Page 256 of Bitten By the Fae

Who are you?I asked him.

But Emelyn gasping back to life distracted my focus, drawing my attention back to her and the spell I’d somehow woven through her, healing the marks on her neck and wrist.

“How did you do that?” she asked hoarsely.

I just shook my head because I didn’t know, the powers spiking through me a tangled mess of knots I couldn’t seem to unravel.

I flinched as one of the monsters shredded my defensive barrier, his fire hot against my senses. I grabbed Emelyn’s hand, ready to run, but the clouds engulfed me again and sent us spinning through time and space.

Shade, I realized, baffled and completely thrown by his interference. Only it wasn’t him at all, but me, tapping into a dark-source connection created through our bond—a connection I didn’t realize existed until now.

That was where all the magic lived.

A dark orb of power fueled by my mates, allowing me access to strands of energy I intuitively understood.

I frowned at it, confused by the four links once more.

Death.

Elite.

Warrior.

Quandary.

The last was deeply rooted, as if it’d been there for years. Because that represented me and my family line? That notion didn’t feel right.

I tried to investigate it more, only to spin out of the cyclone and into a darkened grove with a stunned Emelyn at my side. Her dark eyes flashed to mine, alarm in her expression. “You’re… you’re…”

“An abomination,” I whispered, unable to lie to her. Not after everything she’d just witnessed.

She shook her head. “That’s not…” She cleared her throat, her delicate hand going up to touch her unmarred throat. “You saved me.”

I winced, not because I regretted it but because I couldn’t explain how I’d done it. “I…” I didn’t know what to say.

A hint of wonder entered her gaze. “I sense Kols in you.” She lifted her hand as if to touch me, only to drop it a second later and spin toward the dark forest around us and the moving trees. “Who’s there?” she demanded, her wand already in her palm.

I tried to find mine again, this time successfully, and mimicked her defensive stance.

Nothing immediately approached, but I felt the building energy and the hum of familiar magic in the air.

Something was coming.

No, the presence was already here.

Multiple essences.

All woven with magic my soul recognized on some deep, dark level.

“Well, well, thequeenfinally arrives,” a feminine voice drawled from the shadows of a nearby burning thwomp. “And she brought us an Elite Blood to play with as a gift. How incredibly thoughtful.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

AFLORA

Energy crackledfrom the deadly trees, causing my defensive instincts to flare to life. Zeph was a strong presence in my head, his magic pouring through my senses to surround Emelyn and me in a protective shield of invisible power, one meant to deflect any untoward spells.

Like the one that came from the darkness, aimed right at Emelyn. It bounced back with an emerald spark, causing electricity to sizzle around us.