Tray seemed just as startled beside me.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Council went up in literal flames as magic lashed across the obsidian stone table.
Aswad deflected the incoming blow with his wand, sending Tadmir’s burst into the high ceiling above, where my father trapped it beneath a web of energy that sizzled across my skin. “Stop,” he demanded, his single word laying down the law without fail.
Malik of Elite Blood had led the Midnight Fae Council for over a thousand years.
Ignoring him earned the harshest of penalties.
I knew firsthand what he could do, had sat through countless trials where he stripped other Midnight Fae of their lives for infractions far less potent than the one Shade had just committed.
The bastard had been promised to Tadmir’s oldest daughter, Cordelia.
To take another mate against the Council’s wishes not only broke the laws of our kind but it also issued a massive insult against the Malefic bloodline.
“Excommunication,” Tadmir hissed.
“How bonded?” Svart asked instead, his Warrior Blood energy swarming him in an inky cloak of impenetrable magic. His kind excelled at defensive arts. The complete opposite to the Malefic Blood, who favored offensive talents.
“First level,” Aswad said, taking his seat with a sigh. “And we don’t even know if it’ll hold. She’s not a Midnight Fae.”
“Which doesn’t make the infraction any better,” Lima muttered. My betrothed’s father was clearly not amused, his black irises narrowing at the Death Blood across from him. “What did he have to say for himself?”
“Nothing of importance,” Aswad replied.
“Meaning he’s not even apologetic,” my father translated.
I nearly snorted. Shadow, a.k.a. Shade, was never apologetic about anything. The arrogant dick fancied himself untouchable, even on Academy grounds. His taking a mate against Council wishes didn’t surprise me in the slightest.
But I couldn’t pretend it didn’t leave me a little jealous. I’d considered similar acts more than once throughout my twenty-three years.
Anything to avoid marrying Emelyn Jyn. Just thinking of her gave me hives.
“That’s what I thought,” my father said when Aswad didn’t voice a comment to the contrary. “Then his punishment is easy—kill the partially bonded mate and force him to uphold the binding contract with Tadmir’s Malefic bloodline. Shadow will suffer an eternity of an unfulfilled connection yet produce the requisite heirs.” He spread out his hands. “Now, that wasn’t so hard. This emergency meeting is—”
“She’s the last Earth Fae Royal,” Aswad interjected. “To kill her would be perceived as an act of war against the Elemental Fae. It would also sever them from the earth source.”
Tray whistled low beside me, his reaction one I rivaled in my thoughts with an added, Oh, fuck.
“Aflora?” I asked, unable to remain quiet.
All eyes turned to me with questions in them.
Yeah, I knew of the Earth Fae Royal. I’d never met her, but I saw her at the Water King’s coronation a few months ago. I explained that to the Council and added, “One of Queen Claire’s mates is an Earth Fae. I doubt he’ll take lightly to us exterminating the sole Earth Fae heir.”
A note of respect glimmered in Aswad’s gaze as he considered me, but it disappeared before my father turned to face him.
Was he surprised that I knew the politics of other realms? I’d been training for my father’s position since the day I spoke my first word. Understanding all the fae, regardless of the type, was critical to my future. So yeah, I knew pretty much everything about the Elemental Fae. It also helped that two of the kings of that realm were acquaintances of mine.
“This complicates matters,” my father muttered.
“Yes,” Aswad agreed. “It does.”
Silence befell the room while Tadmir stewed in his chair, his fury palpable.
Councilman Svart and Councilman Chern looked on in contemplative silence.
Lima stroked the dark hair dusting his chin, considering.
I shared a glance with Tray, who seemed as perplexed as everyone else.
“Do we even know if the bond will hold?” I wondered out loud. “Elemental Fae mate differently than we do. What if the mating bond fades?”
Everyone looked at me again, and this time my father’s expression held a hint of pride. I’d begun speaking up more often lately, taking charge where I could, just to prove my worth. And each move I made seemed to appease him more and more.
“Has anything like this ever occurred in our history?” I asked him.
“No, because it’s forbidden to mix fae lines,” he replied.
Right, which meant Aflora and Shade could never physically mate to produce an heir—the various Fae Councils would require the immediate death of their child. Abominations were not tolerated. Intermingling between species created beings of too much power, and too much power led to insanity.
Case in point, the most recent incident in the Elemental Fae realm where a hybrid Midnight-Elemental Fae tried to absorb too much power, costing several fae their lives.
“So we don’t know what will even happen to their bond, or to her.” Midnight Fae were supposed to bite humans, not other fae. Rumors suggested our powers would mix if we drank from another fae, which was why the Council forbade the act. “As I said, it could fade.”
“Or it might morph her into an abomination,” Chern spoke up, his Sangré bloodline known for their infinite wisdom. “But I agree with the future king that we won’t know until the transition has taken its course.”
“Which could take months,” Tadmir put in sourly.
“How old is she?” my father asked. “Twenty-two? Twenty-three?”
“She just turned twenty-two,” Aswad replied. “I had my assistant pull all the information she could while I waited for the meeting to begin.” He waved his wand through the air, causing papers to appear before all the Councilmen. “This would be her final year at Elemental Fae Academy, marking her as a third year at our own, but given her impressive test scores, she could probably join the fourth-year class.”
Tray and I shared a look.
He couldn’t be suggesting—
“You want her to attend Midnight Fae Academy?” My father sounded as dubious as I felt. “Have you lost your damn mind?”
“Actually, it’s an interesting suggestion,” Chern interjected in that thoughtful way of his, his gray irises surrounding his pupils blinking in and out of focus.
His calm demeanor always appealed to me. I leaned forward, curious to hear what other wisdom he would bestow upon us.
“The Elemental Fae will be just as concerned by their potential mating as we are,” he continued. “However, extermination in this situation is impossible with her being the lone Royal Earth Fae. Sending her back could potentially upset the balance. Keeping her here, well, we have wards in place to monitor her.”
“And Shadow?” Tadmir interjected, his white hair flickering with blue flames at the ends. “Does he just return to the Academy as if nothing has happened?”
“I daresay he also requires monitoring,” Chern replied. “He’s initiated the mating with a powerful Earth Fae. That may impact his powers as well.”