by Lexi C. Foss
Regardless, permission was given.
The link was formed.
And everyone thought I’d done it out of duty.
My knees buckled now as the last of Kolstov’s life began to slip away, his crow appearing from thin air to caw in devastation against his master’s chest.
Ella burst into tears.
Tray sat stunned.
And I focused on that thread… the single speck of life that I needed… to bring Kolstov back.
Don’t you dare let go, I thought at him, aware that he couldn’t hear me, his final breath touching the air. Work with me here, Kolstov. Don’t give up.
But I felt him slipping away, his heart slowing as the final specks of his blood disappeared.
Fully dry.
Depleted of his essence.
Dead by all definitions of the word.
I hung my head, my heart in tatters. If this was what losing a first-level mate felt like, I couldn’t imagine what I’d endure if something happened to Aflora.
Death consumed me, my energy wilting beneath the onslaught of loss. But that flicker of life remained, tugging at my essence, sucking at the needed power to remain alive.
Don’t let go of me, I whispered. I’ve got you.
Tears blurred my eyes, the impact of loss overwhelming and terrifying.
Fuck, Kols. Just… hold on.
Because I couldn’t bear to truly lose him. And I didn’t even really like him. This had to be destroying Aflora.
As though she heard me, a rumble of power went through the ground, her energy flaring to life.
My eyes widened at the impact, then my lips parted as a burning thwomp shot up from the floor, decimating the table.
Oh, shit.
The Councilmen reacted, Malik running to the door and leaving his son’s corpse behind without a second thought.
Tray crawled toward his twin, his expression one I never wanted to see on another person again. Devastation. Loss. Abject terror.
“Tray,” Ella whispered, her voice choked.
But he didn’t hear her, his body collapsing over his brother on an anguished cry.
I swallowed, my fractured heart hammering against my ribs.
Tadmir was suddenly at my side, kneeling with his palm on my back. “Now, Shade. You have to take him now.” The words were a breath against my ear, lost to everyone else as they all started charging from the room, running toward Aflora’s intense destruction.
“He’ll be fine,” Tadmir said in a louder tone, a smirk in his voice. “But I can’t say I’m not enjoying his pain.”
“Oh, fuck off,” my father snapped.
“Come on, Aswad. It’s putting some much-needed hair on his chest,” Tadmir taunted.
I knew what he was doing—goading my father into another distraction, to give me time to act.
Once I did this, everyone would know my true allegiance.
The game would be up.
A final decision. Because there would be no coming back after this. Playing with time would no longer apply, not with Kolstov’s pending resurrection.
I’ve got you, I repeated, tugging on his dwindling spirit, his life literally slipping through my fingers with each passing second. We can do this, Kols. We. Can. Do. This.
I pushed myself to my feet, my limbs shaking with the effort. But adrenaline pushed me forward.
Tray snarled at me as I approached, his fury a whiplash to my senses. Then he broke again on an agonized cry that had Ella shattering beside him.
“I’m going to fix it,” I told them in a hushed whisper, my voice barely carrying.
I wasn’t even sure if they heard me, and I didn’t have time to say it again.
Kolstov’s essence was almost gone.
Now, I thought, using a blast of power to push Tray away from his brother. Then I bent and picked up Kolstov.
“Shadow?” My father’s confusion was palpable in his tone.
I ignored him, instead shifting my focus to Aflora as she engaged our bond. Shadowing, I heard her instincts whisper. I pushed the gift to her and told her where to go without words.
Then I followed her with Kolstov.
And landed shakily on my feet beside Zakkai.
His silver-blue irises flashed as he looked up at me.
“I need you all to listen and do exactly what I say,” I said. “Or we’ll lose Kolstov forever.”
Then I collapsed beside him, my tether to Kolstov snapping like a band inside my soul.
His essence floating… floating… gone.
I CAUGHT Shade’s spell in my mind, yanking it back to life and realizing with sharp clarity what he’d done.
Kolstov.
He’d cast a Death Blood necromancy spell meant to hold on to life for as long as possible after death, typically used when wanting to question a spirit in the afterlife.
A clever fucking trick.
One that might just work.
“Aflora,” I said, needing her to bolster the spell, my energy waning fast. Help me, I demanded into her mind, shoving the enchantment at her and forcing her dark magic to life.
She gasped, her confusion quickly melting to shocked understanding.
“Kols,” she breathed, throwing herself at the body on the floor.
His essence, I hissed, yanking her mental focus back to me and the spell I barely had a hold of in my mental grasp. “What do we do with it?” I demanded through my teeth. “Shade. Tell me what the fuck to do with it.” Because I was about to lose it.
Aflora joined me, her mind forming a treelike branch that she used to ground the spell, her soul functioning as the root.
She started to shake beneath the power, the afterlife demanding its due.
This was the heart of true dark magic.
And she was using her affinity for life to keep Kolstov’s soul in our reality.
Shade began to chant, his voice a rasp of sound.
“What the fuck is going on?” Zephyrus demanded.
“Ground her,” Shade growled. “Bite her. Give her everything.”
Zephyrus looked at the Death Blood only once, then slid his fangs into Aflora’s shoulder. She cried out as his essence swathed her in a cloak of defensive energy. She immediately sighed, her relief palpable as her branch grew, twining around the magical strand inch by inch and disappearing into the ether.
I’d never seen anything like it.
The combination of magic a stunning sight.
“You, too,” Shade said through his teeth. “Now, Zakkai.”
Aflora trembled again, her lips parting in agony.
I mimicked Zephyrus’s position, kneeling on her opposite side with Kolstov’s still form on the ground before us, and bit her neck, her blood an aphrodisiac on my tongue that made me moan. Fuck, it’s been too long. I rarely drank from the vein. And lately, I had only indulged in blood-infused foods.
But Aflora…
Dear Fae, Aflora...
She cried out, causing my magic to instinctively react to her pain, cloaking her in my energy and giving her access to whatever she needed.
Puzzles ran through her mind as she sorted through the cacophony of information my essence provided.
Then she shoved all those details into her branch, using it to bolster her hold on Kolstov’s life, infusing him with dark magic once more.
Shade joined us next, taking a position across from Kolstov, wrapping his fingers through Aflora’s hair, and yanking her mouth to his. Rather than take her blood, he provided his own, feeding her his essence with his tongue before guiding her to his neck and encouraging her to bite down.
She didn’t hesitate, absorbing his power directly from the vein and engaging my Quandary side to learn all the Death Blood spells she needed to force Kolstov’s soul to heed her call.
Then she moved to Zephyrus, forcing him to release her shoulder so she could sink her teeth into his neck next. She used his Guardian bond to Kolstov to locate the remnants of the Midnight Fae Prince’s soul in the sourc
e, guiding them back to his being, pulling him back together one piece at a time.
Shade bent over Kolstov, whispering those words, his palms on the other man’s chest.
Air whirled around us, the source responding to the call to restore.
I closed my eyes, diving into my dark home and granting the required permission to create. The powers responded in warm welcome, recognizing their chosen architect and allowing Aflora’s enchantment to flourish.
My hair blew back from my face, my teeth leaving Aflora’s throat as she yanked me into a demanding kiss, her incisors piercing my tongue.
I allowed it, groaning as she sucked my essence into her mouth, swallowing greedily. Then I guided her to the pulse point of my neck and closed my eyes as she bit down.
Euphoria poured through me, my reserves somehow replenishing as though she’d just gifted me with the bite of life. Then I felt her pull everything she could from my soul and shove it through her link to Kolstov.
I flinched, the redirection of power uncomfortable.
But I felt her doing it from her other bonds as well.
And then from herself.
She poured the mixture into her branch, infusing the strand with intense vitality.
Shade took hold of the mental cord, his hum of Death magic causing all the hairs along my arms to rise as he closed his eyes and unleashed it all through his palms into Kolstov’s chest.
Silence followed.
None of us daring to breathe.
Aflora shivered, her cerulean irises on Kolstov, her bloody lip clenched between her teeth.
I swallowed.
Everything had been done on instinct, Aflora taking charge and demonstrating why fate had chosen her for this destiny.
But had she done it right?
Shade’s palms remained on Kolstov’s chest, his focus on the prince’s face. He narrowed his gaze, then lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit down. “Blood,” Shade said. “He needs blood.” He started to lower his offering to Kolstov, but Aflora caught his arm.
“He needs mine.” She bit down on her wrist and pressed it to Kolstov’s lips.
Energy pooled around her as she combined all our essences inside her and poured it through her bloodline, directly into the man’s mouth.
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
I met Shade’s gaze, wary.
Zephyrus wore a similar expression of concern as I looked at him.
Then a subtle thud met my ears.
A second one ensued.
And a third.
Followed by a gasp from the male below as his eyes flew open, his golden irises dimmed to a burnt bronze. His focus fell entirely on Aflora, his throat working as he swallowed her blood.
Magic swirled around all of us, coating our skin in a unique essence that smelled like flowers in bloom.
Aflora.
She was claiming us all with her elemental soul.
Securing our bonds.
Strengthening us with earth.
Her source welcomed us, admiring our different powers and zeroing in on me as a known architect.
Warmth touched my spirit, power igniting and merging and creating life all around us.
Vines crawled along the walls, flowers budding at the tips, adding a splash of color to the otherwise modern room.
A bed of grass formed along the ground beneath us, overtaking the carpet and creating our own little oasis.
Aflora shifted, drawing my attention back to her and Kolstov. She’d bent to comb the fingers of her free hand through his hair, the auburn locks tinged with ash on the ends.
Kiss of death, I realized, noting his burnt irises again.
He no longer bore the mark of the dark source, but a branding from the afterlife.
I studied his magic with my own, noting the way everything had manifested inside him.
Part Earth.
Part Death Blood.
Part Quandary Blood.
Part Warrior Blood.
And a tiny bit of Elite Blood.
A true abomination. A complete work of art. A miracle.
I stared at Aflora, awed by her power and kindness. I finally understood why fate had instructed us to walk this path together.
She possessed all the qualities that a royal should.
A true monarch.
My queen.
The kind of female worth giving up all my plans for, which I’d done when I helped her revive the prince I was destined to kill.
Or maybe it was never him at all.
But the king who had taken over his ascension.
Constantine Nacht. The Elite Blood who started it all.
“He needs more blood,” Aflora whispered, her fingers still combing through Kolstov’s hair.
Zephyrus bit his wrist and held it out for the other man, his eyes falling closed as his lover and friend latched onto him for a drink.
Aflora pulled her own arm away, the wound still fresh. I took her hand and pulled her wrist to my mouth, laving the laceration and gently kissing her tender skin.
She leaned into me, seeking strength, which I happily provided.
Shade gave Kolstov blood next, the Elite Blood’s eyebrows drawing down at the offering but accepting it when Aflora whispered, “Drink.”
I was last.
Leaving me with a choice.
Give him the essence he needed to finish the healing process, or walk away.
A week ago—hell, an hour ago—I would have laughed and left him to his fate. But now I understood the destiny carved out before us, the path we were always meant to walk, and the reason Shade had gone to such lengths to coax us into this line.
I held my wrist to Aflora’s mouth, allowing her to do the honors with her blunt teeth, then lowered the offering to the bewildered male on the ground.
He jolted as my blood touched his tongue, the power inside me writhing in response to the former heir’s essence, bathing him in dark magic and restoring the last of his reserves.
A bond slid into place between us, tying our souls together for eternity and officially squandering my ability to ever kill him.
Because our lives were linked now, and the flare of his nostrils confirmed he felt it, too.
I sensed his finalized bond to Zephyrus and budding one with Shade.
And his nearly complete tie to Aflora.
Thank you, she whispered into my mind, aware of what I’d just sacrificed by allowing him to imbibe my essence. My retribution would need to be redefined.
But I already knew that.
It’d been obvious the moment I felt her pain. I would never allow her to experience such agony again.
I leaned in to kiss her, allowing my mouth to do all the talking without words.
With one arm around her and my opposite hand at Kolstov’s mouth, we formed a pretty awkward triangle. Only heightened by the other two men in the circle, their presence an unexpected comfort to the situation at hand.
It allowed me to devour her properly, without having to keep my guard up to protect her.
Because I knew Zephyrus and Shade had that part covered.
Then Kolstov released my wrist, his energy warming the air. Aflora slowly pulled away from my kiss, her cerulean gaze falling to the former royal on the floor.
They stared at each other for a long moment, his expression intense. Then he glanced at Shade, his eyes narrowing.
A humming current floated through the air, the Death Blood engaging a telepathic link with Kolstov that the rest of us could feel but not hear.
They were only mated on the first level, but Shade was no ordinary fae. I wasn’t surprised that he could converse mentally at an initial stage of a mating. He probably could have done the same with Aflora.
“Out loud,” Zephyrus said, those two words underlined in command.
“I’m telling him how we saved him,” Shade replied, his voice soft and reverent. “How Aflora saved him.”
“We,” she corrected. “You were right
to say we.”
“What happened?” Zephyrus asked. “How did…? Why did…?”
“Constantine knew about the mating,” Shade said, holding Kolstov’s gaze. “He’s known since the beginning. And not initially from me.”
“Dakota,” I muttered.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “But I knew from previous experience that she was feeding him information. So I did as well to win his favor.”
“How many times has this happened?” I asked.
But I already knew the answer.
There was no turning back time with death.
We were in the final version of events, Kolstov forever in this state. If we went back, we risked leaving him behind.
“Everything always comes to a head at the Blood Gala,” Shade replied, his voice gruff. “Aflora detonates. People die. But this is the first time Kols has ever been stripped of the source.”
“What about your grandmother?” Kolstov asked. “They were going to get her?”
Shade snorted. “That was a ploy to make you both react. But it’s true that Constantine has known my grandmother’s location. Dakota told him, as did I—again, to win his favor. However, he can’t use the information because of where she created the paradigm.”
I smirked. “Yes, the Hell Fae realm isn’t typically fond of visitors. I’ve always wondered how Zen convinced them to allow her to hide there.” She must have engaged in a deal with Lucifer. From what I understood of the old fae, he was fond of those.
Kolstov and Zephyrus looked at me for a moment, then the latter shook his head.
“Okay, so what changed?” Zephyrus demanded. “Why would Constantine choose to act now and not before?”
“The bonds,” Shade whispered. “They didn’t exist before. Not for you. Not for Kolstov. Not like this.”
“She always undid them,” Kolstov replied, his voice gruff. “In my suite.”
“Yes,” Shade confirmed softly, his gaze going to a stunned Aflora. “You carried through with your threat in various ways, sometimes that day, sometimes a few days or weeks later. But it always ended the same way. And it took me seven catastrophic events to realize what you needed. What we needed. And it’s finally done. We’re finally… here.”
