12. Shade
I foldedmy arms and fought the urge to wince as Aflora fell to the floor on a gasp.
“Again,” Zeph demanded.
He’d escalated Aflora’s training to a whole new level after Zakkai’s pep talk the other day. No more coaching. No more words of praise. Just harsh spells and commands to keep going.
Aflora didn’t complain.
She merely stood back up and started over.
Again. And again. And again.
I admired her tenacity and drive, but I also wanted to kill Zeph and Zakkai.
Phoenix fires, Kols whispered into my head as Zeph nailed Aflora with a particularly painful spell. He’s taking this a bit far, yes?
Yeah, he’s being an ass. I understood why. I even agreed that it had to be done. But that didn’t mean I enjoyed watching it happen.
“Atlaqi Sarahee.” Aflora breathed the words and made a circle with her finger.
They were practicing defensive spells without wands today—Zeph’s idea to prepare her since she didn’t have a magical conduit of her own.
The snakelike enchantment from Zeph dissolved, allowing her a sigh of relief.
Until he followed it up with an even more powerful charm that slammed right into her chest.
Kols stepped forward, but a glare from Zeph kept him from interfering.
He’s in quite a mood, Kols muttered.
I’m taking Aflora later, I replied. I don’t trust him to give her what she needs after this. Not in his current mood.
No. He needs someone who can withstand his aggression and return it. Kols’s bronze irises flared. I will gladly be that partner, as it’ll provide an excellent opportunity to kick his ass.
I smirked. Good.
Zakkai leaned against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his black pants. He was shirtless like the rest of us, dressed to spar. Aflora had on another tank top and pants of a similar stretchy fabric. She was barefoot and sweating, her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail at the back of her head.
“Dayani Adhabat,” she snapped, her finger drawing a dash across the air to dismantle the strangulation charm Zeph had released. “Asqati Mayatun.” Her hand flexed with the words, a dark ball appearing in her palm. She threw it at Zeph, the deadly ball disappearing before it could hit his face.
She followed it up with another sphere right after it, aiming for his abdomen, then added the strangulation charm on top of it all, bringing the Guardian to his knees.
Zakkai grinned in amusement.
Aflora growled and hit Zeph with a fourth spell, one meant to be a punch to the gut.
Zeph deflected most of the power with a few defensive shields.
Then he lashed out with another offensive enchantment that knocked Aflora on her ass again.
She released a frustrated noise but didn’t otherwise speak. Cerulean flames engulfed her from head to toe as she fought his new spell.
Then Zeph cursed as a burning thwomp shot up from the ground beside him. “No thwomps,” he reminded her.
He dismantled the tree before it could set the room on fire. Given that the floors and walls were all obsidian, I doubted it would do much damage. But better not to tempt fate.
Their lethal dance continued, Aflora’s outfit tarnished and nearly destroyed in the process. By the end, all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and hold her for hours.
Zeph vibrated with irritation. He hated doing this to Aflora, but he and Zakkai were the best suited among us to teach her.
I’ll distract him, Kols told me. Take Aflora.
The agitation pouring off Zeph suggested he wanted to soothe Aflora, but in a violent way. He needed to console himself as well, to know he hadn’t actually hurt her. However, the anger he felt at himself for hurting her would end up translating to aggressive sex.
And that wasn’t what she needed right now.
Aflora deserved some tenderness after the last few days of roughness. Yes, this all helped prepare her to face the inevitable, and Constantine wouldn’t go easy on her. But having her mates grounded her and gave her an advantage that the Elder would never understand.
Therefore, she needed both harshness and love.
Zeph and Zakkai could focus on the former, as they excelled in combat.
Meanwhile, Kols and I would offer her the emotional support she required to truly flourish.
Zeph stepped toward Aflora, his expression lined with intent. Kols moved between them, and I shadowed to Aflora’s side. Zakkai caught my gaze and gave a slight nod, aware of my intention. Then I wrapped her in a cloak of darkness and took her to our meadow.
She trembled against me, her head finding my shoulder as she silently cried in frustration. I held her, my hands roaming over her tattered tank top and offering her my touch and support.
You’re magnificent, little rose, I told her.
There’s so much violence, she replied, shuddering.
Her tears weren’t a sign of weakness or sadness. They were about her difficulty in accepting the darkness of being a Midnight Fae. Her heart was all light and joy and sweet elements. This world that she’d fallen into blackened her soul, and only the strongest of fae could accept such a thing.
But even the strongest of fae needed a soft moment to reflect.
I pulled Aflora with me to the ground, her petite frame curling into my lap on instinct. Then I held her beneath the shade of the tree until the sun began to rise over our meadow. We didn’t speak. We just basked in her earth, her life, her desire to create.
As the heat touched her skin, she lifted her head on a sigh and admired the rising sun. She knew it wasn’t real, that the paradigm manufactured it, but that didn’t stop her contentment from flowing through our bond.
“Can we stay here today?” she asked softly. “To sleep, I mean.”
“We can do whatever you want, little rose,” I promised her.
Her lips curled a little. Then she began to fashion a bed of flowers, the petals soft and colorful and filled with her strength.
I watched as she worked, content to lean against the trunk.
Sometimes Aflora just needed a day to play. And I gave her that, allowing her to flourish in her earth magic and giving her a chance to reinvigorate her soul.
Floral scents surrounded us, her element in full effect as she gave herself over to her Earth Fae heart.
Then she sprawled out on her bed, lost the tie in her hair, and allowed the strands to flow over the ground in cerulean and black waves.
I smiled, admiring the sight of her all content and warm and happy.
“Join me,” she whispered.
I replied by pushing away from my tree and crawling to her. She grinned when I reached her side, then she wrapped her palm around the back of my neck to gently guide me toward her for a kiss.
We remained like that for hours, just letting our mouths do all the talking.
No sex.
No physical need.
Just a moment for our souls to heal, to love, to indulge in each other.
I told her with my mind how much I adored her. How much I respected her. How proud I was of her for embracing this new path.
And she told me how thankful she was to have me as her mate. How she forgave all my secrets. How she wanted to live a lifetime together to heal all the previous ones I’d endured.
It was an intense, beautiful moment, one that left both of us replete in an entirely different way than ever before.
As the sun reached high noon, she snuggled into my chest.
And together we slept on the mound of flowers she’d built, the sky providing a natural blanket of heat that allowed us to dream.
Although, as I closed my eyes, I lost myself to a vision where the darkness of my world threatened to engulf Aflora whole, dismantling her light.
Something’s coming, I thought, asleep yet very much awake. A new trial is brewing. And this one will bring death.