Page 309 of Bitten By the Fae

“Good. Because I think you’ll approve of this one,” Kols replied, his arrogance rivaling that of the Source Architect on the ground. “The Council and the Elders used Aflora as bait. Now they want to track her through Shade. I suspect you already knew that would happen and have safeguards in place to protect yourself and her. My suggestion is we work together to keep Aflora safe. With you. And we’ll use the nightly dreams to regroup with next steps.”

“So your suggestion is to maintain the status quo by allowing me to keep Aflora—a situation you have absolutely no control over anyway and can’t alter. Sure. That works for me.” Zakkai closed his eyes again.

“My suggestion is to accept where we are and not waste time fighting it,” Kols reiterated. “And to instead discuss a future resolution.”

I blinked, this twist of fate straightening my spine.

Aflora caught my movement because her back was pressed to my chest.What is it?

Kols has never offered to work with Zakkai before, I told her, unable to hide my shock.They usually just… fight.

The Quandary Blood’s eyelids lifted as he studied the Midnight Fae Prince. “Future resolution? And what would that look like for you,Nacht?”

“Well, for one, it would be a future where Aflora lives. Which is not what the Council or the Elders have in mind.” His tone held a note of irritation that he usually reserved for me. It was rather nice to hear it directed at someone else for a change. “I think we can all agree that some changes in the hierarchical structure are needed. I’m not sure what those should look like yet, as I’ve only recently become aware of the challenges, but I am open to discussing them.”

“And if I say the only way any of this will ever work is for the entire Nacht family line to die, you’ll agree?” Zakkai drawled, his eyebrow inching upward once more. He waited a beat before smiling and saying, “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

“Death isn’t always the solution,” Aflora murmured. “Unless you want to take over the mantle of slaughtering and ending lives?”

Zakkai’s eyes shifted to our mate. “Retribution requires sacrifice.”

“So does reformation,” she countered. “Sometimes we have to sacrifice our desire for revenge to find a more efficient path forward.”

My lips parted at her statement.

It sounded like something my grandmother would say.

Zakkai’s expression said he felt similarly. He snorted and went back to his nap. “Indulge your mates, Aflora. Then we need some sleep before your classes tomorrow. Your new headmaster won’t go easy on you.”

“Changing the subject doesn’t solve anything,” she muttered. “And what class are you talking about?”

“Quandary Magic 101,” he replied. “With me as your personal tutor.”

“What about her other courses?” Zeph asked. “She’s still learning defensive and offensive skills.”

“Use the dreams,” Zakkai said, yawning. “Or don’t. But I’m not letting you into the paradigm. Not while you’re tied to the Elite Blood.”

Kols and Zeph shared a long look. They couldn’t speak mentally, but I sensed they were conversing in another way. Perhaps via their eyes alone.

“Aflora will stay where she is,” Kols said. “We won’t fight about it but will instead help Shade conceal her location. This is for her personal safety more than anything else.”

“And we’ll train in the dreams,” Zeph added. “So she can better defend herself should something change or happen.”

“And we will discuss as a unit how to move forward,” Aflora said, her focus on Zakkai.

The Quandary Blood held her gaze.

And she held his back, standing before him like the queen she would one day become.

A tendril of hope curled around my heart, the notion that we might all work together a dream that had always been so far out of reach.

I allowed it to flourish for three seconds. Just long enough to spread a trickle of warmth through my veins.

Then I recalled all the histories where I’d failed.

I couldn’t afford to hope.

Not until the end.