I’d ensure the opposite happened.
I’d help her become queen.
“Ahaminee,”I breathed, invoking the incantation for calling a familiar. “Ahaminee, Night.”
Aflora’s fingers curled into my chest, her blue eyes glistening with approval.
She had said I resembled a shadowy creature to her. How very odd. I had no trouble seeing her. But everything else was dark and covered by the power vines. It made me wonder if I’d even be able to see Night.
Assuming he was still alive.
I swallowed, the echo of his dying caw infiltrating my senses and eliciting a wince from deep within. He’d been a part of me, a being of my own creation. And I’d failed him.
Not by choice.
Not even on purpose.
But because of my grandfather’s greed for power.
I’d never anticipated him going to the extent of killing me to take back the throne. It had all happened so quickly, so unexpectedly, that I’d never even considered the potential outcome.
And now this—forcing the ascension onto Aflora. It made no sense.
What are you trying to prove?I wondered as a wave of power swirled around us.
An echo of cawing began, the darkness moving in flaps of wings as the vines melted into a series of crows. Aflora gasped, her grip on my hand tightening. I wrapped my arm around her lower back, holding her to me as the feathers beat over our heads.
It reminded me of the transportation yard back at the Academy with all the crows forming a vessel for students to travel to and from within.
But no keypad appeared here.
This whirlwind of energy wasn’t meant to help teleport Midnight Fae; it was meant to serve as a test. Another layer of trust. “We have to follow our instincts,” I realized out loud.
More than that—I had to follow mine, and Aflora had to trust me to choose. To pick a crow I thought might be Night and follow him to our freedom or our doom.
I explained the realization to Aflora, felt her stiffen against me, and understood how difficult this task would be for us both.
She had to trust me.
And I had to trust myself.
I wasn’t in a position to rely on my instincts. I’d nearly died yesterday. All my powers were convoluted and messy, strands of various magic helping to bolster my soul and keep me alive.
I was no longer an Elite Blood, but something significantly other.
An abomination.
Just like my mate.
I could feel Shade, Zakkai, and Zeph inside me. Aflora, too. A collection of strength that shouldn’t be possible, yet existed nonetheless.
“Kols?” Aflora whispered, the feathers closing in around us. “What are your instincts telling you? Because mine are saying to run.”
“Hold on,” I replied, closing my eyes to focus on the beating wings.Where are you, Night?
Rather than focus on the sounds around me, I searched for the familiar strand of life—mylife. Both new and old. Former and current. But the essences swarming through the air all blended together, masking the one I sought.
Minutes passed as I chanted the spell under my breath, demanding my familiar find me.
