“I know,” she admitted in a whisper.
“The more I draw them into me, and the more Icall on them, the deeper they dig into my soul.”
“Then you’re going to have to stop doingthat.”
It sounded so simple. Itwasan easysolution, butnothingwas ever that simple.
Surviving the trials had put those shadowsinside him. They were a part of him, like her heart was a part ofher, and she could no more command it to stop beating than he couldcompel the shadows out of him.
“Do you think your father had the shadows?”she asked.
“No. At first, I wasn’t sure if he might haveor not, and he was averycontrolled man, but even hecouldn’t have kept them hidden from everyone for centuries.”
“Then why you? He went through the trialstoo.”
“I don’t know.”
Lexi bit her lip as she tried to ignore theincessant anxiety pecking away at her insides.
“I can try not calling on the shadows, butthere are going to be times when I need the shadows to help usfight,” Cole said. “Without them, we wouldn’t have survived theballroom, and Malakai would still be alive. The only thing thatkeeps the shadows at bay and chases them away is you. I am thedarkness, and you are the light.”
“If that’s true, then there is another truthto that statement.”
“Which is?”
“Darkness can’t exist without light and viceversa.”
“True.”
“And it doesn’t matter what either of us are;I willalwaysbe here for you. I’m not going to let theshadows take you from me.”
“Their power is very tempting.”
She heard the reverence in his tone but alsothe fear and…need.
Stroking his chest, she recalled what hecould do with those shadows and the violence they unleashed. Theywere scary, awing, and a force to reckon with. Few could withstandtheir wrath and survive.
Those shadows were an asset against the Lord,but she never wanted to see them again. Unfortunately, that wasn’tan option. They would make their presence known again the next timethere was a threat.
“I know it is,” she said. “YouaretheShadow Reaver.”
Neither of them had been sure of it before,but she was now.
“I am.”
“The prophecy—”
“Means nothing,” he interrupted. “The ShadowReaver exists, and none of us know what that means, but propheciesare useless things meant to frighten those who are foolish enoughto believe them. I’mnotgoing to lose you.”
“Never,” she vowed. “No matter what happens,nothingwill ever tear us apart. Not the monster on thethrone, not the shadows, and not whatever we discover I cando.”
“Speaking of which, you released fire at theball earlier.”
“I did.”
When she pushed herself off his chest to situp, his fingers slid away from her hair. Turning her hand overbefore her, she recalled the love propelling her in theballroom.
She thought about Cole’s scent, her fatherlaughing as he bounced her on his knee, and the way Sahira’s eyessparkled with love. As all those things coalesced, they formed aball of love in her chest.
