Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) by Brenda Davies (chrome ebook reader .txt) 📗

so she wouldn’t feel bad, but either way, itmade her laugh. “It is a rather large castle.”

“There are over a thousand rooms.”

Lexi’s mouth dropped; a thousandrooms! If that were true, then he wasn’t lying about still gettinglost in this place.

“What can someone possibly do with a thousandrooms?” she blurted, and then her hand flew to her mouth and herblush deepened as she realized the question was rude.

He didn’t seem to find it such as he laughed.“I have no idea, and I certainly haven’t seen them all. I couldspend the rest of my life exploring this place and never find allof them. Some are hidden. Some are lost rooms only entered by pastkings and queens, and those same rulers sealed others away.”

His words intrigued her. She would love thechance to explore this place for a week in search of those hiddenand lost rooms. It would be fascinating. “I would try to find themall.”

“Perhaps one day,” he murmured.

As he spoke, more vines moved to brushagainst him, and a few encompassed his biceps before slipping awayagain. He was oblivious to them, but Lexi’s amazement of the plantsgrew; not only were they lycan plants, but they craved the touch ofa lycan.

Under the silvery glow of the moon, his eyeswere impossibly bluer as they perused her. Unlike Malakai,whose lascivious gaze seemed to strip her bare, she didn’t squirmbeneath the prince’s inquisitive stare.

He didn’t make her feel dirty or exposedbefore him; instead, she felt as if he was trying to understand herbetter, and she was becoming increasingly intrigued by him. Forsome reason, this terrified her more than Malakai’s obviouslust.

The dark fae were not known for theirkindness or interest in others. They were known for theirruthlessness, power, and ability to turn once perfectly normalbeings into mindless sex slaves.

It wasn’t something the dark fae did to allof their sexual partners, but they did it enough that cautionarytales about them abounded.

Despite the warnings to stay away, there werestill those who got too close and eventually became one of theshadow kissed creatures seeking only sexual gratification.

She would not be one of them.

“So, Elexiandra, is this your first time in aShadow Realm?” he asked.

“Lexi,” she replied.

“Excuse me?”

She edged a little further away. “Please callme Lexi. It’s what I go by.”

He smiled at her as he prowled a littlecloser. When he was this close, the heat of his body caressed herskin, and her fingers itched to trace his ciphers.

Lexi gulped and shuffled a few steps back.Getting involved with a dark fae was an excellent way to lose hermind.

“Lexi then,” he murmured.

“And you’re Colburn,” she said.

“Call me Cole.”

She tried to think of a response, but hermind and common sense had taken a vacation when she required themmost.

“Have you ever been to a Shadow Realm?” heasked.

“No, and I admit, I find it fascinating aswell as a little frightening.”

“I think that is most immortals’ reaction tothe Gloaming.”

Turning, she gazed out the windows andfocused on the lush forest outside the glass as she tried to calmher racing heart. “Is there a sun here, or is it always night?”

“There is a sun, and like on Earth, it risesand sets. However, there are always at least two moons visible atone time, and at midnight, all four are clearly seen for at leastan hour. There are all kinds of creatures in this land. Some arelike the human realm, and others… well, others would give younightmares for a week.”

“Amazing,” she murmured.

She’d love to walk outside this castle andinto those woods to explore the wonders they hid. She never heardhim move, but his chest pressed against her back.

Lexi gulped as her skin tingled like littlepulses of electricity were running through it, and her heart racedlike a horse pulling a chariot. The hair on her nape rose as bumpsbroke out on her arms. If she turned, she could touch him anddiscover what he felt like.

Don’t be an idiot!

She tried to remind herself of all the deadlythings the dark fae could do and how treacherous they were, but itwasn’t doing her any good. She yearned to touch him and ease hercuriosity.

She couldn’t get any saliva into her suddenlyparched mouth as the power he emanated crackled against her untilshe felt dizzy from it. Clasping her dress, she forced herself notto touch her forehead and swoon like some woman from the past whosuddenly got the vapors.

“That”—he leaned over her shoulder andpointed to the moon on the right. When he spoke, his breath brushedher cheek—“is Orius, and that one”—he pointed to the moon on theleft— “is Carpton. You can’t see them right now, but the other twomoons are Dashius and Golen.”

Lexi found it increasingly difficult tobreathe as his presence overwhelmed all her senses. He smelled ofallspice and something else, something musky and powerful,something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it wasalluring.

“They’re beautiful,” she managed to croakout.

Larger than the moons on Earth, they cast alot of light upon the realm. And they were beautiful. One was full,while the other was a crescent sliver.

“Yes,” he said, and she felt his eyes onher.

Lexi gulped; she shouldn’t do it, but herhead turned toward him, and their eyes met. They were so close, shecould tell that no other colors marred the perfect Persian blue ofhis eyes.

She didn’t mean for it to happen, but hergaze fell to his lips. Sheltered her whole life, she hadn’t spentmuch time around boys or men.

She was aware her father protected her,probably too much, but she’d never argued with him about it. Healways said she would have plenty of time for those things when shewas older, but she would never be a child again. He was determinedshe enjoy her childhood for as long as possible.

She’d probably stayed sequestered for toomany years, but though the war only lasted a couple of years, thetensions building up to it started years before then. When shemight have normally spread her wings, she remained at home to runthings while her father became more entrenched in the eventsunfolding.

And now she was standing with one of the mostpowerful and deadly creatures ever to walk the realms, and shelonged to kiss him. When