“I see.” She bit her lip, her brow drawing down. “I don’t drink blood.”
“Because you’re a Halfling without access to your powers.” But that did bring up a potential explanation forwhyshe hadn’t shown signs of her gifts yet. Perhaps it was a result of her not drinking blood. I’d have to ask my father or maybe my brother, Kols, later for an opinion.
Ella stiffened as the official Nacht Estate appeared, the lights shining starkly against the night and illuminating the vast columns and granite exterior.
Her jaw dropped a little. “It’s like a gothic palace.”
I chuckled. “Only on the outside.” The inside was all clean, modern lines, thanks to my mother’s penchant for elegance. “You’re about to see a lot of silver and gold.” Those were the family colors, with a hint of black woven into the crest. “And probably a lot of magic, too,” I added, grimacing.
“Because we’re in a fae world,” she replied.
“Midnight Fae Realm, yes.”
She nodded, shook her head, and nodded again. “Uh-huh.”
“You’re allowed to freak out, Ella.”
“Yep.” Another one of those odd nod-shakes again. “Yep.”
“Ella.”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Really. I mean, I’m totallynotfine. But I’m also fine.”
“Because that’s a coherent statement,” I drawled.
She narrowed her gaze at me. “You just abducted me and whisked me to a fae realm, and you want to poke fun at my reaction? Now? Really?”
I lifted my hands while adoring the appearance of her feisty attitude. “That’s fair. I’m just saying you’re allowed to freak out. I’ll understand.”
“And what good would it do?” she countered, folding her arms. “Other than putting me at your mercy even more than I already am.”
“Also fair,” I agreed. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t plan to keep you here. We’re just visiting for the night as a way to prove to you that I’m not full of shit. Then, tomorrow, we’ll head back to Darlington.”
“What?” She openly gaped at me. “So, wait, you only brought me here to… prove this all to me?”
“Essentially, yeah. I could tell that nothing I said tonight would convince you I’m not trying to hurt you, so I figured I’d reveal it all at once. And then, hopefully, we can move forward.”
“And do what?” she demanded. “Go back to high school?”
“Yeah,” I said pinning her with a look. “Except this time you’ll be armed with the knowledge that I actually do want to help you put those assholes in their place.”
Because they needed to pay for their sins and I refused to do it on Ella’s behalf. She would only obtain true closure if she did it for herself.
“So maybe you’ll be a little more agreeable this time around,” I added, more irritated at myself than at her.
“More agreeable,” she repeated. “Why do you even care? I mean, I get the assignment part. Butfae are real. You’re like a vampire. Why the hell would you voluntarily enroll in a human high school just to play with a bunch of rich, spoiled brats?”
Because those rich, spoiled brats fucked with my intended mate and I want to make them suffer for it,I thought.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say that. Not without freaking her out even more.
So I went with the next best reason, which also happened to be true.
“Because something is blocking your powers from surfacing and I suspect it’s related to the emotional armor you created to survive all these years of abuse.” I met her gaze. “Had I intervened when we first met, perhaps things would have turned out differently. But I waited until you were eighteen, as the Council recommended, and you’ve endured hell in my absence. So as your assigned guardian, I’ve failed you. And I won’t rest until I’ve made this right.”
Chapter Ten
Ella
