But then, though she lacked the power of many immortals, she was a fighter. It was one of the things he loved most about her.
Pride encompassed him as he stared at the courageous woman who had stolen his heart. She was magnificent, and she was his.
As he recalled her on the battlefield, he remembered the silver marking on her hand from the dragon touching her. He’d touched a dragon before—he’d killed one—but his skin had never reacted like that.
His head pounded, but now that he remembered the marking on her hand, he also recalled the one on her forehead the night he attacked her. She’d fallen out of the bed after he woke from his nightmare and realized he was strangling her.
Cole still hated himself for that night; he always would, even if he hadn’t meant to attack her.
At the time, he believed the silver on her forehead came from hitting her head on the bed frame when she fell, but now…
Now, he had no idea who orwhatthe woman sitting across from him was. When Orin questioned her about it, Cole blew him off because Orin had just hurt her and Cole was infuriated with him.
Then word of the rebellion arrived, and they’d come here.
But now, after seeing her on the battlefield, he couldn’t help questioning things. What were the silver marks? Who was this woman with no abilities that survived riding into a battle to save him?
And what did it all mean?
She didn’t have the answers for him; he was certain of that. She believed herself to be half human and half vampire. And how could she possibly be anything more?
He’d known her father before he died. Del was a vampire; Cole did not doubt that. He’d never known her mother, neither had Lexi, but if the woman were anything more than human, then Lexi would be more powerful than she was.
And while she possessed better senses and was stronger and faster than any human, she was nowhere near as strong as most immortals. In a short amount of time, she'd learned a lot while training with Brokk, but she hadn’t exhibited anything beyond her capabilities.
Then he recalled his conversation with Orin after his brother burnt her hand…
“Sometimes the arach would get silver markings on them,” Orin had said.
“So?” Cole asked.
“So, your mate had a silver marking on the back of her hand. Don’t you find that a little strange?”
At the time, he hadn’t, or at least he hadn’t considered it, but Orin was right. The arach were said to have silver markings at times. Or at least that was the rumor.
However, there were plenty of rumors and legends about the long-dead race. No one knew what was true anymore.
But if Lexi were half arach, it would be impossible for her to hide those powers, even if she were only half. And how could that be possible?
It had been a thousand years since an arach, the rightful rulers of Dragonia and the dragons, had reigned. They were all supposed to have died centuries ago, but Lexi was only twenty-four.
What was going on here?
He’d like to figure that out, but the pounding in his head made thinking difficult.
Chapter Nineteen
When he shiftedon the bed, Lexi’s head twisted toward him. For a second, she simply stared at him. Then her face broke into a beautiful smile, her hunter green eyes lit with joy, and she jumped up.
Completely forgotten, the sword clattered against the stone as it hit the floor.
“Oh,” she whispered.
He smiled when he saw she was wearing his clothes. They were far too big on her, rolled up too many times, and completely hid her lush figure. He’d never seen her look so adorable.
Lexi ran to him and was about to throw herself onto the bed when she caught herself and skidded to a halt beside the mattress. “You’re awake!”
He managed to smile at her. “I’m awake. How long was I out?”
