Ella’s lips twisted to the side. “Uh, so, Kols and Zeph… they like to share women. And let’s just say, they shared the wrong one. Things went to hell from there.”
“They both fell in love with her?” I guessed.
Ella laughed loudly and shook her head. “Oh, God no. Nothing like that. Kols? Love? That’s like a bad joke.” She shook her head, her shoulders vibrating from suppressed laughter. “But yeah, nothing like that. Anyway, the Sangré Bloods are next. Their power lies in intelligence. They’re pretty much wizards when it comes to playing chess.” She pointed to the collar around my neck. “That was developed by a Sangré Blood. I can tell by the power swirling around it.”
Her not-so-subtle change of subject back to our lesson left me curious about the truth between Zephyrus and Kolstov, but I allowed her to continue.
“So the Sangré Bloods are highly intellectual,” I inferred.
“Yep. You’ll be able to identify them by their bald heads. They draw these patterns on their skin, and the more intense the design, the more powerful the fae. It’s sort of their way of showing off, or that’s the way I see it, anyway. The Warrior Bloods wear their muscles and scars, the Sangré Bloods paint beautiful patterns on their heads, the Elite Bloods dress in expensive jewels and robes, and the Death Bloods love their skull shit.”
“Sounds… charming.”
She scoffed. “Yeah. Shade is the lead asshat on campus, but trust me, the rest of them are just as dark as he is.”
“Great. I can’t wait,” I deadpanned.
Her lips curled. “I like you. As much as I know you don’t want to stay, I’m looking forward to having your around for a bit. You can help me keep Tray and Kols in line.”
“Yeah, I doubt they’ll listen to me at all.”
“Oh, I’ll teach you my ways,” Ella promised. “You’ll see. We can tame them together.”
I doubted that but smiled anyway. “So what about the Malefic Bloods?”
“Ah, yes, the final of the five. The Malefic Bloods specialize in offensive magic. They’re like the polar opposite of the Warrior Bloods. The latter defends, the former prefers spells that create damage. When I first learned all this, I called them the malicious ones, to help remember that their magic is dangerous and often intentionally cruel.”
Right. Avoid that sect of Midnight Fae, I noted to myself. “Is there a way to tell them all apart? I mean, the Sangré Bloods will be obvious, from what you’ve said. What about the others?”
Her blue eyes captured mine, a grin forming in their depths. “Actually, how about we continue this lesson tonight during the bonfire. That way, I can show you more than tell you.”
“Zephyrus mentioned the bonfire.”
“Yeah, it’s an annual tradition,” she replied, bouncing off my bed. “It’s actually pretty fun. But a word of advice? Don’t drink the beezlepunch. You’ll regret it.” She started toward the door. “I’m going to make some sandwiches if you want any. I’m sure the idiots will be starved from throwing all that magic around. Feel free to join us whenever you’re ready.”
Chapter Twelve
Aflora
I didn’t join Ella for sandwiches but did agree to follow her down to the bonfire with Trayton. Kolstov and Zephyrus had disappeared, whether together or apart, I wasn’t sure. I also didn’t care.
Or that was what I kept telling myself.
I shouldn’t care.
They were just two hot fae handling their own problems. It had nothing to do with me. My curiosity as to what the hell happened between them paled in comparison to my need to survive this new world.
Yet, a part of me kept hearing Ella’s casual statement about how the two men used to share women.
It wasn’t uncommon in the Elemental Fae realm for us to mate more than once, especially when a fae had access to multiple elements. Our new queen had access to all five elements and therefore required five mates to satisfy her ever-growing power. Yet, that wasn’t what Ella had meant.
She’d implied they shared women for pleasure.
And now I wondered what that entailed. Because being sandwiched between those two beautiful, fierce males? Yeah, that painted a pretty hot picture.
One I quickly doused water on because it would never happen.
At least, not outside my head.