He turned her toward him and cupped her cheek. She leaned into his touch and smiled up at him. The swelling was gone from her face, and the bruises were fading fast, but not fast enough for his liking.
“You can stay here,” he said.
She would hear their conversation, but he didn’t care. There was nothing the council had to say that she couldn’t hear. She would be safe here, but he hesitated to leave her.
“Go,” she said and placed her hand over his on her cheek. “Go on; I’ll be fine.”
He turned his hand over in hers, squeezed it, and released her. “Let’s go,” he said to Brokk.
He didn’t look back as he strode out and onto the dais. His and Brokk’s boots thudded against the floor as his brother walked beside him.
Cole ignored the three thrones set out on the dais as he descended the steps to the large table the helots placed in the center of the room. He didn’t care that while every council member was dressed impeccably in elaborately brocaded tunics and soft pants, he was still wearing Del’s too small, human clothes. What these assholes thought of him didn’t matter.
The six members of the council studied him as he approached. They were all the eldest and most powerful members of their extremely old and wealthy families. They were all purebloods, and they held power in the Gloaming; he should play nice with them, but he was not in the mood to do so.
If he decided not to go through the trials, he would have a seat on the council. The fact his father was king did not give him a right to the throne, but his father’s line, and therefore his, was also one of the oldest in the Gloaming, and that gave him a right to a seat at this table.
Without a king, the council ruled the realm, but Cole needed more than a seat at this table to destroy the Lord. He required the power that came with being king too. His father was stronger than the other dark fae because he survived the trials.
“Where have you been?” Aelfdane demanded.
Cole didn’t respond as he stopped behind the large chair situated at the head of the table. It was the chair his father always occupied during these meetings while he sat beside him. Brokk and, at one time, the rest of his brothers had always stood behind him.
He didn’t know if it was out of respect for his dead father’s memory, fear of him, or preferring not to fight amongst each other, but none of the council had seated themselves on the chair. He was aware that some, if not all of them, planned to stake a claim on it.
Cole pulled out the chair and settled himself onto it. It felt completely wrong to do so, but he was making it clear he had no intention of leaving this palace. Though he despised sitting in the chair, he settled casually back and stretched his legs out before him.
When Aelfdane started to pull out the chair beside him, Cole caught one of the legs with his foot and yanked it back. Aelfdane’s eyebrows shot into his black hairline.
“That chair is for my brother,” Cole said.
A thunderous expression crossed Aelfdane’s face. “Who do you think you are?”
“Your future king, and I’m telling you to resume your normal seat at this table. I will have my father’s chair, and my brother will assume the position I once held at this table.”
The air around Aelfdane started to crackle as he drew on his powers.
“Unless you want your head on a stake beside that dragon, I’d rein your power in,” Cole growled.
“Are you… threatening… me?” Aelfdane sputtered.
“Is that what you took it as?”
“Yes.”
“Then you would be correct.”
He thought Aelfdane was going to unleash on him, but Becca leaned over from where she stood beside him at the table and rested her hand on his arm. The older fae spun on her and opened his mouth to start shouting, but he seemed to think twice about unleashing on the council and bit back his words.
“Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to solve our dilemma,” Elvin said.
Elvin’s black skin, hair, and eyes shone in the glow of the torches lining the walls. Though his words were meant to pacify, his eyes were as cold as one of the ice realms when they met Cole’s. He wasn’t a hothead like Aelfdane, but he also wasn’t happy to see Cole sitting in his father’s seat.
Cole smiled at him. Elvin’s eyes narrowed, but he settled at the table with the others. Brokk settled into the chair beside him.
“I will undergo the trials as soon as possible,” Cole stated.
“You really think you’ll be king?” Durin demanded.
“Yes.”
“Absolutely not!” Aelfdane declared. “That will never happen.”
“My father was king.”
“I don’t care. No half-breed will sit on the dark fae throne.”
“When I survive the trials, that throne will be mine,” Cole said.
“You’ll never survive them.”
Cole shrugged as he leaned back and folded his hands on his belly. “I bet you considered it impossible for someone to kill a dragon with their bare hands, but I did, and I staked its head outside. I will survive them.”
The men all exchanged glances while Becca licked her lips as she eyed him.
“Are you saying you killed that dragon?” Elvin asked.
“Who else do you think did it?” Cole replied.
“You could have found a dead dragon and cut off its head,” Alston said.
“When was the last time you saw a dead dragon lying around?” Brokk inquired. “Oh, right, never,” he continued when none of them replied.
“That dragon killed my father, and I killed it,” Cole said. “I don’t care if you believe me or not; your beliefs won’t make any difference when I’m ruling over you.”
All the council members exchanged a look. Most of them wisely remained silent.
“A single man can’t kill a dragon,” Finn stated. “That’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not,” Cole said. “But I’m not going to argue with you about it. I want to start the trials as soon as possible. The Lord of the Shadow Realms has promised to unleash his dragons on the Gloaming if I do not take the throne.”
That quieted them for only a second before they exploded into conversation. He let them argue with each other while he watched. Brokk rolled his eyes before shifting his attention back to the bickering council.
Chapter Twelve
Lexi remained hidden in the shadows, but if she poked her head out a little, she could see most of the table. The dark fae council all looked like they were walking on thin ice, while Cole looked like he’d set up a chair and was casually catching fish on that ice.
She didn’t know how he could remain so calm when she was on the verge of chewing off her fingernails to keep from screaming. She had no powers, and being half human, she wasn’t as strong as any purebred immortal, but she wanted to go out there and protect him from them… somehow.
Instead, she remained standing in the shadows, spying as she used to when she was a little girl and her dad was in one of his meetings. She was always so scared he’d catch her, but he never did.
During those times, she’d never understood half of what she overheard. She understood all of it now, and most of these fae didn’t want Cole in charge. The woman was the only one who didn’t speak as she eyed Cole in a way that made Lexi feel as murderous as Godzilla on a rampage.