22. Aflora
My stomach cramped,stirring me from my sleep.
Hungry, I thought. So hungry.
But I’d fed from all my mates before falling into bed. Then Zeph and Kols had invited me to play sex gymnastics with them… and they’d fed me again before I’d passed out.
Yet I was starved, and it wasn’t food that I desired, but blood. Ugh, I groaned to myself. Zeph slept soundly beside me, his palm on my hip.
Kols was at my back with his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me to him.
Both of them were sound asleep, content, and well sated.
Disturbing them felt wrong. I’ll just, uh, shadow to the kitchen, and pop back after I have a bag of blood.
I’d never actually indulged straight from the plastic before because Zeph had been adding it creatively to my meals. But I knew there were bags in the fridge for that purpose.
Twisting my lips to the side, I engaged in Shade’s ability to teleport by shadow and magicked myself a pair of pajama pants with a tank top as I materialized in the kitchen.
Zakkai stood next to the fridge with his shoulder braced against the wall and a bag of blood already in his hand. “It’s warm,” he said softly.
“How did you…?”
“You were dreaming of blood,” Shade murmured from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder to find him sitting at the table with a book and a glass of red juice beside him.
“Made this in case you prefer it over the bag,” he said, gesturing to the drink. “Or in case you need both.”
I swallowed, my mouth watering.
Zakkai handed me the bag, the top uncapped and releasing a metallic aroma.
I wrapped my lips around it and sucked, groaning as the liquid hit my tongue. Zakkai remained against the wall as he watched, his irises flaring with power. He was dressed in a pair of sleep pants and nothing else. Just like Shade.
When I finished the bag—in what had to only be a minute—Shade stood and handed me the juice.
I put the straw between my lips and began to suck while Zakkai disposed of the bag and pulled another from some sort of warming unit next to the refrigerator. It appeared to be uniquely crafted for the purpose of heating blood.
It wasn’t until I finished the juice and the second bag that I finally felt like I could breathe again, the ache in my stomach subsiding.
But somehow I knew it would only be a temporary reprieve.
“Is this normal?” I asked. Because Kols had never needed blood like this. Or, if he had, I hadn’t noticed.
“No,” Zakkai replied, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “We suspect the dark source is preparing you for the next trial.”
“Or that perhaps it’s already started.” Shade resumed his seat at the table, sliding his book to the side. “Constantine won’t like that you not only circumvented his trap but also passed another trial soon after. So it’s likely he’s already initiated the next one in hopes of catching you off guard while you’re exhausted.”
Zakkai dipped his chin in agreement. “Yes, and if that’s the case, then the dark source is aware of what’s coming and wants you prepared, which is why you’re craving an abundance of blood.”
“I see.” I shivered, both explanations unnerving. “And you didn’t crave blood like this before any of your trials?”
He shook his head. “No. Just the normal amount.”
“Oh.” I bit my cheek. I’d have to ask Kols about this as well, but I suspected his answer would be the same as Zakkai’s. “Um...” I trailed off to clear my throat, my mouth suddenly dry despite all the blood I’d just imbibed. “What…? What was your fifth trial?”
“My sacrifice trial?” he clarified.
I nodded. Kols had told me all about his own trials in an effort to prepare me for mine, but he’d never moved beyond the unity test.
“Yours will be different from mine,” he warned.
“I know. I’m just curious about what you had to sacrifice.” Maybe it would give me an idea of what I’d have to sacrifice in mine.
He fell quiet for a moment, his gaze flicking to Shade before returning to me. “I had to sacrifice memories of my mom,” he admitted. “But in doing so, the source strengthened me by helping me to heal wounds I hadn’t realized were left open from her passing.”
I considered that for a moment, my lips tugging downward. “But how do you know that if you can’t remember those moments?”
“Because the source returned my memories upon my ascension,” he explained. “After I’d healed.”
“So the source… helped you?”
“In a way,” he replied. “The trials are about preparing a leader—testing their boundaries and helping to strengthen their weaknesses. In forgetting my mother… I was able to better focus. And then I was able to better appreciate her memory when I ascended, too.”
That made sense in a way. “Do you think the source will take the memories of my parents?”
He studied me for a moment, his expression giving nothing away.
“Tell her,” Shade said. “Tell her your theory.”
I glanced at him and then back at Zakkai. “You have a theory?”
He threw a glare at Shade. “I do.”
“She needs to know,” my Death Blood mate insisted. “It’ll help her prepare.”
“Or freak her the fuck out for no reason.”
“You’re the one who keeps lecturing Zeph about her training,” Shade retorted. “Go eat your own words, Kai.”
Zakkai clenched his teeth together, his irritation and discomfort palpable.
“He’s right,” I told him softly, my palm lifting to rest over his heart. “Tell me your theory.”
He remained silent for a moment, breathing expertly even as he released some of the tension in his shoulders and jaw.
His lashes fell as he blinked.
Then his expression mellowed.
“Given your increasing thirst, I think the dark source might require you to make a choice—between Midnight Fae and Elemental Fae. It might make you sacrifice your connection to the earth.”
My heart dropped to my stomach.
Oh.
Now I understood his hesitation.
“That’s an impossible choice,” I whispered.
“Which makes it a likely trial,” he replied. “Especially with Constantine holding the reins.”
I reached for the counter, needing to steady myself. “I really hope you’re wrong,” I admitted.
“I hope I am, too.”
Silence fell between us.
Then my stomach growled again.
Zakkai said nothing, just went to the fridge and began warming another packet of blood.
It only took a few minutes. By the time he handed it to me, I was already salivating again, confirming his theory that this was somehow related to my pending trial.
I sucked it down while considering everything he’d said.
It was an intelligent prediction on his part, one I really hoped didn’t come true.
He took the bag from me as I finished, and tossed it away. Then he returned and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear before tracing the pointed tip. His ears were rounded like those of the other Midnight Fae. The touch almost made me want to jokingly ask if my points would disappear as a result of choosing his kind over my own.
But I wasn’t ready to joke yet.
Instead, I focused on his eyes and the tenderness radiating from their depths.
“Thank you,” I said, expressing my gratitude to him for telling me about his suspicion. Then I met Shade’s pretty eyes and repeated the words, making sure they knew I was thankful to both of them for taking care of me.
We’d all come quite a long way in our relationships. It was night and day compared to my first days at Midnight Fae Academy.
The forbidden bite.
My enrollment.
Being trapped in a suite with Kols.
The rivalries.
Looking between Shade and Zakkai now, I couldn’t help my smile. They appeared so relaxed and content in the kitchen, something I doubted would have happened two months ago.
“What put that grin on your face?” Zakkai asked, his silver-blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight streaming in through the glass doors of the dining area.
“Just thinking about how much I love you all.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Even me?”
“Even you,” I replied, going to my toes to brush a kiss against his lips.
“Shade?” he said against my mouth. “Be sure to take notes. Blood is how we provoke emotion from Aflora.”
“That’s definitely not the only way,” my Death Blood mate drawled as he slid up behind me to gently nibble the back of my neck.
I shivered, their touch doing things to me that it probably shouldn’t after spending so many hours playing with Kols and Zeph.
But these men made me insatiable.
For both sex and blood.
Zakkai hummed in approval against my mouth, his tongue tracing the seam before sliding inside to engage me in a deep, sensual embrace underlined in passion and adoration. I moaned, curling into him and losing myself to his touch as Shade drew his teeth to my pulse. Rather than bite down, he sucked on my skin until my knees threatened to give out beneath me.
My palms went to Zakkai’s shoulders, my nails digging into his muscles as I fought to remain standing.
He growled, the sound hypnotic and taking away my breath.
I expected him to grab me, hoist me up onto the counter, and rip the clothes off me.
But he pulled his mouth away from me instead and stared down at the wolf standing just inside the door. “What?” he demanded.
I realized then that his growl hadn’t been meant for me… but for Zimney.
Zakkai studied the creature, then released me to walk over and kneel before him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice gentler as he reached for the arctic-white beast. “What’s in your mouth, Zimney?”
The wolf grumbled in reply.
Then it whined as its black eyes met mine.
Zakkai glanced back over his broad shoulder, my nail prints still embedded in his skin. “He’s saying it’s for you.”
I swallowed. “Do I want to know what it is?” Because the blood pooling from the beast’s mouth suggested I didn’t.
He made a noncommittal noise before studying his familiar’s jaw again, the low lighting of the moon painting dark shadows on the wolf’s muzzle. “Looks like…” He tilted his head, glancing at the other side. “A stonepecker.” He frowned. “Why are you bringing Aflora a stonepecker?”
“Didn’t Clove bring you a stonepecker after the attack on the Academy?” Shade asked.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Right before the Warrior Bloods showed up to search Kols’s quarters.”
Was Zimney trying to give us a warning? To tell us that Midnight Fae were coming?
“We never did find out who sent that stonepecker,” Zakkai said slowly. He reached for Zimney’s mouth, only for the wolf to back away, his eyes still on me. “He really wants you to take it, Aflora.”
“What’s going on?” Zeph’s low voice came from the kitchen entryway, his dark hair mussed with sleep as he walked in wearing a pair of pajama bottoms like the others. Kols followed close behind, his palm hiding his yawn.
“Zimney brought us a dead stonepecker.” Zakkai straightened, his brow furrowed. “You’re the one who disposed of the last one, right?”
“Want me to do it again?” Zeph guessed.
“No, I was wondering if you’d noticed any magic on the other one. I was just saying to Aflora that we never found out who’d sent it. I thought it might have been Zimney playing with Clove, but after she told me the purpose of it, I know it wasn’t him. He would never put her in danger like that.” He folded his arms over his bare chest, his legs bracing like he expected an argument.
But Zeph just shook his head. “I destroyed it in a hurry because Shade showed up to say the Warrior Bloods were coming.”
Zakkai glanced at Shade.
“Don’t look at me,” my Death Blood mate replied. “I was just trying to protect Kols. And I definitely wouldn’t give Aflora a dead stonepecker as a gift.”
“Tadmir?” Zakkai guessed.
“Why would Tadmir give her a stonepecker?” Kols interjected.
“Because he’s Zakkai’s uncle and he’s the one who left me the rock,” I replied, trying to avoid a snarky reply from the Quandary Blood.
The twitch of his lips told me he knew exactly why I’d been the one to respond.
“We never found out why he’d done that, either,” I added, thinking back to the day I’d cast that object history enchantment. “You were talking to me…” I frowned. “Except, no, it wasn’t your voice.” It was deeper. Different. “Was it Tadmir talking to me? He said he was coming for me. That I knew him. That I would become him. Why would he say that?”
“To move fate along,” Shade replied. “He was probably pretending to be Zakkai in order to prepare you.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to say exactly what he intended, but I know it wasn’t nefarious.”
Zakkai nodded. “I agree. He’s been working through time for too long to be trying to hurt you or any of us.”
“Hold on.” Kols held up his hand, his expression one of stark confusion. “Tadmir. As in, Malefic Councilman Tadmir? He’s your uncle?”
“Half uncle,” Zakkai explained. “He’s a Paradox Fae Quandary Blood masquerading as a Malefic Blood.”
Kols just gaped at him.
Zeph, too.
“And he’s been on our side the whole time,” Shade finished for him. “He helped create a diversion after your, uh, excommunication.”
I cleared my throat. “He also left the rock, so I’m wondering if the stonepecker is from him. Like a message, maybe? Or a warning? Did he send me the stonepecker and rock before as a warning?”
No, that didn’t seem right either.
I’d never met Tadmir, so I had no way of knowing if it’d been his voice in my head or not.
My nose scrunched.
Then I shook my head.
“There’s really only one way to find out,” I continued. “We’ll just take the stonepecker and, uh, run some spells to find out who sent it.” I grimaced with the words, not liking the idea of playing with a dead animal. But I didn’t see another option, and the looks coming from my mates said they didn’t either.
“You’re the commander of the creatures now,” Kols said. “That makes you closest to them.”
“And you can use my magic to see if there are any messages left within its death,” Shade added.
I nodded. “Great. Okay. I just need to get it from Zimney.”
Take the dead stonepecker out of the beast’s mouth. Right. Easy. Everyday task. Yep.
I shivered as I stepped toward him, the metallic scent all wrong. It made my nose scrunch, unlike the pouches I’d drunk from a bit ago. Probably because this blood came from a corpse.
“Aflora?” Zeph said. “Do you want…?” Zimney growled as he took a step toward the wolf. “Or maybe not.”
“He won’t give it to me, either,” Zakkai muttered. “And he’s my familiar.”
“It’s fine,” I said, stealing a deep breath and kneeling before the beast. I held out my hand. “I’ll do”—Zimney dropped the stonepecker into my palm—“it.”
Energy hummed through the air, causing the hairs along my arms to dance.
My forehead crinkled, the sensation leaving me queasy.
“Uh, guys?” I asked. “Do you all feel that, or…?” I started to turn as I spoke, only to realize the room no longer existed around me.
My mates were gone.
Zimney had disappeared, too.
Just the stonepecker remained.
Aflora!Zakkai’s voice echoed through my mind, his presence oddly distant.
Kai?
The stonepecker began to writhe on my palm, causing me to drop it in alarm. Roots shot up out of it as it spun across the dark space at my feet.
“I’d grab those if I were you,” a deep voice said from the shadows.
“What?” I spun around, searching for the source.
Then the stonepecker began to whine, and my mates all yelled in my head.
I looked down to see the creature twisting into smoke, the roots the only part left behind.
Except, no… those weren’t roots. They’re souls, I realized, recognizing the essence from Shade’s Death Blood magic courses.
The beings twisted in agony, their hums of magic familiar.
I reached for them on instinct—all four strands—then jolted as they shot out in all different directions, their ends securing themselves to the inky walls around me.
What…?
The beings began to stretch, causing me to cry out as they dug their opposite ends into my palms, their roots deep and solid and joining with my being. Again. Like they had always been a part of me and it was the atmosphere around us that had forced me to release them.
What’s happening?
“Poor Aflora,” the deep voice murmured, Constantine’s tones familiar and recognizable. “Always choosing her mates over herself.”
I couldn’t see him, but I felt him all around me, his power pulsing against mine, demanding I stay put until he finished toying with his prey. My mind stroked through his spell, trying to learn the nuances of it and how to counteract it, but the yanking on my strands had me focusing on the here and now and my innate need to hold on. They rooted deeper, securing themselves to my soul… their voices beginning to return…
“Did you know that stonepecker is how I first confirmed your connection to my grandson?” Constantine asked conversationally, like I wasn’t being ripped apart by the vines digging into my hands. “I originally sent it with the expectation of it being found among his things during the search. But a falcon disrupted my spell. A familiar. Your familiar. Which I found deeply fascinating at the time. Until I realized why that familiar had interfered.”
Aflora?Kols’s voice trickled through my mind in a whisper, the soul in my palm vibrating.
I’m here,I told him. I’m?—
“You mated my grandson, the heir to the Midnight Fae kingdom. No doubt because you bewitched him with your abomination magic. I’d hoped he’d be stronger. I had also hoped the Death Blood had been lying. Alas, here we are. And it seems Shadow was attempting to outmaneuver me, too. But I’m the one holding the final play in this game.” He paused. “Actually, no, that’s not quite right. You are holding it.”
The souls writhed against my palms, their agony touching my soul as the space began to move, stretching them… taking them from my heart.
“Who will you sacrifice?” Constantine asked, his voice low and menacing. “Which soul will you release to survive?” His energy kissed my skin. “Let the trial begin.”