by Lexi C. Foss
Yet he hadn’t said anything about our quad-bond.
Which indicated there was more at play here than I knew, unless this was all leading up to that major reveal. Maybe he intended to take my throne, and that was his trump card.
Hmm, no. If that were the case, my father would be simmering with anger toward me. Instead, he seemed pleased to be bringing me into the fold, as he’d called it.
A knock sounded through the chamber, drawing my father’s gaze to the door. “Ah, that must be Danqris with our guest.” He glanced around the room as if to determine our readiness, then called out, “Enter.”
Danqris and Warlow entered with Headmaster Irwin clamped between them. The Death Blood professor’s eyes were wild as he took in the audience before him, his skin paling to a sheet of white. “I-I didn’t—”
“Silence,” my father bellowed, his cheeks reddening with anger. “You will speak when spoken to.” He shot a spell through the air, aimed at the headmaster’s mouth, physically silencing the fae. “Put him in the chair,” he instructed, gesturing to the lone visitor chair that no one ever wanted to find themselves in.
I swallowed and risked a glance at Shade.
He didn’t give anything away, yet somehow, I sensed his unease.
Yes, something was definitely not right here. What game are you playing? I wanted to ask him, but the attention in the room had shifted to the sweating headmaster. He appeared ready to pass out.
“Shadow, enlighten everyone with the information you provided me,” my father instructed.
I already knew what story he intended to share with the room—the one Aflora had given us the other day about her psychometry experience.
Only, as Shade spoke, I noticed he left out key details of her encounter. Such as how the power felt familiar and how she sensed the energy during the initial attack. He did include the bit about the fae sending her a message, but he changed the message slightly, making it less personal and more of a warning.
“He informed her that they would be coming for her soon but didn’t say when” was Shade’s summary. “I’m monitoring the situation.”
My father nodded at that last sentence, pleased with Shade’s supposed acquiescence.
Yet I knew the real story and saw how he morphed the truth to give the Council just what they wanted to know, without revealing the crucial points.
Just like he frequently did with me.
I took that as a sign to not write him off just yet. He seemed to be playing a role here, as he did with everything.
All right, I thought. I’ll play along. For now.
“Do you believe Headmaster Irwin knowingly provided her with the item, or was he enchanted?” Chern asked, speaking up for the first time today. The intricate patterns woven into his bald scalp seemed to thrive with power as he engaged his Sangré magic to determine the various logical avenues of this situation.
“I believe he was enchanted,” Shade admitted. “He seemed rather out of it that day in class, like he was speaking without really being there.”
Headmaster Irwin started to nod, but a look from my father froze the male in place.
“There are ways to determine what he knew and what he didn’t,” Chern murmured. “I would need a few hours with him.”
“Would you mind allowing Kolstov to join you for the interrogation? I feel it would be a good learning experience,” my father said. “It’ll also provide a reasonable introduction into what we know about the resistance, too.”
Chern nodded. “I would be happy to bestow my experience upon him.”
I suspected that would include a magical transfer of knowledge, given that was what Sangré Bloods were most well-known for doing.
“May I join as well?” Shade asked. “As the key witness, I may have some additional suggestions for your line of questioning.”
“Of course,” my father replied, glancing at Chern. “Assuming you agree?”
The Sangré Councilman bobbed his head in confirmation once more. “It would be a wise move, yes.”
“Then it’s settled,” my father said, clapping me on the back. “Welcome to the inner circle, Kolstov. There’s not a grand ceremony for this, I’m afraid. But you’ll get that when you ascend.” He winked.
I forced a smile, my heart in my stomach. “Understood. Does Tray know any of this?”
My father shook his head. “He doesn’t.”
“You don’t suspect him of feeding information to the resistance, do you?” I asked him, incredulous. “Because I can assure you, he’s not.”
My father chuckled. “No. We know it’s not Tray, or you. We only kept you in the dark because this is usually considered an ascension privilege, and you have enough to worry about with your ascension trials. However, the recent attacks framing you required us to move up our time frame. And you also did too good a job protecting the bait, leaving us no choice but to bring you in so it doesn’t happen again.”
“Yes, the next time there’s an attempt to collect her, we need you to allow it to happen,” my grandfather added, his gold irises whirling with uncanny power. “It’s our best lead to tracking them.”
“Right,” I replied. “Because of her mating bond to Shade.”
“Exactly,” my father murmured. “The Elders had originally wanted it to be you, but we feared no one would believe you’d disregard such a fundamental law on a whim.”
“So they tapped the one known for rule-breaking,” Shade drawled. “Me.”
My grandfather grunted. “You didn’t even balk at the request.”
“Of course I didn’t. You gave me permission to taste an Elemental Fae, and a gorgeous one at that. Why the hell would I refuse?” Shade sounded so flippant, as if we were discussing the damn weather. But I was starting to recognize his tactics for avoidance. He made jokes to deflect, and in this case, he wanted everyone to believe Aflora meant nothing to him.
However, if that were true, then he would have told them all about our united bonds, and he hadn’t.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tadmir replied. “Enjoy it while it lasts, Death Blood. You’re still promised to my daughter.”
Shade smiled. “I’m aware of my obligations, Malefic Blood. Just enjoying my freedom while I can.”
“Shall we give Chern the room?” my grandfather suggested, gesturing to the patiently waiting Sangré Councilman. “Or do you prefer the dungeon for your interrogation?”
“The room is fine,” Chern replied.
“Then we’ll reconvene in three hours,” my father announced, standing and squeezing my shoulder. “Try to learn what you can. We’ll talk more over dinner later.”
That wasn’t a request but a demand. “Of course, sir. Thank you.”
He smiled, pleased, and led the others from the room, leaving me alone with Shade, Chern, and Headmaster Irwin.
“Shall we begin?” Chern asked.
Shade kicked his feet up on top of the table and crossed his legs at the ankles, the picture of uncaring. “Sure. Have at it.”
I didn’t mimic his pose but instead laced my fingers on top of the wood and gave Chern my undivided attention. “Teach me.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zeph
It was a testament to humanity that no one seemed to notice or care that I carried an unconscious female through the streets of New York City. There were a few glances here and there, but not a single human tried to stop me or raise questions.
Which was precisely why I chose Manhattan to lie low.
“Good evening, sir,” the doorman greeted me as I approached the familiar residential building. I’d spent a good portion of the last year here before returning to the Academy. No one really knew about this place, aside from Kols. He knew I enjoyed hiding here, mostly because of the added convenience of available blood walking around everywhere.
“Is everything all right?” the doorman asked, eyeing Aflora in my arms.
Of all the mortals, of course this one would ask. “She’s fine, just had a bit to
o much to drink. Bringing her back here to sleep it off.”
He nodded solemnly. “Ah, yes. I understand. Good luck, sir.”
“Thank you,” I replied, heading toward the stairwell. My flat was on the third floor, making it easy enough to reach by foot, even with the precious cargo in my arms.
She didn’t stir or make a sound as I walked, her head pillowed against my shoulder as she slept off whatever magic she’d tapped into back at the village. I’d felt the burn of it, the imminent danger surrounding us both, and her mental defensive measures.
It’d all happened so quickly that I hadn’t been prepared to fight, and the next thing I knew, power exploded out of her. My only option was to bite her, to try to ground her. It’d resembled an electrical wire hitting my bloodstream, spiraling me into a dark-magic whirlpool that nearly drowned me alive. Then she surfaced, bringing me up with her, and we were back in the village again.
The whole thing had felt like a dream. But I knew it was real because of the energy humming through the cobblestone street and dancing along the wood beams of the surrounding light-colored buildings. Flares of magic had lit up the night like lanterns, drawing a straight path to Aflora.
I hadn’t waited around to see if anyone else felt the disruption, and instead headed right for the portal to bring her to the Human Realm. We’d stay here until I heard back from Kols—who’d been silent since going into the Council meeting.
Balancing Aflora with one arm, I reached for my wand and muttered an unlocking spell at my door. It opened with a slight creak to reveal my one-bedroom home.
The interior didn’t boast elegance or wealth, the kitchen being sorely outdated compared to the Academy accommodations, but I rather preferred this place to my Elite Residence suite. Mostly because it was mine.
I’d purchased it using my credits as a Guardian to the Nacht family. The credits could be traded in for human cash at an exorbitant amount—a good thing because owning a place in New York City required a lot of mortal money.
I kicked my door closed behind me with the heel of my boot, then took Aflora into my bedroom to lay her on the bed. Her blue-black hair sprawled beautifully across my dark green pillows, her face holding a pale glow that reminded me of the Midnight Fae moon.
Gorgeous, I thought, smiling down at her. Then I carefully removed her knee-high boots and set them in the corner of my walk-in closet. Her cloak was next—which I hung beside mine. They weren’t normal accessories in the Human Realm, but no one had seemed to notice. I slipped off my own shoes, placed them beside hers, and returned to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Be back in a few minutes,” I whispered, kissing her forehead. I could feel her slowly slipping back into consciousness and wanted to be prepared to welcome her back to reality.
Since I’d left all our food back at the village, I opted to whip up a few things for us in the kitchen. It required a bit of magic, as my fridge and shelves were pretty empty—I lived primarily on blood when I visited the city—but I managed to create some of those mouseberries Aflora kept talking about.
She was awake when I returned to the bedroom, her gaze on the windows that broadcast boring views of the residential building across the street.
I liked Upper Manhattan for the location, not so much for the scenery.
Her nose twitched as I approached, her focus shifting to the plates in my hands. “What happened?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
I set the plates down on my nightstand, then magicked a cup of water for her and held it to her lips for a sip. “I’m not sure, but I think you saved our asses in the village,” I told her.
She took the glass and drank half the contents in one go.
“Someone or something attacked us, and you fought back.” Or I thought that was what had happened. “Do you remember it?”
She appeared to fall into her thoughts for a moment, her throat working as she finished the drink. A spell refilled it for her, something she seemed to appreciate given the glimmer in her blue irises. “I felt him,” she finally said after finishing the second cup of water. “He… he was there.” She brought her hand up to her neck, frowning as she felt the healing mark against her skin. “Did you bite me?”
“Yes,” I admitted, taking her glass and setting it on the nightstand. “You were buzzing with power, like that time in the LethaForest.” I sat on the edge of the bed near where she lay on her side. My knuckles whispered over her cheekbone to her throat. “I had to call you back to me, Aflora. The energy seemed like it was going to swallow you whole.”
She frowned, making me wonder if I’d done the wrong thing. I was the one she hadn’t yet accepted as hers, and I supposed she could see my actions as a way of forcing her hand—a common male behavior of Midnight Fae kind.
“I… I had to anchor you, Aflora,” I said, uncertain of how to explain it. “I could feel you slipping away, almost as if another entity had forced the power to explode out of you. If you erupted in the village, fae would have died. It was the best way to protect you, as well as the others.”
Her blue eyes flickered with confusion as she met my gaze. “Did you not want to bite me?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” I palmed the back of my neck, frustrated.
Why is this so damn difficult? I wondered. Probably because I never cared what a woman truly thought of me before. Really, I rarely cared what anyone thought of me. But Aflora was different. I needed to win her over for reasons I didn’t quite understand. They went deeper than our bond. Like my very spirit required her approval, yet I had no idea how to acquire it.
“Zeph,” she said, reaching out to lay a hand on my forearm. “Do you regret mating me? Is that why you’ve been distant all week?”
“What? No.” Fuck, what a shit show. “This whole situation is so far outside my comfort zone, it’s… I don’t know how to handle it.” And that was the rub right there, the reason this mess infuriated me.
I couldn’t control the outcome.
“I lead,” I told her. “It’s who I am. I make decisions every day. Everything I do is driven by logic. But none of my training has prepared me properly for…” For you, I wanted to say but wisely chose not to.
I blew out a breath, released my neck, and dropped my head into my hands. I was totally fucking this up. And I hated that I had no idea what to say.
“Talking isn’t my strength,” I admitted. “Neither is giving up control.”
This seemed ridiculous. Fretting over the bullshit would get us nowhere. So I’d just be blunt. She might not like it, but it would be better than dancing around these asinine thoughts.
“I’ve never agreed with the Midnight Fae mentality associated with mating,” I told her. “But I never really cared too much because I never intended to take a mate. I’m independent and I do my own thing. However, you changed that, and now I’ve bitten you twice without your permission. Which is technically fine by our societal laws, but that doesn’t mean I feel right about it.”
My logical side argued that it wasn’t convenient at all, more of a burden. Especially considering the consequences of that action.
But that was all beside the point.
“Anyway, you chose Kols with your earth magic. You even chose Shade by biting him. Yet I essentially forced myself on you. Yeah, it was for the right reasons in the end, but that doesn’t change the circumstances for biting you.”
Okay. I was done rambling now. It left me feeling vulnerable and weak, two adjectives that were very much not me. And I sort of hated that Aflora drew that side out of me.
Avoiding relationships had worked well for me.
Maybe I’d go back to that.
Leave Kols and Shade to handle Aflora, protect them all from afar, and just—
“Zeph,” Aflora said, her hand curling around my wrist to tug my hand away from my face. “Look at me.”
I was tempted to glare at her in response but chose not to make this worse and gave her my attention instead. She studied my expre
ssion, her lips curling at whatever she saw there. Probably a scowl because this was fucking uncomfortable.
“I think that’s the most emotion you’ve ever displayed in my presence.” She sounded amused, which only made me want to glower again. But she distracted me with her tits as she sat up, her sweater stretching deliciously across her chest.
Removing her cloak had been a fantastic idea.
Actually, no. I should have just taken everything off.
“You made me mouseberries?” she asked, gaping at the plates on the nightstand.
“Don’t get too excited,” I cautioned her. “Pretty sure they’re just mustard berries or something.”
She snorted. “You know what they’re called.”
“Do I?” I asked innocently. “Huh. Well, I guess you’ll have to taste them and find out if I did it right.” I knew I had, as they were pretty much the same thing as sour green grapes, but I enjoyed teasing her anyway.
She flashed me an amused smile that made my heart race. Aflora was a gorgeous woman, but when she smiled at me like that, I forgot how to think.
Because I’d made her happy.
A rarity, it seemed. But for a brief moment, I’d pleased her, and that made me want to puff up in pride.
Kols would laugh hysterically at the sight. Fortunately, he wasn’t here to witness it.
Aflora took the plate, settled it into her lap, and propped her back up against the headboard. “All right, Headmaster. Let’s see if your chef skills measure up, shall we?” She waggled her brows at me playfully, then lifted the loaf to her mouth and took a sensual bite.
Well, it was sensual to me, anyway. Hell, everything she did with her lips and tongue seemed to hypnotize me.
And that moan she released after tasting the food I’d prepared?
Yeah, that was hot, too.
I adjusted myself on the bed, my jeans suddenly a little too tight, and busied myself by eating the loaf off the other plate. It was okay. Sort of like having a sour fruit salad in a soggy tortilla. Not my favorite, but I knew better than to voice an opinion out loud on the topic.