11. Aflora
AFLORA
I staredat 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 the 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.
Flowers wilted.
Branches burned.
Leaves fell like tears against the ground.
And all the while, my father’s spirit hovered nearby, murmuring words I didn’t understand. A warning, maybe. But no. This was all tied to Emelyn’s cruelty, her wicked intent to destroy me in the harshest manner possible by attacking everything I cherished, including my memories of parents I barely had the chance to know.
She’d taken the mean-girl act too far, had made this personal and shown her vicious nature.
Vindictive.
Evil.
Bully.
I crossed my arms and pretended to cower on the floor, then fought the binds she held on my mind, unweaving them one at a time while carefully keeping my magic hidden. I didn’t want her to feel my approach, preferring to take her by surprise.
“Meet me,” my father whispered once more.
His voice was a shock to my system, causing tears to well behind my eyes.
I focused on that link next, ripping the anchor out of my heart, unable to take another second of his torment. He’s not real. Not real. Not real. Not real!
Power blasted out of me, the focal point on Emelyn. I threw her vision into the death fields of the Spirit Kingdom, forcing her to see and feel every spirit’s pain of being trapped there. She thought to use it against me, not realizing I knew more about that realm than most Elemental Fae. I’d been taken there by a horrendous abomination who tried to plague my entire kind. I’d stood at the gates, blocking their entry in spirit form while I fought to dismantle her powerful hold and thwart her attempts at accessing the earth source.
I knew pain.
I knew death.
I knew torture.
And I allowed Emelyn to feel every ounce of it now, my anger singeing the air around me.
She deserved this. How dare she try to hurt me. To make me believe for even a second that my father might still be alive. It was wrong. Unacceptable. She?—
“Aflora!” A wave of defensive magic accompanied my name, the source coming from beside me and knocking me off my feet.
I blinked, unsure of when I’d stood up to begin with, or even how I’d managed it. And at some point, I’d returned to the reality of the gymnasium-style classroom, but now I gaped up at a seriously pissed-off fae prince.
“That was fucking hot,” Shade praised as he stepped into my line of sight. Kols glowered at him, which only made Shade smirk. “What? Powerful females don’t turn you on?”
The fae prince didn’t appear at all amused. “I’ll handle it,” he said, the words confusing me.
“You’d better,” Headmaster Zankry stated. “Or she won’t be permitted in my class again.”
“Emelyn started it,” Shade drawled. “Can’t punish one fae and not the other.”
“I can when one is knocked out cold and the other is just dazed,” Headmaster Zankry retorted.
“I said, I’ll handle it,” Kols repeated through his teeth. He held out his hand, his gold irises narrowing down at me. “Come. Now.”
Part of me wanted to tell him to fuzz right off. But as I glanced around the room and noticed everyone staring at me, I decided not to make matters worse by fighting him.
Pressing my palm against his, I allowed him to yank me forward, my body tingling at his touch. What magic did he use to pull me out of that spell? I wondered, electricity humming beneath my skin. It felt like a web of heat encasing my body from head to toe. A static net of sorts, yet my legs moved without any trouble as he guided me out of the Malefic Blood Education Building and back to the Elite Residence.
I didn’t speak.
Neither did he.
But I felt Shade following, his presence a security blanket against my senses.
It was strange to realize I felt secure around the male who’d forced me into this mess to begin with and nervous around the one who claimed to want to help me.
They had all hurt me.
Betrayed me in some way.
Yet Shade was the one I sought now as I allowed Kols to guide me upstairs. I glanced behind me, needing to reassure myself that my Death Blood mate still trailed after us. His ice-blue eyes met mine as he winked, completely unfazed by the anger vibrating off the Midnight Fae Prince.
As soon as we were inside Kols’s suite, he released me, and the weblike sensation left, bringing me to my knees as a burst of energy puffed out of me.
“Dick,” Shade snapped before bending down beside me to press his palm to my lower back. “Are you okay, little rose?” he asked softly, his other hand going to my cheek to tilt my face toward him.
“What happened?” The words were hoarse, my throat suddenly parched.
“Kols cast a cocoon spell to trap your power beneath his. Then he released it without warning because he’s a fucking prick.”
Kols snorted at the summary from somewhere farther away. The kitchen, maybe? I couldn’t tell because my vision was clouded by a sea of enchantment dust. At least, it looked like magic dust. Whatever it was, it made me sneeze and fire off another bolt of electricity.
I shivered from the sudden coolness flooding my veins, the humming from before disappearing.
Shade wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him, his hand moving up and down my arm while his opposite palm guided my face to his chest.
I melted into him on instinct, absorbing his comfort and allowing it to pull me back into the land of the living.
My father’s whispers still lingered in my mind, making me tremble with memories of my past. I rarely dreamed of my parents anymore. Mostly because I trained myself not to. There were so many mornings I’d wake up with the hope that that day might be the day they returned to me, only for it never to happen.
They were dead.
I felt it in my soul the moment the earth source became mine. That only occurred when the former anchor perished.
So it’d all been in my head. Because of Emelyn and her cruel?—
“Here.” A bottle of water appeared in front of me, courtesy of Kols.
Shade took it from him, removed the cap, and brought the rim to my lips. “Drink, little rose. It’ll make you feel better.”
For whatever reason, I listened to him, and the second the cool liquid touched my tongue, I was glad I did. Because, mmm, that felt nice. So nice that I closed my eyes and just let him hold me while I accepted the refreshment down my throat.
He chuckled against me. “I think this is the most agreeable you’ve ever been in my presence.”
He wasn’t wrong.
But I didn’t have it in me to comment on it. I was too tired of everything. The bickering. The feelings. This whole experience. I just wanted it all to go away and leave me alone.
Shade took the bottle away from my lips, the liquid gone.
Silence followed, the noiseless activity blissfully welcome. I inhaled his peppermint scent, allowed it to cling to my lungs and fill me with comfort.
It was wrong. I should push him away and tell him not to touch me.
Instead, I leaned into him more, seeking his strength.
The death fields always drained me; just the notion of their threat hurt my heart. They were gone now, thanks to Queen Claire and her mates defeating the abomination who’d created the vacuum of trapped souls.
That didn’t stop me from remembering its existence.
Shade’s lips met my forehead, his strong arms holding me tightly in the foyer of Kols’s suite. The reality of the moment should have drawn a disbelieving laugh from me, but I felt too dead inside to utter such an amused sound.
Footsteps echoed around us as someone stepped through the threshold, the woodsy aroma warning me of Zeph’s presence. I snuggled deeper into Shade’s chest, longing to disappear.
I felt weak.
Alone.
Just so done with it all.
This helplessness would pass, the emotion residual from the illusions Emelyn had created. I hated her in that moment, despised her ability to make me feel so worthless and meek. She’d gotten off easy because Kols had stopped me.
Why? Because she was his betrothed?
My jaw clenched with the thought. How ridiculous that he would stand up for his fiancée after spending days in the human world bedding mortals.
A growl threatened my chest, my annoyance mounting by the minute.
He was a horrible mate.
He denied me after our bond snapped into place, accusing me of planting the seed on purpose. Like I could control an Earth Fae connection on my own. A level-three placement meant he wanted it, too. But he burned all my things in response, sent me running into the LethaForest, and filled our bond with such exquisite power that I felt as if I were about to burst.
Then he claimed not to hate me and, less than a day later, had me imprisoned.
Well, technically Shade had me imprisoned with that recording.
Kols and Zeph had just orchestrated the arrest and the collar around my neck.
I frowned, touching the leather now with the tip of my index finger.
It’d done nothing to stop me from blasting Emelyn’s power today. Or had it tried to thwart me and I’d just moved around it?
A consideration for later.
What was I even doing here, allowing Shade to hold me like this? The three males were conversing around me, their words slowly trickling into my ears.
“…dismantled Emelyn’s spell,” Kols was saying. “Then she put the bitch on her ass.”
“It was beautiful,” Shade put in helpfully.
“She used her Quandary Blood abilities.”
Shade shrugged, his hand still rubbing my arm gently. “No one noticed. She didn’t utter a single spell out loud. From what they could tell, she just sent Emelyn into a vision, which was today’s exercise, right? Not Aflora’s fault that Emelyn couldn’t handle a dose of her own medicine.”
“Is Emelyn all right?” Zeph asked, his voice low.
“She’ll be fine,” Shade replied. “Our mate will be, too, by the way. In case you were wondering.” The hint of annoyance in his tone created a tense atmosphere that caused the hairs along my arms to stand.
“Are you trying to imply that I can’t see, Shadow?”
“No, I’m suggesting you redirect your concern to the right female, Zephyrus. You know, the one who is our mate.”
“Say that a little louder,” Kols snapped.
“Is that a dare?” Shade countered. “Because you know I will. Unlike you two idiots, I’ve embraced my destiny. Perhaps you should try it.”
“Or I could undo it,” I muttered, more to myself than to them.
Shade froze against me, the air chilling in the room. “What did you just say?”
Right. Time to tell the boys my thoughts on this whole mating business. As we were all together, why not now? It’d already been one heck of a day. Might as well end it with a bang.
I pulled away from Shade so I could see all three of the males bound to my life and cleared my throat.
“I said that I could just undo it.” They all gaped at me as if I’d lost my mind. “What? I’m a Quandary Blood, right? Redirecting power is apparently my thing. Why not apply that logic to the bonds and sever them?”