Page 12 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

I loved that about her. How strong-willed and confident in herself she was. Nicola took everything thrown at her and threw it back with double the force, never stumbling.

I heard her let out a deep sigh, and when I looked up, she was peeking at me from the corner of her eye.

“Okay Nicola, what is it you are dying to say?” I asked, rolling my eyes. Her smile grew at my question. Since we were young, she had always done this, hoped I would catch onto her hints of interest and speak up first. She was clever and cunning, which made her all the more fun.

“Who was that you were dancing with the other night? The one who nearly ripped Sterling’s arm off?” she asked, facing towards me. She leaned in a bit and said, “He was quite possibly one of the most attractive males I have ever seen. Apart from Kafele, of course.”

I never used my powers on Nicola, so she would be the only one who continued to watch what happened that night other than the five of us who went out into the hallway.

“I only got his first name. Bellamy. He was very…interesting,” I said, unable to find better words to describe him. I doubt I could do him justice.

“Oh my gods, Asher, did you have sex with Mr. Interesting?” she asked, squealing a bit at the end. I quickly shushed her and gave a bit of a shove, making her lean over laughing. I had done the same to her the first time she told me about Kafele, and when they had sex I made jokes for weeks about him being quick off the mark. Poor male only lasted a minute or so. I guess I deserved this.

“No, do not be daft. And keep your voice down before Sterling hears and sends an army after him!” I hissed, trying to stay serious. I failed when she wiggled her eyebrows at me, falling into a fit of laughter. I was always planning on telling her about what happened, but I was nervous to do so outside where we could be overheard.

I looked around us and saw no one. Reaching out with my power, I sensed a groundskeeper on the other side of the castle trimming a hedge, but no one else.

“If you must know, we might have kissed,” I answered, trying to sound casual. Nicola’s mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide.

“Ash, I was kidding. I cannot believe you actually kissed him. How exciting!” she said, clapping her hands together. “Tell me all about it. Did you like it? Was he any good? What did he taste like?”

I lowered my voice to a whisper, “It was amazing. I have never felt a spark like that before, like lightning in my skin. And yes, he was good at it. So so wonderful at it. He tasted like fire and cinnamon and sunshine—”

“How does someone taste like sunshine?” Nicola asked, giggling.

“I do not know how to explain it, but he was warm and clean and…like the first ray of sun after a long and stormy winter.” At that, she smiled, and I knew she understood. I would never dare say that this feeling Bellamy gave me was anything like what she and Kafele had, but I did feel a pull to him. Like he was a magnet guiding me to his side.

“Will you see him again?” she asked, her voice impossibly softer.

She knew this would be the most damning part of the conversation. One which should not be occurring at all. Nicola I could trust, it was the listening ears that I could not. Truthfully, it did not matter. There was no future in which the Fire and I would be together.

“I do not know Nicola, will I?” I asked jokingly.

Nicola was a Tomorrow. The first time we met, she said that in her dream, which was what she used to call the visions she saw upon touching another fae, we became best friends. She had been the only one brave enough to read me and, to this day, remained the sole Tomorrow to have read The Manipulator.

She rolled her eyes. “Stop avoiding the question.”

I would have loved to see him even once more, but not only would every suiter have left The Capital immediately after the ball ended, I also did not know how even a single minute with him would lead to anything other than trouble. Mia and Xavier would likely die of fright if they found out what I did, let alone that I had the desire to see him again, and Sterling might call for Bellamy’s head. Of course, Xavier would deliver it whether requested or not.

“It was exciting and sexy, but it was also incredibly stupid. Risking myself is one thing, but if my marriage to Sterling does not happen, then our entire realm could be in danger.” I sighed. Futile as it was, a part of me had always dreamed of finding a handsome stranger that would fall madly in love with me. Apparently, Eternity liked to play jokes on the hopeful.

“You cannot carry the world on your shoulders Asher. If you marry Sterling, you will be giving up your happiness for a realm that does not even respect you.” Her words stung, and I was positive they would stick with me for some time. The truth was not always easy to hear, and it was usually hard to forget.

“I know that, I witness their hatred everyday Nicola,” I snapped. I knew that she was not being mean intentionally, she never was when she said those things that felt like a stab to the chest. Yet, her good intentions never seemed to take away the hurt of such a horrible truth.

Nothing in the world would make me happier than having the fae accept me. Each day I woke up and attempted to fight back against my nature, to mold myself into the princess—and eventual queen—the fae deserved. Each day I seemingly failed.

“I am sorry, I just meant that you give up more than you should to the ungrateful. You deserve happiness. Sterling is dull at best and deranged at worst. Look how he treats you when he is still vying for your heart. What do you think a marriage to him will be like?”

Again, she was right, yet I still felt anger rising within me. I never enjoyed talking about Sterling with her, because there was no changing the situation. All it did was serve to upset us both. Nicola would not share with me what future she saw for my impending husband and I, but I knew that she did not enjoy whatever ensuing life would come of the nuptials.

“Marriage is about gain, Mia tells me as much daily. I am only doing what nearly everyone else does. You are the exception Nicola, not the rule.” Determination lit her eyes, and she looked as if she might further argue. I spoke before she could. “Because of that, it would be careless to see Bellamy again. I would never be able to get away without being seen anyways. Besides, I would have no way of finding him.”

Just then, soft footsteps sounded behind me. I turned to see Jasper and Farai walking towards us, hand-in-hand. They were a beautiful couple, so much so that it was hard not to stare at them. Jasper had let his hair glide down his back freely today, the straight black wave blowing in the wind. He was growing paler as the cold months came crashing down upon us, but his cheeks always held a pink hue. His strong jaw and broad shoulders paired with his wide brown eyes and thin lips had always made him appear more ethereal than most. The kind of beautiful that made you question reality.

Farai was a unique sort of handsome. His ivory hair was cropped short recently, a change from his normally shoulder-length style. His irises matched, an equally colorless hue. He was larger than Jasper, in height and bulk. Years of training as a soldier for the Isle Shifter military forces had chiseled him into a living sculpture. However, it was the male’s skin that brought others flocking to him, piquing their interest. Rather than a single tone like most fae, Farai’s skin was both a creamy pearl and a rich brown. Patches of the two colors warred on him like an abstract painting, an alluring and captivating anomaly.

“Ash baby, when are you finally going to say no to the gaudy gold?” Farai asked as he sank into the grass beside me.

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