Lexi stood by the open doorway of the library as the lycans filed into her home. The large men took up far too much space and heated her manor more than the midafternoon sun. She had to resist pulling at the collar of her shirt as it became increasingly difficult to breathe.
“Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Sahira asked the men.
“No, thank you,” the head lycan said. “We won’t be long.”
Brokk leaned casually in the manor’s open doorway, but the tension emanating from him was anything but casual. He crossed his legs and folded his arms over his chest as the lycans made their way upstairs.
Sahira stood in the doorway across from Lexi. She kept her eyes on the stairs as doors opened and closed above. The bang of drawers shutting, closets opening, and the squeak of beds moving drifted down.
Lexi didn’t know if they really thought a rebel might fit inside their dresser drawers or if they were going through everything to make it clear they had the right to do so, but resentment was starting to replace her dread.
They had no right to come into her home like this and go through her things. The Lord had no right to invade her privacy, but there was nothing they could do about it, and that monster and these men knew it.
The Lord had taken control and now wielded his power over all of them. And like a guillotine about to fall, Lexi felt the deadly blade of that control poised over her neck.
The lycans spent ten minutes upstairs before appearing at the top of the stairs again. Lexi hid her apprehension as they descended the stairs. She almost smiled to show she had no cares in the world but stopped herself.
Did she want to smile at the men who just pawed through her underwear? Was that the normal reaction to have?
No, it was not.
Besides, there wasn’t anything to smile about. While she hated the idea of them upstairs going through her things, there was nothing to find up there. The entrance to one of the tunnels was behind her, and though it wasn’t true, she suddenly felt its cool air brushing against her neck.
The lycans didn’t acknowledge them as they split up to search the rest of the house. When one of them swept by her to enter the library, she waited a couple of seconds before turning to watch as he examined the shelves.
He pulled books free before sliding them back into place with too much force. She winced when a book tumbled from his fingers to hit the ground with a loud bang. He muttered a curse before bending to pick it up. At least he returned it to the right spot.
He removed more books and examined them before shoving them back into place. She almost asked him to be more careful but worried it would only invite destruction.
When he finally finished examining the precious tomes, he turned his attention to the fireplace. The burning in her lungs alerted her that she’d stopped breathing. She inhaled as he examined the gray stones before bending to look into the hearth.
Rising, he slapped his hand on the mantle and walked back to her. His arm brushed hers as he swept past her, and Lexi turned back to the hall. Brokk remained in the doorway, but the scowl on his face deepened.
Sahira had taken a couple of steps toward the kitchen as drawers opened and shut in there. The bottles holding her potions rattled as large hands handled them, but nothing broke. Lexi suspected they were probably scared to break any of those bottles.
The head lycan reemerged from the direction of the kitchen and strode down the hall toward them. “We’ll search the barn next.”
“Of course,” Lexi murmured, but her heart raced.
They hadn’t found the passageway in the fireplace, but would they find the one in the barn? And if they spread out around the property, would they find the one in the shed?
Brokk stepped out of their way as the rest of the lycans filed out of her home. They descended the stairs and stalked toward the stable.
• • •
Cole dodged another lava bomb and, throwing himself to the ground, rolled away from the fire that erupted when it hit the ground. Flames ate at his skin as he moved, but he had to keep going.
Launching himself to his feet, he dashed away when the cherufe lunged at him again. Its hands clacked together when it missed him. Spinning, Cole kicked out and caught the back of its rocky knee.
The thing didn’t react to the blow, but fiery pain lanced up his leg as the bones in his foot fractured and the cherufe’s fire burned him.
Shit!
He danced back again, but his broken foot slowed him. With no other options, he ignored the discomfort as he kept moving.
He darted, danced, and spun away as he steadily led the creature down the side of the mountain, through the flames, and toward the water. His flesh slid to the side as it started to slough off him and blisters covered what remained of his skin. Not even the sand was as agonizing as this, but he didn’t stop.
Bombs erupted into the sky and whistled as they soared through the air. As they crashed around him, they churned up chunks of earth and splattered him with their fiery remnants.
The bits and pieces adhering to him sizzled as they burrowed through his muscle and embedded in his bones. The sweat pouring down his body and dripping off his chin sizzled when it hit the ground.
With an image of Lexi rooted firmly in his mind, he drew the creature onward. The ground quaked beneath its feet as it chased him, and when it charged again, Cole barely avoided being embraced in a fiery hug.
Finally, the flames gave way, and he spotted the pristine water of the lake once more. Even knowing what they did, Cole found it almost impossible to resist plunging into those cool waters and finding some relief for his crisp-fried body.
When the cherufe ran at him again, he stepped to the side. The creature didn’t run into the water, but it got close enough that Cole, drawing on what little remained of his power, lifted a ball of water from the surface and flung it at the fiery beast.
The cherufe sizzled and popped as the water doused its flames. Before it could recover, Cole raced at the creature.