Page 21 of Night Fae (Monsters of Veridia #3)

Malik woke to the soft glow of morning light filtering through the windows of his chamber.

For a moment, he lay still, his mind drifting between sleep and consciousness, aware only of the dull ache that permeated his body.

Memories of the previous night filtered back—his foolish attempt to find Zev, nearly collapsing in the corridor, being carried back to bed.

And Zev promising to stay.

Malik turned his head, half-expecting to find the space beside his bed empty.

Instead, he found Zev sitting in a chair pulled close to the bedside, violet eyes watching him with an unreadable expression.

The fae's glamour was firmly in place, hiding his true appearance, but fatigue marked the shadows beneath his eyes.

"You stayed," Malik whispered, unable to keep the surprise from his voice.

"I promised I would." Zev's tone was neutral, matter-of-fact, but he shifted in his seat as if uncomfortable with the acknowledgment.

Malik pushed himself up on his elbows, testing his strength. He wasn't recovered, but he was better.

"All night?" he asked Zev.

"Yes." Zev stood, moving toward the window. Distance. He was creating distance between them.

Sunlight caught in Zev's dark hair, illuminating strands of midnight blue that drew Malik's gaze. The fae warrior looked out of place in the morning light—a creature of darkness reluctantly touched by dawn.

"Thank you." Malik swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pleased to find them steadier than the night before.

Zev turned to him, arms crossed. "How do you feel?"

"Better. Not great, but better." Malik rose cautiously to his feet. The room stayed mercifully steady this time.

Zev watched him with hawk-like intensity, poised to intervene if Malik's strength failed. The concern in his posture contradicted the careful neutrality of his expression.

He cared; he just didn't want to admit how much.

For a second, Malik considered calling him out on it, just to watch him squirm. But he didn't want to push his luck—or Zev—too hard.

"Knox has called a meeting," Zev said after a moment. "To discuss our plans going forward."

Malik nodded, taking a few experimental steps. "Knox did? Did Caelen blow a gasket?"

Zev raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"Never mind. I was just thinking that the Shadow King probably isn't loving that Knox is giving commands in his castle."

Zev remained quiet for a moment longer. "Daniel seems to have leashed the Shadow King."

"I didn't think he could do it," Malik admitted.

"Because you couldn't?"

Ouch. Did Zev really have to remind him of his brief crush on Caelen? And how it had ended? Malik winced. "He's an ass."

"Yet he was your favorite."

What was Zev getting at? "Did I say that?" The memory came back to him slowly. He hadn't told Zev that Caelen was his favorite, but he had told Zev that Zev was his second-favorite , while Zev had carried him out of his temporary prison.

Oh God.

Was Zev really not gonna let that go?

Malik hadn't been thinking clearly. "He's not my favorite anymore. He hasn't been for a while!"

Zev regarded him quietly. It was impossible for Malik to tell what was going on in the fae's head.

"Let's not talk about Caelen anymore," Malik said. "Tell me about the meeting."

Zev seemed fine with the change of topic. "It's in an hour."

"Good. I'll be there."

Zev's eyes narrowed. "You're not recovered."

"I'm well enough to sit and listen." Malik met Zev's gaze, a silent challenge passing between them. "I need to know what's happening."

For a moment, it seemed Zev would argue, but instead, he gave a curt nod. "Fine. But you won't walk there alone."

Malik couldn't help the small smile that curved his lips. "Worried I'll collapse dramatically in the hallway again?"

"Yes."

The blunt response startled a laugh from Malik. Damn it, but he liked the fae's honesty.

Especially when compared with Caelen's manipulations.

Zev might be awful at processing and expressing his feelings, but he would never try to play mind games with Malik.

"Someone will bring food shortly," Zev continued, moving toward the door. "I'll return in a little while to help you to the council chamber."

Without waiting for a response, he slipped out, the door clicking shut behind him. Malik sank back onto the edge of the bed, feeling oddly bereft in the sudden silence.

But Zev had promised to come back.

And so far, he'd kept every promise he'd made.

True to his word, Zev returned an hour later, after Malik had eaten a breakfast of bread, fruit, and a strange herbal tea that had tasted like mint and something spicy.

"Ready?" Zev asked from the doorway.

Malik nodded, but in his urge to appear ready, he rose to his feet too quickly, and when he took his first step, a wave of dizziness caught him off guard. Before he could stumble, Zev was at his side, one hand gripping his elbow, the other at his waist.

"I'm fine," Malik insisted, even as he leaned into the support.

Zev's hands were firm.

Warm too.

"Of course you are," Zev replied, his voice dry. But he didn't let go.

Malik was glad for that, and not only because he appreciated the support.

The two of them moved through the corridors in silence, Zev matching his pace to Malik's slower steps.

Servants and guards they passed gave them curious glances, doubtless wondering about the strange human and his fae protector.

They must all know who Zev was—he had a bit of a reputation, after all.

Yet here he was, helping a stumbling human.

The thought put a smile on Malik's face.

How many people had experienced the assassin's softer side?

Probably not many at all.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the council chamber at the end of a long hallway. Two guards stood at attention, opening the doors as they approached.

Inside, the others were already gathered around a large oval table of polished marble. Adrian and Knox sat side by side, heads bent in quiet conversation. Daniel perched on the table's edge near Caelen, who stood examining what appeared to be maps spread across the surface.

All eyes turned to them as they entered.

"Malik," Adrian was the first to speak, rising from his seat. "Should you be up?"

"I'm fine," Malik insisted, even though he was still leaning on Zev. "I want to help."

Caelen studied him with cool assessment. "Sit before you fall."

Malik bristled, but he allowed Zev to guide him to an empty chair. The fae warrior remained standing behind him.

"Now that we're all here," Knox began, "we need to discuss what's been happening with the barriers."

Caelen nodded, gesturing to the maps before them—which displayed the network of shadow paths that ran through Veridia. "There's reason enough to believe the paths play into it."

"I have information," Zev said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a leather-bound journal. "I took this from werewolf researchers."

Werewolf researchers…

Malik watched as the journal passed to Caelen.

Had Zev taken this from some of the wolves he'd been forced to kill?

Nothing in Zev's expression betrayed his feelings, yet Malik still had to suppress the urge to reach for his hand.

"I've read the journal," Zev said. "The researchers were documenting changes in the shadow paths. Recording disappearances, analyzing energy fluctuations."

Caelen flipped through the journal, his expression growing increasingly troubled. "These readings match what my own people have found. But they've studied a lot more locations."

He turned to one of the maps, placing the journal beside it. As he read out coordinates, Knox marked them with a pen.

A strange kind of pattern seemed to emerge—disturbances clustered around specific points, forming what looked almost like a constellation across Veridia.

"That can't be natural," Daniel said, leaning forward. "That doesn't look random."

"It isn't," Caelen confirmed. "This is a ritual formation."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"A ritual for what?" Malik asked.

Caelen's expression darkened. "The shadow paths are ancient—older than Veridia itself by some accounts. They're not just passages; they're foundations holding our world separate from others."

"Including Earth," Adrian murmured.

"Yes." Caelen traced a finger along the pattern on the map. "Someone is deliberately destabilizing them at key junction points."

"Yuri," Knox muttered darkly. "Could this be his doing?"

Malik remembered Yuri. The fourth barrier keeper who was responsible for his being in Veridia now. Yuri wanted the barriers to break.

But why?

"I wonder if he's doing it for power," Caelen said. "There is an immense amount of magic that can be harvested from the paths. It's part of the reason my ancestors built here… and why the Night Court keeps trying to annex my kingdom."

Zev shifted behind Malik's chair. "The Night Court has been excavating entrances to the paths."

Caelen grimaced. "I'm not surprised to hear that."

Malik worried his bottom lip. "Could they use them to travel here?"

"They haven't managed so far." Caelen met his gaze. "I have guards posted at all entrances. It's how we were notified of your arrival so quickly. If anything comes through the path, I'll know."

While that was reassuring, it didn't completely erase Malik's fear of coming face to face with his tormentors once more.

Before he could say anything, though, the chamber doors swung open. A guard entered and bowed deeply to Caelen.

"Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty, but there are urgent matters requiring your attention."

"Speak," Caelen commanded.

The guard straightened. "Our eastern checkpoint has detained an unusual visitor claiming to know your guests."

Daniel sat forward. "Who?"

"A male siren. He was injured and exhausted when our patrols found him."

"Lyrian," Knox breathed, relief evident in his voice.

Caelen nodded to the guard. "Bring him here."

The guard bowed and left.

"That's one more of our missing friends accounted for," Adrian said.