Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) Brenda Davies (affordable ebook reader txt) 📖

Lexi kept her chin high and her shoulders back as theyreturned to the manor.

Once there, he led her to her room, and whileshe showered, he sent a letter to his father.

Now, that response had arrived.

He glanced back to where Lexi lay ensconcedin her blanket. It had taken her a while to fall asleep, and shehadn’t spoken while she lay nestled in his arms.

He didn’t talk either. After what hewitnessed today, the memories of the war were closer to the surfaceand raw. The only thing that helped ease the screams and thecloying scent of blood haunting his memories was holding her in hisarms.

And so he’d kissed and held her, but hedidn’t try to do anything more. Finally, she fell asleep in hisarms, and when she did, he rose from the bed and walked over tostare out the window. After the events of today, he didn’t darefall asleep with her in the room.

The crow dropped the letter on thewindowsill. Cole lifted it and slid the window closed. He walkedover to the chair in the corner of Lexi’s room and sat. He sankonto the cushion of the plush, baby blue chair and opened thenote.

He recognized his father’s elegant scrollimmediately. The Lord received word traitors were in themarketplace. He took the necessary quick and effectiveaction.

Cole knew his father had a lot more to sayabout what happened today, but he couldn’t put them in a letterthat might be intercepted. Cole crumpled the letter and threw it inthe trash can only a few feet away from him.

He leaned back in the chair and clasped thearms of it as he contemplated his father’s response. Whotold the Lord there were traitors in the marketplace?

Cole hadn’t seen any sign of such activitytaking place there. Most mortals and immortals were too scared todo anything more than sell their wares and go home. But someone hadput it in the Lord’s head that something more was going onthere.

And there was also the chance the Lord neverreceived any such word. It was just as likely he’d made it up so hecould use it as an excuse for slaughtering a bunch of innocents.Though, he didn’t need any reasons; no one could stop him while hecontrolled the dragons, and there were far too many of those beaststo slaughter.

However, even knowing all this, he keptpicturing Malakai walking through the marketplace with that smuglook on his face. Cole wouldn’t put it past the vampire to reporttraitors in the market just to watch it burn.

Cole had no way of knowing who was whisperingabout treachery in the Lord’s ears, but he suspected that thevampire had a hand in what happened today.

Malakai had done something to earn thatamulet.

Cole drummed his fingers on the ends of thechair as he gazed around the room. Much like the woman who slept inthe bed, there was something delicate and feminine about it. Thecurtains surrounding the windows were a pale blue that matched thecovers pulled around her.

Pictures of her father and Sahira decoratedthe walls, and he found himself staring into Del’s grinning face. Asmall pang tugged at his heart; he missed that smile and the manwho bore it.

He didn’t know how Del would react to hisrelationship with Lexi, but he doubted his friend would bethrilled. Del had gone out of his way to protect Lexi; he would notwant her entwined with a man who was front and center in thewar.

As much as he missed his friend, he alsodidn’t give a fuck what Del wanted for her. Cole was notgiving her up.

When Lexi whimpered in her sleep, he paddedacross the cool, hardwood floor until he stood beside the bed. Hepulled back the comforters and slid into bed beside her.

Tonight, she was the one having nightmares,and he despised it. What happened today never should have occurred.If there were traitors in the marketplace, then there were otherways to handle the situation, but the Lord was too far gone in hismadness to see that.

Drawing Lexi into his arms, he kissed hertemple. She murmured something before settling down and relaxingagainst him.

He was exhausted, but he wouldn’t sleeptonight. As long as he held her, he didn’t trust himself to sleep,but he wasn’t going to let her go.

• • •

A tapping at the window drew Cole’s attention thenext morning. Shifting his hold on Lexi, he slipped out of bed andwalked over to the crow perched on the other side of the glass. Thecrow’s black eyes watched him as he opened the window, and then itset a note in front of him.

Cole ran his fingers over the bird’s softfeathers before it flew away. He closed the window against thestench of the fire and lifted the note. He opened it to read hisfather’s words.

If Brokk is capable of the journey, it istime to come home.

Cole crumpled the note and tossed it in thetrash before lifting his gaze to the glass. A heavy fog had settledover the land; its silvery tendrils hugged the window and obscuredthe destruction of the marketplace.

“What did it say?” Lexi asked.

He turned to find her sitting up on the bed;her honey hair tumbled around her shoulders in tousled waves. Hergreen eyes were troubled, but she looked achingly lovely as shegazed at him.

“My father wants us to return,” he said.

The slight clench of her jaw was the onlyindication she didn’t like this news before she gave a smallnod.

“Come with me,” he said.

Her eyebrows rose as her mouth parted. “Ican’t.”

“It will only be for a couple of days.”

“I can’t leave Sahira here to deal witheverything on her own. She hates the stables; she claims theysmell. And now that the market is gone, it will be harder to findfood, and our gardens aren’t ready to be harvested yet. I have toomany responsibilities here to go, even if it’s only for a couple ofdays.”

And no matter how much he didn’t want toleave her, especially after yesterday's events, he had too manyresponsibilities to stay. There were far too many lives dependingon him to return.

But staring at her, he didn’t care aboutthose lives, the war, or how insane the Lord was; he preferred tostay with his mate. But he