Page 254 of Bitten By the Fae

Kols’s golden irises snapped up to mine, his expression melting into concern as he tried to harness his power, but it was too late. He’d released too much, his connection to the source thriving between us like the day we first joined.

Only this was worse.

It ripped through me on a level I didn’t understand, the dark essence searing my being and bringing me to my knees.

Kols shouted, the inky lines climbing up his neck writhing and stirring a cascade of electricity that sizzled through the air and zapped my skin.

Blue embers flickered across my fingertips, forcing me to lock my fingers into the charcoal blades. Pain shot up my arms and down my spine, causing me to tremble beneath the weight of oppressing magic.

Red fire sprinted across the ground, circling me.

My body reacted defensively, shooting off an array of colors in response.Blue. Green. Purple.

How is that even possible?I thought, tears blurring my vision.Oh, Fae. It burns!

The blood-red flames fought mine, the power mounting into an array of light that temporarily blinded me.

And then Emelyn was there, her black eyes narrowed with fury as she engaged in a battle I didn’t understand.

Everything began to spin, her energy somehow connecting to mine in a savage handshake that rippled through the air. Zeph and Shade yelled inside my thoughts, their collective voices leaving me unhinged and uncertain as a tornado of power swept me up into a cloud, the world disappearing behind a thick smog.

A hand grabbed mine, nails digging into my flesh.

Not one of my mates.

Emelyn.

Her Elite essence engaged mine, battling my power for dominance.

Except, it wasn’t my Quandary side that I engaged to fight back, but a new link to unexpected Warrior magic.

Zeph.

I also sensed Shade.

What is happening to me?I asked, suddenly cold and hot all at once.Stop this madness!

I threw out my arms, forcing Emelyn to let go of me, and screamed as the cyclone released me from its smoky grip. I landed with a thump, my pants tearing as my knees met the knifelike grass below.

My chest heaved, breaths coming in and out of me in sharp gusts.

Too much magic. There’s too much!I expelled my mounting energy into the ground below, forcing wave after wave of the overwhelming surge to go deep into the earth. Only, I felt Shade and Zeph absorbing it through our bonds. Kols, too.

And a fourth source I didn’t understand.

A source that reminded me of home.

My eyes widened as I realized what that had to mean—I was feeding dark energy into the earth source! I immediately pulled back, collapsing onto my side into a ball of shivering nonsense.

Abomination, I told myself.This is why everyone fears us.

Because I couldn’t control it.

I couldn’t stop it.

And I’d just attackedmy home. My element. My very reason for being.

I reached out on a tentative strand, begging whatever fae gods existed that I hadn’t done any permanent harm. But as I poked at my earth energy, I found nothing nefarious or changed. Just my deep-rooted connection to the existence of life.