Page 293 of Bitten By the Fae

That forced me to sit up. Same with Kols.

“You said he wouldn’t hurt her,” I said, narrowing my gaze. “What happened, Shade?”

“I don’t know!” he shouted, throwing his arms up in the air as he lowered his wild eyes to mine. “I can’t link to her without risking Zakkai getting into my head, and he already knows too much. I’ve risked a lot just by lowering the barrier between us to check on her. I can’t do it again, but trust me, I wish I could. Fuck, I wish I could do a lot of things right now.”

This was probably the truest Shade had ever been with us. And, unfortunately, it wasn’t fucking good enough. “Let’s try her dreams again,” I said to Kols. “Maybe she’s asleep now.”

“You can’t,” Shade started, but I held up my hand.

“Your head is a problem because of all your time fuckery. I get that. But I don’t know those details. If Zakkai wants to rummage through my thoughts, he’s welcome to experience my rage.”

“It’s more than that,” Shade insisted. “He’s the Source Architect. He can rewrite powers, Zeph. He can alteryourpowers.”

“I’m not afraid of his Quandary skills,” I retorted, refocusing on Kols. “We should?—”

“He can undo the mating bond,” Shade interjected.

We could have heard a pin drop after that pronouncement.

Altering my powers was a consequence I could live with. Altering my bond to Aflora? No, that wasn’t an acceptable risk.

Kols cleared his throat. “What about our elemental bond?”

“I don’t know,” Shade whispered. “But maybe.”

“Has he undone our mating bonds before?” I asked.

Shade swallowed. “I don’t know.”

I frowned. “You don’t know? Yet you’re positive that he can do it now? Through a dream?”

Shade shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

“You’re right. I don’t fucking understand because you’re not telling us everything,” I snapped, tired of this convoluted riddle of a game. “Either give me something I can work with or get the fuck out of here.”

“Zeph.” Kols placed his palm on my thigh, the blanket the only thing separating his touch from my skin. “Are there timelines you don’t remember?” Kols asked, the question for Shade.

“Likely, yes.” Shade’s hands fell to his sides in a helpless gesture. “There are certain rules with time. If you bond to another fae—full bonding, not just an initial stage—then you can’t go back without taking the bonded mate with you. And the only way to ensure that a bonded mate forgets is if you sacrifice your memories as well. So it’s possible I’ve done that, but I wouldn’t remember if I had.”

“This is why I don’t fuck with time,” I muttered.

“You’re not helping,” Kols said, squeezing my leg. “Shade, has Zakkai ever dismantled our bonds to Aflora?”

The Death Blood stilled. “I already admitted to Aflora succeeding in that endeavor,” he said slowly. “Her Quandary magic comes from Zakkai.”

“Meaning, if she can do it, he definitely can,” Kols translated.

Shade dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “I’m not saying he will. I’m saying the possibility is there, and if you choose to talk to Aflora, you need to be very careful.”

“Who put the block in my head?” I asked him, narrowing my gaze. I’d thought it was because of her location in a paradigm, but something about the way he phrased his statement made me think otherwise.If I choose to talk to Aflora. Meaning Icouldtalk to her.

“It’s a safety measure,” the Death Blood replied.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I know,” he replied.

“Remove the block, Shade,” I demanded, reading between the lines. “I’ll control my own link.”