5. Kols
Shade returnedseveral minutes later with clothes that rivaled our Academy wardrobe—slacks and button-down shirts for the men. Cloaks, too.
And a skirt with a blouse for Aflora. She pulled on the boots with a sigh, her fingers brushing the fine black material. It was a unique leather made from Midnight Fae magic rather than animal product. She seemed to approve, her Earth Fae side preferring enchantment over unnecessary death.
I finished buttoning up my shirt before wrapping my arm around her slender waist and pulling her to me for another kiss. She seemed to have calmed down now, her acceptance of fate growing with each passing second.
Yet I still sensed her trying to find a way to reverse the ascension.
She and Zakkai were having some sort of mental discussion about it. I couldn’t hear it, just felt the hum of their discussion brushing my psyche.
What will happen if she undoes the ascension? It had nearly killed me, but that was because of the manner in which my father had done it. My heart ached just thinking about it. But it hadn’t been him. My grandfather…
I swallowed.
Phoenix fires.
I couldn’t even process it.
And Tray. I pulled away from Aflora on a jolt. Shit, Tray!
“Tray will be okay,” Zeph rushed to say, his hand reaching for my shoulder to give it a squeeze. “Once we’re somewhere safe, we’ll reach out to him.” His green eyes went to Shade. “Which reminds me, where are we going, Shadow? You never actually said.”
I tried to allow his distraction to pull me from my dark thoughts and concerns, but I felt to my soul that something was very wrong. Tray wasn’t okay at all. None of us were.
Aflora leaned into me, her head on my chest. She didn’t say anything, just offered me her emotional strength and support by cuddling me in a moment of intense need.
Zeph was at my back as well, his intensity a protective cape that billowed around me.
“To a place Constantine can’t go,” Shade said softly. “To the Academy he knows exists but can’t breach.”
I frowned. “He knows about this other Academy?” It’d never been mentioned to me. Of course, it seemed the Council and the Elders had hidden several key items from me. So I supposed this wasn’t new information.
“Your grandfather knows everything,” Zakkai replied before Shade could speak. “I’m guessing your father does, too. But I find it fascinating that they kept you in the dark. Did they do the same for your twin?”
“Kai,” Aflora interjected, her tone quiet yet stern. She still had her head against my chest, but her focus was on the Quandary Blood.
His silver-blue eyes went to her, and his features softened marginally. “I know, little star.” He looked at Shade. “Does Lucifer want to meet me now or after we arrive?”
“He didn’t say,” Shade said before I could react to the infamous name of the Hell Fae King. “So I believe we have safe passage to the paradigm, at least until he decides otherwise.”
“We’re going to the Hell Fae realm?” It came out as a question, but I meant it as more of a statement. Because that was the only explanation for what they were saying. “The other Midnight Fae Academy is hidden… in the Hell Fae realm?”
Zakkai and Shade both looked at me with expressions that said, Obviously. But only Zakkai actually said the word out loud.
“How long has this paradigm existed?” I wondered out loud.
“Zenaida arranged it with Lucifer about seven hundred years ago, right?” Zakkai casually asked the question, like this wasn’t a big reveal or life-altering information.
“Roughly,” Shade replied.
“That’s where you disappear to,” Zeph said. “You shadow off to the other Academy.”
Shade lifted a shoulder. “On occasion. But not for classes.”
“And my grandfather knew.” The words came out slowly, my mind failing to believe them even as I voiced them.
“Yes. My grandmother lives nearby.” His icy eyes went to Aflora. “It’s where Aflora’s meadow is, too.”
“In the Hell Fae realm?” she whispered, her head leaving my chest so she could look at the Death Blood. “That’s where the paradigms are for the Quandary Bloods who prefer reformation over retribution?”
Shade dipped his chin. “Yes. Lucifer already gave you entry as a marked abomination. As you’re probably aware, he has a soft spot for them.” His gaze lifted to mine. “Which is how I negotiated your entry as well. Zeph was the primary issue.”
“Well, in that case, I refuse my meeting with Lucifer and Zeph can stay here,” Zakkai replied.
Aflora bristled in my arms, her attention shifting from Shade to the Quandary Blood. “Kai.”
“I’m joking, little star.”
“Hilarious,” Zeph deadpanned. “Can we go now? The defenses are beginning to fail again.”
Aflora nodded. “Yes, I feel them crumbling.”
“Shade?” Zakkai prompted.
“Already working on it.” The Death Blood’s voice sounded strained, his eyes closing on a grimace.
Frowning, I locked into my link with him and noted his waning energy reserves. You need more power.
He grunted in reply, our mental connection firmly intact even at the first-level mate-bonding.
Take some vitality from me,I told him.
You’re not the one I need to tap into, he replied, shutting me out with a click of a door.
I scowled. “Don’t be a stubborn dolt,” I told him out loud since I couldn’t voice it in his mind. I didn’t know how he’d blocked me out, but it was a trick I wanted to learn.
“Fuck off, Kols,” he gritted out.
“Shade,” Aflora said, slipping away from me to reach for him. “What do you need?”
“Power,” I answered for him. “His reserves are depleted from whatever he’s been doing for the paradigm.”
“I’m fine,” he snapped.
“You’re not fucking fine. You’re on the verge of passing out.” This whole solitary operation needed to stop. We were a unit now—all of us—and it was time we all accepted it. “Let us help you, Shade. We’re your mates.”
“He’s right,” Zakkai said, surprising me. “You’re hurting all of us by saying you’re fine when you’re not. Do you need Aflora’s blood?” He studied the other man. “Yeah, that’s what you need. Not much, just enough to push forward.” He nodded to Aflora. “Don’t let him refuse.”
She grabbed Shade before he could even try to argue, her lips finding his on a demanding kiss. A hint of metallic blood tinted the air, suggesting she’d bitten her tongue prior to embracing him. His responding groan confirmed it, his arm circling her waist as he indulged in the essence she fed him. Zeph’s arm came around my upper body in a partial hug, his chest meeting my back. I relaxed into his familiar embrace as Zakkai moved forward.
A black cloak whirled around us all half a beat later as Shade engaged his ability to shadow.
My stomach rolled with the sensation of moving through space and time beneath his enchantment.
Then goose bumps prickled my arms as we landed on a dusted path of embers and charcoal fibers.
Hell Fae realm, I thought, wincing at the heat blazing around us. My grandfather certainly wouldn’t track us here, not with the blistering magic and underlying cruelty in the air. He also wouldn’t be welcome.
However, it was rather fascinating that Lucifer had allowed Zen to build a paradigm here.
Hell Fae weren’t known for their kindness. She’d either traded him something extremely valuable, or they had some sort of unique arrangement.
Quandary Bloods were extremely powerful. The Hell Fae King would find that useful.
Shade released Aflora’s mouth as we all materialized, a sigh of content coming from his lips. The familiars appeared shortly after, his spell having captured them as well. Or perhaps they’d followed on instinct. Familiar magic was unique in how they could appear and vanish at will.
“The entrance is just over there.” Shade gestured with his chin toward an obsidian arch. “A set of gates will exist on the other side. They’ll remind you of the other Academy, but once you enter, you’ll immediately sense the difference. All the excommunicated Midnight Fae—at least the ones who chose not to follow Laki—and creatures reside in there. It’s sacred and deadly and very well protected. So any ill will won’t be taken lightly.”
“You act as though we plan to burn it down,” Zakkai drawled. “I’ve visited your grandmother before, Shade. Just recently, if you recall.”
“My warning wasn’t for you,” Shade replied, his gaze finding mine and Zeph’s. “Don’t overreact. With everything going on, we can’t afford to be ousted, because there is literally nowhere else for us to go. The Midnight Fae are searching for us in droves right now, furious over Aflora’s ascension.”
I frowned. “They already know?”
Shade’s expression took on a sardonic twist. “Yeah. Constantine told them all that she stole the throne and she’s a power-hungry fae who is out of control. He’s notified the other fae as well.”
“How do you know all that?” Zeph demanded, suspicion underlying his tone. He still had his arm around my upper body, his tension palpable at my back.
“Because my grandmother told me,” Shade bit back. “We’ve entered the proverbial endgame now, so I have no more tricks up my sleeve. I’m telling you everything I learn as I learn it. But I just spent several hours trying to return to you, so forgive me for the delay.”
“Thank you for being forthright,” I interjected before Zeph could speak. I felt his ire and annoyance boiling through his thoughts, and I didn’t want to instigate any more fighting. We needed to work as a unit, and if that meant leading by example, I would. “Do we know how the Elemental Fae are reacting to the news?”
Shade’s lips curled down, then he gave a subtle shake of his head.
“They’ll excommunicate me,” Aflora said softly. “Especially after what Elana did to them.”
I hated to agree with that statement, but knowing Exos and Cyrus as well as I did, I found myself nodding. “They’ll fear what they don’t know.”
“Which is why I need to revert the ascension,” she pressed. “I can’t be an Earth Royal and queen to the Midnight Fae kingdom. All of the fae realms will hunt me and try to kill me.”
“They’re going to do that anyway,” Zakkai inserted. “Which means we need you to be the most powerful being to ever exist so you can protect yourself.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“No,” Aflora replied. “I don’t want all this power.”
“Which is why you’re the perfect fae to embrace it,” I argued. “You won’t use it for nefarious purposes. You’ll provoke change.”
“Much-needed change,” Zeph echoed.
“Precisely,” I murmured.
Aflora sighed and shook her head. “Let’s just… go inside. And then we can keep talking about it. I could really go for a sandwich.”
“Shroom loaf?” Zeph offered. “Mustard berries?”
“Mouseberries,” she corrected with a smile.
“Mussleberries,” he said softly, a grin in his tone. “Of course. Coming right up.”
Aflora rolled her eyes, but some of the tension in her stance melted at the playfulness of his words. “Spritemead, too. And a dragon steak.”
“Someone’s hungry. Did we not feed you properly last night?” He released me with a kiss to my neck, then walked around me to press his lips to her cheek. “Because I seem to recall feeding you quite well.”
Her cheeks turned a beautiful pink shade as she tried to glare up at him. “Zeph.”
The Warrior Blood brushed his mouth over hers, his palm wrapping around the back of her neck. “Come on, pixie flower. Let’s go explore this new Academy. Then I’ll ensure you’re properly fed. Again.”
She swallowed. “Then I want a salad patty.”
“I’ll give you everything and anything you want, Aflora,” he replied softly, his forehead resting against hers for a brief moment. “Including mouseberries.”
Her expression brightened. “Yes, please.”
“I thought he was a Guardian turned headmaster,” Zakkai said conversationally. “Is he a chef, too?”
“He’s good with a wand,” Shade explained.
“Ah. The food spells make up for other weaker areas.” Zakkai nodded. “I understand.”
Zeph ignored him.
Aflora just shook her head.
Shade smirked.
And I started taking mental bets on how long Zakkai and Zeph would last in a room together before one of them tried to kill the other. Both men were alphas to their cores, neither inclined to bend.
I’d have to keep an eye on them.
Especially when alone with Aflora.
She might not survive a duel between them.
A concern for later, as we had much more pressing items to deal with—such as the issue with my grandfather telling all of fae kind that Aflora had manipulated her own ascension. Given the trial requirements, this would be a problem. Because one of those levels required her to gain approval from Midnight Fae kind.
And that wasn’t likely to happen if they all believed her to be a power-hungry abomination with the ability to ascend illegally.
I rubbed a hand over my face, exhausted just thinking about it.
Hopefully, venturing into the Hell Fae realm would give us a little more time to prepare. Or a lot more time. I’d been gifted twenty-plus years to ready myself for the trials.
Aflora… had had all of a few minutes to accept it.
No wonder she wanted to revert the ascension.
Shade stopped by the obsidian arch and pressed his hand to the right side of it to pull up a keypad. Then he demonstrated how to enter by giving us the codes to activate the swirl of power beneath the arch and the subsequent passcode meant to prove our allowance to proceed through the enchantment.
It felt like a show of faith from him—a way of confirming that we’d finally breached his inner circle.
About fucking time,I heard Zeph think.
I snorted in agreement.
While I understood Shade’s penchant for secrets all these months, it was nice to finally be on the other side.
However, as we stepped through the gate onto the Academy grounds, I realized there was a myriad of secrets yet to be revealed. Because holy fuck, the exterior resembled Midnight Fae Academy.
The stone walls were all covered in hissing snake-vines. A pair of gargoyles stood by the gates, their swords already drawn.
My brow furrowed. “You said we were welcome.”
“We are,” Shade replied, confusion evident in his tone as the snake-vines began to writhe angrily.
A series of charcoal crows cawed in fury above.
Burning thwomps shot fire into the sky.
Gargoyles inside all took up arms, rushing the gates.
Stonepeckers snarled.
A phoenix landed a few feet away to expand his feathers in a furious show of color.
Fire gnats began to swarm.
And a sinking sensation churned in my stomach.
“Shit,” I breathed, locking gazes with Zeph. His expression told me he’d figured it out as well.
“What?” Aflora demanded. “What’s happening?”
“It’s your next ascension trial.” With Constantine running the show, he hadn’t bothered to give her a break. And of course he chose to engage this one next. “You remember how I told you all Midnight Fae creatures were mine to command?” I asked softly, stepping up beside her.
“Yes,” she whispered, her fear palpable.
“Well, you’re the incoming monarch now. The second ascension is about taming the Midnight Fae creatures to your will. Show them you’re their queen and they’ll kneel at your feet.”
Fail… and they’ll eat you alive.