“He could turn his dragons loose on the Gloaming,” Brokk said.
“He could, but then he’ll be starting a war withallof the dark fae, and he’s not ready for that. He lost a lot of fighters during the war, too, and the dark fae were a large part of his army. He can’t afford to alienate them now.
“Besides, some, if notall, the other realms will realize he’ll come for them once he finishes with the Gloaming and band together against him. He won this last war because the realms and fighters were divided, and many believed humans should know about the existence of immortals. The realms won’t be divided if he starts attacking us.”
“You’re far more optimistic than me,” Orin said. “I’m not so sure some of the realms, especially the warlocks; they’ve always had a darker side. Or the vamps, they’d love to get their realm back.”
“Not all of them,” Del said. “Many of us have made the human realm our home and wouldn’t go back. Many have never lived anywhere else; I haven’t.”
“But some would,” Orin pressed.
“Yes, some would.”
“I think the Lord could start a massive civil war between all the realms,” Orin said.
“Quite possibly,” Cole agreed. “But it doesn’t matter. I still have to deliver these bodies to him, or he’s coming for Lexi and me soon. And I have to do it alone.”
Before any of them could speak, he drove his sword through the neck of the decapitated head. He shifted the blade into his other hand before grabbing Varo’s clone by its shirt collar.
“I have to go,” he said.
“Where are you going to tell the Lord you found them?” Sahira asked.
“The human realm,” Cole answered. “There are plenty of places for them to hide here, and the Lord can’t punish humans for hiding immortals they would never even know were immortal. Besides, I will be coming out of the human realm portal when I exit near the palace. The Lord will know that.”
“Where is the portal to Dragonia in this realm?” Varo asked.
“There’s one near the city, or what remains of it. It’s well hidden from the humans,” Cole answered. “From here, I’ll open a portal close to it. Once I’m there, if someone sees me with the bodies, it shouldn’t be a problem as I’ll be taking them straight to Dragonia.”
“Won’t opening a portal weaken you?” Lexi asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Arguing with him was pointless, and she didn’t want to spend what might be their last moments together fighting. Instead, she walked over and rested her head against his chest.
“You better come back to me,” she whispered.
“Always.” He rested his cheek against the top of her head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She tried not to think about the possibility that it could be days or weeks from now. None of them knew what the Lord would do. Lexi reluctantly released him and stepped away.
“When does the harrow stone have to go back?” Cole asked Sahira.
“Tomorrow morning,” Sahira said.
“Wait for as long as you can before returning it. I want to go with you to thank the crones for letting us use it.”
“I will.”
Without another word, Cole opened a portal and walked away. Lexi watched until the darkness swallowed him completely. Something inside her deflated when he vanished.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Cole steppedout of the portal from the human realm and into Dragonia. No one could open a portal into and out of Dragonia without the Lord’s knowledge. The entire kingdom was protected against such a thing happening.
Thanks to the arach before him, the Lord controlled the portals that remained permanently open to the realms. All of those portals led to an exit point near the palace, where the Lord’s men watched over them.
When an immortal was leaving Dragonia, all they had to do was locate the portal to the realm they sought, picture where they wanted to go in that realm, and they would return there. The amount of magic behind the system the arach established was incredible.
