“I just said—”
“Yeah, I heard you, but think about it for a second. She can’t access her powers, right? Why do we drink human blood?”
Holy shit, I thought, my eyebrows lifting. “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re too busy making out with her to think straight. Not that I blame you. She’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, she’s also mine,” I reminded him. “So don’t get any ideas.”
“Not entirely, T. You haven’t bitten her yet,” he mused, tapping his jaw.
“Careful, K,” I cautioned. “I would hate to have to tell our father how his preferred heir died while in the Human Realm.”
He chuckled, totally unfazed by my very real threat. “Call your intended. Invite her out to play so we can test our theory.”
Yeah, this would be a fun conversation.
Let’s drink blood together, baby.
Yes, please!
Like that would happen.
With a barely suppressed sigh, I dialed her number—I’d gifted her a phone shortly after our trip to the Midnight Fae Realm—and prepared for the worst.
Ella agreed to the plan. And not after several rounds of bickering over the issue, she’d accepted the idea immediately.
Apparently, she was as desperate as I was to figure out her missing link.
I glanced at her, admiring the way her fitted black dress cut off at the middle of her thighs. Similar to Homecoming, she hadn’t owned anything club-worthy. So we’d made a stop on our way to the portal and she’d chosen this sexy little number. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun, her face devoid of makeup, and a pair of black heels on her slender feet.
Perfection.
Beautiful.
Mine.
I squeezed her hand and brought her wrist to my lips.
I leaned down to ask, “You okay, El?” El had become my preferred nickname for her. While she’d protested it at first, her cheeks seemed to redden every time I said it now. Like she enjoyed me having a special name just for her.
“I’m still reeling from the portal experience,” she admitted against my ear, the music vibrating the club around us. “I can’t believe one exists in the Darlington Library.”
“We have them all over,” I informed her. “All the fae use them, not just Midnight Fae.” Like a network of teleporters, but they required unique codes to reach different realms and locations. If a human stumbled upon one, it would function like a standard elevator within the building. However, enter a specific code in the pad, and it took the rider to a whole new world of fun.
In our case, we ventured off to London since it was several hours ahead and prime nightclub hour for a Friday night.
She glanced around, her cocktail forgotten on the tall table before us. Her gaze fell on my brother dancing near the edge of the floor with a cute little brunette. She had her arms draped around his neck, pushing her breasts into his chest in a clear offer. While he grinned down at her, I caught the tightening of his jaw.
He wanted a challenge, not an easy conquest.
So he might only feed tonight after all.
“Tray?” Ella placed her palm on my chest and pressed her lips to my ear again. “You’re going to have to teach me how to, uh, do this.”
I released her hand to wrap my arm around her back and tug her into my side. “Let’s watch Kols,” I said into her ear.
“No.” She curled into me and gripped the lapel of my blazer. “I want you to show me.”