Page 434 of Bitten By the Fae
“Will Lucifer be okay with her presence here?” Zakkai wondered out loud, voicing a concern I hadn’t considered.
My grandmother’s blue eyes sparkled knowingly as she glanced at him. “Yes, Kai. I cleared it with him already.”
“Have you cleared anything else with him?” he pressed.
She blinked. “Why? Do you sense something?”
He didn’t reply, just stared at her.
She studied him for a long moment, then turned toward the trees without another word.
His jaw ticked in reply. “She’s not telling us something.”
“Welcome to my world,” I muttered.
“You mean other people keep secrets from you?” Zeph asked, feigning a note of shock. “How horrible for you. I have no idea how that feels.” The sarcasm in his tone made me snort.
“Where are we?” Ella’s soft tones drew our focus to her. She hadn’t moved away from the ground, her pale features marred by tears. But she seemed to have stopped crying for now, her attention distracted by the meadow around us and the rising sun.
“A paradigm within the Hell Fae realm,” Aflora replied. She pulled away from me and Zakkai to look at Ella. “And I’ll get Tray back for you. Soon.” She sounded so regal and confident, the dark source swarming around her with free abandon.
I glanced at Zakkai and then at Kols. Both of them were studying her cloak again.
Zakkai spoke first. “You accepted the dark source, passing your third trial.”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “But I’m still the Earth Fae Queen, too.”
“Because you taught the sources how to play nicely together,” Zakkai said, appreciation evident in his tone and features. “It’s beautiful, Aflora.” He stepped toward her again, his palm returning to her face as he tipped her head back for a kiss. “You’re stunning.”
She returned his embrace, her power flowing openly through all our bonds.
“Breakfast will get cold.” My grandmother’s voice carried to us on the breeze once more, her energy brushing my skin. “Aflora needs blood.”
“I do,” my mate confirmed, her voice suddenly tired. “The source… requires it.”
“Yes,” Kols agreed, his tone soft. “It’s taxing and will need to be fed daily.”
Aflora nodded, her hand reaching for mine. “Lead the way, Shade.” Energy sizzled along her palm, crawling up my arm as I laced our fingers together. She’d definitely grown in power, her acceptance of the source subtly altering her.
She no longer doubts herself, Kols said to me.That’s what you’re sensing. She finally sees herself as the rightful queen.
I think it’s more than that,I replied.It’s not that she sees herself as the rightful queen so much as she wants to help those who need her, to be the queen they deserve, and to remove the ones tainting the Midnight Fae realm.
When I’d crashed through her walls earlier, I’d felt her uncertainty and her displeasure over the pain lurking inside the dark source. She wanted to fix it, to become the entity that righted the wrongs of others, that set the Midnight Fae on the correct path.
It was what made her the perfect queen—she always put others before herself. She understood the value of leading by example. And she would never allow the power to consume her.
Her blue eyes slid to mine from beneath her cloak, her expression warm and welcoming.I love you, Shadow. I love that you see me.
We all see you, little rose,I told her.And we all love you.
Her lips curled.
I stopped walking to pull her in for a kiss, my lips whispering over hers as I said, “And I more than love you, Aflora. You’re my reason for everything.”
They were publicly said words meant for her ears alone. But all her mates heard them.
No one commented.
