An entire fae city was being built under this dome of magic. We were sitting on the outskirts of it all, in the pub closest to the exit. What I liked about this location was the food—they catered to all fae kind.
Which was how I’d ended up with a bowl of pasta bolognese.
It had been listed under Midnight Fae cuisine since the vampire-like beings tended to frequent the Human Realm for blood snacks. From what I understood of their culture, they’d adopted mostly human foods into their world as a result because it was all they ever ate.
Worked for me.
But I did pair it with a spritemead, because yum.
My mates all had elemental-themed dishes, while the Fortune Fae at our table had decided on some items similar to mine.
And all around us were tables filled with different types of fae.
I loved it, this feeling of togetherness among the realms. It gave me a glimmer of hope that this Interrealm Fae Academy might actually kick off.
A spark of Winter Fae magic tickled my nose, drawing my focus out the windows once more. Fae magic still amazed me, particularly as I could sense the essence humming across my skin like a live wire.
The waves left behind a foreign kiss that called to my water magic. An icy swirl danced along my fingertips in response—one Cyrus responded to with a trickle of his own power.
My lips quirked upward in response, the sensation one that called to my very soul.
You like that, little queen? he asked, his icy blue eyes meeting mine from across the table.
I responded by increasing the flow of water around my fingertips, only to jolt as he matched my speed and took control of it with his own ties to the source. He was the Water Fae King, granting him unlimited power when it came to his element.
He sat beside his cousin Kalt, who was currently serving as a dignitary intern in one of the other fae realms.
Winter Fae, I thought, glancing outside for the fifth or sixth time tonight. They were the ones behind the magic here in Greenland because they used a similar shielding power up in the North Pole.
All those stories about Santa and his elves? Yeah, they stemmed from a real place. It had blown my mind when I first learned about it, and I was dying to visit someday. They were working closely with the Elemental Fae, mostly because they already resided in neutral territory in the Human Realm. And they were rather kind, too.
Kalt leaned in to ask Cyrus yet another question, one my mate accepted with a contemplative nod before replying.
My heart warmed at the sight of their mentorship. I rather liked this nurturing side of my Water Fae mate. Although, it hadn’t escaped my notice that he seemed far more patient with Kalt than he was with me.
“Oh, so the trials have started, then,” Gina said from beside me, her voice holding a touch of excitement.
The water swirling around my fingers dissipated into mist as Cyrus focused on the Fortune Fae, his gaze narrowing. “Don’t do that.”
She blinked her soft blue eyes at him. “Don’t do what?”
“Play in the future,” he snapped.
“That’s akin to telling you not to indulge your affinity for water,” she retorted, frowning. “Does that mean I’m ahead? Because the path is pretty well formed.”
“It is,” her mate, Zeke, agreed softly, his blond hair flirting with his shoulders from the gentle breeze Vox had just conjured from the opposite end of the table. “But I think we might be in that timeline now, Dreamcatcher.”
“Oh.” Her full lips twisted to the side. “Right.”
“What trials?” I asked, confused by her sudden commentary. Of course, I rarely understood her random statements. The woman loved to talk in riddles and often didn’t make any sense at all. But we’d grown closer over the last few years. Mostly because we shared a lot of the same political motivations.
It wasn’t always that way, though. I hadn’t liked her at all when we’d first met. She’d been just as cryptic then, saying something about a dark piece that didn’t fit. A dark piece that had turned out to be a lot closer to us than any of us had realized. Alas, that was in the past now.
However, I’d strongly disliked Gina on sight because of her stunning looks and the way Exos and Cyrus had clearly displayed a history of knowing her. Fortunately, they’d only shared a friendship.
A friendship that appeared to be in jeopardy now as they were both glowering at the Fortune Fae.
Zeke cleared his throat. “Just because I’m blind doesn’t mean I can’t see,” he said. “Don’t look at my mate like that.”
“Okay. What’s going on?” I demanded. “Why are you all so tense? What trials are coming? Is this because of the school?”
A few fae at a nearby table stopped talking, their pointy ears all angled our way, my tone having caught their attention.
I wanted to smile and wave them off, but I was too concerned about Gina’s cryptic commentary to focus on diplomatic niceties.
Kalt cleared his throat. “I’m going to get another spritemead.”
No one replied, everyone too busy staring between my mates and Gina.
“Um…,” Aflora hummed by way of greeting, then glanced up at the tall Midnight Fae beside her—Guardian Zephyrus. “We’ve clearly missed something important.”
Aflora had mentioned joining us a little later for dinner, saying she needed to take care of a task. She hadn’t elaborated, but then, she rarely did. The Royal Earth Fae I once knew had blossomed into a powerful queen-like female with peculiar magic that many other fae feared.
But she was exactly why an Interrealm Fae Academy needed to exist—so we could better understand abominations and the matings of power.
“Are you causing trouble?” Aflora asked, her blue-black eyebrow arching upward at Gina. The two of them had history. Something about a coffee shop. So I wasn’t surprised that she immediately suspected the Fortune Fae of playing a word game. Her kind was rather notorious for it. At least she hadn’t taken out her infamous card deck.
“Why does everyone assume I’m always to blame?” Gina demanded.
“Because you usually are,” a Paradox Fae drawled from the bar.
“No one asked you, Kali.”
“Pretty sure you just asked the entire realm,” she tossed back.
Gina huffed a breath. “All I mentioned were trials,” she muttered.
“Trials?” Aflora repeated, her cerulean blue eyes locking on Zephyrus.
He lifted one of his broad shoulders. “Fuck if I know.” He wrapped his arm around her, then bent to whisper something in her ear. Whatever it was caused her cheeks to flush scarlet. I didn’t know the Midnight Fae male well, but Cyrus and Exos enjoyed his directness. It seemed Aflora did as well, because her eyes flashed from whatever he’d said.
I stopped looking at them and stared Gina down. “Explain.”
“Ask your mates,” she replied. “They know what I’m talking about.”
“Have you seen who wins?” Titus asked suddenly, causing Cyrus to growl at him. “Oh, come on, you’re wondering the same thing I am.”
“I don’t want to know,” Sol put in. “I want to play the game, fair and square.”
“What game?” I asked. “What the hell are all of you talking about?”
“I don’t need Gina to predict the winner,” Cyrus replied, his focus on Titus. “We already know it’s going to be me.”