Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies
Chapter Sixty
During his many years,there were countless times when he was a complete asshole and treated others with little to no respect. Not once had he felt bad about it.
He’d broken hearts, shattered prides, and destroyed lives without so much as a twinge of regret. Now, self-loathing burned like water from the acid lake in his throat and chest.
“The coalition is a secret from everyone who isn’t a member,” he said.
“And the existence of everyone in those tunnels is the same thing. If I’m going to be a part of your world, then you have to tell me everything I could be facing in it.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I’m tired of others always trying to protect me. My father and Sahira sought to protect me from the world, but it was impossible. And now you’re trying to protect me from everything too. I don’t want to be protected anymore. I should know it all if I’m going to be your queen.”
“I’ll tell you all of it then.”
When the wind blew a strand of her hair toward him, he caught it. He admired the different shades of red in it as he let the silken strand slide through his fingers.
“So, are you going to tell me how you and my father plotted to take down the Lord?” she asked.
“Yes, but why don’t we talk in a boat?”
Lexi looked at the vine-covered boat and smiled. “I’d like that.”
* * *
Despite having not been usedin a few years, the boat remained in good condition. It had taken some time to free it from the vines and clear it of debris. Once freed, she discovered the wood was still in good shape, though it required a paint job and one of the boards near the top was rotting.
Cole slipped the boat into the water and held it as she climbed into the vessel. He followed her and used one of the oars to push them off the shore. While he rowed, she admired the bulge and flex of the muscles in his arms as, beneath the sun’s rays, his ciphers stood out starkly.
When they floated into the middle of the lake, he set the oars in place and let them drift as he told her about the coalition, his role in it, and her father’s role.
She stared at the manor while he spoke. She’d never suspected a thing, but the more he revealed, the more sense it made. Her father never fit in on the Lord’s side.
She’d understood why he fought for that monster, but it never seemed like the right side for him. He wasn’t an oppressor who wanted more from the human realm; like her, he was a man who was happy with the life he led.
“So many secrets,” she murmured when Cole finished speaking.
“No more secrets,” he said. “This is it; it’s all out in the open.”
She shifted her attention from the manor to him. His Persian blue eyes shone as he stretched his legs out before him in the boat.
“Is it?” she asked. “You move in completely different circles than me and have a lot more years on me. I’m sure there are many more skeletons in your closet.”
“There are many skeletons, and if you ask me about them, I’ll tell you, but I’m not going to sit down and reveal all the details of my past unless you insist on hearing them, and then we will need a lot of time.”
“I don’t want to know all the details of your past, but I do want to know the really important things like what you just revealed about the coalition and Orin. And from now on, I want to know it all.”
“Then you will, but I expect the same from you.”
“You’ll have it.”
“Good,” he said. “There is one more thing I have to tell you, but it’s something that will be easier to show you.”
She frowned at him.
“I’ll show you later, I promise. Now, come here.”
When he opened his arms to her, she braced her feet apart on the boat, rose, and slipped across the space separating them to crawl into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head as he held her in his lap.
“I am sorry,” he said as he smoothed back her hair.
“So am I,” she whispered. “But you have to know I’d never be with someone else; you’re it for me.”
His arms tightened around her. “You’re everything for me.”
Lexi relaxed into his arms and closed her eyes. A sense of peace descended as his strength enveloped her and the bird’s song filled the air. The sun’s rays warmed her, and when she opened her eyes, it was to a sky free of clouds.
Her tranquility didn’t last as the manor door opened and Sahira and Brokk emerged. Her aunt carried a bag on her shoulder as they approached the lake.
“I don’t like this,” she whispered.
“Neither do I,” he admitted.