Page 280 of Never Kiss a Fae

I knew what they were thinking because I thought the same. “Part Dark Fae, part Spirit. Isn’t that what my mom told you?”

Exos nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s impossible,” Kols cut in. “Mating between the species is prohibited. It tips the scales of power.”

“Such as being able to raise the dead and control it, too,” Cyrus suggested, arching a brow.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘prohibited’? Why?” I asked, frowning. “We’re all fae, right?”

“Yes, but with unique bloodlines. Tampering with those bloodlines creates… abominations.” Kols cringed, his gaze darkening to a black cloud that sent a shiver down my spine. “The Dark Wars are not a time I ever wish to live through.”

“Dark Wars?” I repeated, even more confused.

“A black point in Midnight Fae history,” Exos explained softly. “Commingling between the fae altered the balance that we all pull from to survive. Imagine vampires with the ability to control water or fire.”

“Well, that’s not a difficult trick,” Kols murmured, a light flame erupting over his fingertips. There and gone in a second. “But it was worse than that. Magic requires an equilibrium between light and dark. If it’s disturbed, mutations occur, and power is distributed rather unevenly.”

“Which creates chaos and allows dictators to rule,” Exos added.

“That explains her obsession with the Council,” Cyrus mused, causing Exos to arch a brow at him.

“Meaning?” my spirit mate pressed.

“If her origins were revealed, she’d be executed without ceremony. However, if she convinces us all to work together and asserts herself as the leader of the Council—which she has—that puts her on a pedestal as the fae who created it all. If you ask me, it’s only a matter of time before her true intentions rise.”

I pinched my lips to the side. “So you think it’s all a ruse and she’s using her connections to all the fae for her own benefit somehow.”

“By siphoning energy from them,” Kols said, leaning back in the booth. “I mean, if she’s already playing with the dead, why not manipulate the life source of others while she’s at it?”

My eyebrows shot upward. “She can do that?”

He flickered another of those flames across his knuckles and winked. “Child’s play, sweetheart. Especially if she’s of the necromancy line.”

“Water.” Cyrus laughed, the sound lacking in true humor. “I’ve sensed her use water more than once, but she’s notoriously a single-gifted Spirit Fae.”

Kols spread his hands as if to say,Case in point.“She’s siphoning it off another.”

“But why?” Exos demanded. “Why would she do this?”

Cyrus scratched his chin. “Only one way to find out.”

“If she’s practicing dark arts, I doubt it will be as easy as having a conversation. But I might have something that could help you,” Kols said, grinning. “Your elders won’t like it, though.”

“What is it?” Cyrus asked, arching a skeptical brow.

“A book.” His lips quirked up even more. “Sort of like a beginner’s guide to necromancy. I’d be breaking a dozen Midnight Fae laws by giving it to you, but I suspect it’ll assist you in more ways than one.” Power radiated from him as he spoke, reminding me of how the elements seemed to swim around Cyrus and Exos.

“A Midnight Fae text,” Exos mused. “Exactly how many rules are you breaking by handing that over to us?”

Kols chuckled. “How many are you breaking by accepting it?”

Cyrus and Exos just smiled.

“Why would there be rules about a textbook?” I wondered out loud.

The three of them laughed, Exos’s arm wrapping around my shoulders to pull me in for a hug. “Fae politics, princess,” he murmured. “Dark magic is purely Midnight Fae. Just as we own the elements.”

“But sometimes you have to break the rules,” Cyrus drawled.