Page 335 of Never Kiss a Fae

It didn’t belong.

I wanted it gone.

With a stomp of my foot, the ground shook beneath the woman, knocking her off-balance. Aflora squirmed at exactly the right moment, jumping away from the crazy lady and sprinting toward me in the doorway.

“You want to touch my sister, you gotta go through me.” I called for a root to wrap around my feet, forcing the earth to hold me upright as Aflora hid her little body behind mine. She grabbed my sides, her fear shaking us both like leaves in a breeze.

The Spirit Fae turned, her gaze narrowed. “You’re a brave but foolish little boy. No royal blood. No Academy training. Nothing that’s worthy of my time.” She flicked her wrist, sending a wave of magic infused with darkness to stab into my chest.

Pain shot through me, causing me to bend forward, but my roots kept me standing. Darkness spread from the black dagger lodged into my chest.

“Sol!” Aflora cried out, her grip on me tightening as her earth essence clung to mine.

It burned.

Fought off something on my behalf.

And grew.

Too much.

Too bright.

The source,I realized. Aflora somehow had access to it, even though she was a girl. They taught us in school that it was a boy’s power. Yet somehow she was giving it to me. And I latched on with all my might, needing the energy not to save myself but to save her.

Because deep down I knew this lady was here to destroy my new sister.

And as man of the house, I couldn’t let that happen.

The lady roared in disapproval, causing my lips to curl. ’Cause that just meant I’d done something right. Or maybe it was Aflora.

Either way, this lady had chosen the wrong house to barge into.

She scowled as another burst of fresh power rooted itself inside me, protecting me and forming a barrier around the darkness that had iced over my heart. It burned cold and painful, but layers formed over my insides as I straightened once more.

“What is this?” the woman demanded, slashing another wave of magic at me again.

This time it pinged off of the shield the source had built for me—for meandAflora—a barrier that nothing could penetrate, not even the darkness the Spirit Fae sent my way.

“You can’t have my new sister,” I said, curling my fingers into fists as the ground around us began to shake. I’d always been strong, but now renewed energy flooded in without any sign of stopping. It frightened me, but I didn’t let that show on my face.

The evil lady growled, the darkness swimming around her in that odd black cloak. “If I can’t have your new one, I’ll take your old one. And your mom, too. Unless the source seeks to protect them, too?”

As if hearing the lady’s words, my mom came running into the house with my little sister at her side. Both their eyes wide. “Elana,” my mother gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“I was trying to tie up a loose end, but your son has shown exquisite strength.” She narrowed her silver eyes at me. “Much to the cost of everyone else around you.”

I gulped. That sounded bad. But everything should be okay now, right? Mom was home. She’d make this evil lady leave.

She sighed loudly, her cheeks puffing with the motion. “Well, it seems the Earth Fae’s source is still beyond my reach. For now.” She stroked her black cloak. “No matter. I’m a patient woman, and I’m happy to do this the hard way.” She grinned, the expression making me sick to my stomach. Because it was me she grinned at. Not my mom. Not my sisters. But me. “Mark my words, boy. Your family. Your friends. Everyone you’ve ever loved will wither and die before your eyes. You won’t even know why, or how. You’ll just know that this all started with you.”

She extended a crooked finger, making a shiver go through my bones with the force of her prophecy. She wasn’t a Fortune Fae, but I felt the weight of her promise just as much as any dark premonition the ominous fae could supply.

I said something.

Or thought it.

But the words were lost to sudden darkness that overcame the room.