Page 27 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

“As long as he still plans to marry me someday, then I do not mind. Plus, I also heard the mysterious prince was able to use every element, even hotter.” Jasper laughed, pieces of his long black locks falling from the bun atop his head and framing his face, skin pink from being in the sun for far too long.

“Well Raven told me that he eats the hearts of his victims and makes sacrifices to the Underworld, which is how he got those powers,” I said, choosing to ignore my previous point of Raven’s unreliability.

“The forbidden love part goes a long way too, then,” Nicola swooned. I found the statement sent chills up my spine. Everyone loved a tragic tale, until they lived it.

I snapped back to reality, my heart racing at the sight of Bellamy as he wielded all four elements.

“You are The Elemental,” I whispered.

Then I took the knife next to the plate of food, and proceeded to hurl it at him.

Chapter Seventeen

Bellamy’s entire body lit up in those black flames as the knife sliced into his chest. His clothes burned away, leaving him naked and revealing dark ink snaking across his skin. The wind blew fiercely through my hair, making it hard to see. I felt the chill of the snow hitting my cheeks and stinging my eyes. Below, the ground still shook as he ripped the blade free, tossing it to the floor.

Without allowing myself to consider the consequences of my powers failing, I latched onto Bellamy’s mind. I knew it worked when the rage I anticipated was invading my senses. Unmanageable sorrow fell upon me next, taking me by surprise. The pain he felt was so excruciating that I cried out at the weight of it, but I did not let go of his mind.

Flashes of what I assumed were his memories flooded my vision. A castle atop a hill. An aged male with kind eyes. Lian laughing with another fae female. A gray cat licking its paw.

Then I saw myself, alone, reading a book in the grass outside the palace. Quickly it switched to Sterling and I sitting on the shore of a lake, he was talking about something as I stared off in the distance. The image morphed into me making my way through The Capital market, nearby fae giving me a wide berth.

All of a sudden, my back came into view. My head was tilted up towards the star filled night as my hands gripped the balcony of the palace, the music from my introductory ball coming to a crescendo in the background. In the same setting, I saw Bellamy reach his foot out and…trip me, catching me before I fell.

After, I saw as I walked through the palace hallways, my golden gown swaying. I sped up in the memory, and I knew this was when I had sensed someone watching me walk to my chambers. Then it was me, standing in the red dress, my hands behind my back. My face appeared again, here in this room, on his bed, asleep.

Memories that he could not possibly have, but somehow did. He had been watching me, spying on me for who knew how long. I panicked at the images, gripping his mind and pressing on it. Every element winking out at my attack, and he nearly collapsed to the floor, the glass doors slamming shut with a loud bang.

Just when I stood, bracing my feet to end him, to shatter his mind and make a run for it, a wave of black fire pushed me towards the edges of his mental walls. I could nearly feel the burn of it, scorching my powers out of his mind and leaving me gasping.

“You are blocking me,” I said, trying to remain calm. To act as if I was not slipping into a violent hysteria. Without a word, his eyes bore into me, and I knew he saw through the façade. “How do you do it?” I asked.

He gave me no response.

“Are there so many secrets in there that you must keep me out?” My words came out harsh, clipped. I tried to relax to avoid him spiraling again, but I was not sure if I could.

“My secrets are not public information for a reason, Asher.” I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him. He could abduct me from my wedding but I could not ask a question? Figures.

“You will not try anything like that again. Ever,” he growled. I assumed he meant attempt to kill him, though I would neither ask nor agree. I would try again, we both knew it. “There is a bath waiting for you through that door if you need it.”

Without another word he got up, unfazed by his own nudity, covering only his wound as he left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

I stood there for a few minutes, unsure of what he meant or how I should react. When I finally snapped out of the daze, I moved to the door. Locked. I figured as much, but it still enraged me.

I walked over to the glass doors that went outside. I saw the soft sand of the beach and assumed we were likely wherever he had brought me earlier today. Wait, was it today? How long was I asleep?

Pushing back those thoughts to avoid more panic, I reached for the doorknobs. Also locked. As if I could somehow escape over the sea. My anger seemed to bubble inside of me. I tried to calm down by pacing the room, hoping it would right my mind.

When that did not work I took Bellamy up on the offer of the bath. I smelled wretched, like I was left out in the hot sun for days on end to rot. My heart felt corroded and decayed, so there was definitely some truth to that.

To no surprise, the bathing chamber was entirely black and red, mirroring the bed chamber. The only difference was that candles lit the room rather than fae fire, or whatever that was floating near the ceiling.

I could smell Bellamy in the air. I cringed at the way my heart leapt when the scent of cinnamon and smoke enveloped me, as if my emotions were not totally in line with my common sense.

I reached down to pull off my clothes, only to find that the thin silk hid very little, which made my cheeks blaze in embarrassment. More than that, I was furious at the fact that someone changed me without my knowledge.

Ripping the flimsy material off, I lowered my body down into the deliciously warm water, a moan escaping my lips. Even the relaxing and soothing bath with hints of vanilla could not hold back the dark and brooding thoughts for long.

How was I ever fooled? How did I think him to be a regular fae? I recalled only sensing fire within him, but he also somehow blocked me on multiple occasions. I had never met anyone capable of that, not even Mia could stop me from breaking into her mind—not that I had since the day my powers manifested. Even without the blocking, I was still drawn to him in a way that would have convinced me to ignore all caution.

---