15. Aflora
I lied.
This year could absolutely get worse.
As I found myself literally bound to Shade’s side in Headmaster Irwin’s version of detention, all I wanted to do was die. But we had an essay to write—together. He’d joined our hands with some sort of magical pen that required our agreement on the words for it to work.
The topic? Define partnership.
I gritted my teeth as Shade tried to write something about partnership falling to the stronger of the pair to lead.
When the script vanished, he sighed and glared down at me.
“You try.”
“Screw you,” I tossed back.
“He won’t let us leave until we’re done.”
“Then I guess we’re living here now.” A childish thing to say, but there was absolutely no way I could work with this monster. “You only have yourself to blame, really. Not like I asked you to bite me.”
He snorted. “Are we back to that old argument already?”
“It’s not old,” I countered. “It’s very fresh and new and wrong.”
His arm flexed against mine, the rope tying his left limb to my right limb tightening with the movement. There was another band of magic around our torsos, gluing my right side to his left side. Every time he breathed, I felt the strap pull against my chest.
This would have been intimate with anyone else.
With Shade, it only made me want to kill him.
But we were forbidden from drawing our wands.
Not that I knew how to use mine anyway. Today’s class had consisted of a series of insane tasks involving conjuring deathly objects like skulls and bones and hearts.
As Shade had predicted, I failed every task.
Mostly because I refused to try. Playing with the dead went against every principle I possessed as an Earth Fae. I conjured life, not death.
Shade, however, excelled in a frightening manner. Each spell he uttered resulted in perfection, his aura an essential cloak of darkness. If only I could turn him into a ghost and make him disappear.
“Look, if I promise to tutor you, will you stop acting like a brat?” he asked, his genuine tone almost comical.
Except his words had me seeing in shades of red.
“You are the absolute last fae in all the realms I’d seek tutoring from. And I am not acting like a brat.”
“That entire statement was the definition of brat, Aflora,” he replied, sounding tired. “I’m the best conjurer in this Academy. Hell, I’m one of the best, period. Saying no to my tutoring offer is both impractical and stupid. You’re only denying me because you’re mad at me. Hence, brat-like behavior.”
“Well, excuse me for being a little miffed by our current predicament. You put me here.”
“And what’s done is already done. It’s how we use the past to move forward that defines us, and so far, you’re not impressing me.”
“Aw, well then, it’s a good thing I’m not trying to impress you, Shade,” I replied sweetly, batting my eyes.
His jaw popped from clenching his teeth, the first sign of frustration I’d ever seen in him. “We need to finish this damn assignment, Aflora. Unless you intend to join me in more intimate locations like the bathroom or the shower.” His gaze dropped to the top button of my blouse. “Actually, that sounds like a beautiful plan. Shall we go?”
I tried to elbow him but couldn’t, thanks to the binds.
Instead, I growled at him low in my throat. “Not happening.”
His lips twitched as he bent to press his mouth against my ear. “That’s not what you say in your dreams, little rose.”
I gasped and tried to face him, only to be yanked right back into his side by the powerful spell. “You are in my head!”
“No, I’m in your blood.” He kissed my neck before I had a chance to realize his intention, then nipped my pulse. “You’re mine, princess. Forever. Now either work with me or let’s go play in bed.”
“Never.”
“Stop lying to yourself,” he said softly. “I know how you really feel and so do you. The sooner we get past this brutal courtship period, the better. Because I’m dying to fuck you.”
“Shade!”
“What?” he demanded, his blue eyes glowing with power. “Would you rather I lie, too? Pretend my cock isn’t hard as granite right now from your flowery perfume and seductive curves?” He snorted. “And I don’t even like flowers. Yet all I can think about is exploring your petal-soft skin and dipping my tongue into your damp pussy. Because let’s be honest, we both know you’re wet. I can smell it, Aflora.”
My jaw nearly hit the floor, his crude words doing things to me that they most certainly shouldn’t.
And with Headmaster Irwin lurking in the other room.
Oh, Mother Earth, save me from this cruelly handsome fae!
“Mmm, and now it’s intensifying,” he mused, leaning in to nibble my neck once more. “Did Glacier not speak to you like this, baby? With intention and lust-filled promises?”
I shivered, his nearness messing with my mind.
Until his words fully registered.
Glacier. I couldn’t recall ever mentioning my boyfriend’s name. Well, ex-boyfriend technically. He never prioritized our time together, our last missed date being the final straw for a lot of reasons. Not least of all because of Shade kidnapping me.
“How do you know about Glacier?” I asked, my voice taking on a husky quality I pretended not to notice.
“I know everything about you, Aflora,” he whispered into my ear. “You’ve been mine for longer than you know.”
“What does that even mean?” All these cryptic words about a fate he seemed to know everything about were driving me crazy. “Why did you bite me?”
“Because I was told to,” he replied against my jaw, his free hand coming up to cup my face.
I allowed him to guide my mouth to his, only because I was too flustered to stop him. And a small part of me wanted to taste him again, to feel the caress of his lips against mine.
Because Shade knew how to kiss.
Really, really kiss.
His tongue mastered mine in a single move, silencing the conversation between us while providing me with a distraction I didn’t realize I craved.
He had this bizarre hold over me, one that drove logic out the window and replaced it with mind-numbing need.
In this state, I longed for another bite. Not that I’d admit it out loud. Although, something told me I didn’t have to. Shade claimed to be in my blood, but that somehow linked to my mind. I could feel him infiltrating every square inch of me, taking over my existence with his own.
“I hate what you’re doing to me,” I admitted on a whisper, my attempt to pull back thwarted by his hand sliding into my hair and holding me in place.
“Your racing pulse and arousal say otherwise,” he replied, taking my mouth once more.
His earlier kiss paled in comparison to this one. He’d gone easy on me before. Now he demanded submission with each stroke of his tongue, his grip falling to my nape, where he squeezed and held me in place for his domination.
The binding around us seemed to slacken a little.
His arm moving against mine.
But I was too busy trying to keep up with the assault on my mouth to consider what else was happening.
He’d stolen my ability to breathe, his lips turning violent in a way I should hate. Yet my legs clenched in reply. My abdomen coiled. And the intimate parts of me wept for attention.
Wetdidn’t begin to cover it. Why was this turning me on so completely? Because of our bond? Another spell? Or did I enjoy this love-and-hate pull between us?
I whimpered, conflicted.
My mind loathed this male.
Whereas my body succumbed to his every touch, almost as if he’d trained me in my dreams to respond this way.
His lips curled against mine. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked softly, causing my brow to crumple.
“What?”
He brushed his mouth against my cheek before settling back into his chair. “We’re done,” he called out.
I blinked at him.
Then down at the paper he’d written while kissing me.
It disappeared before I could read it, and Headmaster Irwin appeared in the doorway holding the essay. His surprised expression told me whatever it said was not what he expected and probably not something I’d agree to at all. Shade had done something to override the lesson, in addition to kissing the life out of me.
“Very well,” Headmaster Irwin said, releasing us from his bonds. “I expect better behavior during our next session.” That last bit was aimed at me before he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Shade stood and stretched, his impressive bulge inches from my face.
He wasn’t lying about the hard part.
“My tutoring offer still stands for whenever you decide to consider logic over emotion,” Shade said, then caught my chin and lifted my gaze to his. “As does my shower and bed offer.” With a wink, he turned toward the door. “I suggest you follow me, little rose. Or you’ll end up lost in the building until the students start arriving tomorrow, which will throw off your schedule completely.”
He disappeared through the glowing doorway, not giving me a second to gather my thoughts or my things.
Except they were all gone.
Headmaster Irwin had passed out a class text and notebook during the class, along with pens. The others had left with them. But mine were nowhere to be found.
I chased after Shade and found him waiting against the wall, his books and mine tucked under his arm. “How…?”
“As I said, conjuring is my specialty.” He canted his head, causing his dark hair to fall over his forehead and into one eye. “They’ll be in your room when you get back. Consider it my version of an olive branch. Accept it at your own peril.”
He didn’t allow me to reply, merely continued down the corridor. I stayed close to his side, pausing when he did to allow the walls to shift. Then breathed a sigh of relief the second we exited into the dark evening.
Until I found Zephyrus waiting with a scowl beside the gargoyle.
“What the fuck took you so long?” he demanded, scowling first at me and then at Shade.
“Detention,” Shade replied. “She attacked me with green fire. Impressive, really, but does make me wonder where she’s getting that Warrior Blood influence from.” He cocked a brow at the headmaster. “Any ideas?”
I frowned at Shade. “It wasn’t green. It was blue. And you deserved it.”
“I think you might be color-blind, babe. Maybe we’ll check that out later.” He tossed a grin over his shoulder, apparently deciding this conversation was over despite his question to Zephyrus. “See you in your dreams tonight, little rose.”
“Stay out of my head!”
“Blood, baby,” he reminded me, the words a whisper against my ear despite the distance his legs had put between us.
I batted at the vacant space, trying to get rid of whatever residual presence or spell he’d left in his wake. And found Zephyrus staring at me with an arched brow. “Blue fire?”
“Yeah, blue.”
“Can you show me?” he asked.
Sighing, I held out my hand, calling the power to my fingertips. And of course, nothing happened. “I think Shade sucked out all my energy for today,” I muttered.
Zephyrus considered me for a long moment, then nodded. “Perhaps tomorrow, then. We’re late for the dining area anyway, and you need to eat.”
“Is it your job to feed me now?” I wondered out loud.
“No. I just want you to survive,” he replied. “Follow me if you feel the same way.”
Unable to fight that logic, I did what he asked.
Ate a disgusting humanlike dinner in silence.
And found my books waiting for me on my bed when I returned to my room. Beside them was a black rose and a note that read: Sweet dreams.