“No.” He had the audacity to bend and brush a kiss over my lips. I immediately tried to bite him, which earned me an amused sound. “You need to rest. There’ll be trials ahead.”
Yeah, whatever that meant.“I need to go home,” I corrected.
“You are home, Aflora. You just haven’t realized it yet.” With that proclamation, he began to hum the most beautiful melody.
“What are you doing?”
He didn’t reply, his strange song continuing and surrounding me in an odd sea of bliss.
Another spell, my mind recognized.
But my lips refused to issue a retort, my kidnapper captivating me with his song.
Stop,I pleaded in my mind.Please stop.
“I’m only trying to calm you,” he whispered in response.
I shook my head, trying to clear it and force him out.This is wrong. Everything you’ve done is so wrong!
A deep sigh.
The hint of mint on his breath as he pressed his forehead to mine. “I know,” he agreed. “Trust me, I know.”
What?
Only, he didn’t elaborate.
Instead, he hummed even louder, causing my eyes to roll back in my head.
Soon darkness took over, lulling me into a restless sleep filled with nightmarish images that depicted my new reality. Including the cruelly handsome fae who held me tight, his lips whisper-soft against my ear as he said, “I’m sorry, Aflora.”
That was when I knew I truly dreamed.
Because from what I knew of Shadow, he wasn’t the kind of male who ever apologized.
“Any idea what this is about?”Tray asked as we stepped into the portal.
I entered the Council Chamber code and shook my head. “No idea, but Dad said it’s urgent.”
“Clearly,” my twin replied, adjusting his tie. We wore matching suits, but that was where our similarities ended. He represented the darkness of our kind in his hair and eyes, similarto our mother. My features, however, favored the golds and bronze tones of our father’s lineage. “You think it’s related to Aswad?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Could be anything, but probably.” Whatever this was, I just wanted to get it over with so I could enjoy my final week of freedom before the Academy started up again.
Only six hundred and nineteen days to go,I thought, rolling my neck to loosen my stiff muscles. Then fate would take over, and I’d officially have to step in line with Emelyn Jyn at my side.Can’t fucking wait, I thought, fighting an internal groan.
Royal politics came with certain privileges. Arranged marriage was not one of them.
The doors opened to reveal the obsidian interior of Council Headquarters.
I glanced sideways. “Ready?”
“Am I ever?” Tray countered.
With a snort, I led the way inside. Several Councilmen nodded at us as we moved into the room toward our father at the head of the table. He always left the two chairs to his right available for us, and we took them as expected.
Emelyn’s father, Lima, sat in the position of Second Elite Blood on my dad’s other side. In less than two years’ time, he would serve beneath me in the same capacity unless I chose to replace him.
The stoic male gave me a nod of acknowledgment, as he always did. He expected my betrothal to his daughter to be enough to maintain a partnership. Little did he realize I loathed Emelyn. Being related to the female devil incarnate did not win him any points in my book. But I returned the gesture. I was kind like that.
