by Lexi C. Foss
“Something we don’t have on our side.”
“Well, tell her that,” Kols said, gesturing to the hallway. “Let me know how it goes.”
I huffed out a breath. It would go well until she came all over my cock. Then she’d go right back to hating me. While the former would be enjoyable, the latter wouldn’t help us move forward.
My elbows fell to my thighs as I leaned forward. “This is ridiculous. All we’ve done is to help her.”
“She doesn’t see it that way.”
“Clearly.” And while I could admit to some fault in the matter of the approach, she wasn’t exactly giving us a chance to explain.
Or maybe I hadn’t tried hard enough to be heard.
Or really at all, I thought to myself.
But that wasn’t the point. “Tell me what Sol said.” Kols had been in the middle of detailing his meeting with the Elemental Fae when Aflora stomped into the room. I’d been about to suggest she join us for the discussion, but her little temper tantrum reaction to seeing us in the living area had me biting my tongue.
Kols cleared his throat. “Right. Well, first, he threatened to kill me.”
“You told him about the mating?”
“No. He sensed it. Not sure he approves.”
I smirked. “I bet not. But he can’t do anything about it.”
“That’s exactly what I said. Then I asked him to help me help her.”
“And?”
“He told me to fuck off.” Kols picked up his beer and took a long swig. “So Cyrus stepped in and reminded Sol how I helped them with their Chancellor problem by providing dark-magic texts. And Exos commented on how working together would only help Aflora, not hurt her. As her Earth mate, I’m duty-bound to protect her and yada yada, so eventually Sol caved.”
He stood up to retrieve his suit jacket and pulled something from the pocket. “These are Aflora’s parents.” He handed me an old-fashioned-painting-styled photograph, one depicting a couple staring down at the baby in the female’s arms.
“Is that baby Aflora?”
“Yep.” Kols snagged his beer bottle by the neck and enjoyed another swallow while remaining on his feet.
I studied the photo. “She looks so much like her mother.” Gorgeous. Dark hair. Pale complexion. Beautiful smile. I felt my own lips curve at the sight, my heart warming a little at an innocent Aflora being loved on by her parents. Did they know then what a powerful child they’d created? I imagined they did.
“Do you recognize them?” Kols asked.
I studied both parents and slowly shook my head. “No. Should I?”
“No. I was just curious.”
“Wouldn’t you already know what they look like through all your royal training?” I meant the question earnestly. Kols had grown up studying fae politics. Surely he’d seen a photo of the Elemental Fae royals at some point.
“Elemental Fae are not known for capturing photos. They prefer to live life and enjoy the moment, and they balk at technology.”
“So why did her parents have a photo?”
“Exactly,” Kols replied, collapsing in the recliner once more. “Sol said that a lot of things about Aflora’s childhood were abnormal, including that photo. And when I asked him about the ballad, he recognized it. Aflora used to hum it often when she was younger, usually in moments of happiness.”
“But he didn’t recognize it otherwise?”
“Nope. None of them had ever heard it before, so it’s not like some Elemental Fae nursery rhyme.”
“Well, that’s something at least.” It would cause a lot of political strife if our kind found out that the little Elemental Fae were running around humming about how to realign the source of dark magic.
“It’s still troubling, and what I dislike even more is that Sol couldn’t tell me anything about Aflora’s grandparents. She’s a descendant of the royal Earth Fae line. How do they not know anything about those who came before her parents?”
I frowned. “Do they not believe in keeping records, in addition to their dislike of technology?”
Kols snorted. “I asked the same thing. Sol didn’t appreciate the comment.”
“It’s a fair statement.”
“I agree, as did Cyrus. He felt it very strange that not much is known about the Earth Fae royal line. They rely so much on whom the source has favored that they don’t focus much beyond that. And while they know the names of her ancestors, they couldn’t say much about them. Everyone who would have known them died in the plague that abomination caused.”
“Their former Chancellor?” I asked, seeking clarification. There were several abominations throughout our history, but she was the latest to cause issues among the realms.
“Yeah. Elana.”
I considered that. “Do you think she took out the Earth Fae on purpose?” I wondered out loud. “I mean, she targeted their element first. What if she did it to erase the history?”
“Why attack Aflora as a girl, then?”
“To cover up her actions?” I suggested.
Kols finished his beer in silence, contemplating my comments. Then his head bobbed side to side slowly. “Doesn’t feel right.”
While I agreed with his assessment, I still said, “But it’s worth keeping in mind.”
“True.” He set his empty bottle on the end table. “All right. So we know she has Quandary Blood in her. We know her lineage doesn’t have great records. And we know her powers are unraveling.”
“She feels grounded right now,” I replied, sensing my mate-bond with her. It tugged at my heart a little, mostly because I could feel her displeasure. Knowing I helped cause that emotion irked me. But I couldn’t change anything we’d done. It was all to keep her safe, whether she realized that or not.
“She does,” Kols agreed. “We need to keep her that way.”
“Is that why you fed while in the Human Realm?” I asked, arching a brow.
“You’re just as well fed as I am.”
“I ordered a catering service,” I admitted. Digesting food infused with blood wasn’t the same as feeding from a neck, but it did the trick and rejuvenated my magic.
“How was it?” Kols asked, genuine curiosity in his gaze.
“Different. Not nearly as enjoyable as biting Aflora.”
His lips curled. “I doubt much is as enjoyable as biting Aflora.”
“Did you think of her while you fed?”
“No. I didn’t want to make it intimate, and feeding without sex is hard enough already.”
I nodded, understanding. “Did you just enchant them?”
“Pretty much. They’ll have a memory of a heavy make-out session that left them light-headed afterward.” He lifted a shoulder. “There were a few other Midnight Fae roaming about, so I created a glamour for them as well. Have to keep up appearances and all that.”
“It worked,” I told him. “I overheard a few of them gossiping about it outside.”
“Good.” Then he frowned. “Do you think it got back to Aflora?”
“Probably.”
“Do you think it’ll bother her?”
“That her mate was seen in the Human Realm fucking around with mortals?” I asked. “Would it bother you if we heard Aflora was doing that?”
He scowled. “She doesn’t need blood.”
“What about sex?”
“Are you trying to piss me off?” he demanded.
“No, I’m trying to get you to see the obvious, idiot,” I replied. “Your reaction right now is your answer.”
He started to snap something back, only to pause, then he growled in annoyance. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.” I understood because I wouldn’t like hearing that about Aflora at all. In fact, I’d probably find the human who dared to touch her, and kill him. She might not feel like she was mine yet, but that didn’t make it any less true. I claimed her the moment my incisors met the plump flesh of her breasts. She just hadn’t accepted it yet.
“I suppose that’s another
apology for my list,” Kols muttered.
“Maybe we should just give her a dozen orgasms instead. Most women prefer that to flowers.”
Kols snorted. “She’s an Earth Fae. You know she prefers the flowers.”
“Only because she doesn’t know any better,” I mused, finally taking a sip of my own beer. “I’ll happily show her when she’s ready.”
“In her dreams?” He sounded hopeful, but I turned him down with a look.
“No more dreams for her. Not until we’ve worked this all out.” It was what I’d said the other night, and I stood by it. We needed our mate to trust us before I could continue her sexual education. Otherwise, I risked pushing her too far, and I didn’t want to chance harming our already fractured bond.
“Ugh,” Kols groaned, his head falling back against the chair. “You have no idea how much I want to fuck right now.”
“You always want to fuck,” I pointed out. “And I’m very aware of that.”
He grunted. “Dick.”
“Not a good way to woo me into some temporary relief, Kolstov.”
“I’m not getting on my knees again,” he said, glancing at me. His reference to the other night in his room had my lips quirking upward in amusement.
“Then I guess you’re not getting fucked,” I replied.
“I said I want to fuck, not be fucked.”
“Semantics.”
“You’re an ass,” he chastised, standing up and tossing his bottle into a nearby trash can. “I’m having a date with my hand tonight. You can fuck off.”
“Enjoy,” I murmured, not moving from the couch.
“You can go now.”
“I’m good.”
He shook his head and grumbled a curse under his breath, then focused on the kitchen. “Leftover pizza?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Sure.”
“Good.”
I watched as he worked, the banter between us reminding me of an easier time between us—a time I wasn’t sure we’d ever experience again. However, as he pulled a box out of the refrigerator and slid the contents onto a tray, I started to entertain the notion of a different kind of future. One where we were friends like before, only closer.
Because of Aflora.
Or maybe it would all go up in flames and burn us all to the ground.
I rubbed a hand over my face and shut my eyes, the vision of a dark-haired beauty with cerulean magic flashing in my mind.
What am I going to do with you? I thought at her, aware that she couldn’t actually hear me. That wasn’t how the initial bond stages worked. I could sense her and manipulate her dreams with magic, but I couldn’t yet access her mind.
Soon, though.
Soon.
Chapter Eleven
Aflora
I stared at the black rose on my seat before glancing across the room at Shade. He winked and returned to his conversation with one of the other Death Bloods. Then the flower disappeared into a purple mist, the illusion gone.
“How romantic,” Emelyn drawled, having witnessed the entire exchange from her spot a few seats over. “He sends you dead flowers as gifts.”
“Shall I do the same for you, my beloved?” Kols asked as he took the chair beside mine.
Emelyn narrowed her black eyes at him and ignored the offer. “Why does your father still think we’re going to the Blood Gala together, darling fiancé?”
Blood Gala? I repeated to myself as I took my seat.
“I told you I’d handle it,” he replied with a hint of annoyance.
“Is that what you were doing while gallivanting all over the mortal realm, fucking everything with two legs?” she asked, her long lashes batting demurely at him. But the violence radiating from her dark irises told a very different story. One I understood very well as my stomach clenched with her words.
Murderous, I mused. That was how I felt as a result of her statement.
I wanted to throttle Kols for being so disrespectful to our bond.
Which was ridiculous.
I had to get over this. We weren’t exclusive. We didn’t even like each other. Maybe I’d tell him later about my idea to use my Quandary Blood gifts to unravel the mating. He’d probably jump at the chance, what with all his other obligations. Including the female staring at him now, waiting for his response.
He didn’t give her one.
Rude.
Headmaster Zankry cleared his throat from the front of the room, his hazel eyes boasting a bluish color today. They tended to change with his mood. Green meant angry. Black correlated with irritation. Brown indicated boredom. And blue typically suggested excitement.
Which meant he had a dangerous task for us to complete today.
I wondered if anyone else noticed that his class plans matched his irises or if they were all too busy talking to each other to pay attention.
“Aflora,” Kols murmured.
I ignored him. Just like I did during breakfast when he asked me to wait for him before going to class. I didn’t see the point, so I’d gone on ahead. He’d caught me at the entrance to the academic building but had wisely stayed quiet.
It seemed that bout of wisdom had come to an end.
Fortunately, Headmaster Zankry cut in with his trademark clearing of the throat to signal for our required attention. Black tendrils of power slithered like a snake up and down his arms, his Malefic magic on full display. “I hope you all followed the course assignment list and read the chapter on hallucinogen charms, because that’s our task for today.”
Excited murmurs broke out in the room, causing the hairs along my arms to rise.
Oh, I’d read the chapter all right.
He wanted us to play with optical magic, the kind that disrupted the mind and created dangerous illusions. If not properly deflected, the opponent could be rendered completely useless in seconds.
“And I’ll be matching you all through a compatibility enchantment,” Headmaster Zankry continued. Magic swirled through the air, the strands reminding me of that day in Advanced Conjuring class when Headmaster Irwin linked me to Shade for the entirety of the course.
His ice-blue eyes caught mine from across the room, his lips curling as if to confirm he had the same thought. The notion of being tied to him again didn’t upset me like it did that first day. Actually, I really wouldn’t mind—
“Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me,” Emelyn snapped as the ropes connected my wrist to hers.
My eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“How is she compatible to my magic?” Emelyn demanded, taking the thought right out of my mind. Because we were nothing alike. At all. The only thing we had in common was Kols. Sort of.
“No shit,” a male said from across the room. It was the guy Shade always seemed to hang out with during classes. His name started with an A. Ajax, maybe? “There is nothing compatible between me and the friggin’ Midnight Fae Prince.” He held up his wrist, the magic strand attached to Kols.
My Elite Blood mate snorted. “I think your enchantment needs some work, Headmaster.”
Shade just yawned, his magic cord linked to Stiggis. The latter appeared thrilled to be tied to my Death Blood mate. He clearly hadn’t forgiven Shade for turning his back on the mating to his sister, Cordelia.
It was like everyone in the room was tied to someone they disliked, making them the opposite of “compatible.”
The dark-haired fae snapped his fingers from the front of the room, forcing our attention back to him. “I said nothing about these being pairings based on friendship qualities. This class is about dueling and offensive magic. Now stop messing around and get to work.”
Kols glanced warily at me before he stood. The warning in his eyes was clear. Don’t give anything away, he was telling me.
I didn’t dignify the look with a response and instead watched as our desks disappeared into mist, the room shifting forms to resemble a gymnasium-sized arena with marks along the floor. The first time this happened, I’d gaped at th
e transformation.
Now, I’d expected it and waited until it was done before allowing the illuminated cord to guide me to the appropriate sparring ring. As soon as Emelyn and I were in position, the magic vanished and she readied her wand.
The spell left her lips before I even had a chance to prepare. Bright red flames engulfed me, the heat shocking the hell out of my system. It felt real. It burned. My knees buckled on instinct, my hands frantically seeking a wand that didn’t exist. Somehow, she’d cloaked it. I couldn’t find it. I searched futilely while the fire ate through my clothing, leaving me naked and hot and mortified as everyone turned to watch me fail.
Then they all evaporated into a cloud of smoke, the infamous death fields in the Spirit Kingdom taking their place.
Screams.
Terror.
Death.
I couldn’t breathe. This place had haunted my nightmares as a child. Every Earth Fae feared this place—the one where plagued souls went to die.
And I had firsthand experience battling at the entrance in soul form. Sort of. In a weird metaphorical way.
This isn’t real, I promised myself, closing my eyes. This isn’t happening.
And then I heard a whisper against my ear that had me spinning on my heels. Just my name, but it sounded unmistakably like my father.
Impossible.
“…forest,” he whispered, the words before it lost to a subtle breeze scented of pine and lavender. “My sweet, beautiful flower. I’ve missed you. Meet me, my darling. Meet me soon. Join us. Come home.”
I whirled in a circle, searching for the source of those words, my heart in my throat. “Dad?” I shook my head. No. It couldn’t be him. This was all a game. A trick. A mind illusion, one I needed to break. But I couldn’t. Not without my wand.
Then I recalled Zeph’s earlier training. Conduits were used to focus control and weren’t the source of magic. That came from within.
I searched inside, fighting to untangle the spell Emelyn had woven through my aura. All around me, trees wept, her newest attack an illusion of killing the element I held dear—my precious earth.