Page 140 of Taken By the Fae

Tristan and I set the cups behind the bar before Max and Oliver drag him into a game of darts. The sight of Tristan laughing and having fun makes warmth blossom in my chest. I can’t help the grin spreading across my lips as I go in search of Nikolai. It’s time he shows me how to crowd feed. Anxiety crackles through me at the thought of losing control again, but like Nikolai said, this way is safer. I’m not focusing on one person, and there are plenty of humans here to pull energy from.

With a quick scan of the room, I locate Nikolai near the food table, chatting with a group of girls.Color me surprised. I walk over, plastering a fake-ass smile on my face and poke him in the side.

He glances over at me. “Hey, gorgeous. Delightful party.”

“Yeah, thanks. Do you have some time?”

His eyes flick between mine and his brows raise as if he’s questioning me, so I nod. “Of course.” He turns his attention back to the girls. “Excuse me, ladies.” He throws his arm around my shoulders and guides me away.

I scowl and try to push his arm off, but it’s too heavy. “Seriously, Nik?”

“Jealousy is a powerful tool, Aurora.”

Rolling my eyes, I elbow him in the ribs. “You are so annoying.”

He grunts, finally dropping his arm once we’re off to the side of the room. “Let’s go over a quick game plan before we start.” The typical amusement is out of his eyes, replaced with pure concentration that I try my best to mirror. “This is how I do it, and if it doesn’t work for you, we’ll find another way. Close your eyes and visualize each human in the room as their own color. Let me rephrase that. You can use the same color for more than one person, but try to see them as a different shade. Make sense?”

I arch a brow at him. “Sort of?” Pushing the hair away from my face, I ask, “Where should I start?”

“It doesn’t really matter.” He shrugs and points to a group of humans near the stage across the room, laughing and dancing to the music. “Try them.”

I nod, flicking my eyes between the people, assigning them each a different shade of orange in my head—one bright like a traffic cone and the other burnt like roasted carrots.

Nikolai steps closer to my side. “Once you see their colors, you’ll need to focus on them. The next part is physical touch, when you’ll pull their energy into you. It’s brief—a few seconds at most—which is why you need to focus and capture their emotion before you make contact.”

Following his direction, I continue to identify each human’s color. “Okay, got it. What now?”

“Walk through the crowd, open yourself up to receiving the energy you’ve focused on, and touch each person. A quick shoulder touch works. Brushing arms in passing should also do the trick.”

“Got it,” I tell him, wiping my palms on my thighs and taking in a deep breath to center myself. I’m not as nervous about this as I was feeding on an individual, which is a pleasant surprise. In fact, there’s a subtle flutter of excitement in my belly at the prospect of this feeding method being easier and helping me get better at living as a fae. Even having Tristan across the room, no doubt aware of what Nikolai and I are up to, isn't sending me into a tailspin of anxiety as I expected it would. I’d like to think that means I’m growing into my new life.

Stepping away from Nikolai, I move through the crowd, touching the shoulders of the humans I assigned colors to, smiling and feigning a quick greeting in passing. My posture straightens as I take in wisps of energy from each person, and my muscles feel steadier. I find I’m not worried about being dizzy or sick. With each touch, energy flows through me stronger, until the sheer amount of it becomes just shy of overwhelming. Stopping is easier this way, I realize immediately, which I very much like. I catch Nikolai’s gaze from where he’s standing in the same place I left him, then make my way back to his side.

“That was amazing,” I say, my heart beating faster, this time with elation. I feel lighter overall, as if I could float away.

“Atta girl,” he praises.

A grin spreads across my lips, and I throw my arms around him. “Thank you.”

He rubs my back, laughing. “You did the work. I just told you how.”

I step back. “I don’t just mean for this. For everything you’ve done for me since I became fae. I really appreciate you, Nik.”

He grins and shoots me a wink. “I appreciate you, too. Now, let’s get back to the par-tay. I think we could both use a drink, though I feel I should warn you in case Allison hasn’t yet. Drinking too much can affect your ability to block your emotions, so just keep that in mind.”

I tuck that piece of information away. “Good to know.”

A while later, I catch sight of Allison with a girl I’m not familiar with. They have their arms draped over each other’s shoulders, giggling while watching a game of darts on the other side of the room.

“Do you think she’ll ever follow the rules?” Tristan comments mildly, leaning against the bar next to me. The girl Allison’s chatting with must be unseelie. “I suppose I can’t say much, considering it could be seen that I’m breaking them now, too.”

“No, you’re not. You and I are… keeping things professional,” I say, but it sounds half-hearted, as if I wouldn’t protest if he leaned in to kiss me right now.

“I can be very professional with you, Aurora.” He lowers his voice as he leans in, closing the space between us. “Why don’t you let me show you?”

I try not to laugh. “What is this?Fifty Shades of Fae?Forget it.”

“Fifty what?”

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