“If something ever happens to me, promise meyou’ll be okay,” she said.
“Don’t say that. Nothing is going to happento you.”
Resting her hand on his chest, she lifted herhead to look at him. “With everything we’re facing, one of us dyingis a very real possibility.”
Silver flashed across his eyes before hesuppressed it. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Promise me, Cole.”
His hand settled on the small of her back ashe pulled her closer. “I will go on, but you’re my mate, Lexi. Alycan never recovers from the loss of a mate.”
This was one area where his dark fae sidewouldn’t save him. If he recognized her as his mate and had claimedher as such, then he would suffer the same fate as every otherlycan who lost their mate—a lifetime of misery.
“I won’t let you go through that,” shesaid.
“Good.”
“You still haven’t promised me.”
“I promise not to destroy everyone. Besides,while it’s flattering they think I possess that kind of power, Iassure you, I don’t. The shadows make me stronger, but not enoughto destroy everyone or all the realms.”
Lexi nodded, but they both knew his powerswere growing. Could he destroy the world now?
No.
But if he continued to progress and draw onthe shadows, and if they continued to weave their way into him, itcould be an entirely different scenario.
However, dwelling on the possibilities wasn’tgetting them anywhere, and all this anxiety was most likely fornothing.
As he said, prophecies were garbage, but shewas still uneasy as she settled against him once more. Not only didshenotwant him to become a monster, but she’d prefer notto die.
She was going to have to work to learn moreabout her powers, and she was going to have to do it as fast as shecould.
CHAPTER 18
Lexi stepped out of the portal Kaylia hadcreated and into her first outer realm. With her hand, she shadedher eyes against the sun streaming down on her. As she did so, herhand began to glow in the red light cascading over her skin.
Through squinted eyes, she peered toward thesun. Unlike the sun in the human realm, this one was morereddish-orange as it illuminated the land and the blue skysurrounding it.
After the darkness of the portal, it took hereyes a few seconds to adjust to this bright realm, but once theydid, she lowered her hand to take in the landscape. Before shecould see much of this new realm, Kaylia breathed…
“Oh… my… Hecate.”
Cole stepped closer to Lexi as she turnedtoward the crone who exited the portal behind them. Kaylia’s grayeyes roamed over Lexi as her jaw hung open.
Lexi glanced self-consciously down as thescale-like marks that resembled a dragon broke out on her arms.They disappeared beneath the thin, dark green shirt she wore.
She couldn’t see her eyes, but she imaginedthey’d already turned gold. Her pupils had probably become slittedlike she’d seen them when she was in Underhill.
At this point, she wouldn’t be shocked if shesprouted a dragon tail too.
At least she didn’t feel a burning sensationin her chest, so maybe she wouldn’t start spewing fire like adragon anytime soon. And she also didn’t have wings. But shereallywould have enjoyed wings.
She could almost feel the wind beneath her asshe soared high above the land like she had so many times in herdreams. Had those dreams been trying to tell her about her trueancestry? Or had a part of her been trying to escape the binds herdad and Sahira placed on her?
She’d never know the answer, but shesuspected that’s exactly what happened.
And now those bonds were down, and she wasglowing like the north star on a cold winter night. She had no ideawhat any of this meant, but she didn’t seem to be turningintoa dragon. That was good; she much preferred herself theway she was.
