Lexi squeaked and almost threw her book when a sound came from only a few feet away from her. Her head shot up, and she spotted Cole sitting in the other chair and grinning at her like the Cheshire cat.
That smile and the carefree way he draped his arm over the back of the chair as he turned toward her caused the rapid beat of her heart to shift from alarm to excitement.
“I didn’t hear you enter,” she said.
“I know.”
It wasn’t fair he looked casual and carefree while she felt so thrown off by his sudden presence.
“What are you reading?” he inquired.
Lifting the book, she turned it toward him so he could see the name on the cover. When she entered earlier, she’d sought escape, so she chose one of her favorites.
His smile grew. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
“Have you read it?” she asked.
“No.”
“It’s really good. The series is one of my favorites.”
His gaze wandered over all the books before settling on her again. “Do you mind if I pick something to read?”
“Not at all.”
She couldn’t help but marvel over his size as he unfolded himself from the chair and rose with a fluid grace she wouldn’t have associated with someone of his size. She knew all lycan were massive, but she hadn’t been around many of them.
She tipped her head to the side as she watched him studying the shelves. She was extremely curious to see what he picked. “How is Brokk doing?”
“Much better. He’s still sleeping, but his color has improved, and so has his breathing.”
“That’s great. Will your father be worried about you?”
“I sent him a crow this morning.”
Cole stopped his perusal of the shelves and removed a book. Lexi bit her lip as she impatiently waited to see what he chose. He examined the book for a minute before returning to the chair.
“Did you find something you liked?” she asked.
He turned the book toward her, and she laughed when she saw he held the Chamber of Secrets.
“Someone told me it was a good series,” he said with a smile that showed off his dazzling white teeth.
“They were correct.” She closed her book and held it across the gap between them. “I’ll trade you. I’ve already read it half a dozen times, and it’s better if you start at the beginning.”
He took the book from her and handed her the one he’d claimed. Leaning back in the chair, she opened the book, but she couldn’t concentrate as her gaze repeatedly returned to him. He didn’t have the same problem as he flipped through the pages.
The rustle of turning pages was the only sound in the room as an hour slipped past. She was acutely aware of his presence in the room, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
A sense of peace enveloped her as his masculine scent teased her nostrils. She had no reason to feel safe in his presence, but she hadn’t felt this secure since her dad died.
When the grandfather clock down the hall chimed the hour, he set his book down and rose. “I should check on Brokk.”
Lexi buried her disappointment. He left the room, and she returned to her book, but unable to concentrate, she kept rereading the same page.
She was about to give up when he returned. She hated the leap of excitement her heart made. Becoming more entangled with this man could be the biggest mistake of her life, but she already craved the rush of life he made her experience whenever he was near.
However, the dark fae were loyal to very few, and she was well aware of what they needed to survive. She would only be one of many to him, but she still itched to feel the corded muscles of his arms around her again.
“Is he okay?” she asked to distract herself from her wayward thoughts.
“He’s still sleeping.”
“I’m sure he’ll wake soon.”
“So am I.”
He said this, but his brow remained furrowed as he reclaimed his seat. He didn’t pick the book back up. Instead, he stared at the empty fireplace. Her gaze swung between him and the fireplace as the unsettling possibility he might somehow see the entrance to the tunnel plagued her.
There’s no way he knows it’s there. But sweat broke out on her palms and beaded along her nape. Get it together, or he’s going to notice!
This was true, but she wasn’t one for subterfuge, and she could feel herself unraveling as she waited to see what he would do.
“How has it been for you since the war ended?” he asked after a few minutes.
Her shoulders relaxed as she stared at the fireplace and tried not to laugh in relief. The entrance was too well hidden to see. She had to calm down, or she was going to blow it.
When he turned toward her, she recalled his question and pondered the best way to answer it. He probably expected her to tell him things were great, her father’s side had won, but she couldn’t say that. She lost her dad in the war, and everything had been a struggle since the dragons torched the earth. She couldn’t lie about that.
“It’s… been… difficult,” she admitted.
“How so?”
An unexpected lump formed in her throat. “Not having my dad, for starters. He took care of so much around here, and he was my… everything.” Her gaze fell to her hands as she fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “Trying to keep this place running after his death and after so many workers deserted us has been a challenge, but Sahira and I are doing it.
“We have a human handyman who still comes to help Sahira and me with some repairs, but our live-in help is gone. The people who used to work and live here know we’re immortals now; there’s no point in continuing to hide it from them. Even if we never hurt them and always helped them, they still fear us. And who can blame them?”
“Who indeed?”
“Before, Sahira used to cast a glamour over us to make the humans think we were aging like them, but she gave that up after the war. There was no reason to drain herself by keeping up the pretense.”
“It’s a big place for the two of you to take care of on your own.”
Lexi shrugged. “It’s our home, and we’re not giving it up.”
Cole nodded but didn’t speak again. When the silence stretched onward, Lexi couldn’t stop herself from asking, “How has it been for you since the war ended?”
• • •
Cole stared at his hands as he contemplated this question. It had been hell for him since the war ended. Pure, unadulterated hell. The memory of those vicious battles lingered in his mind; the blood staining his hands would never come off, and the nightmares….
Well, he was certain the nightmares would haunt him for the rest of his days.
Before the war, he killed others, but he never slaughtered them with the ruthlessness he did during some battles. To him, many of those he slaughtered were innocents. Yes, they’d stood against the Lord, but so did he.
He hadn’t fought against the Lord on the battlefield. It had all been behind the scenes, and he’d failed.
However, no one could have foreseen the crazy bastard letting loose his dragons and slaughtering countless humans and immortals with such gleeful, ruthless intent.
Now, all he could do was make sure his brothers and so many others hadn’t died in vain by continuing to try to bring the Lord down from within. The ruler of the Shadow Realms, and the dragons, was insane, but he didn’t suspect their treason. That was the only hope they had of taking him down.
“It’s been… different,” he said. “It’s certainly been quieter at home with half of my brothers dead and two of the remaining ones banished and hunted as traitors.”