Page 25

Thankfully, my worked up thoughts were cut into when Gabriel came to us and whispered to Kai, “You demonstrate the same approach and attitude that you did with this exercise in your upcoming meeting with a certain someone and you will fare very well.” He laid his hand on Kai’s shoulder. “The mask won’t work with him.”

“Noted. And appreciated,” Kai told him, grateful for the assistance Gabriel was offering him for when Kai and Vorzyr met with Cornelius in a couple of days.

As Gabriel gave another chin lift, and smiled at Ariana, that emotional upheaval I’d been trying to fight off—emotional unraveling was more like it—deepened as the heaviness of what that meeting meant bore down on me.

The weight of it all.

Upon Ariana.

Upon our foursome.

Upon what we were building so wonderfully.

Ariana eyed me, alarm all over her, and I realized she was feeling my magic becoming unstable. It couldn’t be seen because of the stabilization she was employing over everybody’s right now.

She nudged Kai and diverted some of his focused attention from his magic to me.

He registered what was happening with me swiftly.

“Hold on just until the end of this class, and we’ll get you the release you need,” he told me. “More than you realize,” he added cryptically.

But there was an earnestness to it, a wholehearted promise.

All I could do was nod.

And I let that promise and their amazing understanding roll through me, focusing on that and drawing on it to calm myself, to stabilize, and make it through.

I moaned softly at Ariana stroking my hair while Kai held my hand as the three of us walked through the corridors of Maven Academy.

Thankfully, I had managed to make it through class and hold it together.

But now I was buzzing uncomfortably, on edge, and struggling to maintain stability.

I jolted when Kai slipped his hand from mine, and we all came to a stop, as he told me, “There’s something I need to see to right now. It’ll take barely ten minutes. Why don’t the two of you head outside? You need a breather, Nyx.”

“Kai, I… do you have to head off? Can’t it wait?”

Hesitation warred on his features.

Ariana took my hand where Kai had been and gave it a squeeze. “He’ll only be brief. Come on, I’m here with you. Let’s get that fresh air, yes?”

“Okay,” I murmured, nuzzling against her.

Kai was gone in a burst of teleportation in the next second.

I sighed heavily. I didn’t like being without him when I was in this sort of state.

But things were different now. It wasn’t just him that I had anymore. There was Vorzyr and Ariana.

I smiled at the bright thought, holding onto it as I sank into her, and we headed outside in the direction of the quad.

We made it out there, where I’d figured we were going to sit beneath one of the trees and connect with nature and breathe in the fresh night air.

That was until she rounded me and said in that cryptic way Kai had earlier, “It’s time.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Time for what, Halo?”

“You’ll see, cutie pie.”

In the next second, she was enveloping us in a silver cloud of teleportation.

As we rematerialized, I found myself staring straight ahead at Hollowshade Hearth.

It was situated on the northern fringe of the Maven Academy grounds.

It was a secluded, partially open structure originally built for werewolves to use and designed as a special gathering space for full moon rituals and pack bonding.

Over the years, it had become a shared sanctuary for other community-based species like Dark Fae and Light Fae.

Not really magic-wielders, because those seeking that attended Covens, not going for an academy setting like this.

The building itself was a rustic, circular stone pavilion with timber beams and slanted roofing. There were no doors, just velvet curtains in deep blue and forest green.

I followed Ariana as she led the way inside and eased a curtain aside for me.

As I stepped on through, I took in the center of the room that had a sunken hearth with built-in seating that was carved of stone.

There was a fire that burned magically without the need for wood.

On the walls were hooks and shelves for ceremonial tools, along with low tables for food and drink.

On said tables were trays of so many different kinds of desserts, as well as glasses of my favorite berry cocktails.

Magical fairy lights decorated the intimate space.

There were cozy multicolored shag pillows and blankets over in one corner, too.

Everything had been specially set up.

“What is this?” I asked, turning to see Ariana’s eyes lit up so stunningly.

“It’s your long overdue celebration for being handpicked as a member of Crossborn, for the work that you’re doing, and the mark that you’ll make on the supernatural world as a result.

It’s a great honor in itself and how you’re proving to be so dedicated and passionate about it deserves to be acknowledged as well.

” She slid her hand into my hair and stroked the strands softly. “ You deserve to be acknowledged.”

“I can’t… I can’t believe this,” I said, looking all around and taking everything in again. “I know Kai said we’d celebrate, but I figured that meant getting a couple of drinks or something. Not all of this. Wow.”

A flash of rose-gold magic caught my eye, and then Kai teleported in with Vorzyr.

“Come on now, Luscious, you deserve a whole lot more than that,” Vorzyr said, coming to me and stroking my nape in that way that was somehow both soothing and arousing.

Kai rubbed his hands together, all eager. “So, do you want to start the celebrations, or would you like your gift first?”

I blinked. “Gift? There’s a gift?”

Kai grinned out at Ariana and Vorzyr. “Told you he’d be all over the gift.”

“There’s no question,” I confirmed.

“Thank fuck, because I wasn’t sure I could wait,” Vorzyr said.

“It’s also a good idea to do it first, because you need a release, don’t you, cutie pie?” Ariana put to me.

Like you wouldn’t believe. “Damn, I really do.”

“Then that’s what you shall have,” Kai said, making a dramatic bow to me, before continuing on with the dramatics with a fancy hand flourish, which sparked his magic to life and conjured something that was concealed within his closed fist.

“Damn, are you gonna make magical fireworks again?”

He’d done that before, wherein he’d gathered his magic in his fists, then thrust them up toward the sky and released the power in the form of magical bolts. He’d even taught me how to do it and we’d decorated the night sky with sprinklings and bursts of our blue and rose-gold power.

“Magical fireworks?” Vorzyr queried. “Like Ariana’s shadow weaving? The same concept?”

“They both involve making art in the sky, but they’re very different in practice,” I explained to him.

“Huh,” he uttered, taking it in. He brightened as he said, “Later tonight, we’re doing the fireworks, though.”

“Definitely,” Ariana said, brimming with excitement at the thought of it. She gestured at Kai. “Go on. Show him.”

“I was about to get right down to it, until you all veered the conversation off track.”

“He was excited about the fireworks,” Vorzyr said, giving me one of his sweet, adoring looks that warmed me down to the bone.

Kai tutted at us, but there was definite humor sparkling in his eyes as he did so.

And then he winked at me and stepped up close.

Vorzyr and Ariana drew in around me too.

“This is from all of us,” Kai told me, his tone becoming serious, but in an earnest way. “ Forged by all of us, to be more precise.”

I looked between them. “Forged? What do you—”

Kai opened his hand and my words, along with my breath, caught in my throat.

Because there on his palm was a stunning, shimmering ring. I could feel the magic emanating off it.

It had a dual-metal design, made from two different, yet blended materials. One aspect was the black that had faint crimson veins pulsing like lava beneath its surface—Vorzyr’s dragon flame. The other aspect was a silvery-white platinum that I could feel was infused with Ariana’s Celestial magic.

As Kai turned it so I could see all aspects of it, I saw his rose-gold magic inside the inner band of the ring glowing with an inscription.

Our initials in runic script.

“We call it the Soulweld Ring,” Vorzyr informed me.

“It’s incredible,” I breathed. “I can’t believe you made this for me.” I looked at Kai. “Is that why you had to run off after class? To get this?”

“I had to put the finishing touch to it, fusing the separate magical elements as one and binding them permanently.”

“Wait… magical elements? This isn’t purely ornamental with you guys using your magic as decoration?”

“Like a fireworks situation?” Ariana chuckled, getting where my mind had gone. “No, cutie pie. Far from it.” She traced her fingers reverently over the ring. “It’s special.”

Kai explained, “The ability I use to counter your allure when we get carnal is essentially imbued into this ring. It’s also been enhanced with a perpetual sustainment spell fueled by Ari’s Celestial magic, which gives it a permanent energy source to draw from.

No draining on us. No recharging needed. ”

Ariana added, “It was forged in Vorzyr’s dragon fire, so it can’t be destroyed. It’s also bonded to your essence, so it will only work for you, and it can only be removed by you.”

“Shit… I… I don’t know what to say,” I choked, emotion taking me over oh-so quickly.

How could it not?

Them doing this, creating something this incredible, something that would help me on a soul-deep level and take away that fear that had cut into me for years ever since I’d been made into… this… I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Tears spilled down my cheeks and I tugged at my hair in a bid to get a handle on it.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ariana crooned, softly stroking my face. “It’s all okay. You can let it all out.”

“In more ways than one,” Vorzyr said, tucking me into his side protectively.

I did it then, I let the tears fall, I let the emotion run free.

I bled it out.

And, fuck, I’d needed it for so long.

Kai’s voice reached me through it all, calm and strong, guiding.

“This isn’t just a suppressant, okay, brother? It’s a promise we’re making to you.” He took my right hand and held it between us, softly stroking my fingers. “That you’ll never have to choose between who you are and where you belong again.” He kissed my fingers and studied me. “Do you understand?”

I sniffled and only just managed to get out an affirmative, “Yes.”

I was so overcome that it took me some time to realize that Kai was holding out the ring to me.

“This… it became possible because of our bond, the four of us coming together. When it was just you and me, Kai, it couldn’t be done, there were missing elements.

” I looked out at all of them in turn. “Missing elements in ways beyond the creation of this ring. But now look at us, look at what we’ve built, what we have together.

” I took the ring and slid it onto my finger.

A warmth imbued my whole body for several moments and I let out a groan as I briefly felt a surge of all of them rolling through me, before it settled quickly.

I gazed down at the ring. “I can’t believe this. It’s going to change so much for me.”

“You deserve it,” Kai said. “Be at peace in yourself now.”

When he kissed my cheek, but then went to ease back all too soon, I reacted on instinct and rapidly rising need, the elation and utter relief colliding, and I snagged his nape and pulled him to me.

Our lips collided and I took him in a deep, explosive kiss.

He sank into it quickly.

But before we could get lost in it, I felt it—something changed.

Something I’d never felt before with him.

I broke the kiss and eyed him incredulously.

“It feels different,” I breathed against him.

There was no weight bearing down on him.

There was no push against me.

We could finally be in the moment without any barriers between us.

I couldn’t believe it.

It all took me over, and the next thing I knew, I was lunging at Kai.