Lexi should politely thank him and make some excuse to retreat. She should be on pins and needles and terrified he’d somehow catch a whiff of his brother, but instead, her heart raced with excitement, and she felt almost giddy with happiness.
“It’s good to see you again today,” he said. “I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Again today?” Sahira asked, and Lexi managed to stop herself from wincing.
“Yes.” She turned to her aunt. “I ran into Prince Colburn at the marketplace earlier.”
Sahira lifted an elegant brow as she looked between them. “I see.” Then her gaze settled on Cole. “And you’re helping Malakai hunt down your brother?”
She didn’t bother to hide her disapproval over this. No matter what he did, Sahira would have let them draw and quarter her before she ever turned on her brother.
“He is a traitor,” Brokk stated.
Somehow Lexi managed to keep herself from wincing at the callous words. Traitor or not, asshole or not, Orin was still their brother. But they seemed not to see it that way.
She didn’t know what had caused such indifference from them, or maybe she did; she had met Orin after all. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like to live with him for centuries. She wanted to kill him, and she’d only known him for a day.
However, despite the fact they’d probably hand her over too if they knew the truth, her smile never wavered. Maybe she was better at this deception stuff than she realized. It was not a discovery she liked about herself.
“Would you like to come in for something to eat or drink?” she asked, and Sahira sniffed disdainfully.
The idea of having them in the manor, above their brother, frightened Lexi, but she wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Besides, etiquette required she didn’t send two princes away without at least offering them something first.
Cole’s eyes flicked to her aunt before returning to her. “Thank you, but we should continue our search.”
She struggled to hide her disappointment. “Oh, yes, of course.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you again soon,” Cole said and gave her a pointed look that caused her toes to curl and a blush to creep up her neck.
He bowed his head to them. “Good day, ladies.”
He turned away, and Brokk duplicated the gesture while murmuring the same words.
Lexi watched them walk away before shutting the door and leaning against it. She closed her eyes as she tried to understand what happened. Malakai was pissed, and he would be back, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as she replayed Cole’s words in her mind.
“I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
She was a fool for wanting him to return while his brother remained in her tunnels. However, she hoped she saw him again sooner rather than later. She just hoped it wasn’t anywhere near here.
“You should stay away from that man,” Sahira cautioned. “Anyone who would turn against their brother is someone who would turn on you.”
She opened her eyes to find Sahira studying her with a knowing look. She almost told Sahira she’d turn Orin in too, but there was no way Lexi could explain how she knew him.
“I doubt I’ll be seeing him again,” Lexi said.
“Hmm,” Sahira huffed as she folded her arms across her chest. She looked a lot more skeptical about this than Lexi felt. “With the way he was looking at you, I think he’ll be back, and you should stay away.”
“Sahira—”
“He’s no good, Lexi. You’re also completely different. He’s a seasoned warrior, a prince, and a dark fae. You know what they’re like with men and women.”
She did. She’d heard the stories about the twisted sex fiends the fae could leave in their wake. Heard how they went through sexual partners like most others went through clothes, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at Cole like that.
She was probably a fool for thinking he was different. She was sure plenty of other women probably convinced themselves of the same thing, but she couldn’t believe he was nothing but a callous immortal seeking only one thing from her… and every other woman he met.
“He’s also part lycan,” Lexi said. “They’re known to be notoriously free with their sexuality until they find their mate, and then they never waver from their partner.”
“Lexi—”
“I don’t know why we’re talking about this. Like you said, we’re completely different. He isn’t going to return here.”
The sadness those words evoked surprised her. She shouldn’t want him to return while Orin was here, or even after Orin left, but… but… she did.
“I need a shower,” she muttered.
“Would you like to finish our tea?” Sahira asked.
She was too annoyed for tea right now. Cole might not return, but Malakai would, and she suspected he would make her pay for the embarrassment he experienced today.
“No,” she murmured. “We’ll catch up tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Lexi started to walk away, but she stopped and turned back to her aunt. “What do you think Malakai is going to do?”
“Nothing, if he knows what’s good for him.”
“That amulet proves he’s close to the Lord. With Father dead, he could make me marry Malakai.”
Sahira’s shoulders went back, and her nostrils flared. “Over my dead body.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of, and we’ve had more than enough dead bodies.”
Some of the fight went out of Sahira. “Your father also fought for the Lord; he wouldn’t throw that away just to please Malakai.”
“My father is dead and can’t do anything for the Lord anymore; Malakai is alive, especially vicious, and obviously close to him. He might not ask the Lord to marry me. He may ask him to give me to him as his concubine so that way, when Malakai finishes with me, he can toss me aside again.”
Sahira opened her mouth to respond, but then she closed it. They stared at each other as her words hung in the air between them. The sad truth was, being used and discarded by him was the better of the two options.
Feeling as if the world rested on her shoulders, Lexi started up the curving stairs toward the second floor.
“Lexi.” She stopped and turned back to Sahira. “We won’t let it happen.”
Lexi didn’t say what they were both thinking; there was nothing they could do to stop it if the Lord decided to do it.