“What is that?” he demanded.
Lexi had no idea what he was talking about until he lifted her hand to examine it. On the back of it, a swirl of silver ran across her flesh. She frowned at the marking, uncertain where it came from, but then she recalled the dragon’s nose brushing against her.
“I’m not sure what it is,” she said. “But one of the dragons touched me.”
Orin’s face was unreadable as he stared at her hand. Then, before she could stop him, he stuck her hand in the fire beneath the pot.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
When her flesh bubbled and sizzled, Lexi gasped and ripped her hand away. “What is wrong with you?”
The question was starting to slip from her lips when Cole hit Orin with an uppercut that shot his head back, lifted him off the floor, and sent him soaring ten feet backward. He hit the gray stone wall behind him with a loud thud.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth as he slid down the wall to the ground. Cole’s shoulders hunched forward, his face and hands changed as he stalked toward his brother. His eyes burned silver, but blackness seeped across the whites of them.
And as he walked, something black emerged from him. It floated in the air around him as it seeped from his pores to darken the room. It took her a second to realize shadows were oozing out of him.
How is that possible?
Lexi gawked at him as she cradled her blistered hand against her chest. She’d seen a lot of things recently, but she’d never seen anything like the blackness emanating from him. The shadows rose around him like demons set free from Hell.
She’d sensed the increase of his power since he emerged from the trials, but now, she saw it. And it was a terrifying sight to behold. She had no idea how it was possible, but the shadows hissed as they weaved around him.
If this had happened while they were in Dragonia, they would be dead. There was no way the Lord would let him survive if he saw this.
Had he kept this hidden while there because she wasn’t injured or because he’d known that unleashing it would get them killed? Or had he been pushed too far throughout the day and couldn’t maintain control anymore?
She suspected the latter. Orin’s actions were finally the breaking point.
Orin’s feet kicked at the floor as he pushed himself further up the wall. He didn’t get a chance to rise before Cole loomed over him. When one of the shadows snapped at his face, Orin recoiled.
“Holy shit, Cole!” he exclaimed when the shadow left a red welt across his cheek.
How is it possible for a shadow to hurt someone? She didn’t have an answer for that, but these ones were out for blood and could inflict damage.
“You don’t ever fucking touch her!” Cole roared.
He grasped Orin by the shirt and, as if Orin weighed no more than a discarded leaf, plucked him off the ground. When he slammed his brother into the wall, the manor shook from the impact.
“You ever touch her again, and I’ll rip off your head and personally hand it to the Lord. Do you understand me?” Cole snarled.
The last four words were bit out in a mutated voice Lexi barely recognized. She’d never considered it possible for Cole to lose control so completely yet somehow manage to retain it.
“Do you understand me?” Cole gave Orin a sharp shake with each word he spoke.
“Yes!” Orin shouted.
His hands fisted, but he didn’t swing at Cole. If he did, Lexi was sure a bloody, brutal battle would ensue. One they both knew Orin would lose.
“You better hope they find the harrow stone because I will not let her be raped and brutalized by the Lord and his minions. I will not let her become a pawn in our games and mistakes. Am I making myself clear?”
“Yes.”
“We deserve whatever the Lord unleashes on us. She. Does. Not.”
Cole shoved Orin away from him and turned toward her. Unprepared for the sudden motion, Lexi couldn’t stop herself from retreating from him.
When he saw her reaction, he hesitated, but she quickly recovered and walked toward him as Orin slid to the ground. Cole met her halfway and tenderly clasped her wrist.
The second he touched her, some of his tension ebbed, and the shadows retracted a little. He guided her over to the sink, turned on the cold water, and gently held her hand beneath the cool flow.
The water trickling over the blister forming on her hand helped ease some of the sting. As he brushed the hair back from her forehead, the shadows fully retreated into him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Ye-Yes,” she stammered. “Are you?”
“Yes.”
She might set him off again, but she had to say what they both already knew. “Someone from the Gloaming told the Lord about me.”
“I know.”
“Do you think it was Becca?”
“Yes.”
“That means a member of your council is working against you.”
“It’s to be expected. Even my father had resistance when he claimed the throne. The dark fae will test their boundaries, and I will be there to make sure those boundaries hold firm. No matter what it takes.”
He sounded so confident in his ability to do so, but she couldn’t stop the feeling of foreboding creeping down her spine. They already had so much going against them; they didn’t need this too.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
“That shadow thing; I’ve never seen it happen before,” she said.
“Neither have I,” he murmured.
“So, it’s a new development?”
“Yes.”
“Is it because you’re king?”
“No, it’s because I survived the trials. When I did, the shadows became as much a part of me as I am them. With or without the crown, that wouldn’t change.”
“I never saw it happen to Father,” Orin said.
When Cole’s head swiveled toward him, Lexi considered Orin either extremely brave or incredibly foolish to speak at all. The brothers stared at each other before Cole spoke.
“Neither did I, but that doesn’t mean it never did. We also never saw Father in a rage.”
“No, we didn’t, but you came back different than him, and we both know it.”
Lexi bit her bottom lip as she waited for someone to say something, but neither did. “Is that true?” she finally asked.
Cole turned his attention back to her. “I think so.”
“But why?”
He shrugged as he tenderly ran his fingers over her hand. “I don’t know.”
“But you’re going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “If I’m different, it’s because I’m more powerful and have newfound abilities.”
“Like shadows that can inflict damage on another?”
“Yes.”
“You have to keep that hidden.”
“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry about me, love.”
That was much easier said than done.
He focused on Orin again. “Do you care to explain why you hurt her?”
Orin slowly rose from his position on the floor. He approached the stove, turned off the flame, and lifted the towel sitting beside it. He studied Lexi as he wiped the blood away from his mouth and nose.