Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies
Chapter Sixty-Four
“I toldyou to stay where you were,” the Lord said as his red eyes bored into Cole.
Cole didn’t respond; he’d known he was risking the Lord’s wrath when he disobeyed his command. But there was no way he was going to leave Lexi out there alone with the dragons.
“I am sorry, milord,” Cole said.
The apology grated on Cole’s nerves, and the words were a bitter acid on his tongue, but if he were to have any chance of saving Lexi’s life, he had to play nice. He had to act like he considered the Lord his boss and respected him.
But if there were no dragons here, he’d slaughter this man in a heartbeat.
And they both knew it.
“I couldn’t leave her out there alone,” Cole said.
“You could, but you chose not to.”
“She’s my mate, milord; I could not leave her out there alone.”
The malicious glee in the Lord's eyes set Cole’s teeth on edge. This is exactly what he’d hoped to avoid revealing to this man, but he had no other choice.
And he suspected the Lord already knew. Lexi wouldn’t be here if the Lord didn’t already believe she was something he could use against him.
“Is she now?” the Lord purred. “Let her go, Cole.”
Cole’s fingers tightened on her arm before he peeled them away. The Lord needed him to keep the dark fae in line and to hunt his brothers, so he might be able to disobey this man once; he wouldn’t get a second chance.
And he wouldn’t be the one who paid for his disobedience; Lexi would.
* * *
The Lord crookedhis finger and beckoned to her. “Come here, honey.”
Lexi bristled over being called honey, but now wasn’t the time to get all pissy about an endearment this man hadn’t earned the right to give her. When she stepped closer, the Lord beckoned her onward until she stood only a few feet away from the steps.
When she stopped, he tilted his head to study her. Lexi forced herself not to shift and twitch beneath his scrutiny.
“Ahh,” the Lord murmured after a minute.
Something was wrong with the Lord’s eyes, and it wasn’t just their solid, ruby red color. No, it was the madness churning behind those eyes that made them so off. There wasn’t any morality or compassion in the man’s gaze.
He didn’t possess one ounce of kindness. He might have at one time, but that time was gone.
The dragons’ claws scraped the ground as they shifted behind her. She chanced a glance back at Cole as the creatures closed around him again. The stony mask of his face didn’t change. He had to be aware they were approaching, but he didn’t show any sign of it.
“You’re a beautiful woman,” the Lord murmured, drawing her attention back to him. “I received word of your presence at the king’s side throughout his father’s funeral and coronation, but they underestimated your beauty. No wonder these men seek to claim you.”
Her gaze shot to Malakai; her lip curled. She hadn’t seen him since he attacked her. She’d hoped never to see him again but known it was inevitable.
She hadn’t expected it to be like this. And she hadn’t expected to learn he was trying to claim her.
“One of them says you’re his mate, and the other wants you as his wife,” the Lord continued.
Wife!Lexi’s mouth went dry as bile rose in her throat. Malakai had come to this man to tell him he wanted her as his wife!
She’d rather be burnt to death by a dragon while also being chomped on by it.
“I also want her as my wife,” Cole said.
“Is that so?” the Lord murmured while he ran his teepeed fingers back and forth under his chin. “I’m not sure how the dark fae will take to their king marrying a… what are you, honey?”
“I’m half human and half vampire,” she managed to say around the lump in her throat.
The Lord released a humorless laugh. “Oh my. It must be your beauty they’re fighting over then because it’s certainly not your breeding.”
Lexi bit her tongue. Telling this psycho off was probably not the best way to ensure a good end to this rather crappy day.
“Yes, I do not see that going over well with the dark fae, especially since they already have a half-breed as their king,” the Lord continued. “We know how little they like outsiders, and their opinions on humans… well, let’s just say, I have more tolerance for them, and I enjoy watching them burn.”
If Hannibal Lecter had a baby with Annie Wilkes, it would be saner than this freak.
“It doesn’t matter what the dark fae say or want,” Cole said. “I am their king, and they will obey me. They sent three others into the trials against me, and none of them survived. They can send more dark fae into the trials, and I’ll destroy every single one of them, just as I destroyed Aelfdane. That throne is mine.”
Cole’s voice remained guttural and distorted as he spoke, and his revelation about Aelfdane caused even the dragons to stop moving. She hadn’t known this detail about the trials, but he’d only revealed this about Aelfdane to prove his strength and determination to the Lord.
She didn’t know how the monster was going to take it.
“One must kill to rule, but one does not have to marry,” the Lord replied. “And marrying a half-breed human is bound to irritate the already cantankerous dark fae.”
Taking a deep breath, Lexi gathered her courage and asked, “Do I have a say in this?”
The Lord’s eyes came back to her, and he smiled. It was the cruelest smile she’d ever seen. “You can say whatever you want, but it means nothing to me.”
Lexi’s fingers bit into her palms as the futility of her situation sank in. They were all rats to him, and he was the cat batting them around. Then the Lord’s gaze went to her shoulder.
Lexi hadn’t realized her shirt had fallen to reveal Cole’s bite on her.