Midnight Fae Academy #3 by Lexi C. Foss

Several Minutes Earlier

“His death will be your burden to bear,” my grandmother had warned me weeks ago.

“I think I screwed up,”I’d told her that night.

“Come,” she’d replied. “We’ll discuss it over cookies.”

I knew then that she had bad news for me. But this… I hadn’t expected her to warn me about this.

She’d said that Kolstov’s life was the price I would pay for all my fucking around with time.

Well, I don’t accept that,I thought, repeating the words I’d said to her that night.

There was no way to come back from death. Once a life strand ended, no amount of magic or time manipulation could fix it.

Which was why I couldn’t afford for Kolstov’s life strand to permanently end.

Come on, Emelyn,I thought. Do your thing.

She was my distraction. The ticking time bomb. The one I knew would explode if pushed enough. And I needed her to erupt for me now.

All I need is a few seconds. My teeth clenched a little at the thought, but I quickly schooled my features once more and covered the oversight with a yawn. No one could sense my intentions. And I only had one chance to get this right.

Come on. Come on. Come on.

My pulse kicked up a notch.

Just a little meltdown. I know you have it in you. I’ve seen it.

“You’re killing him!” Ella screamed, lunging forward and being thrown back by one of Malik’s spells. Lima winced as Ella hit the wall.

A few other Councilmen exchanged glances.

I looked at Tadmir. He angled his chin just a little, saying, Not yet.

He knew what I planned to do.

He’d helped me strategize this entire event.

He also knew what would happen if I got this wrong. “Only one shot, Shade. And you’ll be risking everything to do it,” he’d warned.

“Kolstov doesn’t deserve to die for my choices,”I’d told him.

“If he knew the alternative fate, he might disagree.”

“We’re not having this discussion,” I’d snapped. “Either help me fix this, or fuck off.”

I very rarely lost my temper, but I was at wits’ end with all this bullshit. Aflora had detonated seven times under my watch. Nearly destroyed countless lives. Then almost took her own life after realizing the extent of pain she’d caused others.

Never again.

Tonight, we would get this right.

Just as soon as I fixed this problem.

Malik gathered energy into his palm, readying the next phase of Kolstov’s punishment. A few Councilmen gaped at his decision to force his own son to serve both sentences back-to-back. This would kill him, and they all knew it.

Yet no one spoke.

My father even grinned.

Could no one see the truth before their eyes? That this wasn’t really Malik, but Constantine’s doing?

“Stop!” Emelyn shrieked as the power grew.

“Dad,” Tray whispered, his eyes rounding in horror.

Emelyn shot forward, WarFire forming on her fingertips.

This was my moment.

Five seconds, I thought, concentrating on Kolstov’s soul and whispering an enchantment through my mind. Alqiama Fi Al Mawt. Energy hummed along my skin, subtle and disguised by Emelyn’s outburst as she nailed Malik with her power.

Several gasps followed, then the Elite Blood King hit Emelyn with a paralyzing enchantment that stunned her into immediate silence. Lima cursed, catching his daughter as she fell.

“This is why females are forbidden in Council matters,” Malik seethed, the words ones I’d heard Constantine say almost verbatim. “Too emotional. Get her out of here.”

Lima didn’t argue, carrying his daughter from the room on quick feet.

Tray gathered Ella close, shielding her with his body, his eyes wide with horror as his father resumed his spell, nailing Kolstov with the exsanguination charm.

A jolt hit my chest as I absorbed the spell with Kolstov, my ties to his soul forcing me to endure the pain with him.

My burden, I thought, gritting my teeth. I. Accept. This. Burden.

It burned like a motherfucker, sucking the life from my lungs and weakening my knees. To everyone else, they would see our bond dying and chalk up my reaction to the pain of losing a mate.

I’d planned this moment perfectly.

Previous experience had prepared me with a manipulation plan, one where I informed Constantine of everything as it happened. Including the mate bonds.

Because he already knew everything from Dakota.

She’d been his asset all along, having seduced Zephyrus and Kolstov to teach the future king a valuable lesson. Then she infiltrated the Quandary Bloods under the guise of being ousted from society after the prince ruined her reputation.

So rather than hide, I presented myself as forthcoming and trustworthy. But I only went to Constantine with my information, then he told me what to tell the others.

He thought I was his puppet, that I believed his lies about grooming me as the future king.

I played every game, won every riddle, and volunteered for the tasks he desired, all the while knowing how they would truly benefit me in the end.

Constantine used Aflora’s disappearance as a way to discredit Kolstov, stating he’d failed his trials. Then he’d told me to let Chern sense the other bonds, to have him reveal the truth to the Council.

I’d claimed innocence. “Their bands hid the link from me,” I’d said. “But Chern detected them while searching for Aflora. Her essence leads to Zeph and Kols.”

Several Councilmen wanted to bring Kolstov in for questioning.

Constantine quieted them, said to watch him instead, and suggested I be in charge of monitoring the Midnight Fae Prince.

And that was when I’d recommended the bite. “It’ll provide me with a way to really keep tabs on him, just like Aflora.”

The approval in Constantine’s irises had been unnerving.

Then Malik had disagreed.

And the two had dismissed themselves to engage in a private conversation, one where Constantine weaved a spell that no one seemed to see except for me. Perhaps because I’d witnessed variations of it in other timelines.

Regardless, permission was given.

The link was formed.

And everyone thought I’d done it out of duty.

My knees buckled now as the last of Kolstov’s life began to slip away, his crow appearing from thin air to caw in devastation against his master’s chest.

Ella burst into tears.

Tray sat stunned.

And I focused on that thread… the single speck of life that I needed… to bring Kolstov back.

Don’t you dare let go,I thought at him, aware that he couldn’t hear me, his final breath touching the air. Work with me here, Kolstov. Don’t give up.

But I felt him slipping away, his heart slowing as the final specks of his blood disappeared.

Fully dry.

Depleted of his essence.

Dead by all definitions of the word.

I hung my head, my heart in tatters. If this was what losing a first-level mate felt like, I couldn’t imagine what I’d endure if something happened to Aflora.

Death consumed me, my energy wilting beneath the onslaught of loss. But that flicker of life remained, tugging at my essence, sucking at the needed power to remain alive.

Don’t let go of me,I whispered. I’ve got you.

Tears blurred my eyes, the impact of loss overwhelming and terrifying.

Fuck, Kols. Just… hold on.

Because I couldn’t bear to truly lose him. And I didn’t even really like him. This had to be destroying Aflora.

As though she heard me, a rumble of power went through the ground, her energy flaring to life.

My eyes widened at the impact, then my lips parted as a burning thwomp shot up from the floor, decimating the table.

Oh, shit.

The Councilmen reacted, Malik running to the door and leaving his son’s corpse behind without a second thought.

Tray crawled toward his twin, his expression one I never wanted to see on another person again. Devastation. Loss. Abject terror.

“Tray,” Ella whispered, her voice choked.

But he didn’t hear her, his body collapsing over his brother on an anguished cry.

I swallowed, my fractured heart hammering against my ribs.

Tadmir was suddenly at my side, kneeling with his palm on my back. “Now, Shade. You have to take him now.” The words were a breath against my ear, lost to everyone else as they all started charging from the room, running toward Aflora’s intense destruction.

“He’ll be fine,” Tadmir said in a louder tone, a smirk in his voice. “But I can’t say I’m not enjoying his pain.”

“Oh, fuck off,” my father snapped.

“Come on, Aswad. It’s putting some much-needed hair on his chest,” Tadmir taunted.

I knew what he was doing—goading my father into another distraction, to give me time to act.

Once I did this, everyone would know my true allegiance.

The game would be up.

A final decision. Because there would be no coming back after this. Playing with time would no longer apply, not with Kolstov’s pending resurrection.

I’ve got you,I repeated, tugging on his dwindling spirit, his life literally slipping through my fingers with each passing second. We can do this, Kols. We. Can. Do. This.

I pushed myself to my feet, my limbs shaking with the effort. But adrenaline pushed me forward.

Tray snarled at me as I approached, his fury a whiplash to my senses. Then he broke again on an agonized cry that had Ella shattering beside him.

“I’m going to fix it,” I told them in a hushed whisper, my voice barely carrying.

I wasn’t even sure if they heard me, and I didn’t have time to say it again.

Kolstov’s essence was almost gone.

Now,I thought, using a blast of power to push Tray away from his brother. Then I bent and picked up Kolstov.

“Shadow?” My father’s confusion was palpable in his tone.

I ignored him, instead shifting my focus to Aflora as she engaged our bond. Shadowing, I heard her instincts whisper. I pushed the gift to her and told her where to go without words.

Then I followed her with Kolstov.

And landed shakily on my feet beside Zakkai.

His silver-blue irises flashed as he looked up at me.

“I need you all to listen and do exactly what I say,” I said. “Or we’ll lose Kolstov forever.”

Then I collapsed beside him, my tether to Kolstov snapping like a band inside my soul.

His essence floating… floating… gone.