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

Her aunt didn’t expect him to return, and sheexpected Lexi to prepare for the next man who entered her life. Theidea of another man touching her the way Cole did made her stomachclench; she couldn’t even consider that possibility right now.

“He said he would come back, but I’m not sosure,” she admitted.

“Hmm,” Sahira muttered.

When Lexi grasped the bottle, she didn’trealize how close it was to the flames beneath Sahira’s pot. Sheyelped and pulled her hand away when the fire burnt her finger.

“Are you okay?” Sahira asked.

Lexi sucked on her burnt finger as she slidthe potion into her pocket. “I’m fine.”

If Cole returned, she would use it when shewas certain she wasn’t pregnant, but not now. She couldn’t bringherself to use it if there was a small chance she carried hischild. It would be difficult to raise a human, vampire, lycan, darkfae baby on her own, but she would do it.

“Thank you,” she said.

Sahira grunted again.

“I know he’s a dark fae, but….” Lexi’s gazeshifted to the window and the crow sitting in a tree across theway.

“But?” Sahira prompted.

“But I think he’s a good man.”

Sahira grunted again. Lexi kissed hercheek.

“I love you too, auntie,” she teased.

Sahira rolled her eyes. “Ass kisser.”

Lexi chuckled and folded the rest of thecheese into a napkin. “I’ll be in the stables.”

Sahira didn’t reply as Lexi made her way outthe door and toward the stables. She slipped inside and closed thedoor behind her. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself beforeentering the feed room.

She lifted a couple of bags of feed andtossed them aside to expose the trapdoor beneath. The door blendedso seamlessly into the floor that anyone who didn’t know it wasthere would never see it even without the bags on top.

Removing the bottle from her pocket, Lexi hidit in one of the horse’s feed tubs, so she didn’t accidentallybreak it. Then she lifted the door and slipped into the shadowsbelow.

She closed the door behind her. Fromexperience, she knew the open space the moved bags created wouldn’tattract any attention as there were other spaces like it within thefeed room.

Lexi lifted the flashlight from the hookbelow the door and clicked it on before descending the steps. Thebeam played across the walls as she sped through the tunnels and inthe direction of where she last saw Orin.

She didn’t know if she expected him to bethere or not; if he was, she imagined he was pretty pissedover her absence. Despite knowing that, she didn’t feel anyapprehension over encountering an irate dark fae down here. She’dhad enough of bossy, overbearing men, and she wasn’t about to letthis one run all over her again.

She was almost to the place where she lastsaw Orin when low, gravelly words issued from the shadows. “Wherethe fuck have you been?”

CHAPTER 55

Lexi sighed and turned to face Orin. The beam foundhim standing in the corner of two adjoining tunnels. His black eyesglimmered with malice as he studied her with a look that made thehair on her nape rise, but she didn’t back away from him.

“I was helping to save one of yourbrothers,” she retorted.

Those words knocked some of the ire out ofhim, and he gaped at her before covering it up. Confronted with himagain, that niggling guilt tugged at her again.

She’d kept his presence here a secret fromCole. But she was sure Cole had plenty of secrets of his own, andit wasn’t like they were in a relationship and he’d told hereverything.

She tried to reassure herself with thisreasoning, but the guilt wouldn’t let go.

“You could have left,” she said. “Believe me,I would have preferred it if you did.”

“I can’t just pop out of here,” he retorted.“I have no idea where any of these tunnels go or what I’d emergeinto. Plus, you shut some of the gates, so I don’t have many placesto roam.”

Lexi shrugged, but as much as she wanted himgone, she was glad he hadn’t decided to find his way out. It couldhave been disastrous, especially if one of those ways entered intothe manor.

“What do you mean you helped save one of mybrothers?” he asked.

She filled him in on what happened with Brokkbut emitted all details about Cole and herself. However, she musthave given something away as his calculating eyes ran inquisitivelyover her.

“And you didn’t tell them I was here?” heasked.

“You’re still here, aren’t you?”

Instead of answering her question, he askedanother. “And how is Cole?”

She somehow, miraculously, managed not toblush as she responded. “Fine. They both returned to the Gloamingtoday, which means I can take you out of here.”

She pulled the cheese from her pocket andtossed it to him. He caught it with ease.

“If you’ll follow me,” she said.

“And what if I decide not to go back outthere?”

“Then that’s your choice, but I’m not comingback here. You can let me lead you out somewhere safe, or you canwander around here until you’re half-starved and desperate. Oncethat happens, you’ll have to take the risk of leaving here andsomeone seeing you.”

“And then they’ll catch you too.”

“I. Don’t. Care,” she enunciated.

It was a bald-faced lie; of course, shecared. They both knew that, but she was not going to be athis mercy anymore. She’d rather be crisp fried by a dragon thancontinue to live like this.

“I’m not going to keep putting myself at riskby continuing to come down here. Either leave now, or you’re onyour own.”

He bit into the cheese and chewed beforeswallowing. “Lead the way, little human.”

She glowered at him but refused to give himthe satisfaction of telling him off. Turning on her heel, shedidn’t look back at him as she led the way to a door that openedinto a shed on the edge of her property.

The shed housed all sorts of garden tools,fertilizer, and some seeds, but few knew its location as it wastucked within a copse of trees. She had no doubt it would be safeto emerge there.

Climbing the stairs to the door, she slid thebolts locking it free, grasped the handle, and pushed it up. Thescent of dirt and earth enveloped her.

Though she was sure it was safe, she stillpoked her head cautiously out to look