By the time the Lord called it a night, his eyes were bloodshot and his words slurred, but he walked out of the room on his own. “Come with me,” he slurred to his guards. “Get out of my home, Cole.”
Glad to have finally been dismissed, Cole rose as the Lord’s men fell into step behind him. They all filtered out the door.
When the door shut behind them and he found himself alone in the room, Cole’s attention shifted to the pixies in the rafters. He couldn’t leave them to such a horrible fate.
He climbed onto the table and located the two who’d cried all night. One was a male completely drained of color. By the time Cole got to him, the pixie was dead.
The other was a female so weakened that almost nothing of her orange color remained. When she lifted her head to look at him, he saw the truth in her nearly translucent eyes… it was too late to save her.
The silver used to crucify her had taken too much of a toll on her delicate body.
“Please,” she whispered in the tiniest voice he’d ever heard.
Bile churned in his stomach, but they both knew what she was asking for; it was the only option left to her. “I’m sorry.”
Gripping her head between his thumb and index finger, he twisted it until her neck snapped. A broken neck on most immortals wasn’t a fatal injury, but she was so drained she wouldn’t recover.
Her head dropped to her chest. Her breathing slowed before stopping. He’d never felt dirtier in his life, but he couldn’t have saved the broken creature.
He contemplated removing her from the wood and taking her to be buried. Pixies were creatures of the outdoors and nature and deserved better than this. They should be buried in the earth they loved.
However, the Lord might notice she was missing. He’d taken a chance by ending her suffering; he couldn’t put Lexi at risk by taking the pixie’s body from here.
Climbing down from the table, he stalked toward the door and opened it to leave the room. There, he discovered the stoop-shouldered man who’d led him in earlier.
Cole followed him from the palace. He crossed the bridge on his own and didn’t acknowledge the new guards outside the portals as he left Dragonia behind.
When he entered the mortal realm again, he stood on the outskirts of the broken city. He didn’t bother to take in the wasteland before he opened another portal into Lexi’s manor.
Glad to be free of that hideous room, the Lord, and Dragonia, all Cole craved was his mate, a shower to scrub himself clean, and a bed. Now back in the manor and staring at his mate, some of the dirtiness he felt faded.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Stepping away from the portal, Cole closed it behind him as he studied Lexi. Her legs were tucked beneath her in the chair, and her head had fallen onto the armrest. She wore a baggy T-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. The book in her hand was still open to the first page.
He could picture her trying to read but unable to concentrate as she got up to pace before forcing herself back to the chair. She must have been worried sick about him before exhaustion finally took over.
He’d hoped to be back here long before now, but the Lord, as always, had other plans. He tiptoed closer, determined not to wake her.
Her mouth was parted, and her loose bun dangled against her shoulder. She looked so peaceful and at ease, something he rarely saw from her anymore.
His heart raced as love for her swelled inside it. Cole didn’t care what he had to do or who he had to destroy; he would keep her safe. She deserved that.
Some of his self-disgust ebbed as he approached her. It was easy to hate himself when he was sitting in that room, pretending everything was fine. It wasn’t so easy to hate himself when he was with her.
Though he’d done some terrible things in his life, things he would never forget—like killing that pixie—she still loved him and had faith in him. And she was the most amazing, loving immortal he’d ever known.
He was broken, battered, unrelenting, unforgiving, and often vicious, but her love made him a better man.
He was about to kneel at her side when a board creaked in the hallway. Resting his fingers on the armrest near Lexi’s head, he scented Del before the man arrived in the doorway.
Del froze when he spotted Cole standing near his daughter; his gaze briefly fell to her before returning to Cole. A flicker of sadness went through his eyes before he gave Cole a tired smile.
“I was coming down to make her go to bed. She’d been waiting up for you,” Del said, “but she must have fallen asleep.”
“I’ll carry her upstairs,” Cole said.
“How did it go with the Lord?”
“As good as it can ever go with the Lord, but he believes Orin and Varo are dead, and I’m still alive to tell the tale, so….”
“As good as we hoped.”
“Yes.”
“Did he threaten her again?”
“In his little, subtle ways. He also threatened Brokk. I have no doubt he wants me dead and will one day try to see it happen.”
“We’ll figure out a way to destroy him before that day comes,” Del said.
“We will.”
Cole’s gaze fell to Lexi, and his heart warmed as he gazed at her. She was beautiful, and she’d always been stronger than she realized, but now, she was becoming more so as her powers emerged.
He brushed his fingers across her cheek and the smattering of freckles there. Touching her didn’t erase the horrible events of this night, but it helped ease some of the revulsion swirling inside him over that room and the fountain.
He would have far preferred to have showered before touching her, but he wasn’t going to leave her here while he went to do so. She had to rest, and she would get more sleep in her bed than here.
“You really do love her, don’t you?” Del asked. “It’s more than your lycan seeking its mate; you love her.”
Cole tore his attention away from Lexi to meet her father’s gaze. “What’s not to love?”
“Nothing,” Del said. “And I’m glad you see that too. I’m happy she has you to protect her from what’s coming. She’s going to need it.”
“I have a feeling that once she figures out how to use her powers, she won’t need anyone to protect her.”
A sad smile tugged at the corners of Del’s mouth. “Oh, she will, but it will be from her own stubborn nature.”
Cole chuckled, but before he could respond, Del walked away. He continued to smile at the place where Del just stood. It was good seeing his old friend again; he was glad he was back and more glad Del didn’t intend to stand in his way when it came to Lexi.
The last thing he wanted was to end up fighting his friend and her father. She wouldn’t handle that well.
Bending, Cole slid his arms under Lexi and picked her up. She murmured in her sleep and snuggled against him. Her head fell onto his shoulder, but she didn’t wake.
Her sweet scent assailed him as he carried her from the library and up the stairs to her room. Del was nowhere in sight by the time he opened Lexi’s door and carried her inside.
He adjusted his hold on her to pull back the blankets. When he finished, he slid her onto the bed and tucked the sheets and comforter under her chin.
He stepped away from the bed and went back to shut the door. He poked his head into the hall, but it remained empty, and the house was quiet.