Cole plastered on a smile and looked down tosee Lexi had done the same. Except, unlike the radiant smiles shebestowed on others when she was truly happy, this one didn’t lightup her eyes.
Her hand clenched around his as the crowdparted to give them a clear path to the Lord. To the man who hadslaughtered countless pixies to sate his bloodlust. Revulsion andloathing built within Cole as they started toward the sickprick.
He spotted Circe, a powerful witch andcoalition member, as they moved. Her skin was far paler thannormal. Her black hair hung in ringlets to her shoulders, and blackeyeliner emphasized her doe-brown eyes. She didn’t acknowledge himas he passed, but her lips compressed slightly.
It had been a couple of months since thecoalition last met, but their shared hatred of the Lord united thegroup. The coalition had plotted to take the Lord down from insidehis ranks during the war, and they failed.
That failure led to the death of countlessinnocents and was the reason they were all in this room. It weighedheavy on his shoulders as they approached the Lord.
If he’d made other choices, if maybe he’djoined the rebels, if theyallhad, would things have beendifferent?
At the time, he’d been certain espionage wasthe way to destroy this asshole, but he’d been wrong. And now, hewould never know if he’d made a mistake.
No, it couldn’t have been a mistake. Hewouldn’t have met Lexi if he’d done things differently, and theycould both be dead. At least now, they were still alive to fight,and they had each other.
And a secret weapon stood at his side; heplanned to keep it that way. He’d trusted the coalition completelybefore, but not with this. Not withLexi.
And as he passed Circe, he spotted Talon, awarlock on the coalition. He’d always been their most timid member.Now, he stood with his shoulders back and his chin raised as if hewere the one walking toward an uncertain future.
Talon’s shoulder-length blond hair curled atthe ends, and his murky blue eyes reminded Cole of a storm-tossedsea when they met his. At one time, Talon would have been the firstto look away, but now he held Cole’s gaze.
It was as if the once-timid warlock was nowtrying to give Cole the strength to get through this.
A commotion in the crowd drew Cole’sattention to his Uncle Maverick elbowing his way toward the front.It was easy to follow his progress through the mass as Maverickstood almost a full head over everyone else. At six foot nine, hewas two inches taller than Cole and broader through theshoulders.
The immortals who saw him coming scamperedout of his way, but others were too engrossed with Lexi and Cole tomove. Maverick shoved those unsuspecting souls out of the way untilhe stood at the edge of the makeshift aisle.
His dark, wavy brown hair framed his broadface, and apprehension filled his chestnut-brown eyes. His lipsclamped together as his nostrils flared.
Cole suspected most of those in this roomhadn’t expected them to show. It was obvious Maverick wished theyhadn’t. Cole was his only living family member; he’d beenexceptionally close with his sister, Cole’s mother, and a constantpresence and strength in Cole’s life over the years.
He’d die to protect his sister’s child. Colewould make sure that didn’t happen.
The only coalition members missing wereBrokk, his father, and Del. It was the reunion he’d never wanted…at least not in this place.
But more than the coalition crowded thisroom. There were far more immortals than he’d expected, and theywere all from some of the most prominent families throughout therealm. He’d fought beside a few of them during the war, but mostbought their way out of the battle.
He stiffened when he spotted Becca amid thecrowd, standing beside Finn. Though he didn’t see them now, heassumed the rest of the dark fae council was here too.
The only immortals he didn’t see here werethe light fae, but no one wanted to see them after they refused toparticipate in the war. He suspected the only reason the Lordhadn’t killed them all yet was that they paid an exorbitant amountof taxes and were shitty fighters. They would have been useless inthe war.
Behind all the guests and lining the wallswere the Lord’s guards. It was the first ball Cole had everattended where fully armed guards outnumbered the guests and stoodlike sentinels throughout the room. It certainly put a damper onthe mood.
But then, all the laughter they heard ontheir way here was all pretend. Most of the guests had sweatbeading the brows of their too pale faces, and no one spoke orsmiled as they walked past.
When they drew closer to the Lord, the dragonhidden by the curtain behind the dais lifted its head. The smallintake of Lexi’s breath was the only reaction she gave to thecreature’s sudden emergence.
Gasps filled the room as the rest of theimmortals became aware of the dragon’s presence. The Lord had beenkeeping this little secret tucked up his sleeve; he laughed at thereaction of the others, but he never took his eyes off Lexi andCole.
The dragon stared out at them from goldeneyes with slitted pupils that revealed no hint of emotion. Its redscales brought to mind the dragon who entered the Gloaming, but hecouldn’t see how big it was.
When it lifted its head a little higher, itrevealed the flecks of yellow under its neck. They traveled towardits belly before vanishing, but he knew it was the samecreature.
This beast was not the one who killed hisfather; he’d killed that one, but he still despised its brethren.The dragon returned his loathing as it eyed him like a catpreparing to pounce.
Cole was more than ready for it, but he hopedit didn’t happen. If Lexi did have a connection to the dragons,then he’d prefer not to slaughter one in front of her. And if shesomehow did bond with them, he would learn to tolerate them.
However, he’d always hate the murderousbeasts who destroyed his father, ravaged the mortal realm, and keptmost immortals living in fear.
