Beside her, Cole was tense and his shoulders rigid as his eyes searched the forest. Despite the size of the trees, sunlight pierced through their thick canopies and danced across the ground as they walked.
Sticks crunched beneath their feet, and creatures scurried through the woods, but she didn’t see them. At least they weren’t like the animals who resided in the woods of the Gloaming. They were more intent on trying to eat them than playing.
Or at least, she hoped they weren’t like the creatures in the Gloaming. For all she knew, these creatures were about to pounce, but since no one else seemed concerned about them, she tried not to be either.
And then, the cutest little animal she’d ever seen darted onto the path in front of them. It stopped when it spotted them and rose onto its hind legs. It had the face of a hedgehog but with brown fur and a fluffy tail like a fox. Its little button nose twitched as its tiny front paws rose to its chin, and itsmiledat them.
“Oh,” Lexi breathed.
Then, it dropped down and vanished into the woods. She almost chased after it, but they weren’t here for her to find a new pet, even if it was freaking adorable.
She couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she looked up at Cole. He smiled back and slid his hand into hers. Their fingers entwined as the path progressed until they started to pass trees with doors in them.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Cole studiedthe doors and windows in the trees they passed. Each door had different decorations, and they were all different colors. Candles flickered behind the glass panes of many of the homes while others remained dark.
Light fae moved about behind some of the windows. In others, faces materialized behind the glass as the fae became aware of their presence in the woods. One of the doors opened, someone was shushed, and a child was pushed inside as a light fae man stood and gawked at them. He scurried back inside, and the door slammed shut.
He could imagine their frantic whispers to each other; the dark fae were in their realm. The stuff of nightmares and boogeymen was walking through their woods, and while the light fae were a powerful race, they didn’t like confrontation.
So, they would hide their children and wait. They would prepare for an attack, but they wouldn’t start the fight.
Kaylia stopped outside a tree with a colorful door. Painted stars and a crescent moon covered one side of the door; the sun and flowers were on the other side.
A wreath of yellow and red flowers hung right over the stained-glass pane in the center of the door. In vivid reds, oranges, and golds, a tree decorated the center of the pane.
Kaylia lifted her hand to knock, but the door opened before her knuckles touched wood. On the other side stood a slender, fair woman with pale blonde hair wrapped around her head in a crown of braids.
It had been centuries since Cole last saw Elfie, the woman who was once his father’s mistress and his brother’s mother. Her white-blue eyes widened on Kaylia before settling on him. The color drained from her face, and her smile vanished.
They hadn’t interacted with each other much when she lived in the palace; there was no reason for them to, but he’d recognize her anywhere.
“Colburn,” she said flatly before her eyes went past him. For a second, no recognition registered on her pretty face. Then her mouth parted.
“Alvaro?” she breathed.
His brother’s face remained impassive as he gazed at the woman who left him when he was ten. As far as Cole knew, that was the last time they saw each other.
Elfie’s fingers stretched toward Varo, but her hand fell back to her side when he didn’t move. The muscles around her mouth twitched as her lips compressed into a flat line.
She pinned Kaylia with a look of fury that Cole hadn’t considered possible for the light fae to pull off. That look made it clear she would skewer Kaylia if she got the chance.
“I didn’t know he was your son until we were already here,” Kaylia said.
Elfie winced, but it didn’t ease her rage. “Why have you broughtdark fae”—she spat the words like they were acid burning her tongue— “intomyrealm?”
“It’s good to see you too, Elfie,” Cole said. She didn’t want them here, and he and Varo would prefer not to see her, but he’d be damned if he would let her act liketheywere the worst things to exist when she was the one who abandoned her child. “What’s it been, four hundred and sixty years or so?”
When Kaylia waved a hand at him, he scowled at her, but she was too focused on Elfie to notice his irritation.
“Four hundred and sixty-seven,” Varo said from behind him.
Beside him, Lexi winced at the sorrow in Varo’s voice. His brother didn’t want to speak with his mother, but he easily recalled how long it had been since he last saw her.
That knowledge, and the deep-seated sadness it represented, only irritated Cole more. His brothers all pissed him off, butnoone else would hurt them.
When Cole glanced at Varo, the callous glint in his eyes didn’t fool Cole as Lexi rested her hand on his arm. Varo’s face showed no reaction to the sign of support, but his eyes softened.
