by Lexi C. Foss
How fun, I mused, folding my arms and settling in for the show.
At least until I saw Aflora’s lower lip give a subtle wobble as she whispered, “You destroyed my room?”
“Technically, it’s my room,” he muttered, killing any sense of amusement I felt over the situation. Because that was precisely the wrong thing to say.
“You’re un-fucking-believable!” Ella screamed, causing Tray to run out into the living room.
“What the fuck did you do, Kols?” he demanded, looking at his mate in dismay.
But my eyes were on Aflora, on the way she held her head high despite the heartbreak radiating from her eyes. “He’s right. It’s his room, his suite, his world. What an amazing king you’ll be someday, Prince Kolstov. Now, if you wouldn’t mind releasing me, I would very much like to take a shower. Assuming I still have a working bathroom that I’m allowed to use.”
“Fuck, Aflora. I—”
“You can use mine,” Ella cut in, her expression radiating murder. “Let her go, asshole, or I’ll make you let her go.”
“I suggest you listen to my mate,” Tray added, his features as cold as ice.
Kols considered the room before grumbling out a curse and releasing Aflora’s arm. “We need to talk,” he told her. “Have a shower and get dressed. We’ll talk on our way to Defense Without Magic class.”
“And what’s she supposed to wear?” Ella asked, arching a light blonde brow. “You destroyed all her clothes.”
Aflora flinched.
Kols ground his teeth together in annoyance. “I’ll buy her new ones.”
“Damn right you will,” Ella agreed. “Today. But I’m taking her shopping, not you.”
“She has class,” Kols argued, his golden irises flaring with power. “And she can’t leave the Academy without supervision.”
“Then I’ll be her ‘babysitter.’ ” Ella was not backing down, and I sort of loved her for it. Aflora needed a strong friend, one capable of keeping up with her own feisty side. It seemed this little pixie of a female was the perfect partner for her.
“She almost killed you in an academic setting, Isabella,” Kols reminded her in a harsh tone. “You’re not suitable to guard her.”
“God, she’s not a monster, Kolstov! She doesn’t need to be watched twenty-four seven.”
“I’m also standing right here, and I’m capable of making my own decisions,” Aflora interjected, silencing the room. “I need clothes. If Prince Kolstov doesn’t trust me to purchase them by myself, then he can supervise. I’m not afraid. I’m not a damsel. I’m not a threat. But I am tired of this debate. I want to take a shower. And I would really like to eat something at some point, assuming I’m still allowed to eat Prince Kolstov’s food.”
She issued him a challenging glare with that last comment, and his jaw clenched.
At this point, the guy was going to grind all his teeth into dust by midnight.
“I can make you breakfast while you take a shower,” Zeph said.
Aflora looked at him, her blue eyes flaring with power. “The last time I accepted a gift from you, it paralyzed my powers and I ended up in a dungeon. So, no, thank you. I would rather eat a burning thwomp.”
He scoffed. “That’s just childish, Aflora.”
“You say that like your opinion matters to me.” She cocked her head. “It doesn’t.” She dismissed him in favor of Ella. “May I please use your bathroom?”
“Yep. And you can borrow some of my clothes, too. Then we’ll go shopping and have brunch somewhere.”
“Again—”
“I’ll go with them,” Tray said, cutting off his brother’s likely complaint about Aflora leaving the Academy without a guard.
“Have you all forgotten that you have class today?” Zeph asked, his tone holding an edge to it. “My class.”
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten,” Ella quipped, her lips curling. “Consider this our notice that we’re taking a free day.”
He folded his thick arms over his crisp white button-down shirt. “You can’t just take a free day.”
“Stop. Just stop.” Tray looked between Kols and Zeph, his black eyes simmering with fire. “I don’t know what the fuck has gotten into the two of you, but figure it out and fix it. This bullying bullshit isn’t you.” He refocused on Aflora. “Come on. I’ll show you that not all of us are assholes around here.”
She gave him a nod, took a step, and then paused before glancing back at me. “Thank you for today,” she said softly.
“Anytime,” I told her, meaning it. “Actions prove integrity, right?” It was my way of letting her know my offer still stood. All she needed to do was ask, and I’d whisk her back to that field in a heartbeat.
She studied me for a long moment, her gaze filled with distrust. But she nodded in understanding.
That look alone told me she wouldn’t request a return visit to our secret place until she possessed an inkling of hope that I might follow through. Which she didn’t have at this moment. That gave me a goal to achieve.
I wanted her to trust me. To rely on me. To believe I always had her best interests at heart. Because I did. Everything I’d done these last few months was for her; she just couldn’t see it because of the way fate had unfolded. But one day, she’d piece together the riddle I’d left for her and finally understand our purpose together.
Our fates were woven together through an event that occurred many, many years before our births.
Telling her wouldn’t work.
She had to see it for herself, to learn her path on her own, to accept her destiny in this wicked world.
I’d keep pushing her because I had to. I’d hold her when she cried. I’d cherish her every breath and strengthen her from the shadows.
Because this was only our beginning.
And I refused for us to ever end.
She must have seen some of that knowledge in my expression, because her eyes narrowed just a bit. Then she gave another little nod and turned to follow Ella out of the room.
“Well, that went splendidly,” Kols muttered.
“Were you expecting different results from your brutish approach?” I asked him, arching a brow.
“You’re the last person I need or want advice from,” he replied.
Well, that’s just too bad, I thought. Because I’m about to lay into you anyway, Prince Jackass.
“You can blame her for the mating bond all you want,” I told him, switching topics to the true issue at hand. “However, we all know Elemental Fae bonds require two willing participants to form, especially on that level. But maybe that’s your chosen path to leadership—blame others for your faults rather than own them. In which case, I agree with Aflora’s commentary about your future rule, Your Highness.” I gave him a mock bow with the derogatory words.
Then I glanced at an unamused Zeph.
I couldn’t even get started on his issues.
“If you’ll both excuse me, I have a class to prepare for. Hopefully, this one won’t end in a needless death of a familiar.” My comment was pointed at the dick who’d killed Aflora’s falcon just because he couldn’t control his own yearnings.
And these two idiots thought I was the volatile one.
I shook my head and disappeared into a cloud of smoke before they could reply.
If they didn’t get their shit together soon, I’d have to consult my grandmother about the future again. Just to find out what might happen to the end objective if I accidentally killed one or two of Aflora’s mates. Because at this point, it was a fair expectation that I might have to end them.
Chapter Six
Zeph
Fuck.
I knew Aflora would be upset, but I hadn’t anticipated it bothering me.
Not like this.
I rubbed my fist over my chest, frowning at the hallway she’d just walked down moments ago with Tray and Ella. Shade’s words didn’t bother me. Aflora’s, however, did.
You say that like your opinion matters
to me. It doesn’t.
Did she truly mean that? Or was she just being a brat?
I wanted to think it was the latter, but her overall demeanor punctuated the former. She’d dismissed us, her distrust evident. “What the hell was I supposed to do?” I wondered out loud. “Tell her the guards were coming?”
Kols’s brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Yesterday. The arrest. Was I supposed to warn her?” I actually wanted to know. Our plan was hasty but solid. We needed her in the choker before the Warrior Bloods captured her, or the Council would sense the mating bonds on her. And that would lead to a whole world of questions we weren’t ready to answer. “There hadn’t been time to explain.”
“We also needed her shock to look real,” Kols pointed out. “It was the only way.”
I considered that, my frown deepening. “Similar to Shade saying our knowing would have deviated from the path he intended us to walk down.” He’d referred to it as fate, but I read through his statement. “Our anger at Shade—”
“Is probably similar to how Aflora feels about us,” Kols finished for me.
“Only worse. She was all alone in that cell, uncertain of her fate. And we did nothing to convince her we were doing this to protect her.”
“Which explains her hating us now.” He palmed the back of his neck, giving the tendons a squeeze before glaring up at the ceiling and shaking his head. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Fuck.”
We shared a long look, a thousand words traveling between us without any defined meaning. But the end thought was the same—we had to fix this.
“I need to give her a free pass today,” I said.
“And I need to not press the shopping trip issue.”
I nodded, agreeing. “I’m giving you a pass today, too, so you can clean up her room.”
Kols grimaced. “That just came out. I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Obviously,” I deadpanned. “What the fuck is wrong with us? We’re not this bad with women.”
“It’s her,” Kols growled. “She’s… she’s…”
“Gorgeous,” I suggested.
“Yeah, but it’s more than that. She infuriates me just by existing. And not because of anything she’s done, she’s just so…” He trailed off on another growl.
“Irresistible. Headstrong. Powerful. Forbidden. I can play this game all day, Kols.”
His lips twitched. “Sexy. Intelligent. Pretty much perfect, aside from the whole off-limits part.”
“She’s also ours,” I added, arching a brow. “And we’re doing a shit job of making her understand what that means.” Which, to be fair, was all pretty fucking new. We’d also had the minor detail of her imprisonment to deal with before we could talk to her about what happened in the LethaForest.
“What do you suggest we do to help her along?” Kols asked, a glimmer of amusement brightening his golden irises.
“Well, for starters, we need to convince her to forgive us.” Which would be a challenge in and of itself. I would rather eat a burning thwomp.
Ouch.
“Yeah, that’ll be fun.” He ran his fingers through his auburn hair, gripping the ends and blowing out a breath. “I’ll start with her room.”
“And I’ll figure something out.” No idea what. Not only did I have her holding the collar trickery against me, but her falcon’s temporary death, too. Both were done with good intentions, albeit harsh ones. Although, I doubted she’d accept the logical reasons.
We’d burned through her trust.
Now we had to earn it back.
Easier said than done.
“I don’t recommend breakfast,” Kols said, his lips twitching.
“Yeah, clearly not.” Maybe I’d try for dinner, just to poke fun at her statement. However, she probably wouldn’t find humor in anything I did right now. I also wasn’t the humorous sort. “I need to get to class. Maybe I can kick Shade’s ass today as a demonstration.” Just the notion of it cheered me up considerably.
Kols snorted. “Hit him hard for me.”
“That, I can do.” Meanwhile, I’d figure out how to fix this with Aflora. Because yeah, my earlier assumption that she’d just get over it was obviously wrong.
And it was going to take a lot more than a meager apology to work my way back into her good graces.
Chapter Seven
Aflora
“Don’t I need a new wand, too?” I asked after the AcaWard figments finished wrapping up all my purchases into boxes. Ella had chosen the expedited shipping method so the items would go directly to the Academy, freeing up our hands for the afternoon.
“Kols didn’t destroy your wand,” Tray replied, leaning against the wall with a bored expression. “It’s impossible to do since they’re gifts from the source and conduits of our magic, not actual items. He probably has it somewhere. I’ll ask him for it when we get back.”
“Oh.” I suppressed the urge to grimace for the thousandth time today.
Kols destroyed all my things.
Because he hates me.
Because we’re mated.
I swallowed the feelings whirling around in my throat, compliments of my churning stomach. I didn’t want Ella or Tray to see the mess I was inside, so I’d spent the better half of our day holding myself together and pretending not to care about what Kols had done.
Yet my heart fractured a little more each time.
Technically, it’s my room.
What a lovely reminder of my lack of a place in this world. My presence was deemed temporary, a life to be snuffed out at the earliest sign of trouble.
Except the Council had let me go because Shade doctored the tapes. Which implied Kols had gone along with his explanation.
Why?
I didn’t understand their choices. We all knew I was an abomination and a threat, but none of them took the opportunity to turn me in. Maybe because they feared the Council’s reaction to our quad-bond.
Frowning, I accepted the cloak hanging before me on some invisible hook and draped it over my shoulders to cover my skirt and blouse combo. My new boots hit me at my knees and added a few inches to my height. The outfit proved suitable for our plans this afternoon, which included food and drinks. Apparently, Tray knew of a little place in the village that catered to all types of fae appetites, not just Midnight Fae. They even carried spritemead on tap.
A little jolt of excitement zipped through me at the reminder, helping to distract me from my more morose thoughts.
Kolstov could rot with the willow stumps for the afternoon.
I had other plans.
Lifting my head high, I looked at Ella and Tray. “I think that’s everything.”
“All your books have been sent on as well,” Tray said, his arm automatically lifting to accommodate Ella as she sidled up to his side.
“Thanks, Nacht.” She brushed her mouth against his square jaw, and he caught her mouth with his own for a sweet kiss before nuzzling her neck.
The two of them fit together like two petals on a perfect flower. My heart gave a little pang that I swiftly ignored, not willing to let my not-so-perfect mates sour my mood once more.
I was done moping.
Not that I’d really ever started.
So Kols burned all my things. They weren’t even mine to begin with. Just like the room. Let him throw his inferno tantrums and destroy the items his family had bought. Fine. It didn’t matter.
They betrayed me. Locked me up. Didn’t tell me what the hell was going on.
Okay, also fine. They could play their games with themselves from now on because I was done.
No more mates.
No more dreams.
No more anything.
Totally not practical resolutions, but I’d figure them out. Somehow.
“I need a spritemead,” I announced, interrupting Ella and Tray’s adorable little moment.
He stopped nibbling her jaw to smirk at me. “Then I know jus
t the place.”
The packages all whirled around us in a wave of magic before sailing straight through a solid wall toward whatever enchanted express would take them back to the Academy. Hopefully, they would remain untouched until my return. Not likely, but I’d deal with that later.
Along with all the other issues in my life.
For now, I wanted to indulge my Elemental Fae tastes.
The walk through town revealed a lot of cloak-clad fae wandering the streets in pursuit of a late midnight lunch, just like us. But the tavern Tray led us to wasn’t overcrowded with patrons, leaving several booths open near the windows for us to pick from. The wooden tables were dark in color and adorned with candles that illuminated the darker interior. No ceiling lights or lamps, just fire, and the occasional torch near the corner bar.
Slightly spooky, but oddly homey because of the fireplace in the opposite corner lined with bookshelves. A gargoyle crawled up onto our table, his expression bored. “What’ll it be?”
“Three spritemeads, please,” Ella said. “And some menus.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the stone creature grumbled before jumping down with a loud crunch as his stone feet met the marble floor.
I winced, thinking that sounded rather painful, but his wings crinkled at his back as he strutted off toward the bar. He seemed to weave pretty easily between the array of high-top tables and stools, so it must not have hurt at all.
“Three spritemeads, hmm?” Tray asked.
“Aflora swears it’s good, so we’re going to find out.”
“I’ve already tried spritemead,” he replied, touching his index finger to the tip of her nose from across the table. He’d chosen one side of the booth, while we shared the opposite bench.
“And is it good?” she pressed.
“I guess you’ll find out soon enough.” He winked at her. “But I’m getting a proper beer to go with mine.”
“Proper beer,” she echoed, glancing at me and wrinkling her nose. “He likes human beer from Germany best. I’m not a fan of any of it.”