The scent of baking bread tickled Lexi’s nose, and her stomach rumbled in response. She tried to recall the last time she ate, but she couldn’t quite remember.
She should eat something, but she had to get back to the manor so she could give the fae the potion and get him out of her life. However, it was a long walk home, and she’d prefer to have something to munch on while she made the trek.
Unable to resist, Lexi stopped at a cart selling all kinds of baked goods. Her stomach rumbled louder, and it took all she had not to lick her lips as she studied the delicious treats laid out on trays before her.
“Can I get you something?” the woman standing behind the cart asked.
Lexi pointed at one of the cinnamon buns. “Yes, I’ll take one of those.”
The woman beamed at her as she used a piece of paper to pick up the bun. She slid the pastry into a bag while Lexi handed over more of her money. Lexi tried not to drool as she held the bag and waited for change.
In the distance, the faint strains of a guitar floated through the air. The notes were followed by a sweet, lilting voice that barely carried over the din of the crowd.
“I’ll take one too,” a deep voice said from beside her.
Everything around Lexi went as still as a broken clock. Like the clock pendulum that stopped ticking, she swore her heart ceased beating before giving a mighty thump that rattled her rib cage.
She knew that voice; even if she lived another ten thousand years, she would never forget that voice. She would always recall the deep timbre of his words as he stood behind her in the room full of luna flowers. Always remember the way his warm breath felt against her ear and how it stirred her hair.
She hadn’t believed she’d ever see him again, let alone see him again so soon. He was one of the elite immortals, he moved in entirely different circles than her, and she wasn’t returning to the Gloaming anytime soon.
However, she didn’t have to look up to know Cole stood beside her.
She couldn’t stop her head from tilting further and further back until she found his vibrant blue eyes on her even as the woman held a bag out to him. Her breath gave a small hitch. She wanted to touch the tip of one of his ears; would he like it?
The black, mortal shirt he wore clung to his broad chest, and the short sleeves emphasized the thick muscles of his biceps. His jeans were loose-fitting enough to be comfortable but tight enough to make her mouth water.
The corners of his eyes crinkled, and his thick lips curved into the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. He was a good foot taller than her five-seven height and easily weighed a hundred pounds more than her one hundred thirty.
He should intimidate her, and she imagined many were terrified of him, but she didn’t feel afraid. Instead, before she could stop herself, she grinned at him like an idiot.
“It’s you,” she said.
Cole smiled in return. “It’s you.”
A shout from somewhere to her right drew her attention and dampened her happiness as she recalled where they were. Cole took the bag from the woman who was still holding it out to him and slipped her some money. Clasping her elbow, he led her away from the booth.
“What are you doing here?” Lexi asked and then tried not to blush at the abruptness of her question. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound rude.”
A teasing glimmer shone in his eyes. “You didn’t expect to find me here?”
“Not at all.”
“Why not? There are things here I like to purchase too.”
That made sense, but marketplaces such as this always existed in the mortal realm; she’d gone to them often. This one came to life after the war, and unlike the markets of the past, humans also shopped it. There was no reason to keep the immortal markets hidden anymore.
However, during her many trips to the private and open markets, she’d never seen one royal fae. She’d heard countless rumors about them while shopping the immortal wares, but they could get everything they needed in the Shadow Realms.
“Plus,” he said, “the Lord of the Shadow Realms likes us to keep an ear out for any threats that might arise and to search for the rebels.”
His words reminded her of the dark fae locked in her tunnels, and her appetite vanished. She clenched her bag as some of her excitement over seeing him vanished.
She was harboring a rebel, and if he knew about it, not only would he turn in the fae, but he’d hand her over too. It thrilled her to see him, and he seemed happy to see her also, but his loyalty was to the Lord.
She wanted nothing to do with any of the political turmoil the world remained in; however, she’d put herself right in the middle of it when she decided to hide a war criminal.
And she’d pitted herself against this man and the monster who’d ruthlessly unleashed his dragons on countless innocents. She didn’t want anything to happen to the fae she hid, but she wanted even less for Cole to become her enemy.
She liked him, and he made her feel alive in a way she hadn’t since her father died. It was a bad idea to feel anything other than apprehension for a dark fae, but she couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach or the increase of her pulse when she was around him.
“Oh,” she muttered.
She realized she sounded a little dumb, but she had no idea what to say. Oh good, you’re all looking to kill more immortals, didn’t feel like the appropriate, sarcastic response.
“And what are you doing here?” he asked.
Lexi held up her bag of food. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to him, and she doubted she could pull off a convincing lie, so she hoped he would take this as explanation enough.
“They’re some of my favorites,” he said.
“Mine too.”
A commotion from somewhere to her left drew Lexi’s attention to the crowd. Startled cries filled the air as humans and immortals pushed back toward them. When Cole stepped before her, his large body blocked the retreating group from shoving her into the food stand.
“What the fuck?” he muttered.
Lexi was thinking the same thing as a higher-pitched scream rent the air and a child started to sob for her mother. Lexi stepped forward; she wasn’t a fighter, but she’d be damned if she let someone hurt a child.
Then the crying child, enveloped securely in the arms of her lycan mother, rushed past them. Cole clasped Lexi’s arm as he held her firmly behind him. Despite the commotion, she barely stopped herself from gaping at the hand engulfing almost her entire forearm.
Then the crowd parted to reveal a group of lycan shoving through them. With a sinking heart, Lexi spotted Malakai at the front of the pack.
She glanced at the sun beating down on the earth and Malakai. Unlike her, he was a full-blooded vampire who never should have been out in the daylight, but as she thought it, the sun caught and reflected off the red amulet hanging from his neck.
She didn’t know where it had come from, but she sensed its power and suspected it somehow allowed him to walk about in the day. She didn’t understand how anything could be powerful enough to accomplish that. However, it had to be the amulet as she’d never seen him in the daytime before the war, yet he wasn’t catching on fire now.
With his shoulders back, pride and contempt emanated from Malakai as he surveyed the crowd. Then his brown eyes landed on Cole before sliding to her. Surprise widened them for the briefest of seconds, but they hardened when he spotted Cole’s hand wrapped protectively around her arm.
A smug smile curved his lips as he stopped in front of them. He was about five inches shorter than Cole, and he didn’t emanate power like the fae prince, but his eyes shimmered with malice when they shifted from Cole’s grip on her arm to her face.
“Elexiandra,” he greeted in a voice that sent chills down her spine.
“Malakai,” she replied.