His head slowly raised from her chest, his shoulders still rounded in pain. “It’s my path in life to take risks for you. Not the other way around.”
I had never heard him speak so gravely. He always boasted a worriless air about him, like nothing ever disturbed him. But he acted with the utmost seriousness now.
“And it’s my path in life to love you all,” she whispered. “To never have to choose.”
She pulled him to her, his body moving beneath her physical command.
“I would give anything and everything for all of you. Including myself. Because you demonstrated the importance of sacrifice, Shade. You showed me how to live. You taught me how to hate and how to love. You helped me learn how to fly free without restraints. And you’re the reason I’m here today. Right now. Right here. With all of you.”
She kissed him, her devotion branding our bonds as she committed herself to us all on a level that defied existence.
We were hers.
She was ours.
And together, we would persevere.
Together… we would fly.
We surrounded her, each taking turns to worship our goddess with our mouths, to express our gratitude and love and astute reverence.
I was last, my lips tasting hers and all her other mates. A perfect union. A joyous occasion. A tender embrace.
She whispered my name, her fingers in my hair as I indulged in another kiss. Languid strokes. Heat. Beauty. Love.
I pressed my forehead to hers, sensing the budding urgency inside her.
It wasn’t sexual, but arduous. Our embrace one underlined in the future, and a destiny calling her name.
Queen Aflora.
“It’s time,” she breathed, her power wrapping around all of us as she engaged Shade’s shadow and took us to the LethaForest outside the main academy, to the place where Midnight Fae life originally began.
It was a sacred platform surrounded by creatures and night and the hum of approval in the air. Pure magic.
Midnight Fae only congregated here once every one thousand years, the grounds a known place for Dark Source ascension.
That was what made the LethaForest so dangerous—the plant life, animals, and air, were haunted by ancient magic. It made events unpredictable.
But today, the LethaForest was quiet. Hopeful. Waiting.
Aflora stood in the middle of it all with her enchanted cloak and staff, her blue-black hair blowing in an intangible breeze created by power and not the elements around her.
A circle of ancient trees surrounded us, their black branches flickering to life with fire to illuminate the night.
Magic brushed my skin as my cloak appeared at my shoulders, my bare chest suddenly covered by a button-down shirt, and my pajama pants replaced by black trousers.
Zeph, Zakkai, and Shade were all adorned in similar attire.
But the clasps of our cloaks were ruby roses with glistening stars at the center. The edges flared with defensive energy borrowed from Zeph, and the clasps connected themselves to the fabric with a series of multicolored roots.
One for each mate.
My heart warmed at the clear claim, our queen having gifted us all with her own token of favor.
And they shimmered in the moonlight, the red petals bleeding with renewed colors to match the roots.
A truly magical series of charms.