She gasped, her confusion quickly melting to shocked understanding.
“Kols,” she breathed, throwing herself at the body on the floor.
His essence, I hissed, yanking her mental focus back to me and the spell I barely had a hold of in my mental grasp. “What do we do with it?” I demanded through my teeth. “Shade. Tell me what the fuck to do with it.” Because I was about to lose it.
Aflora joined me, her mind forming a treelike branch that she used to ground the spell, her soul functioning as the root.
She started to shake beneath the power, the afterlife demanding its due.
This was the heart of true dark magic.
And she was using her affinity for life to keep Kolstov’s soul in our reality.
Shade began to chant, his voice a rasp of sound.
“What the fuck is going on?” Zephyrus demanded.
“Ground her,” Shade growled. “Bite her. Give her everything.”
Zephyrus looked at the Death Blood only once, then slid his fangs into Aflora’s shoulder. She cried out as his essence swathed her in a cloak of defensive energy. She immediately sighed, her relief palpable as her branch grew, twining around the magical strand inch by inch and disappearing into the ether.
I’d never seen anything like it.
The combination of magic a stunning sight.
“You, too,” Shade said through his teeth. “Now, Zakkai.”
Aflora trembled again, her lips parting in agony.
I mimicked Zephyrus’s position, kneeling on her opposite side with Kolstov’s still form on the ground before us, and bit her neck, her blood an aphrodisiac on my tongue that made me moan. Fuck, it’s been too long. I rarely drank from the vein. And lately, I had only indulged in blood-infused foods.
But Aflora…
Dear Fae, Aflora...
She cried out, causing my magic to instinctively react to her pain, cloaking her in my energy and giving her access to whatever she needed.
Puzzles ran through her mind as she sorted through the cacophony of information my essence provided.
Then she shoved all those details into her branch, using it to bolster her hold on Kolstov’s life, infusing him with dark magic once more.
Shade joined us next, taking a position across from Kolstov, wrapping his fingers through Aflora’s hair, and yanking her mouth to his. Rather than take her blood, he provided his own, feeding her his essence with his tongue before guiding her to his neck and encouraging her to bite down.
She didn’t hesitate, absorbing his power directly from the vein and engaging my Quandary side to learn all the Death Blood spells she needed to force Kolstov’s soul to heed her call.
Then she moved to Zephyrus, forcing him to release her shoulder so she could sink her teeth into his neck next. She used his Guardian bond to Kolstov to locate the remnants of the Midnight Fae Prince’s soul in the sourc
e, guiding them back to his being, pulling him back together one piece at a time.
Shade bent over Kolstov, whispering those words, his palms on the other man’s chest.
Air whirled around us, the source responding to the call to restore.
I closed my eyes, diving into my dark home and granting the required permission to create. The powers responded in warm welcome, recognizing their chosen architect and allowing Aflora’s enchantment to flourish.
My hair blew back from my face, my teeth leaving Aflora’s throat as she yanked me into a demanding kiss, her incisors piercing my tongue.
I allowed it, groaning as she sucked my essence into her mouth, swallowing greedily. Then I guided her to the pulse point of my neck and closed my eyes as she bit down.