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

On the bed, Cole lay entangled in the darkblue comforter. His face was turned away from her, and his handswere twisted into the sheets. The corded muscles of his arms andneck stood starkly out.

Black ciphers ran from the tips of hisfingers, up his arms, across his shoulders, and a few of the flameslicked at his chin. She couldn’t tell if they went down his back,but there weren’t any on his chest.

When his head turned toward her, Lexiprepared to bolt. She was about to be caught entering his room.However, when his eyes remained closed, she realized he was havinga nightmare.

Some of her tension eased, and she started toretreat, but a muffled sound of anguish stopped her. She’d heardsounds like that coming from wounded animals before, and it tore ather heart.

She couldn’t walk away from any creature indistress, let alone Cole.

Knowing she was playing with fire, shestepped away from the door and closed it behind her. She stared atit for a second before taking a deep breath, gathering her courage,and cautiously approaching the bed.

Uncertain of what to do, she stood beside himas thunder boomed and lightning illuminated the room. This close tohim, she couldn’t help but marvel over the power he emanated.

He was nearly twice her size, and though hewas also a half-breed, he was a combination of two of the mostpowerful immortal creatures in existence. His half-breed statusmade him more powerful, unlike her.

Her human half made her weaker; she wasimmortal, and she was faster and stronger than any human, but shedidn’t possess the same strength as a full-blooded vampire. Shecouldn’t even transport.

When he thrashed on the bed and his headtwisted away, Lexi buried her trepidation and stretched a handtoward him. A bolt struck right outside the manor; its electricitycaused the hair on her nape to rise at the same time her fingersmet his flesh.

She wasn’t sure if it was the electricitypulsing through the room or the contact with him, but her entirebody tingled and her heart raced. She didn’t have time to figure itout before his eyes flew open, his hand seized her wrist, and hejerked her forward.

Before she had a chance to react, he pinnedher beneath him, and his hand was enclosing on her throat. Then herair cut off.

CHAPTER 43

The thunderous boom of the dragons ravaging theearth reverberated around Cole. He was swept up in a sea of death,surrounded by enemies, and hacking his way through their bodies ashe sought to destroy the adversaries closing in on him.

Why couldn’t they all die? And where werethey all coming from?

Blood coated his hair, slid down his face,and plastered his clothes to him. Those clothes weighed him down,but he continued to hack and carve and slaughter his way throughthe immortals surrounding him.

The stench of blood clogged his nose as itcaked his nostrils. Breathing through his mouth was the onlyoption, and when he did, he inhaled blood until it coated histongue.

He spit the blood out, but it filled hismouth faster than he could rid himself of it. The dragons releasedanother wave of fire upon the world. Their flames leapt so highthat shadows of fire danced across the land until it looked like ablack inferno was spreading toward them.

One of his enemies grasped his sword hand,and spinning toward the faceless beast, Cole seized its throat andsmashed it into the ground.

The roar of dragons and the pulse of bloodfilled his ears as his hand tightened on his enemy’s throat. Theirfists battered him, but he barely felt the blows as blood drippedfrom his hair and splashed onto his victim.

The punches hit him harder; his victimsquirmed beneath him, but he kept them pinned as he sought todestroy them. I will not let them win.

He bared down as his faceless victim shiftedand blurred. He glimpsed red hair as the smell of strawberriespierced through the stench of blood. Cole blinked to clear his mindof the image, but the woman… no, Lexi didn’t go away.

A fist hit him square in the jaw. It snappedhis head back at the same time it knocked away the remaining dregsof his nightmare and threw him back into reality.

He wasn’t strangling some nameless opponent;he was strangling… Lexi!

With a shout, he threw himself away from herand rolled across the bed. Her wheezing, choking sounds followedhim. Even more than the blood and death of the war, he knew thosesounds would haunt him for the rest of his days.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” he snarled as helaunched to his feet.

Turning back toward her, he watched as sherolled across the bed and slid off the other side with a hand onher throat. He didn’t recall moving, but suddenly he was around thebed and going toward her as she huddled against the wall. Herfingers touched her temple before pulling away.

He spotted a red lump on her forehead alongwith what looked like a bit of silver. He glanced at the bed frame;she must have hit her head on it when she fell off the bed. Sherubbed at the mark, and the silver vanished, but the lumpremained.

When she saw him coming, she held out herpalm to stop him. The wild beat of her heart and the pungent stenchof her terror froze him.

“Shit, Lexi. Shit! I didn’t…. Iwasn’t…. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I would never….”

His next words froze in his mouth. Colecouldn’t say he would never harm her when he just had, but hehadn’t meant to.

Kneeling in front of her, he ached to drawher into his arms as her striking green eyes studied him warily. Hedidn’t reach for her and instead rested his fingers on theground.

“I would never hurt you on purpose,” hesaid.

He’d cut off his hand before he ever hurt heron purpose, but that hand had also left red welts along thedelicate column of her throat. When he leaned closer to her, sheshied away from him, and he recoiled.

“And who is going to protect her fromyou?”

“Who indeed, brother?”

Sahira and Brokk’s words ran through his mindas he gazed at her. He’d promised to keep her safe from Malakai,but he was the one who did this to her.

He slammed his hand onto the floor.“Fuck!”

Her