My queen.
The kind of female worth giving up all my plans for, which I’d done when I helped her revive the prince I was destined to kill.
Or maybe it was never him at all.
But the king who had taken over his ascension.
Constantine Nacht. The Elite Blood who started it all.
“He needs more blood,” Aflora whispered, her fingers still combing through Kolstov’s hair.
Zephyrus bit his wrist and held it out for the other man, his eyes falling closed as his lover and friend latched onto him for a drink.
Aflora pulled her own arm away, the wound still fresh. I took her hand and pulled her wrist to my mouth, laving the laceration and gently kissing her tender skin.
She leaned into me, seeking strength, which I happily provided.
Shade gave Kolstov blood next, the Elite Blood’s eyebrows drawing down at the offering but accepting it when Aflora whispered, “Drink.”
I was last.
Leaving me with a choice.
Give him the essence he needed to finish the healing process, or walk away.
A week ago—hell, anhour ago—I would have laughed and left him to his fate. But now I understood the destiny carved out before us, the path we were always meant to walk, and the reason Shade had gone to such lengths to coax us into this line.
I held my wrist to Aflora’s mouth, allowing her to do the honors with her blunt teeth, then lowered the offering to the bewildered male on the ground.
He jolted as my blood touched his tongue, the power inside me writhing in response to the former heir’s essence, bathing him in dark magic and restoring the last of his reserves.
A bond slid into place between us, tying our souls together for eternity and officially squandering my ability to ever kill him.
Because our lives were linked now, and the flare of his nostrils confirmed he felt it, too.
I sensed his finalized bond to Zephyrus and budding one with Shade.
And his nearly complete tie to Aflora.
Thank you,she whispered into my mind, aware of what I’d just sacrificed by allowing him to imbibe my essence. My retribution would need to be redefined.
But I already knew that.
It’d been obvious the moment I felt her pain. I would never allow her to experience such agony again.
I leaned in to kiss her, allowing my mouth to do all the talking without words.
With one arm around her and my opposite hand at Kolstov’s mouth, we formed a pretty awkward triangle. Only heightened by the other two men in the circle, their presence an unexpected comfort to the situation at hand.
It allowed me to devour her properly, without having to keep my guard up to protect her.
Because I knew Zephyrus and Shade had that part covered.
Then Kolstov released my wrist, his energy warming the air. Aflora slowly pulled away from my kiss, her cerulean gaze falling to the former royal on the floor.
They stared at each other for a long moment, his expression intense. Then he glanced at Shade, his eyes narrowing.
A humming current floated through the air, the Death Blood engaging a telepathic link with Kolstov that the rest of us could feel but not hear.
