And once Brokk had that thought, he couldn’t rid himself of it. Whatever was happening here, whatever Cole had undergone during the trials, it was destroying him.
Brokk didn’t know if it was because Cole was only half fae and therefore unable to handle the power granted him after the trials or not. And it didn’t matter.
What caused this was not the issue. All that mattered was making sure his brother didn’t completely lose himself in trying to save Lexi.
Then the whispers of the crones pierced through his confused and jumbled ruminations.
“My gods and goddesses,” some of them whispered.
“Hecate save us,” others murmured.
But amid all the whispers, a stronger one was growing and spreading. More and more crones were uttering four words over and over again…
“It’s the Shadow Reaver.”
Chapter Seventy-One
“You will come with us,”Cole told the crone, Kaylia, he recalled her name was. “And you will save her, or I will level this realm. I swear it.”
The woman searched his face as she stared at him with a look of dawning horror. Throughout their entire exchange, she’d kept her uneasiness of him well hidden; he’d sensed it, but she refused to let it show.
It was there now as her heartbeat increased, and she took a small step away from him. He’d never wanted others to fear him before, to respect him, yes, but not to tremble at his approach like they did the Lord.
He no longer cared about that. He hoped her fear got her to cave to his will, because if it didn’t, he’d meant what he said. And if these witches refused to help him reverse the curse they created, he wouldn’t feel one ounce of remorse over doing it. He’d make them suffer for what they did to her.
This entire realm would be nothing but ashes by the time he finished with it, and then he would move on to the Lord. Because if Lexi wasn’t alive, then there was nothing holding him back from unleashing his wrath upon that bastard too, even if it killed him.
He was on the verge of losing it, but whereas for most of his life, he prided himself on his levelheadedness, he didn’t now. Lexi had rattled that rational side of him when his lycan half recognized her as its mate and sought to claim her.
Cole lost some of his control then, but this was different and worse than anything he’d endured after meeting her.
As the whispers around them grew louder, Cole caught some of what they said. He didn’t pay much attention to them, and his main focus remained on the woman across from him.
“Did you put the curse on the stone?” he demanded.
“I… I…” Her voice quivered before her eyes narrowed. “I did.”
“Can you remove it?”
She looked toward the shadows creeping toward him. He was aware of them stealing into his body and gathering around him; he welcomed their power.
He had no idea how they would help him do it, but heknewhe could somehow unleash these shadows on this realm, just as he’d unleashed them on Orin. Then he’d been trying to hold back because, although his brother had pissed him off, he was still Cole’s brother.
These crones were nothing to him.
No, that wasn’t right. They were the women who held his mate’s life in their hands, and they would fix it.
Kaylia’s gaze flicked to one of the women to his left, and from the corner of his eye, Cole couldn’t see her, but the shadows could. He didn’t understand it and didn’t question it, but he did welcome this growing connection to them and the new sets of eyes the shadows offered.
The shadows saw the woman give a brief nod while the others hovered nervously around her. He kept his attention focused on Kaylia, but the shadows watched his back.
“I can remove the curse,” Kaylia said. “Ifshe’s still alive.”
Brokk’s head dropped into his hand. Sahira closed her eyes as if Kaylia’s words hurt her. Something inside Cole recoiled and broke at the possibility Lexi may have already succumbed to the curse.
A hiss filled the air. It took Cole a couple of seconds to realize it was coming from the shadows. It wasn’t quite a serpentine hiss, but something more, something darker and harsher. Something that promised death and the kind of agony he would endure if Lexi were dead.
“I will come with you to see what I can do,” Kaylia offered.
