Page 317 of Bitten By the Fae

It seemed he had a one-track mind. Just like my other mates. “Spells usually require oral skills, yes,” I told him, smiling. “So I do hope you’ll use your mouth and voice.”

“Maybe I’ll growl instead, right against your clit,” he countered, rolling off the bed and sauntering toward me on bare feet.

It was a distinctly sexy look with his long white hair loose around his shoulders, framing his dark sweater that led to fitted jeans.

So casual.

At home.

Comfortable.

He cupped my cheek with his palm, his skin hot against mine. “My offer remains, Aflora. Just let me know when you have use for my mouth, and it’s yours for as long as you want it.” He leaned in to brush his lips against mine. “As for today’slesson, we’re going outside. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

He slipped his hand into my cloak to retrieve my wand and used it to give himself a pair of brown boots and a leather jacket. Then he returned it to my pocket with a wink.

“Let’s go.” He turned, expecting me to follow.

Which I did because he’d said one of my favorite words.Outside.

I’d been dying to explore the exterior of this castle, but I hadn’t been able to find a single door. And whenever I wandered too far away from Zakkai, a spell lassoed my waist and yanked me back to his side.

We wandered through the labyrinth of stone-and-glass hallways, my eyes drifting over the torches and exterior the whole time. It really was beautiful here. Unique, too. The flames danced along the walls like a strand of lights, their underlying color a cerulean blue. Doors sporadically appeared—all with proper handles and no gargoyles—and the windows seemed to be strategically placed to allow for maximum viewing potential of the outdoors.

“Where exactly are we?” I wondered out loud as the wall shifted before us to reveal a secret staircase that hadn’t been there seconds ago. I frowned at it. “How did you…?” I trailed off, my lips parting as the flames danced downward to illuminate the stone steps along the floor.

“We’re in a paradigm,” Zakkai replied. “One I created. It reacts to my wants and needs.”

“So it’s like the one I fell into when Emelyn and I were in the LethaForest?” It reminded me of being inside a magical bubble. It looked and felt real, and it was to an extent. Like an alternate reality within a reality.

“That was a crude paradigm, but similar,” he replied, heading downward. “This one is far more intricate. It’s also hidingroughly fifty fae inside of the boundary walls. The paradigm you wereinvitedinto was hastily created for the sole purpose of providing a safe place to talk. But as you saw, the Warrior Bloods discovered the magic quickly and tore it down.”

I frowned. “Can they discover this one?”

“Only if they know where to look.” He paused on the bottom step as another set of stairs formed, then continued his descent. “The key to a paradigm is to put it somewhere away from Midnight Fae. We can sense the magic. It also requires a lot of energy to create, which is how the Warrior Bloods found the one in the LethaForest so quickly. Fortunately, that paradigm wasn’t meant to remain. This one is fortified by my magic. Just as Shade’s paradigm is protected by his grandparents. And both are strategically located.”

“You mean his meadow?” I asked, thinking of the sunshine and flowers and the little house Shade had hidden inside a tree.

“Yes. He built that paradigm as an attachment to the one his grandparents maintain.”

“So, like a bubble within a bubble… within a reality.”

He stopped at the bottom of the staircase beside a large door and stared down at me with an eyebrow arched. “A bubble?”

“It’s how I visualize paradigms. Like an alternative reality bubble within a reality.”

His lip quirked up on one side. “More like an invisible doorway to another world crafted by magic.” He stepped backward through the wood and held his hand out for me. “You’ll need to be touching me for the castle to allow you to leave,” he said from the other side, his voice muffled by the door.

“Continuously?” I wondered out loud, taking his hand.

He pulled me through and smiled. “For now.” He threaded our fingers together and led me into a garden full of colorful flowers.

I gasped at the sight, my affinity for earth flourishing to life. “Oh.” I tugged him toward a stunning pink-and-white blossom, my free hand reaching for the magical bloom.

He allowed it, saying nothing as I stroked the petals to learn the name of the pretty flower.

An Oriental lily.“I’ve never heard of that,” I mused out loud. “Where is this from?”

“The Human Realm,” he replied softly.