mirror, brushedher hair, and slid an elastic onto her wrist to use later.
When she finished, she left her room andwalked down the hall to where Brokk was resting.
CHAPTER 32
She contemplated knocking on the door to see if theyneeded anything, but she didn’t want to wake Brokk. He’d been onthe verge of death last night and required his rest, so didCole.
She descended the stairs and strode down thehall toward the kitchen. She stepped into the large, airy room withits gray stone back wall. The rest of the walls had been drywalledover and painted a cranberry color.
To her left was a large window overlookingthe barn and paddock. Beneath the window was a basin sink. Sahirastood at the stove at the far end of the large island in the room'scenter. Thankfully, the gas continued to work when the power wasout.
Her aunt was chopping herbs on a cuttingblock she’d set out on top of the black marble countertops.Whatever she was cooking made Lexi’s stomach rumble. However,judging by the vials surrounding Sahira, she wasn’t makingbreakfast. She was replenishing her potions.
Shade, Sahira’s black cat and familiar, satbeside the cutting board and watched as Sahira’s fingers workedtheir magic. Shade’s tail swung back and forth as he meticulouslycleaned his paw. He paused in the middle of his grooming to studyLexi with his golden eyes before resuming his cleaning.
Sahira absently rested her hand on Shade’shead, and their eyes met before they resumed their activities. Lexilifted a piece of bread from the counter before pouring some bloodinto a mug.
“How’s the patient?” Lexi asked.
“When I looked in on him an hour ago, he wasdoing much better,” Sahira replied. “He’s still sleeping, but he’shealing.”
“That’s good. Was Cole awake?”
Sahira set her spoon down with a loudclatter. “No.”
“Good.”
“He’s dark fae.”
“I know.”
