Midnight Fae Academy Book Three - Lexi C. Foss Page 0,5

second.

This man played in my head without my permission.

He’d bonded me at some point.

Now he refused to explain any of it, instead choosing to kidnap me, strip me, and give me a solitary robe to wear.

And he wanted me to play in my head, to search for answers.

Instead, I found the source of my magic and balled it up into a focal point all aimed at him. He didn’t want to explain, and I was all out of patience for this game.

I opened my eyes to find him still seated beside me, his expression one underlined in amusement.

I hated that smile and those dimples. I loathed the crinkle at the sides of his silver-blue eyes. I despised his very presence and the chuckle shaking his chest.

He thought this was funny?

Then I’d give him something to really laugh about.

Flames shot out of my fingertips and directly at his chiseled chest.

Only, rather than burn him, they were absorbed by him, his grin morphing from amused to something else entirely. Heated. His irises smoldered with the power I’d just unleashed on him. And then he opened his hand.

I tried to duck out of the way, but he was too quick, the spiraling sphere of electricity nailing me in the chest and binding me in a web of intense power. My lungs halted, my heart stopped, and a puff of air escaped my lips.

“Figure out how to untangle yourself, Aflora,” he replied, the bed shifting as he slid from the sheets to his feet. “When you’re done, come find me and we’ll talk.”

A laugh threatened my frozen chest, one lacking humor. Talk, I repeated in my mind. All you do is unleash riddles!

Try solving them, little star, he shot back, his voice like liquid chocolate in my mind. Start with the cords around your chest before you suffocate yourself to death.

Zakkai!

Nothing.

Just the kiss of an ocean breeze to my senses and the soft snick of a closing door.

He’d left me to unravel his magical net without a wand or any instructions.

And I was already seeing spots due to the lack of air in my lungs.

Zakkai!

Focus on the strands, Aflora. Then find me when you’re done.

I’ll find you and kill you, I vowed.

I can’t wait to watch you try.

Aflora lost consciousness as I locked the door to my room, her final thoughts all surrounding the myriad of ways she intended to make me suffer. My lips curled in anticipation.

As an Earth Fae, she was all about life and love and peace.

But my Quandary Blood had provided her with a lethal edge that I intended to exploit.

One moment, she promised never to kill a living thing. And in the next breath, she vowed vengeance and devastation. Namely, my death. But I would morph that train of thought into something more useful.

It was all part of her training.

Just like the web I’d woven around her.

She’d figure out how to dismantle it eventually, and I’d be waiting for her when she did. Her life essence was tied to mine, pulling on my energy to revive her. I allowed it, knowing she would need a few breaths to begin the process.

Her roar in my head widened my grin.

I refused to answer her now, listening as she puzzled through what she needed to do. Her mind fascinated me, her convoluted thoughts so similar to my own. She had no idea how alike we truly were, only I’d accepted my fate and destiny in life, while she was still trying to find her own.

The path would reveal itself very soon.

She eventually quieted, her affinity for solving problems springing to the surface as she began to expertly unweave the magic I’d wrapped around her.

So beautiful and cunning. All my previous intentions wavered, including the steps I took now toward the main rooms.

My father wanted an update.

But all I wanted was to walk back to my room, lean against the wall, and watch the stunning female play with magic in my sheets.

Alas, I had to make an appearance before he ventured to my rooms to search for me.

I snapped my fingers and uttered a spell, beckoning for my wand. It ignored me. The damn thing had a mind of its own and seemed to prefer Aflora for the moment. Fine. She could continue to borrow my conduit while she trained. She needed it more than I did anyway.

With a muttered incantation, I changed my attire into something more suitable for a meeting with the others. It was a lazy approach, but also necessary,