28. Shade
I sensedKols’s presence in my suite about a minute before Aflora detonated. He’d somehow convinced Sir Black to grant him entry, something no one else had ever been able to do. I suspected our shared mate-bond had helped.
Although, that didn’t explain how the Elite Blood had managed to enter the Death Blood residential quarters.
“Did you issue an edict to allow your entry?” I mused, materializing behind him in my living area. He’d paused in the center of the room, likely because he’d overheard Aflora’s cries of pleasure. I’d stop to listen, too, if I were him. She truly was a beautiful creature. Exquisitely unique, and absolutely mine.
A flicker of gold flame brightened his gaze as he outwardly relaxed. “She screams louder for me.”
“Does she?” I considered what I knew of their tenuous relationship and smiled. “I’ll see if I agree come morning.”
“She won’t be in your bed much longer.”
“Yeah? And where do you plan to take her? Back to your bed? What with her own quarters being demolished to ash and all,” I drawled, leaning against the wall that led to a slender hallway.
Unlike Kols, I only had one bedroom. Guests weren’t really my thing. Unless they were dark-haired and gorgeous, like the female fast asleep in my sheets. I’d tuck her in properly when I returned.
He frowned. “Did she tell you that?”
I lifted a shoulder, giving nothing away. Because no, she hadn’t told me that. I’d felt it. Kols’s display of power triggered Aflora’s reaction, overloading her connection to the source of the dark arts. Her cries for help had stirred me from my sleep, dragging me into the dawn hours in search of my agonized mate.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated finding her in the LethaForest. It was a miracle she’d survived her trek out there.
A miracle, I assumed, that could be attributed to Zeph’s interference. He’d clearly followed her out there and likely dealt with a few threats before approaching her.
Or perhaps it’d all been a date with fate.
Aflora seemed to adore those.
“Don’t worry, Midnight Prince, our queen is safely tucked into my bed. No need to disturb her or move her.”
“You’re not even supposed to be near her, let alone sharing a room with her,” he replied, folding his arms and doing his best to appear regal.
“Oh, are we playing a game of who can break the most rules? Because I think you’re way ahead of me tonight, Kols. How many oaths did you break by mating her? Or shall we discuss the nightly visits to her dreams?” I pretended to consider our situation and scratched my jaw. “No, those were technically within the parameters of the rules. So how about that collar you never put on her after her little magical display in Warrior Magic class?” Because yeah, I knew all about that.
“Have you been lurking in my rooms?” he demanded.
Another shrug because I’d never give away my secrets. Not to him. Not to anyone. “What do you really want, Kols? There’s a naked, gorgeous woman in my bed that I’d like to get back to, and soon, if you don’t mind.”
“And if I do mind?”
“It won’t stop me,” I admitted with a smile. “Just as my initial claim on her didn’t stop you.”
“Well, you’ll have to take that up with her since she mated me.”
“Is that how Elemental Fae bonds work?” I asked, feigning curiosity. “Because I swore those were mutual arrangements.” Yeah, I knew about that, too. Had sensed it the moment it snapped into place. It’d felt like a fire gnat latching onto our bond and refusing to let go. I hadn’t understood it until I’d found Aflora.
The moment her power went up in flames, the puzzle pieces had fallen into place. I supposed that as a mixed fae, she would have multiple partners. Kols wasn’t exactly my first choice for this venture, but I should have known destiny would require it.
Hehad probably foreseen it. Just like everything else.
A muscle ticked in Kols’s jaw. “What game are you really playing here, Shade? You had to know about her Quandary Blood origins. That’s why you chose her. What I can’t figure out is your end goal. Was this part of it? Forming a four-way bond?”
“Who says I have an end goal?” I countered. “Maybe someone else is pulling my strings.”
He snorted. “That’s impossible. You despise authority.”
“True,” I agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t seek to fulfill a higher purpose. Perhaps I want to end this age-old feud between our families.”
Incredulity darkened his features. “We both know that’s bullshit.”
“Do we?” I countered, giving him yet another shrug. “I guess we’ll find out.”
He took a step forward, his calm fa?ade cracking. “Cut the shit, Shade. Why Aflora? What’s your play here?”
“Maybe I like her,” I suggested. Not exactly a lie. I did quite fancy?—
I ducked as his fist came for my nose, and shadowed out of his reach and across the room just as Sir Black bellowed a warning through the room. The cheeky little gargoyle despised violence. It was the only trait I disliked about him. I mean, who didn’t enjoy a bout of savagery? Especially between a Death Blood and an Elite Blood.
Kols ignored Sir Black and pulled out his wand, his expression radiating the intent to do damage. A spell graced his lips just as a loud ring came from the device he held aloft in his hand.
The murderous intent fled from his features, replaced by a grimace as he answered the magical call with a flick of his wrist. “Hello, Father,” he greeted in an admirably calm voice. He flashed me a look that told me not to say anything. I idly considered disobeying him on principle but decided it was in Aflora’s best interest not to announce my presence. The less we did to draw attention to ourselves, the better.
Because this whole quad-bond thing? Yeah, it wouldn’t end well when the Midnight Fae found out.
Part of me couldn’t fucking wait. I almost dared them to do something about it. Our collective power as a unit had the potential to overpower the entire damn Council.
But our strongest asset didn’t have a clue how to use her Quandary powers yet.
Which brought me to the practical part of myself who knew we were nowhere near ready yet. Hence, I leaned against the wall and shamelessly listened to Kols’s side of the conversation. His familial magic allowed his father to talk directly into his ear while the wand was engaged. Similar to answering a human phone but without the necessary device.
Personally, I preferred the physical mobiles and carried one with me to talk to my own father. The less that asshole could get in my head, the better.
Kols and Malik, however, had a very different bond than me and my father.
“Yeah, Shade and I got into it,” the Midnight Prince said, causing me to arch a brow. “That’s the disturbance you probably felt.”
Ah. Clever. Blame the rivalry instead of our Aflora. Not a bad tactic. His father would believe Kols won the battle with ease, disregarding the significance of my power as most Elite Bloods did. That was how I ran under the radar so fluidly. They all sat on their high and mighty thrones assuming themselves to be the rightful heirs to the kingdom while the true royals hid in the shadows.
Royals like me.
One day, I’d make a point of demonstrating how wrong they’d been about me and mine.
But not today.
Instead, I gave Kols a nod, accepting his story and listening while he detailed our makeshift duel to his father. To his credit, he awarded me a few positive hits but then boasted about my eventual takedown at the end. It took considerable effort not to snort at the ridiculous conclusion.
As if I would ever go down that easily.
However, to protect Aflora, I’d allow the outlandish tale to exist. I’d even go as far as to thank Kols for crafting it because it meant he’d decided to protect our mate rather than turn her in. At least for now.
That decision could change in a second.
Yet something told me it wouldn’t. I’d witnessed his concern for the Royal Earth Fae on more than one occasion. And tonight, he’d taken that concern to a whole new level of need. Suggesting the three of us bite her all at once had required a fair bit of sacrifice on his part, something he’d given without thought. He’d renounced his entire kingdom to ensure her survival.
Because there was no question now that everything would change.
He couldn’t properly ascend with Aflora as a mate. Not because the source would reject him, but because the precious Council would deny his candidacy and demand he step down. As he had a twin with a mostly proper mate, it’d be an easy solution for them. There would be a handful who frowned upon Ella being a Halfling, but knowing Tray, he’d tell them to kiss his royal ass.
Then he’d be faced with punishing his twin for saving an abomination instead of killing her.
Kols’s shoulders were tight with annoyance, his golden eyes glowing as he accepted whatever his father had just said with a contrite “I apologize for my behavior. It won’t happen again.”
I nearly said, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” but I wasn’t in the business of offering advice. Instead, I wandered into my kitchen to fix myself a drink.
Kols met me a moment later, his wand carefully stowed. “If anyone asks?—”
“You kicked my ass in an unsanctioned duel,” I finished for him as I dropped three ice cubes into a glass. “Got it.”
He studied me for a long moment, his expression wary. “How the hell am I supposed to trust you not to fuck this up for us all?”
“Hmm.” I found my favorite liquor, took it from the cabinet, and poured myself a healthy amount.
“That’s all you have to say? Hmm?” He appeared ready to retrieve his wand again.
“You can start by letting me keep Aflora for the night,” I replied, giving my glass a little swirl to chill the contents. “We’ll regroup tomorrow when you bring her something to wear.”
He regarded me with a violent glint in his gaze. “If you touch her?—”
“Oh, be assured that I already have,” I cut in, adoring the way his skin turned red in response. “But I would never hurt her.”
“And you just expect me to believe you? To rely on you to keep her safe?”
“Yes,” I said, replying to both questions. “She’s my mate, Kolstov. I may enjoy taunting her, but I’d never let anyone or anything hurt her. Why else would I have showed up in the LethaForest? It certainly wasn’t for a little late-morning stroll. That’s for damn sure.” I took a long, necessary sip of my drink, adoring the way the liquid burned the back of my throat.
Kols finally relented with a sigh, his head bobbing back and forth in defeated agreement. “I’m going to fucking regret this.”
“You absolutely are,” I agreed, but I wasn’t so much referring to trusting me as I was binding himself to Aflora. He would definitely have moments of regret, followed by sweet moments of reward that made it all worth it.
Or maybe that was just my fate, not his.
Time would tell.
“Zeph went to find someone who can help us hide the bonds,” he informed me, his tone low. “Until we can figure out how to move forward, we need to hide this from the Council.”
“And they call me the rebel,” I murmured, amused.
“This isn’t a fucking game,” Kols snapped.
“Everything in life is a game to someone,” I returned, stepping around him to enter the living room.
“Does her life mean nothing to you?” he demanded, his harsh tone causing me to pause midstep. “Do you not realize what will happen to you if something happens to her?”
I glanced over my shoulder to meet his gaze. “I don’t care what happens to me,” I admitted, my voice a hush of sound that seemed to slap him across the face. “But I do care what happens to her. Which is why she’s staying here tonight. I’ve given you two months with her, Kolstov. It’s my turn to care for her in my own way. You can have her back—unharmed—tomorrow.”
I didn’t bother giving him anything else, just shadowed back to my room and the beauty resting in the center of my bed. If he opted to stay and listen, that was on him.
What I wanted to do now had nothing to do with Kolstov or Zephyrus or the Council or anyone else.
It all centered around Aflora.
Just as it had since my first bite.
I set my glass down on my nightstand, pulled off my shirt, and crawled into the bed beside her. A few muttered words released her from the sleeping spell, allowing her beautiful blue eyes to open.
Palming her cheek, I leaned in to run my tongue along the seam of her mouth. She opened for me as I knew she would, her mind still caught in the land of fog and dreams and her memories convincing her this might be a fantasy more than reality.
I could so easily take advantage of her in this state.
But I wouldn’t.
I wanted to earn her trust in a magical sense, not necessarily in a traditional one. I desired her soul. Her heart. Her everything.
She was nowhere near ready to give me more than physical touch, and that was fine. We had time. We’d work up to what I really craved. She might initially despise me for it, but in the end, she’d fall for me.
Which was all part of the fun.
A Quandary Blood needed challenges and puzzles and riddles. I offered them to her in spades, existing merely to entice her, and one day our powers would mingle to create something so beautiful and amazing that the Council wouldn’t dare touch it.
Whether or not Zeph and Kols opted to be a part of that was up to them.
So far, they were following the right path.
But I knew from him that our road wasn’t an easy one, with a multitude of potential dead ends. My purpose in this life was to ensure the female curling into me survived it.
And I would do everything in my power to see it through.
Even if she hated me for it.
I gently nibbled her lower lip before kissing her deeply, cherishing her in the only way I knew how. She was too exhausted to do anything more, and that was okay with me. I’d hold her all night, guard her in her dreams, and continue watching her from the shadows when she woke.
My mate.
My little rose.
My future.
I adore you, I thought at her, not that she could hear me. I’m so sorry I have to break you, Aflora.
The only way for her to truly fly was without restraints, which required sacrifices from us all.
And this one would be mine.