Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies
Chapter Three
Lexi finished hangingthe last feed tub over the horse’s door and turned. When she saw the man standing behind her, she gasped and stumbled back until she crashed into the stall door. She never heard him enter the barn or realized he was standing a foot away from her.
How long had he been watching her?
She opened her mouth to demand answers, but he wouldn’t give them. Instead, she clamped it shut and lifted her chin. Her eyes narrowed when he leaned against the wall far too close to her.
Anger and revulsion warred inside her as she glowered at him. There were few people in this world she disliked, and this arrogant prick was one of them.
When he smiled at her, his smug attitude set her teeth on edge. How dare he waltz in here as if he belonged in her life and on her property?
Normally the familiar, much-loved scents of hay and horse made her worst days better. The soothing sounds of the horses eating their breakfast was typically a balm to her soul, but nothing could calm her now.
To make matters worse, with as quiet as he’d been, he could have caught her entering or leaving the tunnels below. And if he learned of the refugees, they would all die.
Then she realized she’d never heard him enter the barn because he’d teleported in. She could never enter the tunnels from the barn again.
Entering them through the house meant Sahira had a better chance of catching her, but she’d take her chances with her aunt over Malakai. She would not risk the lives of the refugees.
“Hello, Elexiandra,” he practically purred.
Though outwardly she remained unmoving, everything inside her recoiled when his brown eyes leisurely perused her. He’d never seen her naked, and he never would, but she felt like those eyes stripped her bare.
She resisted the impulse to cover herself with her hands, but she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he unnerved her. Instead, she stared disdainfully back at him as his eyes met hers again.
“Malakai,” she said.
Her crisp tone didn’t faze him as his smile revealed his straight, white teeth and fangs. As a half vampire, she had a set of fangs too. However, his were elongated like he was about to feed.
And she would never be the thing he fed on.
“How are you doing?” he asked. “I feel like we haven’t seen each other in a while.”
Not long enough.
It had been almost two weeks since they last saw each other. At the time, Cole chased him off, but Cole was gone, and she was all alone with him.
But she didn’t need anyone to chase him off again. Her father was gone, Cole was gone, and she would somehow get him to leave her alone.
How? She didn’t know, but she would find a way to get him out of her life.
Her shoulders went back. “I’ve been good, and you?”
“Unfortunately, I haven’t been so good. Would you like to know why?”
“No.”
Her surprise over the unexpected, blunt response was only exceeded by his. The smile slid from his face as his eyes glinted with malice.
“I’m sorry, Malakai, but I don’t have the time for this. If you’ll excuse me.”
She’d prefer not to go anywhere near him, but the way she always exited the barn was behind him. She could walk out through the paddock and climb the fence to get out, but she refused to back down from this man, or anyone else, anymore.
Keeping her shoulders back, she started toward the open door behind him. The sunlight streaming through it caught the specks of dust dancing through the air.
It was such a familiar sight that most of the time, she never noticed it. She focused on those particles now as they drew her toward freedom.
Her mind shouted at her to run, and her senses remained focused on the man behind her, but she kept her step steady as she approached the door. I will not run from this man. I will not run.
She was almost to the door when Malakai transported directly into her path. She almost walked into him, and his six-two frame blocked out the welcoming rays of the sun as he towered seven inches over her.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” he growled.
His smile was gone, and the malevolence shining in his eyes caused ice crystals to form in her blood. Those crystals crept across her skin until they encased her in a frozen tomb.
She would not back down from him, but she wasn’t sure she’d survive what he planned to do to her.