But she had no other choice; they came with Cole now. They were dark, twisted, and vicious, but they were a part ofhim.Nothing could change that.
She loved him too much to lose him to the malevolence and power the shadows brought. But she couldn’t fight that battle right now, not while she was dealing with talking dragons. She only had so much room for crazy, and talking dragons won over the shadows.
“I have to go see what she has to say,” Lexi said in a voice she hoped would calm him, but none of his tension eased.
“It’s necessary.” Varo’s calm voice and soothing presence normally took some of the edge off a tense situation; it did nothing now. “She must learn of her destiny, Cole. You can’t stand in her way.”
“I’m not standing in her way!” Cole snapped at his youngest brother. “I’m making sure she stays safe.”
“Then you have to let her go.”
“Fuck off, Varo!” Cole exploded.
Lexi winced, and Varo’s head bowed. She’d never expected Cole to talk to Varo in such a way; Orin definitely, Brokk on a rare occasion, butneverVaro.
He was closer to the brink of losing it than she’d realized—a fact emphasized by the popping of his joints as the fingers around her arm lengthened and cracked. His claws flexed, and hair emerged from his knuckles as the lycan part of him, the one seeking to protect its mate, tried to take over.
“Easy,” she murmured as she rested her free hand over his. “It’s okay.”
“I will not harm her… or you… Shadow Reaver,” the voice said from the front.
“Oh, Hecate,” Kaylia whispered. “The dragons know about the Reaver.”
Which wasmoreof a reason to talk to the dragon.Noone else knew much about the powers inhabiting Cole since he survived the trials making him the dark fae king.
“Iknow,” the voice from outside replied.
“Itisthe dragon,” Orin breathed.
“Maybeyoushould go talk to it then,” her dad suggested, and Maverick snickered.
“I’m good,” Orin replied.
“I have to go,” Lexi said again.
Cole’s claws retracted, and his broad shoulders rose and fell as he bowed his head. When his black hair fell onto his forehead, she tenderly brushed it away before running her fingers over the tip of a pointed ear.
“You’re not going without me,” he said.
CHAPTERFIVE
Cole drewthe shadows closer around him and Lexi as they walked toward the front of the cave. He ignored Lexi’s nervous glance at them as they swelled up to surround them like bees erupting from their hive to take out a predator.
The shadows swirled around them to create a wall that blocked out the sun streaming through the open end of the cave. The wind kicked up pebbles outside and sent dust swirling through the air. The dust blowing across the cave entrance briefly obscured his view of what lay beyond, but then the dragon lowered its head and peered inside again.
When the creature vanished, anger rippled up Cole’s spine as his teeth ground together. He’d prefer nothing more than to destroy the overgrown lizard before Lexi got anywhere near it, but he had to see what would happen between them.
And they had to hear what this thing could tell them… if it didn’t try to kill them. If that happened, he and the shadows would keep her protected.
“Let the shadows go, Cole,” Lexi whispered. “Release them. She’s not going to attack us.”
“I’ll release them when I’m certain of that.”
Lexi didn’t protest any further, but they were also at the end of the cave. Drawing her close against his side, he locked his arm around her waist as the shadows enclosed them.
Reluctantly, he stepped out of the cave with her at his side. The dragon’s head coiled, so its chin tucked against its long neck; it peered down at them from golden eyes with slitted pupils.
He recognized the massive beast, with its brilliant red coloring and flecks of yellow along its belly, as the dragon in the throne room when he killed Malakai. It was also the one who entered the Gloaming. He’d become too familiar with the powerful creature recently.
