Page 102 of Chosen By the Fae King

The corners of my mouth turned down. “I smell like a cat? To everyone?”

This time he laughed outright. “No, not at all. It’s a specific aroma similar to cloves mixed with ginger. Only those with an enhanced sense of smell would catch on by scent alone, like a shifter or some other type of fae with a similar bloodline. Though, only those with extremely sensitive noses would realize it before you came into your powers. I just happen to be one of those who could pick up on it.”

“I don't have enhanced senses, not like that.”

“You do, just not the same as mine. Plus you have other gifts to make up for it.” Nox smiled and tapped my nose. “I have the usual suite of enhanced senses, as well as shadow manipulation.”

“Shadow manipulation?” I blinked. “Like how you travel?”

“Among other things.” Nox lowered my back to the bed and then stretched out beside me, pulling me into the warmth of his embrace. It wasn't lost on me that I was naked under the blankets while he was fully clothed on top of them.

“I am what is known as an umbral, a rare type of baast shifter that can blend into and manipulate shadows. I can also turn fully incorporeal, if I so choose. My kind are often loners, but I was drawn to you from the first.”

I stared at him, stunned into silence. An umbral. I'd heard stories of the elusive fae, but never dreamed there were any in Falcondale.

And the king was one. Well, part of him was.

“Why doesn't the kingdom know?” I asked.

“My lineage isn't a secret,” he answered. “Admittedly, I don't go around showing talents at random. Most Scullbrooks can shadow walk and that's primarily an umbral power.”

“So all the Scullbrooks are umbrals?”

“To a degree.”

My brow furrowed. “Meaning?”

“Not all Scullbrooks can shift in the same way.”

When he didn't elaborate, I opened my mouth to ask and then thought better of it. None of the contestants, and definitely not Lorne or Sage, had spoken a word about it.

It wasn't my place to pry despite wanting to. It could also be seen as rude by some fae to go digging into the extent of their magic.

Someone in my parentage had to have kept quiet about their shifting magic. Either that or my parents purposefully kept it from me.

It made me sad thinking it was likely the latter. That had to be it. How could they not have possibly known since they carried it in their own blood?

“The shadow-walking should have clued me in,” I told him. “I just never gave it much thought considering how many different kinds of magical talents are out there.”

Nox shrugged. “I suppose it's just not the sort of topic farmers discuss in Greenhollow.”

His tone was flirtatious and light, the situation anything but. I slapped at his shoulder, lightly.

He nipped my jaw, then my bottom lip. “Prickly female,” Nox teased.

“And you're a brooding loner who likes kissing a prickly female who partially turns into a giant cat,” I said at last. “Lucky you.”

Nox's eyes gleamed with amusement and affection. “Incredibly lucky, I'd say.” He brushed a kiss over my lips.

I twined my arms around his neck and drew him down for a proper kiss. Nox made a low sound of pleasure, deepening the kiss with a passion that left me breathless.

When at last we parted, he adjusted me so my head was resting over his heart. His arms tightened around me.

“Try to get some sleep, kitten. It will help you finish healing.”

Twenty-One

Aeryn

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