“I didn’t,” he said. “But it makes sense. They see things I can’t and are in places I can’t be. They also alert me to danger when I don’t know it’s coming.”
“If you’re in this realm, can you communicate with the shadows in another realm?”
“No… or at least not yet.”
That final word sent a chill down her spine. “Yet?”
“I think, with time, the power might grow enough to let me do so.”
What had her ancestors done to him? What were theythinkingwhen they created such vast power and set it up to one day release on the realms?
Had they considered or cared about what they were doing at all? She’d always felt sorry for the arach, but the more she learned about them, the more they came across as a bunch of maniacal assholes.
Or at least most of those who once ruled Dragonia seemed that way. She doubted they let the commoners help establish the Shadow Reaver after what she’d learned about her parents’ history.
And now, the arachs’ greed and malevolence resided inside Cole. He was the strongest man she’d ever met, and one of the best men she knew, but could he withstand the corruption of so much power?
None of the Lords, since the arach mostly killed each other off, had withstood the vast power of the arach throne. But then, had the arach been able to withstand it? They’d destroyed each other and unleashed these shadows on Cole and the realms.
Was the throne the source of all that?
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
“What is it?”Cole demanded when the color drained from Lexi’s face and she sat on the bed.
She clutched the shirt in her hands as she stared at the floor. He strode across the floor to kneel in front of her.
Clasping her hands, he leaned forward to look into her stunned eyes. “What is it?”
“What if the throne corrupted the arach too? Alina said they weren’t crazy, but they destroyed each other and created the Shadow Reaver; what if they became as insane as the Lord?”
He didn’t take offense to her thinking the Shadow Reaver was something that someone who was crazy would create. The unknown about his new abilities frightened her, and she worried about losing him.
And she was not alone in her fear, but she didn’t know what he did, deep in his heart… no matter what happened, he wouldnotlose her.
“What if they were insane, and we’re fighting to putmeon that throne?” she whispered.
“Alina is right; they weren’t insane.”
“But—”
“They were greedy, set in their ways, and careless with their powers, but theyweren’tinsane. Power corrupts, but corruption doesn’t equal insanity. The arach wanted different things for the realm. Some of them sought more power, the royal family fought not to lose what they had, and in the end, they destroyed everything. They didn’t do it because of madness; they did it for greed.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The arach never did anything like the Lords who have claimed the throne did to the realms. They never wielded the dragons’ power over the realms, and there was mostly peace in the lands when they ruled.
“Of course, there was fighting amongst the different species, but not like there is now, and there was never the mass destruction and death the Lord has unleashed. The arach destroyed themselves, but they were sane when they did it.”
“That almost makes it worse,” she muttered.
Cole squeezed her hands and leaned closer. He clasped her chin and lifted her head so their eyes met.
“And you’re not them,” he told her. “When we win this war, it will be a new beginning and a chance for something better. Together, we’ll make the realms a better place.”
“And we will win,” she said.
“Yes, we will.”
