Page 67 of Fortune Fae Academy
It was a soul-deep meaning of immortal and near-immortal beings with the potential for far too much power, and far too much cruelty.
Seifiek might have been cruel, but he had also proved himself worthy of me and the destiny I would design. He hadn’t given up just because I’d run. He hadn’t panicked and taken the first Omega who would have him.
He’d done what he had to do in order to claim me, to take what belonged to him in his own mind.
He’d crossed a few lines to do that, and he had to pay the consequences. I would not easily forgive him. Maybe I never would.
But I could understand.
The worst thing about it was I didn’t think Seifiek was ever going to forgive himself, either. He regretted some of his choices, which explained why he gave so much slack to Axel in our exchanges. He meant to make amends.
All of this was imperative knowledge in order to achieve my goals and unite my mate-circle. Something that had to happen in order for me to pave a new destiny for us all.
Rowan understood that. He’d made sure to retrieve what lost pieces of my soul he could find.
But he had not come out unscathed. It had only been roughly twelve hours since Rowan had killed an Alpha, but I still reeled from the effects of the backlash of the Web.
It seemed that death followed us like a dark cloud that would never dissipate. I felt like I’d always be trapped in its overcast shadow with the drizzle of icy rain leaving a cold reminder of the cost of my destiny.
My confidence in forging my own path wavered as I stared at Rowan’s scarred body. This was the evidence of that price.
Sometimes… it was those closest to me who suffered.
And with the fury instilled in my Alphas, the bloodshed had just begun.
“Axel and Seif left to have aprivate discussion,” I said, answering Rowan’s earlier question as my gaze fell to the bloodied cloth in my hand.
Rowan scoffed, then twisted into a coughing fit. I held my hand over him, desperate to help. Out of reflex, I pushed my Dust into him, which only made things worse.
Silver flashed through the room as if his body had violently rejected my Dust—but that didn’t make any sense, did it?
Rowan groaned as he leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He swept his fingers through his beautiful red hair. “Please don’t do that, gorgeous. Dust and I don’t seem to be getting along at the moment.”
“Sorry,” I whispered. I draped my hands over him, glad to have him back with me but concerned that I couldn’t seem to do anything.
My touch skimmed over his arm, where I brushed against the triquetra tattoo. “Ouch!” I cried, hissing as I reclaimed my burned fingers.
Rowan covered the tattoo with his hand. “Sorry. I seem to be having a problem with fire magic lately.” He sighed. “So the Alphas are off arguing while we’re here trying not to burn each other, eh?”
I nodded. “Sounds about right.”
We’re not arguing,Axel protested in my head. Either he could read Rowan’s thoughts, or he’d been listening to mine.
Stop eavesdropping,I chided him.And you and Seif have been shouting at each other for hours. You’re most definitely arguing.
Now who’s eavesdropping?Axel replied, making me stare at the ceiling as I counted to ten. I built up mental walls in that time until I couldn’t hear the distant murmur of Axel and Seifiek anymore.
Whatever this discord, they needed to figure this one out. I did not need to be in the middle of it every time.
I had my Betas to worry about, and I was growing a nasty habit of placing them second when they had done nothing to deserve that treatment. On the contrary, they had lost everything because of me.
When I looked down again, I found Rowan watching me with a raised brow. “Why did it sound like the air was angrily vibrating before you glared at the ceiling and wished its death?”
I chewed on my lip. “Axel was talking to me in my head. I’ve shut him out, for now.” Grabbing his hand, I stroked his bruised knuckles. At least he’d landed some blows of his own against the unmated Alphas. “You’re my concern right now.”
Touching him made visions flare in my mind. I was doing a poor job of controlling my powers lately, but I pushed them away with surprising ease.
At the very least, mating two Alphas had done something for me.
