“Breakfast will get cold.” My grandmother’s voice carried to us on the breeze once more, her energy brushing my skin. “Aflora needs blood.”
“I do,” my mate confirmed, her voice suddenly tired. “The source… requires it.”
“Yes,” Kols agreed, his tone soft. “It’s taxing and will need to be fed daily.”
Aflora nodded, her hand reaching for mine. “Lead the way, Shade.” Energy sizzled along her palm, crawling up my arm as I laced our fingers together. She’d definitely grown in power, her acceptance of the source subtly altering her.
She no longer doubts herself, Kols said to me. That’s what you’re sensing. She finally sees herself as the rightful queen.
I think it’s more than that,I replied. It’s not that she sees herself as the rightful queen so much as she wants to help those who need her, to be the queen they deserve and to remove the ones tainting the Midnight Fae Realm.
When I’d crashed down her walls earlier, I’d felt her uncertainty and her displeasure over the pain lurking inside the Dark Source. She wanted to fix it, to become the entity that righted the wrongs of others, that set the Midnight Fae on the correct path.
It was what made her the perfect queen—she always put others before herself. She understood the value of leading by example. And she would never allow the power to consume her.
Her blue eyes slid to mine from beneath her cloak, her expression warm and welcoming. I love you, Shadow. I love that you see me.
We all see you, little rose,I told her. And we all love you.
Her lips curled.
I stopped walking to pull her in for a kiss, my lips whispering over hers as I said, “And I more than love you, Aflora. You’re my reason for everything.”
They were publicly said words meant for her ears alone. But all her mates heard them.
No one commented.
No one interrupted.
They just allowed the moment to prosper for one beautiful second, then I resumed our path toward my grandmother’s home. It came into view beyond the trees, the door open in invitation.
All six of us entered, the room expanding to accommodate us all as we stepped inside. “Clever,” Zakkai murmured, impressed by the magic.
The table elongated as well, then several chairs appeared from thin air. I led Aflora to one and took a seat beside her. Zakkai settled on her opposite side. Zeph, Kols, and Ella, all sat across from us. Then my grandfathers took the heads of the table, leaving the chair across from Aflora available for my grandmother.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Kols said, looking at my Grandfather Vadim. “But I can see the resemblance.” He glanced at me and then back at my grandfather.
We both had dark hair, ice-blue eyes, and sharp cheekbones. He also somewhat resembled my mother, but Kols wouldn’t know that as my mother was rarely seen in public.
Grandfather Kodiak resembled a Fortune Fae with his bulkier build and alpha fangs. Although, his blue eyes weren’t slitted like a true alpha, his transition having been paused in a unique way when he mated with my grandmother.
“King Vadim, yes?” Kols continued.
“I prefer Vadim, no King,” my grandfather replied, his lips twitching as he glanced at his Fortune Fae Alpha mate.
“Not happening,” Grandfather Kodiak murmured.
“Pity,” Grandfather Vadim replied.
My grandmother snorted as she set a glass of blood in front of my Grandfather Vadim, then she passed an orange juice to Grandfather Kodiak. “Behave.”
“Never,” they said at the same time.
“I feel like this is my future,” Aflora murmured, blinking at the two men. “Only multiplied by two.”
My grandmother smiled at her. “A beautiful path, yes?” She reached for the blender to pour Aflora a shake then brought it over to the table. Her blue irises landed on the rest of us, her gaze calculating. Then she went back to the blender to create more.
I magicked a straw for Aflora, sliding it into her drink before she could take a sip. Thank you, she whispered into my mind.