Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies
Chapter Nineteen
A little while later,Lexi found Brokk in the stable. Under normal circumstances, she’d be floating on cloud nine—Cole loved her too; it wasn’t just about the mate bond—but things were far from normal.
Brokk had removed his horse’s saddle and set it in the tack room. He was filling a bucket with soap and water when she entered. It would be difficult for her to slip away to see Orin while he was here, but she would figure it out.
For a second, the memory of what occurred the last time she was here flitted through her mind before she pushed it away. She wouldn’t let that twisted bastard ruin one of her favorite places on earth.
“Is Cole gone?” Brokk asked when he spotted her.
“Yes.”
“He’ll survive the trials. If anyone can, it’s him.”
“I want to believe that; I really do, but then I recall that he’s only half fae, and they designed the trials for the fae.”
“Even if he’s only half, outside of my father, he’s the strongest fae I’ve ever known. The only one who would be any competition for him is my brother Orin, but that will never happen.”
Lexi somehow managed to keep her face impassive at the mention of Orin.
“The Lord would see Orin dead and the entire Gloaming leveled before Orin ever sat the throne,” Brokk continued.
Fighting against her impulse to start fiddling with her hands or shifting uncomfortably, Lexi searched for a new topic of conversation as Brokk carried the bucket over to where his horse stood in the bath stall.
“Do you want to be here?” she asked.
He stopped in the middle of sponging his horse’s back. “You and Sahira saved my life. I don’t care what you are to Cole… no, that’s not right, of course I care. But even if you weren’t his mate, I would be here to help you both.”
“You don’t owe us anything.”
“That’s not true, but I also consider you and Sahira my friends, and I don’t let anything happen to my friends.”
Those words warmed her heart. “I consider you a friend too.”
“Good.”
“And as my friend, will you teach me how to fight? I’d like to learn how to kick some ass.”
Brokk grinned at her. “Absolutely.”
* * *
Cole studiedthe two young dark fae who were thrown into these trials, and most likely their deaths, by their greedy, cowardly fathers. Both Eoghan and Auberon had the slender builds, black hair, black eyes, and pointed ears of the fae. They both had ciphers encompassing their biceps, but those marks went no further. However, they could be hiding them.
And both were too young to be here; they had no chance of surviving the trials. Neither of them seemed to realize this as they talked about what they would do once they sat on the throne.
Apparently, no one had informed them that if they both miraculously managed to survive, one would have to kill the other. He didn’t think they would be so arrogant if they knew this.
They’d grown up in the lap of luxury, and neither of them fought in the war. This was a game to them. One they would lose.
He’d be amazed if either Eoghan or Auberon survived more than a day. Their fathers seemed to share in their delusions of grandeur as they spoke with their young sons.
“They’re as good as dead,” Aelfdane said.
Cole had been thinking the same thing, but he turned and looked down his nose at the dark fae. “So are you.”
Aelfdane blinked in disbelief, and then anger clouded his face. “I’m not afraid of you. That throne will be mine.”
Cole didn’t bother to reply as he walked a few feet away to study the portal the council had summoned forth. He felt Becca’s eyes burning into his back, but he ignored her.
“Where does it go?” he asked Elvin.
“To a distant outer realm,” Elvin replied. “It’s there that our ancestors created the trials with the help of the arachs. They put that magic into action thousands of years before our fathers roamed the Gloaming.”
“Why were the arach involved?” Cole asked of the long-dead immortals who once controlled and ruled the dragons.
“I suppose our ancestors must have required more magic than they possessed to achieve their goal.”
“How long ago was that?” Cole asked.
“The oldest record I’ve found of the trials is fifty thousand years old.”
“And how did they choose a king before then?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps the trials were around before then, or maybe they fought until only one man remained standing. Maybe they did it through birthright until they realized that being the son of a king does not make one a king, and they needed a better way to crown a leader.”
“No, being born to a king does not make one a leader. Being a leader does that,” Cole said.
Elvin stared at him but didn’t reply.
“Shall we go?” Cole asked.
“I see no reason to put it off.”
Elvin stepped through the portal first, and Cole followed. He’d been to some of the outer realms before but never one the dark fae and arach worked together to transform. The outer realms he visited were usually barren chunks of rock, but some held creatures no man wished to encounter.
Others were claimed by immortals who turned them into their little kingdoms though few lived there with them. Some couldn’t be located unless someone knew the exact way there, and others were easily found.
As the portal fell away, Cole stepped into an outer realm the likes of which he’d never seen before.