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

be comfortablebut tight enough to make her mouth water.

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and histhick lips curved into the sexiest smile she’d ever seen. He was agood foot taller than her five-seven height and easily weighed ahundred pounds more than her one hundred thirty.

He should intimidate her, and she imaginedmany were terrified of him, but she didn’t feel afraid. Instead,before she could stop herself, she grinned at him like anidiot.

“It’s you,” she said.

Cole smiled in return. “It’s you.”

A shout from somewhere to her right drew herattention and dampened her happiness as she recalled where theywere. Cole took the bag from the woman who was still holding it outto him and slipped her some money. Clasping her elbow, he led heraway from the booth.

“What are you doing here?” Lexi asked andthen tried not to blush at the abruptness of her question. “I’msorry; I didn’t mean to sound rude.”

A teasing glimmer shone in his eyes. “Youdidn’t expect to find me here?”

“Not at all.”

“Why not? There are things here I like topurchase too.”

That made sense, but marketplaces such asthis always existed in the mortal realm; she’d gone to them often.This one came to life after the war, and unlike the markets of thepast, humans also shopped it. There was no reason to keep theimmortal markets hidden anymore.

However, during her many trips to the privateand open markets, she’d never seen one royal fae.She’d heard countless rumors about them while shopping the immortalwares, but they could get everything they needed in the ShadowRealms.

“Plus,” he said, “the Lord of the ShadowRealms likes us to keep an ear out for any threats that might ariseand to search for the rebels.”

His words reminded her of the dark fae lockedin her tunnels, and her appetite vanished. She clenched her bag assome of her excitement over seeing him vanished.

She was harboring a rebel, and if he knewabout it, not only would he turn in the fae, but he’d hand her overtoo. It thrilled her to see him, and he seemed happy to see heralso, but his loyalty was to the Lord.

She wanted nothing to do with any of thepolitical turmoil the world remained in; however, she’d put herselfright in the middle of it when she decided to hide a warcriminal.

And she’d pitted herself against this man andthe monster who’d ruthlessly unleashed his dragons on countlessinnocents. She didn’t want anything to happen to the fae she hid,but she wanted even less for Cole to become her enemy.

She liked him, and he made her feel alive ina way she hadn’t since her father died. It was a bad idea to feelanything other than apprehension for a dark fae, but she couldn’tstop the butterflies in her stomach or the increase of her pulsewhen she was around him.

“Oh,” she muttered.

She realized she sounded a little dumb, butshe had no idea what to say. Oh good, you’re all looking to killmore immortals, didn’t feel like the appropriate, sarcasticresponse.

“And what are you doing here?” he asked.

Lexi held up her bag of food. She couldn’tbring herself to lie to him, and she doubted she could pull off aconvincing lie, so she hoped he would take this as explanationenough.

“They’re some of my favorites,” he said.

“Mine too.”

A commotion from somewhere to her left drewLexi’s attention to the crowd. Startled cries filled the air ashumans and immortals pushed back toward them. When Cole steppedbefore her, his large body blocked the retreating group fromshoving her into the food stand.

“What the fuck?” he muttered.

Lexi was thinking the same thing as ahigher-pitched scream rent the air and a child started to sob forher mother. Lexi stepped forward; she wasn’t a fighter, but she’dbe damned if she let someone hurt a child.

Then the crying child, enveloped securely inthe arms of her lycan mother, rushed past them. Cole clasped Lexi’sarm as he held her firmly behind him. Despite the commotion, shebarely stopped herself from gaping at the hand engulfing almost herentire forearm.

Then the crowd parted to reveal a group oflycan shoving through them. With a sinking heart, Lexi spottedMalakai at the front of the pack.

She glanced at the sun beating down on theearth and Malakai. Unlike her, he was a full-blooded vampirewho never should have been out in the daylight, but as she thoughtit, the sun caught and reflected off the red amulet hanging fromhis neck.

She didn’t know where it had come from, butshe sensed its power and suspected it somehow allowed him to walkabout in the day. She didn’t understand how anything could bepowerful enough to accomplish that. However, it had to be theamulet as she’d never seen him in the daytime before the war, yethe wasn’t catching on fire now.

With his shoulders back, pride and contemptemanated from Malakai as he surveyed the crowd. Then his brown eyeslanded on Cole before sliding to her. Surprise widened them for thebriefest of seconds, but they hardened when he spotted Cole’s handwrapped protectively around her arm.

A smug smile curved his lips as he stopped infront of them. He was about five inches shorter than Cole, and hedidn’t emanate power like the fae prince, but his eyes shimmeredwith malice when they shifted from Cole’s grip on her arm to herface.

“Elexiandra,” he greeted in a voice that sentchills down her spine.

“Malakai,” she replied.

CHAPTER 18

“What is the meaning of this?” Cole demanded.

As he surveyed the lycan gathered aroundMalakai, he recognized all of them, but they weren’t part of hisuncle’s pack, and he didn’t trust any of them. They all fought onthe same side during the war, but for completely differentreasons.

“We’re hunting a traitor,” Malakaireplied.

Cole resisted smashing the arrogant grin offMalakai’s face as he glanced at Lexi again. The intensity of hisreaction startled him.

Despite his lycan blood, Cole was colder andmore calculating like the dark fae than impulsive and explosivelike the lycan. However, the look in Malakai’s eyes as he stared atLexi had him imagining tearing the vamp’s heart out and shoving itdown his throat.

There was more than anger in the vamp’sstare; there was also a lust that made Cole feel more murderousthan he had during the entire war. He’d