“I don’t like it,” Lexi said.
“I don’t like what I discovered down here, but we’re both going to get over it.”
Lexi bit her lip before closing her eyes and nodding.
“I’ll go with you to help ensure you get there safely,” Brokk offered.
“I don’t know how the crone is going to feel about two half vampires showing up in their land,” Sahira said.
“Can you send someone else?” Cole asked.
“No, that would guarantee my death the second the stone fell into my hands. The crone has to deem the holder worthy; she has to give it to me.”
“So would it be better if Brokk stayed behind?”
Sahira studied Brokk before shaking her head. “She’s going to hate seeing me as it is; maybe if there’s two of us pleading our case, she’ll be more swayed toward our cause. Besides, it’s me she’ll be judging. Since I’m the one who will use it, I’m the one who has to be worthy of the stone.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” Brokk said.
“Okay,” Sahira agreed.
“Now,” Cole said and turned to Orin, “where is this army of rebels you’re building?”
“Some of them are down here,” Orin said.
“They’re not an army,” Lexi protested. “Half of them are human, and the rest are so beaten down they couldn’t fight off anyone right now.”
“This isn’t his army,” Cole said. “Or at least not all of it. He’s gathering some down here, but the others are elsewhere, aren’t they?”
“Yes,” Orin admitted. “How many do you have that will fight against him?”
“Nowhere near enough. I want to see the fighters you have here.”
“They’re not fighters,” Lexi insisted. “They’re refugees. They’re broken and lost and need time to heal.”
“I still want to see them.”
Lexi stared at him before her shoulders slumped a little, and she whispered, “This way.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Cole kept Orin beside him as they followed Lexi deeper into the earth. After a few minutes, a flickering light emerged from the gloom ahead of them. They stepped into a section closed off by a gate.
Lexi unlocked the gate and held it open for them to follow her through. A group of thirty or so refugees sat huddled together around a small, magical fire that created no smoke but threw off a lot of warmth.
They held their hands over the flame as they watched them with open curiosity and distrust. Dirt streaked their features, and the odor of unwashed bodies tinted the air but wasn’t overwhelming. One of the women cradled a baby against her chest as she retreated down the hall.
Boxes of food and water lined the walls. Blankets were spread across the floor and down the passageway; each of them created a small bed. Sleeping immortals occupied some of them.
“Andi!” a young boy exclaimed.
The child leapt to his feet and ran to throw his arms around her waist. Lexi’s face lit with joy as she embraced the boy.
“Hey, J, how’s it going?” she greeted.
“I’ve been pretty bored. Do you want to play checkers?”
“Maybe later. I brought some of my friends to meet you.” She kept her arms around the boy’s thin shoulders as she turned him to face Cole. “Jayden, this is Cole. Cole, this is Jayden.”
Cole extended his hand, and when the boy smiled at him, he saw the small fangs marking him as at least part vampire.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jayden,” Cole said as the boy shook his hand.
Some of the others smiled as they rose and came over to greet Lexi. She introduced each of them to him, Brokk, and Sahira before they retreated again. When the introductions ended, Jayden tugged on her hand and drew her further down the tunnel.
“This way, Andi,” he coaxed. “I’ve been practicing. Aunt Nessie isn’t very good, so I need a challenge.”
Lexi laughed as she sat near the fire and the boy broke out an old checkerboard. He laid it on the ground between them before setting the checkers on it. Watching her with the child and the rest of the refugees, Cole understood why she hadn’t turned Orin away when he returned to her.
His brother had used and manipulated her to get what he wanted. And he’d put her at risk by doing so.
Orin had pissed him off multiple times over the years, but none so much as now. He’d love to smash his brother’s head into the wall until only bloody mush remained.
Killing him wouldn’t do any of them any good and would probably send the refugees into a panic. Instead, he contented himself with his musings of battering Orin into pieces.
“Why do they call her Andi?” Brokk asked.
“It’s what she told them to call her,” Orin replied. “They’ve all taken a potion to make them forget how they got here, and none of them ever leave, but I guess she assumed it added protection.”
“Del used to call her Andi sometimes,” Sahira said. “When she was a little girl.”
Sorrow for her tugged at his heart while he watched Lexi and the boy lean over the board. They laughed and talked while moving their pieces around.
She’d loved her father dearly and probably given them that nickname for added protection as well as to have a little reminder of him. Her love for the child was evident, as was the refugees’ love for her.
The refugees gathered closer to watch as the game progressed. They smiled when she smiled, groaned when she did, and cheered when she or the boy took a piece.
“They love her,” Sahira stated.
“They do,” Orin said.
“And you used them to manipulate her,” Cole said.
“I did what I had to do,” Orin replied. “She doesn’t see them as fighters, but at least half of them are. They are lycan, vampires, and witches as well as humans, and they fought against the Lord. And for the protection I’ve given them, they’ll fight again.”
“You should have stayed away from her,” Cole bit out. “She’s not like you or me; losing just one of them will break her heart.”
“She should get used to that; the first war was nothing compared to what the second will bring.”
Cole hated to agree with him on anything, but he couldn’t argue that. Things were about to get a lot worse, and considering the condition of the human realm, that was saying a lot.
“Where do they go to the bathroom?” Brokk asked.
“There are toilets down here,” Orin answered.
“Del designed the tunnels so they could be lived in if necessary,” Sahira said.
“Why did he design them?” Brokk asked.
“You don’t have any secret exits and hiding places in your palace?” When none of them replied, Sahira continued. “Every smart immortal has numerous escape plans, especially with that madman on the throne.”
Cole couldn’t argue with that. Plus, he’d fought beside Del; the man was a methodical, military genius. He would never allow himself and his family to be trapped and killed inside their home.
“Come with me,” Cole said and nodded toward the tunnel they’d entered through.
They slipped far enough away so no one could overhear them but remained close enough to watch Lexi. The joy on her face made his heart ache. There was nothing between her and Orin; she’d done this for them and would continue to do so.