Midnight Fae Academy Book Three - Lexi C. Foss Page 0,8

far faster than he should have been able to react. Fuck!

I yanked on the source, preparing another attack as he phased behind me again.

He shouldn’t have been able to do that.

He should have been knocked out, on his ass, for at least another—

“Fine. We’ll do it your way,” he said against my ear. Then his teeth sank into my neck, causing me to sputter out a surprised curse.

I couldn’t move, ensnared by whatever spell he’d woven around me.

Sir Kristoff charged into the suite, energy flaring around him as he engaged the ancient magic only his kind could tap into. Shade fell to the floor beside me, groaning at whatever torment my gargoyle had just unleashed on him. Then Tray trapped the Death Blood beneath a net of power that Ella enhanced with another spell.

I curled into myself, the lasting effects of Shade’s attack slowly withering and dying beneath a shock of reality.

He’d bitten me.

The bastard had fucking bonded me!

My lips parted as a slew of furious statements lined up on my tongue, only for a Paradox Fae to appear with a glowing purple sword. “Again?” he asked, his tone bored.

“N-no,” Shade choked out, his body convulsing beside mine.

My eyes narrowed. “Who the fuck—”

“You!” Sir Kristoff unleashed another wave of dark gargoyle energy that the Paradox Fae blocked with his sword.

“Stop,” the Paradox Fae said with a yawn as he leaned against the wall. “Seriously, this is getting so fucking old.”

Shade coughed a laugh, then grimaced beneath the power holding him down.

I touched my neck, wondering if I’d just dreamt up this whole nightmare. But no. I was bleeding. And Shade’s lips were tinged with my blood. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” I demanded. “You bonded us.”

“Yeah,” Shade replied, his voice a rasp of sound. “You’re welcome.”

I gaped at him, then pushed off the floor onto unsteady feet. My muscles ached as though I’d been hit by a freight train. “Let him up,” I said, talking to Tray. “I don’t want him handicapped when I kill him.”

The Paradox Fae grunted. “Again?”

“No,” Shade snapped.

“Again what?” I asked, flabbergasted by his presence. “And who the fuck are you?”

“Kyros,” he replied, tipping his dark head at me.

“What are you doing here?”

“Do you always ask the same questions?” he countered.

“The same questions?”

“Yeah, I see that you do,” Kyros replied, pushing off the wall to straighten his leather jacket. A hint of tattoos peeked out from beneath the coat.

“Someone start talking,” Tray inserted, his arms folding over his sweater. Ella clung to his arm, her blonde hair curling in the tendrils of magic wafting off my brother.

“Release Shade from your magic, and he’ll give it another attempt,” Kyros said.

I narrowed my gaze at him, then looked at my brother again. “Do what he says.” Because I was beginning to understand the situation.

Kyros and Shade had been playing with time—a very dangerous game, indeed. None of us would have any idea how many times they’d shifted through this moment, nor any clue as to what happened before. They also could have jumped back to this second from many days, months, or even years in the future.

My jaw ticked.

As much as I wanted to kill Shade, a part of me recognized that he had a reason for his antics.

Perhaps that was why he’d bitten me—to provide me with a glimmer of understanding regarding his motives. Yet this stage didn’t afford me much insight. It actually linked him more to me than me to him.

That realization had me narrowing my gaze.

He was up to something.

He also clearly had a death wish because I strongly doubted that the Council had told him to fucking bite me.

Tray reluctantly removed his spell, allowing Shade to begin the recovery process. Sir Kristoff stood beside my left foot, his tiny stone sword held out before him like a wand.

Gargoyles were small but mighty, their magic potent and long-lasting. Hence Shade’s continued weakened condition on the floor. Tray’s spell had only prolonged his misery, negating his ability to heal. But it was Sir Kristoff’s enchantment that had knocked the Death Blood onto his ass.

Kyros yawned again, then resumed his stance of leaning against the wall, only this time he closed his eyes as though taking a nap.

I could see why these two assholes were friends.

Sir Kristoff growled as if to agree, except I knew he couldn’t actually read minds.

Shade, however, might be able to hear my louder thoughts. It was a rare gift that came with some bondings, and given some of his unique