Cole left bloody footprints behind him as he stalked up the palace steps toward the open doorway. A shadow fell across the stairs a second before Brokk skidded to a stop in the entrance. His aqua blue eyes widened, and his jaw dropped when he spotted Cole.
“Cole? Holy shit! What happened to you?”
Then his gaze went past Cole, and his eyes roamed over the pathway leading to the gate and fence surrounding the fae palace. Cole knew he was searching for their father, but he wouldn’t find him.
When Brokk’s eyes returned to him, dawning horror filled them as they ran over Cole’s naked body and the blood covering him. It was the blood of their father mixed with that of a dragon.
“What happened?” Brokk croaked the words out. “Where’s… where’s father?”
Then his gaze went past Cole again, and his jaw dropped. He’d finally seen the body of their ex-helot, Sindri, and the dragon head Cole had staked to the fence.
“Is that a dragon head? And Sindri?” Brokk’s eyes shot back to Cole. “What the fuck happened?”
“The Lord ordered a dragon to kill father.”
Brokk blinked at him, but Cole’s words didn’t seem to register as he stared at the bloody remains sticking to the fence.
“Why?” Brokk whispered.
“Because he didn’t think he would do enough to hunt Orin and Varo. He thinks I will do more. He intends for me to rule after I survive the trials.”
Cole did not say if he survived the trials. He didn’t care that many dark fae had failed to survive the trials. He. Would. Not. Fail. He would become the king of the dark fae and destroy the Lord of the Shadow Realms if it was the last thing he did.
Brokk didn’t speak as he stared unblinkingly at the fence. Tears brimmed in his eyes, but he didn’t shed them.
Cole knew Brokk’s tears would come with time, and so would his, but right now, the horror of what happened to their father was hitting him. And though there was grief, there was also a fury so hot that it burned away the sorrow and left nothing but ashes in its wake.
“Where did the dragon head come from?” Brokk asked.
“I killed it, and I took it as a warning to all those who will think to stand in my way of claiming the throne.”
If his brother’s eyes got any bigger, they would pop out of his head. “You killed it by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“How… how did you manage that?”
Cole still wasn’t entirely sure how he’d managed to destroy the powerful creature and could only think of one answer. “Rage.”
“And you killed Sindri because…?”
“He was happy to see me wearing father’s blood.”
“That would do it.”
As Cole finished climbing the stairs, Brokk stepped back to let him enter the palace.
“Where are you going?” Brokk demanded.
“To see Lexi.”
“Who?” And then Brokk’s mind seemed to start working again, and he blurted. “Del’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to see her now?”
“Yes.”
“There are a thousand things that will have to be taken care of; why would you go see her now?”
“Because I have to.”
The door slammed shut behind him, and then the padding sound of Brokk’s soft boots sounded against the stone as he hurried after him. Cole didn’t look back at his brother as he navigated the palace halls toward his room.
He’d spent his entire life within these walls, and during that time, he’d passed the numerous closed doors that would never open to him. Those rooms belonged to others, and they would not open to anyone but them, even if they were dead.
He wondered if the palace would seal off his father’s room now, too; a pang broke through his rage to pierce his heart, but he swiftly buried it. This was not the time or place; he had to see Lexi then meet with the dark fae council and arrange to start the trials.
Once that was settled and the trials were over, he would use his power to help him find a way to sink his claws into the Lord and rip him to pieces. He would celebrate as that bastard’s blood covered him.
“Cole.” Brokk reached for his arm, but blood coated him so thickly that his brother hesitated before lowering his hand without touching him. “The fae council is going to descend on this palace as soon as they learn of father’s death.”
“I know.”
“They won’t want either of us ruling. We’re only half breeds.”
“They’re not going to have a choice.”
“Great. Fantastic. Glad to hear you say that because I’d really like to kill the Lord, and we’re going to need the power of the fae throne behind us to help with that, but if you’re not here when they arrive, then what? I don’t want to throw myself in the ring as I want nothing to do with ruling the Gloaming.”
“I know.”
“You never wanted to rule it either.”
“I still don’t.”
“Then—”
“I don’t have a choice either. I am going to rule because if I don’t, the Lord is going to destroy us all,” Cole interrupted. “I will rule because I’m going to fucking kill that prick if it’s the last thing I do. But I have to see Lexi first.”
“Cole—”
Brokk stopped speaking and took a startled step back when Cole spun on him. “She’s my mate, Brokk. She’s mine, and I am going to see her. If the council shows up here before I return, then you will have to stall them. I don’t care how you do it. Just do it.”
Brokk gawked at him, and this time when Cole walked away from him, it was a few seconds before his brother scrambled to catch up again.
“Your mate as in your lycan mate?” Brokk demanded when he arrived at Cole’s side again.
“Yes.”
“Holy shit. Why didn’t you say something? I could have checked on her.”
“I wasn’t expecting to be gone so long.” Or to come back soaked in his father’s blood. “I didn’t expect any of this.”
And he’d certainly never expected to watch his father die, to be forced to endure the trials, rule the Gloaming, or have the Lord breathing down his neck about his rebellious brothers. He hadn’t expected to leave Lexi for nearly two weeks when he walked away from her manor.
Because of his dark fae nature, she probably thought he’d abandoned her, and she had every right to believe that, but he would make sure she learned the truth. And he had to make sure she was safe before starting the trials. He would never get through them if he were worried about her, and there was no way Cole could let her keep thinking that he’d used her and left her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brokk demanded.
“I wasn’t ready.”
Brokk didn’t speak again as Cole continued to his room. He hated the silence that descended because with the silence came the memories, and every room and hallway he ever entered this place contained memories of his father.
His father had walked these halls. He’d ruled over and loved them, just as he’d loved his children. And his children loved him.
With every corner Cole turned, he expected to find his father gliding toward him. A smile would brighten his face when he saw Cole, and his arms would open for a quick embrace and pat on the back.
Tove, King of the dark fae, was a cold and ruthless ruler to the outside world. To his sons, he was a man who was loved, and they loved him in return.
Cole fingered the rings his father gave him before everything went to shit. The rings once belonged to his father and mother, and now they were his. And he hoped that one day Lexi would wear his mother’s.
But that was an obstacle for a later time. Now, Cole just had to see her, to make sure she was safe, and return here to take control of the Gloaming.
He sneered at the reminder. He never thought anything would ever happen to his father. The man had ruled these lands for over seven hundred years; he was ruler before Cole was born. He’d been the longest-running dark fae king, and in a moment… just one, lightning-fast, hideous fucking moment, he was gone.
Cole shuddered as some of his rage ebbed, and the grief crept back in again. Except, he had no time for grief.
He had trials to survive, a throne to ascend, and hell to unleash.
Lexi and Cole’s story continues in Shadows of Discovery.
Preorder it now!