5. Shade
SHADE
If I wasn’t holdingAflora, I would have ducked.
For her, I took the punch waiting for me upon our arrival.
“Your actions are louder than your supposed truths,” she’d said.
How’s that for an action, princess?I thought now as I shifted my jaw to ease the pain.
When Kols went for round two with my face, I shadowed myself—and Aflora—to the other side of his royal suite.
The gargoyle chose that moment to appear with a screeching sound, his distaste at my Death Blood presence causing a shrieking alarm to blare throughout the audacious four-bedroom apartment. I blasted the damn thing with a silencing spell by issuing a command from my mind, causing it to sputter and collapse on the ground in a cluster of rocky wings.
Its red eyes breathed fire as it came for me in all its stone-filled glory.
Determined little badass, I thought, trapping it beneath a net of shadows I conjured with a flick of my wrist.
Its lips parted in a bellow that my silencing enchantment fortunately caught.
I smirked at the tiny idiot. “Not so tough now, are you?”
Rage blazed from its gaze, just as it did from Kols’s gold irises as he charged across the living area.
“This isn’t beneficial conversation,” I pointed out, ready to shadow again.
Only, Aflora stepped in front of me and slammed her fist into Kols’s jaw as soon as he was within distance.
My lips actually parted.
“Razzleberries,” she breathed, shaking out her hand with a hiss of pain.
Kols’s residual anger subsided beneath a wave of shock tinged with dismay as he prodded his jaw with two fingers. “You hit me.”
Her shoulders tightened and her chin lifted. “You threw me in a cell.”
“To protect you, Aflora,” he growled.
A laugh bubbled out of her as she shook her long waves of black hair. “I felt very safe there. Thanks, Prince Kolstov.” She turned on her heel to leave, and he caught her wrist.
“What was I supposed to do, Aflora?” he demanded. “Shade’s the one who gave them the recording, not me.”
I snorted. “Don’t bring me into this.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? This is your fault,” he seethed. “And where the fuck have you been? You were supposed to bring her directly here.”
“Oh, was I?” I pretended to think. “I suppose that order didn’t register correctly.”
“Where did you take her?” Another command. One of these days, he’d realize that I didn’t consider myself one of his precious subjects to be dictated to.
“Let go of me,” Aflora interjected, twisting her arm.
He tightened his grip. “Where did he take you?”
She gave him a defiant look. “While trying to return me to the Academy, his exhaustion kicked in and we ended up in an unknown location. He didn’t want to risk getting us more lost, so we stayed there for the day while he napped. Now I’m here. Happy?”
Kols’s jaw ticked while my lips canted into a delighted smirk. My clever little mate had used my riddled explanation without even blinking. “Exactly,” I agreed just as Zeph burst into the suite.
His gaze narrowed, a flash of anger crossing his features as he headed right for me.
Great.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Death Blood?”
“That my father would never believe Kols’s little duel story and I needed to give him something to distract him,” I replied coolly. “It worked.”
Zeph paused midstep, his calculative gaze raking over me as he considered the reason. That was one thing I liked about the Warrior Blood—he preferred logic over emotion. Some of his fury melted, but not completely, his green irises whirling with notes of annoyance. “A warning would have been fucking appreciated.”
“A warning could have impacted the fate of events.” They weren’t meant to know my intentions. Not yet. And I refused to alter the scope of Aflora’s path just to appease her other mates.
“Fate of events,” Kols repeated, his voice holding a mocking quality. “What are you, a Fortune Fae now?”
I merely smiled. “Do I look like a Fortune Fae?”
He scoffed. “You do love your?—”
“Aflora!” Ella ran into the room, her blue eyes rimmed with relief. “Thank God you’re okay.”
God,I thought. How human.
Ella stopped short at seeing Kols’s death grip on Aflora’s arm, her expression going from relieved to livid in less than a second. “Let her go, jackass,” she snapped.
Both his eyebrows flew upward. “Excuse me?”
She poked him in the chest, her petite form raging. “It wasn’t enough that you destroyed all her things, so now you’re going to manhandle her? Fuck you, Prince.”
The fiery little Halfling just went up a peg, in my opinion.
“Destroyed my things?” Aflora repeated, her brow furrowing. “What do you mean? He had me locked up, but only for a few hours.”
“You didn’t tell her about the little tantrum you threw in her bedroom?” Ella sounded like she was ready to kill Kolstov, something I wouldn’t mind watching unfold. He’d have a hard time protecting himself, what with her being his twin’s mate and all.
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.