Page 49 of Bitten By the Fae

She faced me, adding, “My mate at least introduced me to the Midnight Fae realm before biting me.”

“Introduced you?” I repeated, her statement confusing me. “You mean you weren’t born here?”

“I’m a Halfling,” she informed me, then paused as if waiting for a reaction.

“So you grew up in the Human Realm.” It was a guess based on her earlier claim about entering the realm.

“I did.” The challenge in her tone confused me.

“Did you know you were part fae?”

“No, not until Tray told me.”

My eyebrows rose. “Well, that must have been quite a shock.”

“Yeah, I imagine it’s similar to being bitten against your will and forced to attend an Academy in another realm.” She glanced at the book on my bed and smirked. “Ah, the Midnight Fae factions. What chapter are you on?”

“I just started reading about the Death Bloods.”

She nodded. “Want a crash course in the bloodlines? It’ll be faster than reading that boring thing.”

“You’re offering to teach me?” I shook my head at how stupid that sounded out loud. “Sorry, the others haven’t been very… helpful.” Technically, Zephyrus had tried a little. And Kolstov, well, he was just being a pompous ass about me not studying Midnight Fae kind while growing up.

Ella snorted and collapsed onto the edge of my bed. “Kolstov’s a bit preoccupied with his future, and Zephyrus is, uh, not teacher material.”

“Yet he’s a headmaster.”

“Yeah, he’s going to make our lives hell this year,” Ella muttered. “Anyway, enough about that. What you need is a quick overview, something I’m very equipped to provide considering I had to learn all this myself recently.” She patted the bed beside her. “I promise I don’t bite. All my blood intake is through food.”

I gaped at her, the comment so tongue in cheek that it took me off guard.

Which caused her to laugh. “Your expression is priceless and probably similar to mine when Tray first told me about Midnight Fae drinking blood. Oh, but that reminds me. Lesson number one: Don’t call them vampires. They hate that.”

“Yeah, Kolstov may have mentioned that after I called him a bloodsucker.”

Her lips twitched. “Bet he loved that.”

“Not so much.”

She laughed. “Well, don’t let him bother you. He’s a womanizing jackass, but deep down, he has a heart. You just have to really dig to find it.”

I finally joined her on the bed, feeling somewhat at ease for the first time in almost a week. Something about Ella relaxed me. Maybe it was her calm demeanor or, more likely, her frank assessments. I enjoyed her candor and her politeness.

She didn’t judge me for not knowing everything about the Midnight Fae.

And I appreciated it more than she could know.

“Okay, so let me break this down for you,” she said, tucking one leg underneath her while the other bounced off the side of the bed. “There are five main bloodlines. You know the names?”

I nodded. “Death Bloods, Elite Bloods, Sangré Bloods, Warrior Bloods, and Malefic Bloods.”

“Do you know what they do?”

“I’ve only read that Elite Bloods maintain the central source of dark magic and Death Bloods access the harshest resources from a different entry point. They prefer lethal magic and dabble in necromancy.” I picked up the book. “One thing I don’t really get is how they access the source indirectly. That was the part I was reading when you all arrived.”

Ella picked up the book and tossed it to the side. “Yeah, no. Trust me, you want the verbal lesson, not the text one. All bloodlines access dark-magic sources, but the Elites have the most access, which is why they’re considered royalty. They’re the strongest. All those black lines pulsating on Kols’s neck and arms, leading to his heart? Yeah, that’s the source transferringreign to him one stroke of power at a time. Scary shit, if you ask me.”

I had noticed the writhing inky vines along his neck and hands but didn’t realize they stretched up his arms. “Is it permanent?” I wondered out loud.