Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1) by Brenda Davies (free e books to read .TXT) 📕

in the doorway. Sahira had been in the gardenwhen she slipped into the tunnels; she often spent a couple ofhours there a day, but she’d apparently finished early today.

Thankfully, she hadn’t caught Lexi coming outof the tunnel. From now on, she’d have to use a different entranceinto the tunnels.

“Yes?” she croaked.

Sahira didn’t seem to notice anything off asshe smiled at her. “Would you like some tea?”

Lexi glanced at the clock and was amazed tosee it was already their normal teatime. Where had the daygone?

“Yes, of course,” she said as she rose fromthe chair and walked toward her aunt.

Should she tell Sahira about Orin? Her auntmight know what to do about him, but then Lexi would have toinvolve her in this mess.

Right now, Sahira could claim ignorance aboutLexi’s actions, and it could save her life. Or at least Lexi hopedit could. However, if she told Sahira, she would be pissed at Orinfor his threats, and things could get ugly. Sahira was a strongwitch, but she wasn’t strong enough to take on a dark fae.

No, she couldn’t tell her aunt about whatshe’d done. She’d already put her in danger by allowing Orin intothe tunnels; keeping her in the dark was the best way to keepSahira safe. Lexi had dug herself into this hole, and she would getherself out without endangering her aunt.

She stepped aside as Sahira entered the roomwith two cups of tea. Lexi’s mouth watered as a sweet scent waftedfrom the delicate cups. For as long as she could remember, the twoof them sat down every day to enjoy a cup of tea together.

When she was little, they would sit aroundher small table and fill plastic cups with tea. They’d pretend tobe queens while they sipped their tea and dreamed of magical worldsfar from the human realm.

As part witch, Sahira had traveled to theland of witches a few times and several other Shadow Realms, but aspart vampire, she rarely felt welcome in those realms. However,when she was younger, Sahira loved to regale Lexi with thosestories as she poured tea and lifted a dainty pinky finger whilesipping her drink.

As she grew, they stopped sitting around herlittle pink table and drinking out of plastic cups, but they alwayssat together every day. When she got older, she also learnedSahira’s stories, though wondrous, were tinged with sadness andadversity.

Sahira traveled to those realms, but theynever welcomed her with open arms because she was part vampire andpart witch. She learned more about how her aunt never felt welcomein the witches’ realm and the intolerance she faced there.

The witches’ hatred for vampires hadn’tlessened over the eight hundred years that had passed since avampire killed the witch queen in a fit of jealousy. The two hadbeen lovers, but the queen had decided to take another to her bed,and the vampire was not happy about it.

In retaliation for her death, all the witchcovens joined together. Not only did they slaughter the vampire whokilled their queen, but they also unleashed their wrath on thevampire realm.

They leveled that realm, making ituninhabitable for vampires and driving them out. When they fled toother realms, the witches’ wrath followed them, and they wereevicted from those realms by the witches and the immortals whoresided there.

No one wanted to incur the witches’ wrath byharboring the vampires. Besides, known for their arrogance,vampires weren’t well-liked before they killed the witch queen, sonot many other immortals wanted them around.

They could have fled to the far outer ShadowRealms, but many of those realms were inhospitable or inhabited byterrifying creatures, so that left them with Earth. When thevampires fled to the mortal realm, the witches, drained from thedestruction of their realm, could not continue their attack onthem.

The vampires were getting ready to go backafter the witches, who wouldn’t have been able to put up much of afight, when the Lord at that time put an end to it before the twoimmortals destroyed each other.

Neither the vampires nor witches were happywhen the Lord intervened, but they both relented. They eitheraccepted the decision or ended up being hunted by the Lord, andnone of them would ever know peace.

However, the witches did succeed in forcingthe arrogant vamps out of the Shadow Realms. They contentedthemselves with this knowledge, though their hatred for the vampsremained, and the vamps’ hatred for them was just as intense.

With no place else to go, the vampiresremained in the human realm. They’d traveled to Earth before tofeed, but it became their home after the witches’ attack.

Lexi had no idea how Sahira’s father managedto sweet talk a witch into his bed, but somehow, he did it. AndSahira was the one who paid the price.

Her mother left after Sahira was born, andshe didn’t take her baby with her. Sahira grew up in the humanrealm with her father and Del, who was only four years older. Del’smother, a vampire, was killed by a warlock shortly after his birth,and Sahira’s mother was still alive, but she had nothing to do withher.

Ashamed of her weakness at having not onlyslept with but conceived a child with a vampire, Sahira’s motherleft her baby behind so she could return to the witch realm. Sahirararely mentioned her, but Lexi knew they’d met.

The loss of both their mothers and theirclose ages bound Sahira and Del together; they grew up as thick asthieves. Their deep loyalty and love for each other continued untilthe day he died.

Over time, Sahira stopped traveling to theShadow Realms and remained on Earth. It was easier for her thatway. She was as caught in the middle as Lexi, but at least Lexiwasn’t torn between two species who despised each other.

Although, that had probably changed now.Before, the humans had never known she existed. Vampires had alwaysbeen a thing of legends born from real encounters with vamps, butthey were still fantastical and believed to be fake.

However, humans knew they were real now, andshe doubted that knowledge made them happy. Yes, she was sure thehumans probably hated vamps as much as the witches did.

She followed Sahira over to the twooverstuffed chairs, but she stopped before taking a seat. Shecouldn’t spend the next