Bound by Danger (The Alliance #6) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,118

he realized none of that mattered. All that mattered was finding Alejandro's killer and getting the help they needed to destroy the demons before they were all slaughtered.

Preorder Logan’s story, Bound by Deception, coming 2021: brendakdavies.com/BBDcwb

***Turn the page for a sneak peek of Shadows of Fire, book 1 in the upcoming new series, The Shadow Realms.***

Sneak Peek

Shadows of Fire, The Shadow Realms Book 1

Elexiandra tried not to crumple the invitation as she read it, but she felt her blood pressure rising. The neat, embossed gold lettering was far too bright for the words written on the thick parchment.

She'd bet hundreds of these invites had gone out through the mortal and Shadow Realms, which meant at least a thousand immortals would accept the invitation. She didn't reside in the Shadow Realms, but it seemed —much to her dismay— that King Tove of the dark fae, had decided to include those immortals who lived in the human realm too.

"What is it, Lexi?" Sahira asked as she appeared at Lexi's side.

If Lexi showed it to her, Sahira would make her go. Her aunt would prattle on about proper etiquette and how exciting it was for them to get the chance to visit the dark fae realm, the Gloaming. But even if Sahira didn't force her to attend, Lexi had no idea how she could get out of it.

How did she say no to the king of the dark fae?

She didn't; that was how. But why did he invite her?

Sure, her father was a general on the winning side of the war, but he'd perished in that war, and she was a half vamp, half human who had never traveled to a Shadow Realm before. She was a nobody holding an invitation from one of the most powerful immortals in all the realms. And she wanted to throw it away.

Lifting her head, Lexi pushed back a loose strand of blonde hair as she studied the large manor only fifty feet away from her. At one time, the thirty-room, gray stone building was beautiful and in pristine condition. Then her father entered the war on the side of the, let's make our existence known to the humans faction, and everything changed.

But then, he never had a choice. It was either fight or die, and at least he chose the winning side, even if it wasn't necessarily the right one, but she would never voice that opinion out loud. However, if he'd chosen the losing side, then she and Sahira would be on the run like all the other rebels.

She was still staring at her home when Sahira snatched the invitation from her hand.

"It’s an invitation to a ball!” Sahira gushed.

Lexi winced and braced herself for what was to come. The last thing she wanted was to attend some fancy ball, but the sparkle in Sahira’s eyes said her aunt was already planning what they would wear.

The invitation specified attending in their finest attire, which meant ball gowns. That was all well and good, but she didn’t own anything like that, and she wasn’t in the mood to go shopping.

Lexi almost groaned out loud, but she was well aware of the crow perched nearby, watching them intently. If her response was anything less than ecstatic, the bird would report her reaction to the dark fae king.

“It’s to celebrate the end of the war,” Sahira said. “And the king of the dark fae’s sons for helping the Lord of the Shadow Realms win.”

Some of Sahira’s enthusiasm vanished as she spoke. She may love the idea of a ball and fancy gowns, but they’d lost a lot during the war, and neither of them had anything to celebrate.

Lexi lost her dad, and Sahira lost her half-brother. They’d lost the luxurious life they once lived and most of the humans who once lived at and worked on the manor grounds.

But they weren’t the only ones who’d lost a lot. The human realm lost its innocence about the existence of immortals as well as countless lives. Every day, they continued to lose more.

And the dark fae king wanted to celebrate those losses. She found this a little strange considering he’d lost more than half his sons in the war.

Lexi bit her tongue as she gazed into the crow’s black eyes. When it tilted its head, the sun created a rainbow hue of colors throughout its feathers.

She’d never met them, but she knew Colburn, or Cole as he was more commonly known, and Brokk were the only sons the king had