Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies
Chapter Fifty-One
“If you unleash that fire,I’ll rip you to pieces and set each of those pieces ablaze,” Cole growled.
When Lexi’s gaze darted around the hall and Becca froze before turning to search for him, he realized he’d drawn the shadows around him without any plan to do so. As he stepped forward, he released the shadows, and they returned to where they belonged.
Lexi gasped, and Becca stumbled away when he appeared only a few feet away from her. He made sure Lexi was uninjured before focusing on Becca’s blood-streaked face.
“I’d suggest you get out of here,” Cole snarled.
Becca nearly collided with Lexi as she reeled backward.
“Don’t touch her!” Cole commanded.
Becca came to an abrupt stop and slunk to the side before regaining her composure and throwing her shoulders back. She wiped away the blood trickling from her nose and flung the drops onto the floor. Somehow, she managed to look dignified while doing it.
“I caught your whore going through the rooms,” Becca said.
“Watch. What. You. Say,” Cole bit out. “I won’t have you talking about her like that.”
Becca seemed not to hear him as she continued like he hadn’t spoken. “She was in the moon room.”
“I granted her permission to explore.”
“Outsiders should not have free access to our world and our secrets.”
“This palace is perfectly capable of guarding its secrets, and it is my home, not yours. Now, get out of here before I throw you in the dungeon.”
She gaped at him like he’d sprouted feathers and started quacking like a duck. “You wouldn’t dare. I am a member of the council.”
“Tell me again that I wouldn’t dare.”
A vein throbbed in Becca’s temple, but she didn’t speak.
“Do not return to the palace until I permit you to do so. If I catch you in here again, I’ll put you in the dungeon. And if I catch you threatening her again, I’ll kill you,” Cole stated.
As it was, he was barely restraining himself from wrapping his hand around her throat and tearing off her head. However, she was a council member, and he couldn’t go around destroying his council members.
He had to earn the trust of the dark fae here, and he couldn’t do that by killing another member of the realm’s most powerful families. That wouldn’t earn him the loyalty of the fae who worked on the lands and in the homes and businesses run by those families.
Aelfdane was an understandable kill; he’d agreed to it when he volunteered for the trials. Becca was something else. He’d warned her, and if she tried to harm Lexi again, he would destroy her.
“Go,” he ordered.
Becca turned and hurried down the hall. Though she kept her shoulders back and her step dignified, he sensed she was struggling not to run.
Cole’s gaze shifted to Lexi as Becca disappeared down another hall. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine; he could see that in her eyes.
“Did she hurt you?” he asked.
“No, but she hates me. And she’s a hideous woman. The things she said….”
Lexi broke off and focused on the door to his right. He glanced at the blood-covered knob before returning his attention to his mate.
“You have some really bad taste in women,” she muttered.
He chuckled. “You do realize you’re one of those women.”
The glare she sent him ended his amusement. Apparently, she was not in the mood to be teased.
“You won’t have to see her again,” Cole said.
“But I will if I stay here. She’s a powerful dark fae, a member of your council, and has free reign of the palace.”
“She does not,” Cole said. “She was allowed in today because of all the preparations. The rest of the council is here too. She will not be allowed in again unless I say so, and she will only be around if I am there too.”
“Great, so I’ll stay here and not go into the realm at all then.”
The irritation in her voice made Cole realize he was picking his way around the edges of a ticking time bomb and had to proceed carefully. He would not lose Lexi because of Becca. He refused to let it happen.
“And after what happened today, she’s going to hate me even more, which I wouldn’t have believed possible before,” she continued.
His claws extended and dug into his palms when he clenched and unclenched his hands. “Do you wish to leave?”
“No. I want to stay with you, but….” She shrugged. “But it will take me some time to get used to this place and all the politics that go with it. I also don’t want to be locked up in the palace when I’m here. I know it can’t happen this time, but if you expect me to be the queen of this realm, then I have to go out and into it.”
She would be queen, but he didn’t like the idea of her out in the Gloaming. Maybe when things were more settled, but that could be years. He kept his concerns to himself; it was an issue they could deal with later, and she was already annoyed enough without him aggravating her more.
“Becca won’t harm you,” he said.
“I’m not so sure of that.”
“I am. She won’t be allowed in this palace again without supervision, and once you’re my queen, if she does anything to you, it is an act of treason, and she will pay dearly for it.”
“I don’t think she cares about that. She loves you, Cole.”
“No, she doesn’t. She loves the power I represent, and she craves it. Power and a better position in this realm are all she’s ever wanted from me.”
“You’re wrong. No one is that angry and spiteful about something because of power. She loves you.”
“Lexi, I know the dark fae well, and what Becca loves is power and that I could offer her so much of it. She does not love me.”
Lexi bit her lip as she studied the blood-splattered, gray stone floor. She looked so defeated he couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms. He nestled her against his chest as he rested his chin on her head.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with her today,” Cole said.
“I guess that’s life when you’re dating a guy who has a lot of exes. How did you know we were here?”
“I followed your scent, but I sensed something was wrong because of the palace.”
She leaned back to look up at him. “Huh?”
Cole grinned at her. “Ever since the trials, I’ve had a strange connection to this place. It’s almost as if it’s alive.”
Lexi blinked at him before laughing. “I had that same thought when it bashed Becca’s face with a door.”
“It did?”
“It was awesome.”
Keeping his arms around her, he started leading her down the hall. “You’re going to have to tell me all about it.”