Page 267 of Bitten By the Fae
Auburn hair.
Golden irises.
Regal bone structure.
We all resembled brothers, except my grandfather held an ancient gleam in his irises that only seemed partially formed in my father’s and was entirely lacking in my own.
“Constantine,” my father said, always referring to my grandfather by name in formal situations such as this. Considering this was only my fourth time actually meeting the patriarch on my father’s side, I should probably adopt the same habit.
This man wasn’t family so much as a legacy.
I wasn’t even sure where he lived. All the Elders disappeared into their own quadrants of the realms, some choosing to play with humans more than their own kind.
Others fell into deep slumbers for countless years or centuries.
Immortality came with perks and consequences.
“I believe we need to have a further conversation on what happens when an ascension is failed,” Constantine continued, his eyebrow cocking upward, daring me to argue.
“I haven’t failed yet,” I replied, matching his haughty tone with one of my own. “Now, I don’t have time to waste on ahypothetical discussion. I have an Earth Fae to find. So, if you all will excuse me.”
I didn’t wait for them to reply.
I also ignored my father when he tried.
And instead walked straight into a portal with Shade at my side.
He punched in the destination—Midnight Fae Academy.
Seconds later, the gates revealed themselves to us along with the Academy’s gothic exterior, and Shade faced me.
“Zakkai has Aflora,” he said before I could question him about her location. I’d assumed this whole time that he’d just hidden her in one of his infamous shadows.
“Who the fuck is Zakkai?” I asked.
“Her Quandary Blood mate.”
I’m naked.
Normally, that thought wouldn’t bother me; Earth Fae frequently roamed around without clothes.
But the silky sheets caressing my skin didn’t belong to me. Nor did the subtle aroma of the ocean tickling my nose.
Zakkai.
I recognized his essence all around me, could feel his Quandary powers tickling the hairs along my arms in an attemptto seduce my magic into coming out to play, and could taste his familiarity on my tongue. For a month, I thought he was a figment of my imagination. However, he’d left me clues to the contrary—clues I’d chosen to ignore and laugh away.
I wasn’t laughing now.
“I know you’re awake, little star.” His warm voice came to me on a breeze, followed by another tantalizing scent of home. My mother used to decorate our house with fragrances from the Water Kingdom. It was a secret indulgence of hers, one she claimed paired nicely with our earthy perfumes.
Somehow, Zakkai had bottled up that fragrance and wore it around him like some sort of sensual cloak. Or perhaps it was just his natural scent.
“Aflora,” he murmured, the taunt in his tone unmistakable. “Do I need to join you under those sheets and wake you up with my tongue? Because I’m happy to oblige, just like I did in all our dreams.”
Ugh. My cheeks flamed with the memories—the ones where I’d completely let myself go because I had thought he wasn’t real. The things I’d made him do to me...
I shivered.
