so distracting? “You all need clothes.”
Kols reached for me, the inky lines along his arms writhing with hypnotic power. Zeph released my face, his hands dropping to my hips. I glanced down, noting how I straddled his thighs.
Why am I wearing clothes? I wondered, biting my lip. That’s not the point of dreams. I should be naked. But didn’t I just tell them…?
I flinched as Kols’s palm met my cheek. His skin burned against mine, his power a shock wave that yanked a gasp from my throat. “Oh!” I arched upward and nearly fell, but Zeph’s hand landed on my lower back, holding me steady.
Energy hummed through me, magic warring deep inside my soul.
I closed my eyes, falling into the black hole of whirling energy, searching for the cause of the disturbance.
Red and cerulean battled.
Beautiful colors.
So bright and vibrant.
Only, they were trying to destroy one another.
No, no, couldn’t have that. They were too pretty to harm each other.
I plucked at them, tugging the two cords apart, and shoved them to separate recesses of my soul, then jolted awake on Zeph’s lap once more.
He was shouting.
Kols had fallen off the bed, and Shade was trying to help him up.
I frowned. “What happened?”
“Zakkai,” Zeph snarled the name.
I blinked, then gasped. “He wants to kill Kols!”
“No shit,” Shade snapped, his sharp tone startling me. He never spoke to me like that.
And considering how we’d left things, he should be groveling. “You gave me to Zakkai,” I said slowly, everything coming back to me in a siege of insanity. That part wasn’t important. I needed to tell them about his intentions for Kols. Except, hold on, I already did.
“Are you all right?” Zeph asked, cupping my cheeks once more. “I need to know you’re okay. I could feel your pain.”
“My pain?” I repeated, trying to pull away to look at Kols, but Zeph held me steady.
“Aflora, did Zakkai hurt you?”
“No,” I replied, frowning. “No, Dakota did.”
His eyebrows flew upward. “Dakota?”
“Some Elite Blood,” I said. “She hit me with a horrible spell. It… it paralyzed me. Zakkai made her stop. Then he took me back… to sleep… in his room.” I glanced around as the dream started to blur. “Zeph, he wants to kill Kols.” I tried to grab him to ensure he understood, but my hand went through him.
“Aflora!”
“Zeph!” I cried out, lunging for him. “He wants to kill Kols!”
He caught me by the waist as I nearly tumbled to the floor and yanked me back up onto the bed. I curled into his lap, shivering. “I don’t know where I am,” I whispered. “I don’t know where he’s keeping me, but there are mountains and sunshine.”
I glanced up, a plea for him to find me lining my lips, only his eyes had turned a silver blue. And his dark hair now fell in white waves around his shoulders.
Zakkai.
My limbs froze. My heart stopped beating. My eyes went wide.
He knew about my dream.
He knew what I’d betrayed.
Oh, flowers, I’m a dead fae…
His lips curled. “I’m not going to punish you for loyalty, Aflora,” he whispered, cupping my cheek and pressing his lips to my temple. “I actually quite admire that trait in you.” He tucked me against his bare chest, the heat of his skin seeming to thaw some of the ice coating my veins.
He… he didn’t feel mad.
Maybe he was hiding it? Playing some sort of mental game again? Did he have more memories of mine to alter?
“The memories are real,” he said softly. “I spent the first ten years of my life with your family, seven of those years with you. We were best friends, Aflora.”
I shook my head, denying every word. “You put those memories there.”
“I didn’t. But I did remove them initially.” He sighed, his gaze taking on a faraway gleam. “We knew the Elders had discovered our location in the Elemental Fae realm, and it was only a matter of time before they came for us. My dad tried to convince your parents to run, but they refused because it would have meant leaving the earth source behind.”
He fell silent for a moment, his expression radiating a pain I could sense through our bond. It pinched my heart, causing my eyes to prickle with tears. Not because it hurt, but because I hurt for him.
“We compromised with the bond.” He cleared his throat, his voice lower, and huskier with emotion. “Then I erased all your memories of me and my dad to protect you from the Elders. It was