27. Kols
She’s alive.
I could feel it in my bones, in my soul, in my every breath. The dark source had accepted her sacrifice. And allowed her soul to pass through the heart of Midnight Fae power before returning to her corporeal state.
She passed her trial.
Not just the sacrifice test, but the respect one as well. The knowledge echoed around us, the whole of Midnight Fae kind bowing to their chosen queen. It was the sort of respect that didn’t need to be seen, but felt. And it sent me to my knees.
“My queen,” I breathed, tears pooling in my eyes, battling the moisture that already existed from my earlier sadness. These new tears were ones of profound happiness and pride. “You did it.”
Zeph stilled beside me, so lost in his grief that he hadn’t noticed her return. Then he fell to his knees beside me for an entirely different reason, emotion ripping from his chest on an anguished cry he’d held within himself for too long, his pain overwhelming our bond.
I reached for him, steadying him and allowing him his moment. He’d been so shocked, and then stricken, that he hadn’t been able to react. And now that Aflora was awake, he’d released a wave of anguish he could no longer contain.
Anguish that quickly turned to exuberance as he crawled toward her, his hand seeking hers.
It was probably the one and only time I would ever see him bend in such a way.
Shade? I whispered, noting his hunched shoulders and broken form. His forehead rested against Aflora’s chest, his body unmoving.
He didn’t reply.
Zeph kissed Aflora, a possessive growl going through him. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
Shade? I repeated, trying to find his mind in our connection. But all I heard was silence.
“Are you all right, little star?” Zakkai asked, kneeling beside the arm of the couch, close to her head and near Zeph.
Shade still didn’t move, even as Zeph’s body nudged him from the side.
Aflora nodded slowly, her blue eyes blinking up at Zakkai and Zeph. She glanced at me next, then down to Shade’s bowed head.
She lifted her hand to run her fingers through his hair, saying nothing out loud. But I felt the hum of energy that suggested she spoke into his mind.
He didn’t react.
I frowned.
“Shade.” Aflora’s voice was soft with sleep, like this had all been a strange nightmare, not a heartbreaking experience. “You’ve given us everything, Shade. It was my turn to sacrifice something for you.”
Her fingers continued to comb through his hair, her motions tender and rhythmic.
“It’s still the right path,” she continued. “And you’re the reason we’re here.” She looked at each of us. “You all are my purpose for being here.” Her attention returned to the broken man against her chest. “And you made that possible, Shade.”
She drew her touch down to his nape, his dark hair a stunning contrast to her pale skin.
“Life cannot exist without death,” she whispered. “I understand that now. Because of you, Shade. Because of all of you.”
She smiled, her expression breathtakingly real, and yet she glimmered like an intangible goddess.
You wear power beautifully, I said into her mind. You’re stunning.
Electricity kissed my skin as she responded with magic instead of words, her control over the dark source nearly resolute.
“You’re mine to protect now, too,” she murmured to Shade. “We will all make sacrifices for each other. It’s what makes us stronger. And we all know we have you to thank for paving the way for us. You gave us a gift that will never be repaid. But I will spend my eternity with you, trying to repay it.”
“I don’t want to be repaid,” he muttered against her chest. “I just want you.”
“You have me,” she vowed. “You have me entirely.”
His head slowly rose from her chest, his shoulders still rounded in pain. “It’s my path in life to take risks for you. Not the other way around.”
I had never heard him speak so gravely. He always boasted a worry-free air about him, like nothing ever disturbed him. But he acted with the utmost seriousness now.
“And it’s my path in life to love you all,” she whispered. “To never have to choose.”
She pulled him to her, his body moving beneath her physical command.
“I would give anything and everything for all of you. Including myself. Because you demonstrated the importance of sacrifice, Shade. You showed me how to live. You taught me how to hate and how to love. You helped me learn how to fly free without restraints. And you’re the reason I’m here today. Right now. Right here. With all of you.”
She kissed him, her devotion branding our bonds as she committed herself to us all on a level that defied existence.
We were hers.
She was ours.
And together, we would persevere.
Together… we would fly.
We surrounded her, each taking turns to worship our goddess with our mouths, to express our gratitude and love and absolute reverence.
I was last, my lips tasting hers and all her other mates. A perfect union. A joyous occasion. A tender embrace.
She whispered my name, her fingers in my hair as I indulged in another kiss. Languid strokes. Heat. Beauty. Love.
I pressed my forehead to hers, sensing the budding urgency inside her.
It wasn’t sexual, but arduous. Our embrace one underlined in the future, and a destiny calling her name.
Queen Aflora.
“It’s time,” she breathed, her power wrapping around all of us as she engaged Shade’s shadow and took us to the LethaForest outside the main Academy, to the place where Midnight Fae life originally began.
It was a sacred platform surrounded by creatures and night and the hum of approval in the air. Pure magic.
Midnight Fae only congregated here once every one thousand years, the grounds a known place for dark source ascension.
That was what made the LethaForest so dangerous—the plant life, animals, and air were haunted by ancient magic. It made events unpredictable.
But today, the LethaForest was quiet. Hopeful. Waiting.
Aflora stood in the middle of it all with her enchanted cloak and staff, her blue-black hair blowing in an intangible breeze created by power and not the elements around her.
A circle of ancient trees surrounded us, their black branches flickering to life with fire to illuminate the night.
Magic brushed my skin as my cloak appeared at my shoulders, my bare chest suddenly covered by a button-down shirt, and my pajama pants replaced by black trousers.
Zeph, Zakkai, and Shade were all adorned in similar attire.
But the clasps of our cloaks were ruby roses with glistening stars at the center. The edges flared with defensive energy borrowed from Zeph, and the clasps connected themselves to the fabric with a series of multicolored roots.
One for each mate.
My heart warmed at the clear claim, our queen having gifted us all with her own token of favor.
And they shimmered in the moonlight, the red petals bleeding with renewed colors to match the roots.
A truly magical series of charms.
I stroked it with my thumb, sensing Aflora’s touch, and smiled. Thank you, love.
She blew a kiss into my mind, then finished her own wardrobe with a flowing black dress that glimmered like a diamond, showcasing all the colors of the Midnight Fae.
Her gaze went to the tree line, her stance powerful as the branches began to rustle.
Then a wave of spells flew at her from the forest’s edge—each one bouncing off a shield I hadn’t felt her create.
Magnificent.
Our cloaks were the shield, her clasp the bearer of the protective spell. That was why I’d sensed Zeph within the magic. He’d taken up a guarded stance next to her with Zakkai on her opposite side, their positions ready for a fight.
But Aflora was clearly done with this battle.
She didn’t cast any enchantments back at the approaching Warrior Bloods. She merely absorbed their charms and turned them to rose petals on the ground.
Shade took up a position behind her, so I stepped in front of her, the four of us creating a clear mate-circle around her.
That didn’t stop the Warrior Bloods or the Elders behind them.
However, every offensive spell disintegrated into flowers, Aflora’s power resolute.
Her hand settled on my shoulder, her petite frame hidden by my much taller one. I shifted as she stepped to my side, Zeph coming up next to me, with Zakkai and Shade completing the line on Aflora’s left.
My grandfather appeared with my father and brother beside him, their collective fury stealing the breath from my lungs.
“Abomination!” they shouted.
“This cannot stand,” my grandfather concluded.
“Yet you ensured my ascension yourself,” Aflora replied calmly, a memory charm appearing as she blasted the event to all Midnight Fae.
“Soon they’ll see you for what you are, Queen Aflora,” my grandfather’s voice reverberated through the LethaForest and all our minds. “An abomination in the truest form. A monster. A being consumed by power, both Elemental Fae and Midnight Fae in nature. And I can’t wait to watch you burn.”
“An abomination, yes,” she agreed. “But I’m not the monster, Constantine. I’m not the being consumed by power. However, they all witnessed me burn, just like you’d said. And now they know my true nature, too.”
Aflora’s pity poured through our bond, her heart breaking for the man before her.
Not my father.
Not my brother.
But my grandfather.
“You want to control them all,” she whispered. “Because you fear what you do not understand. You refuse to listen, to observe, to learn. You crave power as a protection, and it’s consumed you entirely. Because you never learned balance.”
Energy flowed through our connections as Aflora grounded herself by pushing the dark source to her mates, demonstrating her version of balance.
“You never learned how to love,” she continued sadly. “And for that, I’m sorry for you. Emotions are what root us to life. Without them, we soar too high and forget how to feel. My mates—the ones you tried to force me to choose between—are my rocks. My foundation. The reasons I’m able to absorb and maintain connections to two sources.”
She reached for my hand and Zakkai’s, squeezing our palms.
“These Midnight Fae represent my balance. They’re my kings. My equals. My own personal council. They’re the reasons for my ascension today. Because they taught me how to live and love.”
Silence fell, my grandfather’s eyes narrowing.
However, all around the tree line… the Midnight Fae began to kneel.
Not to the Nacht line.
But to Aflora, Queen of the Midnight Fae.
A sliver of power slipped from beneath our shields, Aflora’s energy wrapping around my father and brother as she untangled some invisible web from their auras. I couldn’t see it, but I felt it.
Zakkai reached out as well, emboldening her work.
“What are you doing?” Constantine asked, sensing it as well. His eyes began to widen. “Don’t you feel this witchery?” He looked to the Elders and the kneeling Warrior Bloods. “She’s enchanted you all. Don’t you sense it?”
“I’m not the one weaving enchantments, Elder Constantine,” she replied. “I’m merely… undoing them.”
My father gasped as he collapsed to one knee, his hand at his neck.
His golden irises found mine, abject horror radiating in his depths. “Kols…” Then he looked down at his own hands in shame as memories of what he’d done rolled through his features. “Dear Fae…” His attention turned upward to the man beside him. “My own son. You made me kill my own son.”
“For the betterment of Midnight Fae kind,” my grandfather growled. “Which, clearly, you’ve all forgotten because that thing has bewitched you.” He pointed to Aflora, his ire mounting by the second.
Zakkai’s stance straightened, his gaze narrowing, his reaction telling me that my grandfather had accessed the dark source.
But a wave from Aflora’s hand dismantled it all and caused flower petals to rain down from the clear sky.
My grandfather cursed.
And Tray clocked him with a fist to the side of the face. “Where the fuck is Ella?” he demanded, taking the old man by the collar and strangling him with his grip. “Where is she?”
“She’s coming.” Aflora’s reply was carried on the wind, her power so resolute that even I wanted to kneel. I’d never felt anything like it. My father had always boasted an energy that took my breath away, but Aflora… she was like holding on to the source itself. “She’s safe, Tray.”
My brother crumpled then, his agony shattering my heart.
I wanted to go to him, to hold him, to promise him that Ella would forgive him.
But a stroke from Shade’s mind kept me steady.
Because my mate needed me more right now, my position beside her symbolic in so many ways. And she’d meant what she’d said—we were her anchors, the ones who kept her grounded.
If I left our cocoon of protection, my grandfather would use me against her. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
My grandfather blasted Tray with a spell that put him on his ass, then lifted his hand with a lethal ball of WarFire meant to destroy. “You’re all useless,” he hissed, taking aim.
A jolt hit my heart, the fear on my twin’s face causing me to take a step forward.
Don’t, Shade demanded, his word freezing me in place.
The WarFire left my grandfather’s palm, angling downward toward my brother’s chest.
Tray!I tried to move, to go to him, to save him from his fate, but Zeph caught my shoulder, holding me in place.
My brother cried out as the spell hit him, only to freeze half a breath later as stone engulfed his form. I blinked, shocked by the instant marbleized state of death.
My father bellowed in fury, the dark source responding to his call and wrapping my grandfather in a sea of darkness.
But the man just laughed, dissolving the spell with a flick of his wand and shooting a volt into my father’s abdomen, sending him to his knees beside Tray’s still form.
“Magic is fascinating,” a new voice said, deep and carrying and familiar. “It can be manipulated in so many ways.” Tadmir stepped through the trees with several Councilmen at his back.
Gone were his usual black robes, replaced by a cloak edged in cerulean, his long white hair flickering with bluish-green flames.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “I had some spells to unwind.” He directed his wand at my brother, the stones fracturing around Tray’s skin to reveal my irate twin beneath.
I blinked, confused by the sight of him squirming out from the marble encasement.
My grandfather appeared equally as enthralled and partially dumbfounded. He gaped at the approaching Councilmen, his gaze settling on the white-haired one at the front.
“Oh, yes, you don’t recall this from our history together,” Tadmir drawled. “Well, in a previous timeline, you knew my true nature. You killed my Quandary Blood mate. Tried to take my son, too.”
A dark-haired male with tattoos swirling up his arm appeared in the next instant to lean against a tree. My eyebrows lifted in recognition. Kyros. Paradox Fae. He’d been the one helping Shade manipulate time.
The male winked at me as though he’d heard my thoughts, then kicked up his foot behind him to rest against the trunk of the tree.
“Unfortunately, time did not allow me to save my mate. But it did allow me to properly prepare for you and your destructive plans for the Midnight Fae.” He waved a hand over himself. “You wanted an all-male council, so I became a Malefic Blood and took a new mate—a female who was best friends with my previous one. It’s a long, drawn-out story that ends in a myriad of timelines, this one being the preferred avenue, of course.”
His eyes lifted to Aflora.
“The timeline where she becomes queen,” he concluded with a smile. “I told you that you knew me. And now you see why. We’re alike, you and I. Abominations who use our power for the betterment of the world, not to destroy it.”
“The message on the rock,” she breathed, her lips curling faintly. “I remember, and now I see.”
“You do,” he agreed, bowing his head in subtle reverence. “My queen.”
“This is what I’ve warned everyone about,” my grandfather said, his fear palpable. “That abominations live among us and will take our kingdoms. You’re proof. This is proof. The fae kingdoms need to see!” He sent up a spark of power that blew in a sudden gust of wind, dissolving in fire a beat later.
He gaped at it, then his gaze flew to the tree line as an abundance of power rocked the earth.
A familiar presence touched my senses as the trees parted in reverence, allowing the Elemental Fae Queen to enter with her Spirit Fae King and Water Fae King mates on either side of her.
And a very irritated-looking Earth Fae behind them.
I swallowed.
The last time I saw that giant rock of a man, he’d introduced his fist to my face. And I really wasn’t in the mood for a repeat performance.
A Fire Fae and an Air Fae appeared next, the queen’s entire circle surrounding her in obvious protection.
Then her gaze locked on Aflora.
Everyone stilled.
Until my grandfather smiled. “I told you she was an abomination. Just like Elana. I think you know what has to be done.”
Oh, fuck.