“I think I’m going to regret a lot of things,” I countered, calling on a heftier brick to fly in his direction.
He shoved it aside before whirling into a gray cloud.
My lips parted, shocked by his disappearing act.
Which was exactly what he wanted—a distraction.
Shadowy ropes tied around my torso, yanking me backward into the nearby portal. “Oh Fae, no,” I said, trying futilely to break the smoky bands, but they just reattached every time I sliced through one.
And then the doors closed.
I dove toward the buttons, but he was faster, his hand appearing to key in a foreign code that definitely didn’t match the destination I had in mind.
“Oh dear,” he murmured, materializing beside me. “It seems I need to confess to committing a crime. I hope you don’t mind Midnight Fae, darling. Because you’re about to meet a whole council of them.”
Chapter Two
Aflora
I’d never been a particularly violent person, but I really wanted to kill the smirking lunatic sitting across from me. He’d wrapped my wrists in some sort of impenetrable smoke before shoving me into a chair in what appeared to be a reception area of sorts.
Only there wasn’t a receptionist.
And the room was anything but welcoming.
Snakelike vines climbed the walls, their beady red eyes glowing intently at the ends. I seemed to be the object of their focus, their rattling tails hissing to an ominous beat that unsettled my insides.
Every time I moved, they slithered faster. Just as they did now. The crazy Midnight Fae across from me tsked out a warning, suggesting I not irritate the guardian serpents, causing my jaw to clench. Not only wouldn’t he tell me his name, but he also refused to explain why he’d bitten me.
I shuddered, the sensation of his fangs in my neck still very tangible and real. He’d left behind some sort of inky bond that I could feel more than see.
I smacked at it again, then flinched as the wall hissed louder in response.
“What are they?” I demanded.
“Magicked vines,” my captor drawled. “Protects the royal grounds from intruders. Which, if I’m understanding their writhing correctly, they believe you’re a threat. So I would stay put, princess, or they might just bite.”
“Like you?” I snapped.
His lips curled. “Hmm, no, my bite inspires pleasure.” His icy blue eyes glanced at the snake closest to my head. “Their bite, not so much.”
I opened my mouth to offer a retort, when the ebony doors at the end of the hall swung open and a dark-haired male dressed in long, flowing robes stomped toward us. “What is the meaning of this, Shadow?”
Shadow? I eyed my companion. Really?
I supposed he did have a penchant for disappearing into thick clouds of smoke.
“What would you like me to say?” Shadow asked, his arms sprawled out across the back of the couch in the epitome of lazy nonchalance. “The Earth Fae Royal and I got a little carried away, my fangs slipped, and wouldn’t you know? Her blood reacted to my bite.”
My lips parted at his horrible recollection of what happened. “Carried away? Fangs slipped?” I repeated, jumping to my feet, only to be snatched back by the vines slithering across the wall.
I screamed, the smoke around my wrists tightening as a snake wrapped itself around my neck and squeezed to silence the sound.
The newcomer sighed and produced a wand. “Release,” he hissed, waving the violet stick through the air.
A sizzle of energy kissed my skin, the darkness of it in direct contrast to my earth essence inside. I shivered, the wrongness leaving me unnerved even as the snakes and my smoky bonds disappeared.
My knees buckled on instinct, sending me crashing into something hard and masculine.