“We’ll bring them up for you,” Varo offered.
“No!” Sahira shouted when he bent to pick up the harrow stone. “Don’t touch it!”
“It will kill you,” Brokk said.
Varo snatched his hand back and eyed the stone like it was an alien monstrosity about to eat him. Taking a deep breath, Sahira threw back her shoulders and stepped over Orin’s clone to retrieve the stone.
“Everything else is safe to pick up,” she told Varo as she lifted the harrow stone and slipped it into her pocket. “But not this.”
“What do we do with our duplicates?” Orin asked.
“Leave them here for now. We’ll keep the gates closed, so no one accidentally stumbles across them,” Del said.
Brokk helped to gather the remainder of Sahira’s supplies and, with the others, made his way out of the cordoned off section of the tunnel. Del closed the gate behind them.
No one spoke as they trudged behind Sahira and Del toward the exit in the fireplace. They emerged into the library, and though the curtains remained closed over the large windows, Brokk was surprised to see sunlight filtering around their edges.
Had they really been down there all night?
He yawned as he ran a hand through his hair. The dirt and sweat from being underground and away from a shower for far longer than he would have liked caused it to stand on end. He gave a halfhearted attempt to flatten it before giving up.
Orin strolled over and sat on one of the oversized, brown chairs. He turned sideways to drape his legs over the arm and yawned.
Brokk resisted the urge to kick his foot as it swung in the air. All he’d done was lie there all night, and Brokk was sure he’d fallen asleep a time or two.
Granted, he hadn’t done anything more than watch the whole time either, but the tension of it all was exhausting. He couldn’t imagine how Sahira felt. But he didn’t have to, as her shoulders hunched forward while she shuffled toward the doorway.
Orin frowned at her and lowered his leg to sit up. “Are you okay?”
Brokk’s eyebrows rose at this; it was rare to see Orin voicing concern over anyone. Sahira may have helped give him a chance at a longer life, but he still wasn’t one for concern.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “I have to get this stone somewhere safe. Then a drink and some food, and I’ll be fine.”
Before any of them could respond, she shuffled out the door.
“Where are we?” Varo asked as he gazed around the room with open curiosity.
Del settled onto the other chair and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “My home.”
Varo clasped his hands behind his back as he studied the shelves. “It’s a beautiful home.”
“Thank you,” Del murmured.
Varo tilted his head to the side and looked about to say something more, but before he could speak, a portal opened in the middle of the room. Orin rose, and Del stiffened, but since most immortals, if not all of them, had protective spells around their homes to keep unwanted visitors out, Brokk didn’t think anyone coming through that portal was a threat.
Just in case, his hand fell to the dagger at his side. He released its hilt when Cole emerged with Lexi tucked securely against his side.
At least, he assumed it was Lexi, as a thick cloak hid her face and body, but it was her build. Besides, Cole wouldn’t hold anyone else in such a protective way.
Cole’s eyes immediately went to the windows as they emerged, and some of his tension eased. “Keep those curtains closed,” he commanded.
“Oh shucks, Varo and I were about to throw them open and have a party in front of them,” Orin retorted.
“Don’t,” Cole snarled.
Brokk never saw Cole move; he wasn’t sure he did move before a thwack sounded, and Orin stumbled back. He managed to catch his balance before crashing into one of the bookshelves.
His hand flew to his nose as Cole’s settled at his side. Brokk blinked and blinked again, but he still wasn’t sure what had happened.
He didn’t think Cole had punched Orin but had he backhanded him across the face somehow? How had Cole moved liked that? Brokk should have seen him, but there hadn’t even been a blur.
Rubbing his nose, Orin looked as stunned as he stared at Cole. When his hand fell away, it revealed the red and swollen tip of it.
What. The. Fuck? Brokk wondered, but he had no answer for what just transpired.
Cole looked unphased by the interaction as he hugged Lexi closer. Brokk didn’t know what to say, and Orin remained silent as he eyed Cole not with anger but with the same uncertainty as Brokk.
Varo’s gaze was riveted on Cole as he edged away from the bookcases. On his face was an expression of hope and dread that reminded Brokk of a dog in a pound.
Before anyone could say anything, Varo spoke. “Cole.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Cole had been about to pull Lexi’s hood back when Varo spoke. Twisting his head, he spotted his younger brother standing near the doorway to the library.
Seeing his youngest brother again was like a punch to the gut. For a second, Cole’s hands hovered in the air near Lexi’s hood before falling back to his side.
Orin had said that Varo survived the war, but until now, a part of Cole had feared it was another one of Orin’s games. He hadn’t dared let himself hope Varo had survived.
They’d never been the closest. With him being the oldest and Varo the youngest, nearly two hundred years separated them, but Cole had looked out for him. Being half light fae was not easy for Varo in the dark fae realm.
There was one time, when Varo was fifteen, Cole came across a group of dark fae kids beating him up after school. Cole broke it apart, kicked more than a few of them in the ass, and scared the shit out of them. They all ran screaming for the hills.
As he dusted Varo off and wiped away the blood under his nose, he assured his brother it wouldn’t happen again.
“Of course it will,” Varo replied. “I’m a target in this realm. I always have been and always will be.”
“What do you mean have been?” Cole asked.
When Varo didn’t respond, Cole pressed. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”
“No, and it won’t be the last. The light fae are the opposites of the dark fae, and no one in this realm likes them.”
“Father obviously liked at least one of them,” Cole had pointed out. “And there are others here who like them too. I liked your mother.”
“It wasn’t enough to keep her here.”
“No,” Cole agreed. But then, he had no idea why the woman left, only that she was here one day and gone the next.
“And most of the dark fae don’t like the light fae. They consider them weak.”
Cole did too, but he didn’t say that. “Why didn’t you tell Father or me about this?”
Varo had shrugged as he dug the toe of his boot into the sandy ground. “This is my battle to fight.”
“Five on one aren’t battles you fight.”
Varo shrugged again. Cole grasped his bony shoulder and led him away. After that, he followed Varo to and from his school, staying in the shadows and ensuring his little brother was never a target again.
That instance had created a soft spot in Cole’s heart for his youngest brother. He never saw anyone try to beat Varo up again, but though he watched him during those times, there were many times when he wasn’t there. And Varo never would have told him if someone went after him again.