He suspected the elaborate portals were a group effort, and one alone couldn’t have completed them, but there was still alotof magic behind them.
And that magic was manifesting inside Lexi right now. He had no idea how they would help her learn to control and use it, but they would.
Cole tilted his head back as he took in the Dragonian realm. Rising above him, the golden peaks and turrets of the palace stretched high into the purple sky. Only a few pink clouds floated through the air.
When he walked a few feet away from the portal, some of the Lord’s men turned toward him. By the looks of them, they were young, barely trained warlocks, but he couldn’t be sure.
They lifted their spears and pointed them straight at his heart. One lunged a little too far forward; the pointed tip rested against Cole’s chest. When the shadows stirred inside him, Cole suppressed them.
He lifted his eyebrows at the Lord’s men. They’d been far too lax on their duty. If they’d been his men and he’d gotten this close before they noticed, they wouldn’t be one of his guards anymore.
He’d have them removed from their duties immediately, but he welcomed this incompetence from the Lord’s men.
Without blinking, he dropped one of the bodies, grabbed the spear resting against his chest and snapped it in half before shoving it away from him. The guard gawked at him and then the broken pieces of his spear. Cole doubted the guy had seen him move.
The rest of the guards kept their weapons aimed at him but backed away when he stepped toward the man who nearly speared him.
“I am the dark fae king,” he snarled at the guard. “Don’teverpoint a weapon at me again unless you want it shoved up your ass.”
The man hesitated before starting to swing the broken remains of the spear toward him again. Then he wisely thought better of it and lowered the broken shaft to the ground.
Cole hefted Orin’s head into the air for them to see. “Tell the Lord I’ve brought him presents.”
They gaped at the head before one of them blurted, “It’s Orin.”
“Aren’t you observant,” Cole drawled. “Now, run along and tell the Lord I’m here and I have the bodies of my brothers for him.”
Their gazes shifted to Varo’s fake body, but it was impossible to see its face.
This didn’t matter as the tallest one nudged the shoulder of the one to the left of him as he spoke. “Go tell the Lord.”
The other man hesitated before bowing his head and scurrying away like a rat with cheese. He kept his head down, and his shoulders hunched forward like he was bracing himself for a blow while he ran.
Cole doubted the Lord was ever easy to deal with andneverkind to those who served him. He didn’t care to think about the number of times the Lord abused the man. The man had chosen his path and would suffer the consequences of it… just as Cole would if this all blew up.
He refused to let that possibility enter his mind. He had to maintain his confidence while here. A lack of confidence would get him destroyed if he didn’t.
Cole and the guy who’d nearly speared him eyed each other before Cole dismissively shifted his attention toward the palace. The portal opened near a large river that cut through the land.
A thousand feet above the river was a single bridge made of gray rocks. It stretched across the river for over two hundred feet before reaching the open palace gates.
The man who’d left disappeared behind the enormous stone walls surrounding the palace. After a couple of minutes, he came back into view as he ran up the hill toward the bridge.
One of the dragons circling lazily overhead roared before twisting to its side and making a sharp right. Sunlight glinted off its blue underbelly and the lethal talons tucked against it.
What would happen if Lexi got near one of these creatures?
The idea of it petrified him, but it would have to happen; it was as inevitable as the tide. If they were going to find out more about the connection between the arach and the dragons, she would have to get near one.
He didn't know how they were going to pull that off, but he would figure out the safest way to do it.
He wasn’t sure how much time passed before the man who went up the hill sprinted out of the palace and onto the bridge. Cole kept his face impassive and heart rate calm as the man ran down the hill toward them.
At least the Lord didn’t kill the messenger.But then, to that monster, this was a happy message to receive.
When he finally reached them again, the man skidded to a halt a few feet away. He rested his hand against his side as he bent over and wheezed out words.
“The Lord… would like to… see you… and the bodies… immediately.”
