Kneeling at the shore, he ignored Auberon’s puddle of remains still seeping toward the water as he studied the pristine surface. He crept his fingertips toward the water but kept them away from the deadly liquid. He didn’t know how much it would take to turn him into a puddle, and he wasn’t taking the chance.
Cole concentrated on the water as he drew on the strength thrumming through his veins. The rocks vibrated beneath his fingers as he focused his power on the water. As the vibrations grew stronger, they created ripples across the lake’s smooth surface.
He’d just woken, but he was still exhausted. And it was a bone-deep exhaustion that would take weeks of sleep to eradicate. He was also starving and needed to feed, but this land would never provide him the opportunity to do so.
Despite those growing weaknesses, he shoved his power forward and seized control of the water. The ripples on its surface intensified as he took control over it and started to push it apart. A lightning bolt crack zigzagged across the water’s surface until it vanished.
Lifting his hands, he placed the backs of them against each other before pushing them apart. The crack widened, and the water peeled back until two walls rose twenty feet into the air on each side of him.
His muscles quivered as the water exerted its force against him, but it held firm… for now.
He had no idea how far he’d have to go until he reached the other side of the lake. He’d have to move fast as he also didn’t know how long he could keep the water apart.
Rising, Cole stepped onto the damp rocks lining the bottom of the lake. He could only hope that dampness wasn’t enough to dissolve him as there was no way he could keep the water parted long enough for the rocks to dry.
Keeping his hands out at his sides, Cole sprinted across the stones. As he ran, the water crashed down behind him, but he moved fast enough that it didn’t touch him.
He had to block the pathway behind him; he couldn’t take the chance that Aelfdane would follow him through here. If Aelfdane lived, he would have to find his own way across the lake.
Ahead of him, the walls of water trembled as the weight of them tested his strength. His feet slapped against the rocks as he ran and ran and ran. The bottoms of his feet burned, and Cole suspected he was losing some of his newly formed flesh, but he wasn’t starting to melt away onto the rocks, so he took that as a good sign.
As the minutes stretched into what felt like hours, he was beginning to think there wasn’t an end and, eventually, the water would win, but then a wavering light rose out of the darkness ahead of him.
Reinvigorated by that light, Cole poured on the speed as the crashing water cut off all chance of an escape behind him.
He sprinted out of the lake and into the fire.
Chapter Thirty
From inside the barn, Lexi heard the plodding thump of horses’ hooves as riders approached. A feeling of dread descended over her; they rarely got riders here, and when they did, they were never as many as what she heard out there.
Anyone who came to the manor was usually on foot, and most of the time, it was a human seeking food. Few of them ever rode horses.
This can’t be good.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and braced herself for what was about to come. She petted the neck of the gelding she was brushing before leading him over to his stall and closing the door.
He poked his head out, and his ears flicked as the horses came to a stop outside the open barn door. Lexi didn’t recognize any of the voices drifting into the barn. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
Lexi wiped her hands on her jeans and threw back her shoulders. She was a lot more on edge in the barn since Malakai’s attack, but she refused to let him ruin her happy place.
However, she couldn’t keep the tremble from her hands as she strode toward the open doors. She didn’t hear him out there, but had Malakai returned with help who would force her to go with him?
The possibility caused nausea to churn in her stomach, and her hand flitted to the small dagger she now wore strapped to her hip. It would do little against him, but she wouldn’t go without a fight.
When she stepped outside the door, a glimmer of motion caught her attention as Brokk materialized behind the manor. He strode toward her as her attention shifted to the five riders only ten feet away.
They sat on their mounts, with their shoulders back and their chins raised high. They wore brown pants, black boots laced up to almost mid-calf, and brown shirts that clung to their broad frames.
Judging by the size of them, they were lycans. Given the dour expressions on their faces, they weren’t exactly thrilled to be here.
The rider at the back of the group held a white flag with a bright red, fire-breathing dragon. She recognized the dragon as the Lord’s symbol. She gulped but kept her face perfectly composed as she clasped her hands before her.
She had no idea why they were here; they could be searching for Orin, they could be here for her, or maybe Brokk. The Lord had killed his father after all; perhaps they were here to destroy more of his family.
She almost touched the dagger again but restrained herself. There was no reason to make any threatening moves before learning why they were here, but she wouldn’t let them take Brokk without a fight.
The creak of a door drew her attention as Sahira stepped outside the manor. She used her hand to shade her amber eyes against the sun, and her gaze met Lexi’s before shifting to their newest arrivals.
“Hello,” Lexi greeted the men. “Can I help you?”
She assumed the lycan in the front was a leader, but he didn’t respond. The horse’s tack jangled as the animals shifted but didn’t relax.
“Hello,” Brokk said as he stopped a few feet away from her.
The lead lycan’s eyes flicked to him. “Brokk of the house of the dark fae?”
“Yes,” Brokk replied. “What is the meaning of this?”
Before anyone could reply, a dragon swooped low overhead. Lexi instinctively ducked as the creature blocked out the sun and its enormous wings kicked up dust. The pitiless soldiers tried to remain impassive, but some of them flinched, and a couple of their horses pranced backward.
Brokk didn’t react, but Sahira stepped back toward the open doorway. Lexi dared to peek up at the sky as the giant beast soared across it. When that shadow fell across the road, the humans on it screamed and dove for cover.
The dragon bellowed but didn’t unleash its fire upon the land. It wasn’t hungry, or maybe it was tired of tormenting the mortals.
Once it was gone, Lexi’s attention shifted back to the Lord’s men. They remained focused on Brokk as the lead lycan dismounted.
“We have orders from the Lord to search every house in the area for your brothers and any other rebels,” the head lycan said.
Lexi’s mouth went dry, but she somehow managed to keep her face perfectly composed as his words sank in. They were searching every house?
The war destroyed many of them, but there were still hundreds, if not thousands, in the area, depending on how big that area was.
How many houses were they going to search? How many had they already searched? How long had they been doing this?
Her fingers tightened until they dug painfully into her palms. When her father first built the tunnels, Sahira cast a spell to keep them hidden. These men were lycans, but they shouldn’t be able to detect the aroma of those refugees.