Midnight Fae Academy Book Three - Lexi C. Foss Page 0,34
day together.”
“You didn’t let me do anything, Aflora. You protested everything, even the spaghetti.”
“You don’t like spaghetti?” Zakkai interjected, sounding amused.
“She doesn’t like a lot of things,” Zeph informed him flatly, pushing off the tree. “Why am I really here, Quandary Blood? What spell have you woven through her mind?”
“Several,” Zakkai replied. “But this dream is all her. I don’t even know where we are.”
Zeph snorted. “You expect me to believe that? After you put Kols in a magical coma?”
“Kols is in a coma?” I repeated on a gasp. I spun around in Zakkai’s arms. “You promised not to hurt anyone!”
Zakkai rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hurt him. He attacked my spell and I retaliated, just as I said I would do. And that happened in your initial dream, not this one. He’s also perfectly fine.”
Zeph came to stand right beside me, his focus on Zakkai. “He was unconscious in his bed seconds ago.”
“Last time I checked, naps weren’t painful,” my Quandary Blood mate drawled. “Bring him into the dream, Aflora. Have him confirm for himself.”
“Don’t,” Zeph warned. “It’s a trap.”
Zakkai just shook his head. “You should have started with Shade. He’s much more agreeable.”
I considered them both, my mind reaching through the connection to read both mates. Zeph’s innate distrust hit me square in the heart, while Zakkai’s essence boasted tranquility and sincerity.
I met his silver-blue eyes, studying him intently.
It was a risk.
One I needed to take to know the truth.
“Tanoomeen Ma Ana,” I whispered, my mind focusing on Kols to bring him into the dream.
I studied Kols and Zeph on the bed and frowned.
Aflora’s essence flourished around them, her magic weaving a dream spell that held them both captive to her mind.
Zakkai must have shown her how to do that, but I couldn’t figure out why. He’d never willingly allowed her to dance in the dreams of her mates before.
Of course, this was the most she’d ever bonded to any of us. At least as far as I knew.
Would this finally be the rendition of our fate that worked? Or was this a sign of the ultimate failure?
A Paradox Fae couldn’t fix death—something Kyros and Tadmir had both warned me about from the very beginning. Once a life strand ended, it couldn’t be brought back into a timeline.
Not without an anchor, anyway.
And I wasn’t even sure if that could work.
I considered the two men on the bed, debating my next move. I wanted to join them. I also needed to talk to Ajax.
Every other avenue I’d tried had failed, and I finally figured out why—they all revolved around Aflora. So I was playing with a new path that Zakkai wouldn’t be able to sense. A path that wasn’t tied to him at all.
Another risk.
Another potentially horrid fate.
But I was running out of options.
A tug at my consciousness had me glancing at the bed again. Aflora was unweaving my block, her power seeming to have grown overnight.
Because of Zakkai.
I sighed. She was ahead of schedule. I expected it to take her at least another week to break my barriers. At least she would know how to throw them back up when the time came.
With a wave of my wand, I conjured my phone and shot a message off to Ajax, telling him I wanted to meet up later tonight. I had to handle this dream first, as well as visit with Chern—he expected me to show up in an hour to discuss methods of tracking Aflora—and then I could continue my exploration of the alternative plan.
Rest was for the weak.
And I didn’t have time for weakness.
So I lay down on the bed near Kols and shut my eyes, giving in to Aflora’s call.
Little rose, I said into her mind as I materialized beside her and Zakkai. Central Park is an interesting choice.
So you can hear me, she replied, her blue eyes glowing with power.
I can always hear you, I murmured, sliding my hands into the pockets of my jeans. Another interesting choice. We were all similarly dressed in casual attire, like we were preparing for a stroll around the park. If only it would be this easy. “Zakkai.”
“Shade,” he returned. “I need the rock from your Advanced Conjuring class.”
It was just like Zakkai to deliver a command with his greeting. In this case, it was an unexpected demand. “Are you talking about the one that sucked all the life out of Aflora? The one you gave her?”
“I didn’t give it to Aflora,” he replied, his brow furrowing. “And what