“Where have you been?” Sahira demanded.
“First,” Lexi interjected, “unchain my father.”
Orin waved his index finger at her. “Quid pro quo, Kitten.”
“What do youwantfrom me?” she demanded.
“Your word you’ll stand with us against the Lord.”
“I already made a stand against the Lord when I brought you in here.”
She could no longer say it was a mistake to do so, even if Orin infuriated her. Bringing him here had also brought her dad back to her, and no matter how angry she was at him and Sahira, she would never change that.
“You’re going to get close to a dragon again,” Orin said.
“Why would she do that?” Brokk demanded as the color drained from Sahira’s face.
When her aunt looked to her dad, he closed his eyes and gave a small nod. Sahira gripped his arm and sent Lexi a sympathetic look that made her want to run from this tunnel.Noone was going to feel sorry for her.
“She’s not giving you anything or doing anything she isn’t willing to do,” Cole said. “Unlock him, Orin.”
“That’s not part of the deal,” Orin said.
“Unlockhim!” Cole’s roar, caused everyone to jump as it rebounded off the walls and down the tunnels.
She wasn’t sure if it would make its way to the refugees, but she glanced nervously toward the tunnel they resided in.
“Are you still taking care of the refugees?” she asked Orin.
“Of course I am,” he retorted. “They are safe and well-fed. We are going to have to move them soon, though; they can’t keep living in the darkness like this.”
Lexi really disliked him right now, but she believed he was taking care of them and was right about not keeping them in the dark anymore. He wouldn’t leave them down here to suffer or starve.
Then she looked to Cole and discovered the shadows around him were darker than they were around the others.
But that couldn’t be right, could it? She’d seen what the shadows could do to Orin in the kitchen, and she doubted that was the worst of it, but to be darker?
She gulped and tried to convince herself she was seeing things as Orin and Cole glowered at each other. Lexi tensed as she waited for them to start fighting. Cole’s wounds still weren’t completely healed, and she couldn’t handle him getting hurt again on top of everything else.
“Cole, please don’t,” she whispered as his silver eyes burned.
Her dad and aunt edged away from Orin as Cole’s mounting fury vibrated the walls. She swore the shadows shifted even though her light was focused away from them and no one else moved.
“Unlock. Him,” Cole ordered.
Orin’s eyes didn’t leave Cole’s as he stepped closer to her dad. He dipped a hand into his pocket and removed a key. A second later, the shackles clinked as they landed on the floor.
Cole relaxed only a little and, torn between her heart and head, Lexi stared at her dad and aunt before crossing over to hug them. Despite her resentment, she still loved them, but the hugs she gave them were brisk.
“Where are my parents buried?” she asked as she stepped away.
“On the other side of the lake, beneath two maples. I can take you there,” her dad offered.
“No, I want to go alone.”
“Okay.”
After he told her how to find the graves, she turned and left the tunnel without saying another word.
