“Will destroy him,” Lexi finished in a whisper.
“And the Lord knows that no dark fae would sacrifice themself in such a way,” Sahira said.
“Won’t they?” Cole inquired.
Sahira bit her bottom lip as she looked nervously from him to Lexi.
“We’ll come up with another plan,” Varo said. “We should return before we’re spotted.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Cole said.
“Cole—”
“Thisis why the Shadow Reaver was created, Lexi. It was to protect you, ensure an arach sat on the throne, and give you the fate you were destined to have.”
“I don’t want a fate that doesn’t includeyou. And this might not be my fate; I wasn’t brought up here, I don’t know this place, and I wasn’t raised to be a queen. This was shoved onto me.”
“By birth. Your mother was a princess—”
“And my father was a commoner. What difference does it make?”
She could feel her emotions spiraling out of control as everything in her screamed against this. She wouldn’t let him sacrifice himself for her or anyone else.
“There is another way, and wewillfind it,” she insisted.
Love shone in Cole’s eyes as he cupped her cheek. “You’re meant to rule this land, Lexi. Maybe more so than anyone who came before you. I was meant to find you; I was meant to endure those trials and become the man who ensured your rightful place in all the realms. It’s a fate I wholly accept.”
“It’s not oneIaccept.”
“No one else can sit on that throne. It’s destroyed every ruler who wasn’t an arach. You’re the only one who can handle its power. It has to be you.”
“And you have to be there when I take it.”
“I will be.”
“Not if you take all of these shadows into yourself. You know it as well as I do. We’ve all seen the changes the shadows have brought to you. They corrupt you more every time you draw them, and you know it.”
“They do, but I can handle it.”
“Cole—”
“I can do this.”
“You can’t do this and come out the same.”
“None of us are coming out of this the same. Even if we survive, we’ll have physical and mental scars to last a lifetime. We’ll have nightmares, and we’ll all be different. I’ve lived through war before; I know what it does to our souls. We will all change after this.”
“But this could be far worse, and you know it. Don’t do this, Cole.”
“Many lives are at stake here, Lexi—millions of them. And all of them are seeking to be free of the Lord. The humans and realms will never know peace unlesswebring it to them.”
“This will destroy you.”
“Maybe not. I’ve grown better at controlling the shadows; there’s a chance I’ll be fine.”
He said the words, but they both knew they were a lie.
CHAPTERSIXTY-SEVEN
