Cole took his father’s king as he declared, “Checkmate.”
And it was about time. They’d played hundreds of matches over the past week and a half, and this was the first he’d won. He’d never been one for chess, but after days of being stuck in these small rooms, with windows as their only access to the outside world, he was becoming better at the game.
He’d also become better at rummy and keeping his building rage restrained.
It took everything he had not to launch to his feet and pace the small room containing only the gaming table and two chairs. No decorations hung on the walls, no fire crackled in the hearth, and the only door out was locked.
The place looked exactly like what it was… a prison.
Cole resisted pummeling the gray stone walls of the palace as he demanded to be released. However, he would not give the Lord the satisfaction of seeing him break, so he followed his father’s lead of cool indifference while plotting the many ways he’d kill the Lord.
When the messenger showed them to this room, he told them they were the Lord’s guests before he closed and locked the door behind them. Neither he nor his father ever said anything out loud to acknowledge it, but they were inmates.
So, they passed the time by discussing the realms' mundane politics and the games they played. His father never brought up Lexi, and Cole knew it was because he also sought to keep her secret from the Lord.
This was the Lord’s palace, and even if they couldn’t see any hearing device, Cole was certain they were somehow being listened to. They maintained an air of nonchalance as the days slipped past. He hoped they were boring their eavesdroppers to death.
Outside their tower prison, the dragons roamed the skies while inside it, their bellows reverberated around the stone rooms. Their incessant noise was grating on Cole’s last nerve.
“Nice match,” his father murmured.
“You weren’t paying attention.”
His father smiled. “You caught me.”
Cole rose and stretched his back before walking over to the window. Cool air drifted through the opening in the stone wall as he stopped before it. The circular tower was at least a thousand feet in the air, which gave him a fantastic view of the Dragonian realm.
Despite the dragon’s penchant for destroying everything they came across in the other realms, the fields surrounding the palace were lush and green. Stretching toward the mountains were numerous hills and valleys that rolled across the landscape.
The brilliant yellow sun sparkled off the glistening lake nestled outside the palace's colossal stone walls while dozens of other lakes dotted the land. This beautiful realm belonged to the dragons who soared through the air and swooped toward the earth and mountains.
There were hundreds of them, and they filled the sky with more abundance than the birds on Earth. And they were far, far more lethal.
The distant mountains were a different story than the lushness of the land. Their rocky surfaces stretched so high that many of their peaks obscured the pink clouds floating across the purple sky.
For the first few days, he’d believed those mountains were snow-topped. On the fourth day, he’d studied the scenery far more intently. It was then he realized it wasn’t snow but thousands, if not millions, of bones littering those peaks.
The dragons were ravenous creatures.
One of them roared as it soared past the tower. It turned to the side, exposing its underbelly as it released a cry that some of its fellow destroyers echoed. The flap of its wings blew Cole’s hair back and ruffled his wrinkled and dirty clothes.
The dragon was making it clear they were not to attempt an escape. They couldn’t fly, but with the dark fae’s ability to control air currents, they might be able to navigate their way down.
However, their feet would never touch the ground before one of those dragons ate them. That knowledge was a bit of an escape deterrent.
If only there were some way we could harness the dragon’s power and use it for our side. We could defeat the Lord then.
He tried to figure out a way to do this while watching the magnificent, vicious beasts, but he kept running up against a wall. The dragons were bound to this land and the power of the throne. Since the destruction of all the arachs, the dragons only followed whoever sat on that corrupting throne.
There were no arach left in this land, but immortals from other realms had moved here. The houses of those immortals dotted the landscape, and many of them wandered the roads. They approached or left the massive golden gates set into the towering, gray stone wall surrounding the palace.
Two dragons sat atop the golden gate. They eyed every immortal who entered and exited the courtyard. Most immortals ignored them, but a few cast them anxious glances before walking a little faster.
Cole rested his hand against the cool wall and glanced at the doorway to the small bedroom he’d taken after arriving here. His father had settled into the room across from his. Both rooms were sparsely furnished with only a bed and a small sink and toilet.
There was no shower, and though they were provided food, they weren’t given clean clothes. They also weren’t offered the sexual sustenance dark fae required, but Cole was glad for that.
He wouldn’t partake even if partners arrived for them, and his celibacy would only pique the Lord’s curiosity. And no matter what happened, the Lord could not know about Lexi. He would use her against Cole if he did.
Neither of them complained about their confines or showed their mounting frustration as each day passed, but it was only a matter of time before one of them lost their patience.
The Lord of the Shadow Realms ruled over all immortals, but his father was king of the dark fae, and no one had ever treated him with such blatant disrespect before and survived. However, there was little either of them could do about it while they remained locked away.
If they banged on the door and demanded to be released, they would only give the Lord the satisfaction of seeing them break. But they’d still be trapped here.
No, there was nothing either of them could do except play their games and act as if none of this bothered them. Their nonchalant attitude was probably infuriating the crazy bastard, which was the only bonus to this whole thing.
As he stared across the verdant land, Cole pondered how to get word to Lexi somehow, but he saw no way to reach her. By now, she probably assumed the worst and believed he wasn’t returning. He couldn’t blame her if she did, but she’d filled his thoughts over the passing days.
Was she safe? The possibility the Lord had unleashed another attack on Earth, and maybe her manor, caused him to toss and turn all night, as did the memory of her in his arms.
His hunger was increasing daily, and those memories only enflamed it, but they also helped him get through the days. Once they were free, he would return to her, which was the only thing keeping him calm.
There was also Malakai. Had he returned for her?
Without him there to force Malakai away, she was far more vulnerable to that prick. A snarl curled his upper lip before he suppressed it. He couldn’t think about Malakai or the possibility Lexi was in trouble; he’d lose his shit if he did.
Boredom, frustration, and barely contained fury had been his constant companions since arriving here, but he’d somehow managed to keep the lycan part of himself under control. He couldn’t lose control of it now. That’s exactly what the Lord wanted.
“How about some poker?” his father suggested.
Cole turned toward him as a click sounded in the door. Both their heads shot toward it as a key turned. A second later, the door swung open to reveal the same messenger who had escorted them from the Gloaming.