Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies

Chapter Twenty-Three

Orin openedhis mouth to respond before closing it. His forehead furrowed, and he shook his head before looking to her again. His shock and confusion were evident, but there was also a growing understanding in his eyes.

An understanding he sought to deny if his next question was any indication.

“What trials?” he asked.

“The dark fae trials to become king. Orin, your father is dead,” Lexi whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tell you like this…. I don’t know how…. I… I… meant to tell you, but….”

Her voice trailed off as she realized she was talking in pointless circles and sounding like an idiot. Orin stared at a spot over her shoulder. She had no idea what the look on his face was—grief, confusion, denial, anger?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know how difficult it is to lose your dad.”

“That can’t be true,” Orin said. “He can’t be dead.”

Lexi had thought the same thing when word of her father’s death arrived. It was easy to deny something when you didn’t witness it.

“Cole was there,” she said. “He saw it happen.”

He finally blinked. “Cole was there? He told you this?”

“Yes.”

When his gaze ran over her again, his interest was much keener. Lexi refused to fidget beneath his scrutiny.

“What happened to my father?” he demanded.

Lexi took a deep breath before telling him how the Lord of the Shadow Realms ordered the death of the king of the dark fae… and why. She contemplated telling him that Cole wasn’t on the Lord’s side anymore and planned to fight against the evil monster, but she kept the words to herself.

She already felt like she was betraying Cole by keeping this secret from him. If he wanted Orin to know he planned to kill the Lord, he would tell him once he found out Orin was here.

When she finished, Orin’s only reaction was a slow blink. Lexi stared at her feet as she dug the toe of her sneaker into the ground; he had to understand he was a big part of the reason his father was dead. That wasn’t a burden anyone should have to bear, not even an asshole like Orin.

“I have to go,” Lexi said. “I’ll leave through one of the exits in the woods. That way, if someone sees me returning to the manor, I can claim I couldn’t sleep and went for a walk.”

“Who goes out for a walk in the middle of the night?”

“I do… on occasion. It’s peaceful at night, no one is around to bother me, and I love the song of the crickets and tree frogs. Besides, it’s better than me emerging from the tunnels and into the manor. Brokk doesn’t know the tunnels exist, and Sahira would have endless questions for me. You’re going to have to be more careful; I don’t know how long Brokk is staying here.”

“Cole intends to be the next dark fae king.”

It wasn’t a question, but Lexi answered him anyway. “Yes. He didn’t have a choice. And now, he’s already started them. If he doesn’t do as the Lord commands, the Lord has promised to level the Gloaming.”

Orin showed no reaction to her words. The man was as emotional as the shadows surrounding him, but she sensed a wealth of sorrow and confusion inside him—or maybe she was just hoping it was there.

No one should be this cold after learning about their father’s death. She’d agreed to help him, and their lives depended on each other, but she trusted Orin about as much as a pissed-off rattlesnake.

Still, she preferred to believe the man whose life had become so entwined with hers wasn’t this callous when he learned about the death of his father. He had to be this emotionless because he was a dark fae and good at keeping his emotions locked away.

She had no doubt he would save his ass before anyone else here, but she’d seen signs of kindness in him too. He wouldn’t be rescuing refugees and bringing them here if he didn’t possess some compassion. He claimed saving those refugees benefited him, but she believed there was more to it than that.

Or maybe she was trying to see something that wasn’t there. They depended on each other after all, and she preferred to think she hadn’t thrown herself in with a man-eating shark.

“If something comes up or if Cole returns, I’ll try to drop a note to you through the stable or library entrance.” She had planned to stay away from that entrance after Malakai, but they would be the easiest two entrances for her to access. “George has also been around the manor and the stables more often. Look for notes there, but don’t come out through there.”

Orin gave her a barely discernible nod.

“I have to go,” Lexi said.

She started to turn away, but his words stopped her. “Cole’s not pure dark fae.”

“I know.”

“The dark fae won’t accept him as their king.”

“They won’t have a choice once he survives the trials,” she said.

Orin snorted with laughter. “Do you think someone who isn’t a pure dark fae can survive?”

She hated that his words caused doubts to creep in. She was afraid, if she doubted it for a second, that somehow it would cause him to die. It was stupid to think that way, but she couldn’t help it.

“Cole can and will survive.”

“You have a lot of faith in my older brother.”

“I do.”

“And if he does survive, what then?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a fool if you’ve allowed yourself to fall in love with him.”

“Then I’m a fool.”

Orin’s lips compressed into a thin line, and a muscle twitched in his cheek. “He won’t survive.”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this. I only came to tell you about your father, that Brokk was at the manor, and to be careful. I won’t be able to come back as often.”

“Understood.”

“Okay. I have to go.”

She strode past him and deeper into the passageways. She was about to turn left when she stopped to look back at him. He remained where she left him with his head slightly bowed. He struggled to keep it hidden, but she sensed the anguish emanating from him as his shoulders hunched up.

“Orin.” It took a few seconds, but eventually, his head turned toward her. “I’m truly sorry about your father. He was a good man.”

She started to walk away again but stopped when he said, “Andi.”

Andi was the name she gave to the refugees when Orin first came to her with them; it was what they knew her as down here.

“You’ll let me know if Cole survives,” he said.

“I will.”

He didn’t say another word before stepping back and blending seamlessly into the shadows once more.