Page 118 of A Whisper of Cinders

I look away, she’ll see the truth in my eyes otherwise. “I don’t know,” I whisper, unable to hide the defeat in my voice.

Ami pushes away from the wall and grabs my face with both hands. “You have to listen to me, okay?”

I nod, her hands still firm in place.

“What you feel for Aramis is pure and honest, and probably everything you ever wanted when you thought about being in love.” Her words hit a point deep within me and a single tear rolls out of my eye. She quickly wipes it away. “But Conláed is your equal in so many levels and what you feel for him is like wildfire.”

I close my eyes, clenching my teeth because again her words are true and I hate myself for it. It’s unfair to either of them. I won’t say Conláed feels anything for me, but there is some kind of connection between us that I cannot ignore. But with Aramis…he feels like home, and turning to someone else feels like the deepest betrayal.

“Now, for the most important part, and I need you to listen carefully. It isn’t abnormal in the world of fae for the females to have multiple lovers at the same time. I know,” she says when my eyes go wide. “It wouldn’t work in the human world, but since fae love so deeply, so profoundly, it is something that is normal to us. If your, let’s call it relationship, grows deeper and a mating bond snaps into place, it is something that becomes rare. Having more than one mating bond? Unique, like, it has only happened a couple of times before. And with a mating bond, your powers grow significantly.”

My cheeks burn beneath her palms and she sends some cold through her hands, causing smoke to swirl in front of my eyes “So, you’re saying that…”

“It is possible that you have feelings for more than one fae at the same time and you shouldn’t feel bad about it. Does that mean they are both your mates? It’s possible, but not a certainty. There are multiple factors that have a say in that. But if you feel something for both of them, I’d say go for it. No feelings will be harmed, we all know how rare it is to share a soul with a fae, let alone two.” She lets go of my face and takes in my burning cheeks. “You look adorable when you’re blushing.”

I turn away from start walking to the restaurant. “Please don’t bring this up to Aramis. Or Conláed for that matter. Or…with anyone really. Just don’t speak about this whenever someone else is around.”

She places a hand on her heart and takes a small bow. “Cross my heart. But they wouldn’t be weirded out or anything like that, just so you know.”

Giving her a look that begs her to keep silent, we wait in line until our food arrives. Could they both be my mates? My feelings are too tangled to make any sense of it.

I quickly down my meal since we only have five minutes left before the game begins. We put our trays away and I hurry after her, nearly stumbling over my own two feet in my haste, before catching up. “So where is the playing field?”

“I could explain it to you, but it’s better if you see for yourself.”

We leave the Academy behind and walk on a snow cleared path that randomly stops in the middle of a field. “Uh, Ami?”

“Trust the process, babes, trust the process.”

I’m about to tell her I do not want to fall in snow that reaches my thighs, when we walk through some kind of barrier and the environment changes. The field is in fact clear of snow and is replaced by an oval play field with a tribune.

She bumps her elbow into my ribs. “Told ya.”

We walk towards the entrance and take the stairs up towards where Siri and Neoma have saved us a seat. The tribunes are already full, so it’s safe to say we’re lucky we didn’t have to search for a free spot.

“I am forever grateful that I am your friend Ams, and the fact that your brother plays on the team is a nice bonus.”

“I know, I know. Being me has its perks.”

“Do you have to pay for tickets?” I whisper to Ami.

“Of course not! But every game, Aramis saves us a seat so we get the best views.” Her head turns to the right. “Oh, look! It’s about to begin.”

Two neatly formed lines of male fae enter the field. The team of Aramis wears burgundy shorts and black T-shirts, the emblem of the winged bird visible on their backs. The other team wears the same outfit in green with the shadow of a dragon on their backs.

“Tell me again what the rules are.”

“Oh, right, well, do you see those two goals on each side of the field?” Ami points to the left and right and I nod. “They basically have to score into the goal with a ball, which sounds very easy, but,”

“Always the buts,” I retort.

“Let’s just say this isn’t your basic game of football, we are fae after all and what fun would it be without a little bit of magic.”

Not making any sense out of her words, I decide I will find out myself how this game is played. I’ve heard of football before, even though I don’t know the rules. I am curious to see how they will use magic in it.

The players take their spots on the field, a whistle sounds and the magical ball of light starts to move. In the beginning, I don’t see anything magical happening until…

Aramis has the ball, but the other team is gaining on him and out of nowhere, dark shadow discs appear and he jumps on them with ease, taking the ball with him before he lances into the sky and sends it into the goal of the other team.