Kols snorted. “Hit him hard for me.”
“That, I can do.” Meanwhile, I’d figure out how to fix this with Aflora. Because yeah, my earlier assumption that she’d just get over it was obviously wrong.
And it was going to take a lot more than a meager apology to work my way back into her good graces.
Chapter Seven
Aflora
“Don’t I need a new wand, too?” I asked after the AcaWard figments finished wrapping up all my purchases into boxes. Ella had chosen the expedited shipping method so the items would go directly to the Academy, freeing up our hands for the afternoon.
“Kols didn’t destroy your wand,” Tray replied, leaning against the wall with a bored expression. “It’s impossible to do since they’re gifts from the source and conduits of our magic, not actual items. He probably has it somewhere. I’ll ask him for it when we get back.”
“Oh.” I suppressed the urge to grimace for the thousandth time today.
Kols destroyed all my things.
Because he hates me.
Because we’re mated.
I swallowed the feelings whirling around in my throat, compliments of my churning stomach. I didn’t want Ella or Tray to see the mess I was inside, so I’d spent the better half of our day holding myself together and pretending not to care about what Kols had done.
Yet my heart fractured a little more each time.
Technically, it’s my room.
What a lovely reminder of my lack of a place in this world. My presence was deemed temporary, a life to be snuffed out at the earliest sign of trouble.
Except the Council had let me go because Shade doctored the tapes. Which implied Kols had gone along with his explanation.
Why?
I didn’t understand their choices. We all knew I was an abomination and a threat, but none of them took the opportunity to turn me in. Maybe because they feared the Council’s reaction to our quad-bond.
Frowning, I accepted the cloak hanging before me on some invisible hook and draped it over my shoulders to cover my skirt and blouse combo. My new boots hit me at my knees and added a few inches to my height. The outfit proved suitable for our plans this afternoon, which included food and drinks. Apparently, Tray knew of a little place in the village that catered to all types of fae appetites, not just Midnight Fae. They even carried spritemead on tap.
A little jolt of excitement zipped through me at the reminder, helping to distract me from my more morose thoughts.
Kolstov could rot with the willow stumps for the afternoon.
I had other plans.
Lifting my head high, I looked at Ella and Tray. “I think that’s everything.”
“All your books have been sent on as well,” Tray said, his arm automatically lifting to accommodate Ella as she sidled up to his side.
“Thanks, Nacht.” She brushed her mouth against his square jaw, and he caught her mouth with his own for a sweet kiss before nuzzling her neck.
The two of them fit together like two petals on a perfect flower. My heart gave a little pang that I swiftly ignored, not willing to let my not-so-perfect mates sour my mood once more.
I was done moping.
Not that I’d really ever started.
So Kols burned all my things. They weren’t even mine to begin with. Just like the room. Let him throw his inferno tantrums and destroy the items his family had bought. Fine. It didn’t matter.
They betrayed me. Locked me up. Didn’t tell me what the hell was going on.