Page 36 of Night Fae (Monsters of Veridia #3)

Ribbons of light danced across the sky above the Shadow Kingdom as night descended. Waves of emerald, violet, and sapphire blue rippled through the darkness, casting a glow over the land below.

Under different circumstances, it might have been beautiful.

But these weren't natural auroras. They were a sign of foreboding. A sign of something going very, very wrong with the world. With all the worlds, in truth.

Throughout the palace, preparations continued for tomorrow's journey to the Barrier Temple, but as midnight approached, even the most dedicated soldiers paused to stare at the haunting spectacle above.

In the royal chambers, Daniel stood at the window, transfixed by the light show that painted the courtyard below in shifting colors. Guards patrolled with enchanted lanterns that cast golden light against the supernatural glow, their faces turned skyward every now and then.

Daniel couldn't blame them. They were all witnessing the beginning of the end.

And somewhere out there was his brother.

Had he been in one of the territories that vanished?

"We should sleep," Caelen said from behind him.

Daniel turned to find his mate watching him from their bed, white hair loose around his shoulders, green eyes reflecting the firelight.

"I couldn't," Daniel said. "My brain won't shut up."

Caelen extended a hand. "Come here."

Daniel crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Caelen reached up to brush a strand of faded blue hair from Daniel's face.

"Your roots are showing," Caelen observed.

"I haven't had the time to even try to find hair dye here."

"I like it."

"You like everything about me."

"True." Caelen took Daniel's hand, running his thumb across the knuckles. "What's on your mind? Besides the obvious."

Daniel glanced toward the window again. Which of his worries were not obvious? "I keep thinking about what happens after," he said finally. "If we survive this… if we manage to stop Yuri and fix the barriers—then what?"

"I don't understand."

"Do I stay here? Go back to Earth? Will we even get a choice? Will Jamie? Or any of the others?"

Understanding softened Caelen's expression.

He pulled Daniel closer until they were both lying on the bed next to each other.

"These are questions I've been asking myself as well," he admitted.

"I have no easy answers. No one can tell what's going to happen.

What was impossible before may become possible, or what was easy may become difficult. "

"That's a very diplomatic non-answer, Your Majesty."

Caelen's mouth quirked into a half-smile. "Would you prefer I lie? You know I can't."

"No." Daniel sighed, settling his head against Caelen's chest. "I just wish things were simpler."

"Nothing about us has ever been simple." Caelen's fingers combed through Daniel's hair, a soothing rhythm. "But I know one thing with absolute certainty."

"What's that?"

"Wherever you are, that's where I belong." The simple declaration carried more weight than flowery promises. "If you need to return to Earth, I will find a way to follow. If you choose to stay in Veridia, I will make this place your home in truth. We will not be separated."

Daniel lifted his head to look at Caelen. "You'd leave your kingdom? For me?"

"I would." Caelen's hand cupped Daniel's cheek. "Elucia has survived worse kings than whoever would follow me."

The offer stunned Daniel into silence. Caelen, who had fought so hard to reclaim his throne, who had suffered possession by a dark god rather than surrender his kingdom—would give it all up for him?

"I wouldn't ask that of you," Daniel said finally.

"You didn't ask. I offered."

"Still." Daniel leaned in, pressing his forehead against Caelen's. "I don't think I'd mind living here with you. As long as I can find some good bright hair dye."

Caelen laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Is that a promise to stay, then?"

"It's a promise to figure it out together." Daniel closed the distance between them, sealing the words with a kiss. "After we save both our worlds."

Caelen's arms tightened around him, the kiss deepening into something more urgent, more desperate.

Tomorrow they would face unknown dangers.

Tonight, they had this—each other, the warmth of their bed, the certainty of their bond.

As Caelen rolled him onto his back, Daniel surrendered to the moment, letting everything else fall away.

In their own chambers, Knox and Adrian sat close together on a window seat, shoulders touching as they gazed at the distorted night sky. A notebook lay open in Adrian's lap. He'd been trying to journal his thoughts to get them all out, but it wasn't working to calm him down.

"It feels wrong," he said, "sitting here comfortably while reality falls apart outside."

Knox turned to him. "There's no point in rushing into battle when you're not fully prepared. Didn't you call me foolish for doing so in the past?"

Adrian couldn't deny that. He sighed. "I get that. But I don't like it."

"Part of being prepared is being rested." Knox reached over, taking the notebook from him and closing it.

"I can't stop thinking about what's coming. If we fail?—"

"We won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

Knox took Adrian's hand, running his thumb over the knuckles. "Because I refuse to accept any other outcome."

The simple conviction in his voice made Adrian smile despite himself. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Adrian shifted to lean into Knox. The incubus was his anchor in this strange world—this reality where fiction and truth had blended together in ways he still struggled to comprehend.

"Remember when you crashed through my skylight?" he asked, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

Knox's lips quirked. "Not my most dignified entrance."

"I thought I was hallucinating. Or dreaming." Adrian's fingers traced the line of Knox's jaw, the curve of his ear, the sharp angle of his horn. "Sometimes I still wonder if I am."

"If this is a dream," Knox said, capturing Adrian's hand and pressing a kiss to his palm, "then I never want to wake."

"How romantic of you."

"I have my moments."

Adrian laughed softly, then grew serious once more. "What happens after? If we succeed? Do we go back to Earth, or stay here?"

Knox was quiet for a moment, considering. "Where do you want to be?"

"With you." The answer came without hesitation. "Everything else is negotiable."

Something fierce and protective flashed in Knox's eyes.

He pulled Adrian closer, one hand cradling the back of his head as their lips met.

The kiss deepened, Adrian melting against him, hands finding purchase on broad shoulders.

For a moment, the world outside ceased to exist—there was only this, only them.

When they separated, Adrian felt the familiar heat in his cheeks, the way his pulse sped up. Knox's eyes took on a golden glow.

"We should sleep," Adrian said, though his actions contradicted his words as he leaned in for another kiss.

Knox smiled against his lips. "Later."

Zev stood by the window, watching the aurora writhe across the night sky.

Streaks of violet and emerald twisted together, then shattered into fragments before reforming.

Occasional flashes of other landscapes appeared and disappeared within the lights—glimpses of Earth, perhaps, or other realms beyond.

The sight chilled him in a way few things could.

"Anything out there?" Malik asked from the bed, where he sat propped against the headboard, a book of shadow path lore open in his lap.

"Nothing good." Zev turned away from the window. "The sky is tearing apart above us."

"We'll stop that in the morning," Malik said, closing his book. "At the Barrier Temple."

"Where my family will be waiting." Zev's expression hardened. "Along with whatever Yuri has planned."

Malik set the book aside, studying Zev's face. "Are you worried about facing your father? Your grandmother?"

"No." The answer came quickly, definitively. "I've been ready to end them since the day they killed Rhys. Since long before that, if I'm honest with myself."

"Then what?"

Zev crossed to the bed, settling near Malik.

"I'm worried about losing control again," he said openly.

It had never been his nature to soften his words.

"In the shadow paths, I nearly killed you because I couldn't stop feeding on your energy.

I became a monster. In the battle tomorrow, I may need power. More than I have on my own."

Understanding dawned in Malik's eyes. "You're afraid you'll take from me again."

"Yes." The admission cost Zev, but Malik deserved to know what they were facing.

"When we face Yuri, when magic flies and blood is shed.

.. the temptation will be there. Power calls to power, and yours.

.." He paused, struggling to find the right words to describe Malik's unique energy.

"Yours tastes like nothing I've ever known. "

Malik studied him quietly. "You don't have to be so afraid. I'm not."

"I would have killed you if Knox hadn't ripped me away from you." Zev's fingers curled into fists in his lap. "What if there's no one to stop me next time?"

Malik's hand reached for Zev's, anchoring him. "I trust you, Zev. More importantly, I know you. You're not some mindless creature of hunger. You were in a dark place when you lost control. I don't think it'll happen again."

Something in Zev rebelled against Malik's easy trust. "Imagine the most addictive substance you can think of. Now imagine it multiplied by a thousand. That's what your energy feels like to me."

"And you can have it," Malik insisted. "You won't kill me."

"You don't know that. I could lose myself again."

"Then I'll help you find your way back to yourself, just like I did in the fields." Malik squeezed Zev's hand. "I'm not totally helpless."

Zev wanted to sigh in exasperation, but his human wasn't done talking.

"Let's practice," he said. "Now, tonight." Determination replaced the gentleness in Malik's voice. "Take a little of my energy. Just enough to feel it, then stop."

Zev recoiled. "No. After what happened in the shadow paths?—"

"This is different." Malik moved closer, eliminating the space between them. "I'm not weak or unconscious. I'm asking you, deliberately, to try. To prove to yourself that you can control it."

Zev searched Malik's face for any sign of doubt but found only steadfast confidence. It humbled him, this human's trust, especially knowing what Zev was capable of.

"You would risk this? After everything?"

"I would risk much more for what matters." Malik took Zev's hand and placed it against his chest, over his heart. "Just a little. Then stop."

Zev hesitated, then slowly nodded. He closed his eyes, focusing on the connection between them.

He'd never attempted this with such deliberate control before.

Always it had been desperate need or unintentional feeding.

Now he reached for the bright thread that bound them together, barely touching it.

Energy flowed immediately. Warm, intoxicating, infinitely tempting.

Malik's life force tasted of everything Zev had been denied for most of his life—acceptance, belonging, possibility.

It would be so easy to take more, to drink deeply until he was drunk on it.

The craving built instantly, a monstrous thing rising in his chest.

Zev's fingers curled against Malik's shirt, his body tensing with the effort of restraint. Three heartbeats later—he counted each one—he severed the connection and pulled back.

His eyes opened to find Malik watching him, smiling.

"See?" Malik said softly. "You can do it."

The weight of Malik's encouragement hit Zev with unexpected force. This human, this remarkable, stubborn human, saw him for what he was and accepted him anyway. Not despite his darkness, but with full knowledge of it.

"Rhys taught me I could love," Zev said quietly. "You're teaching me I still can."

The words hung between them, an admission Zev hadn't planned to make. But once spoken, he couldn't regret them. They were true in a way few things in his life had been.

Malik's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't retreat from the declaration. Instead, his smile grew even more brilliant. "If I'd known that earlier, I might have felt less insecure about competing with a ghost."

"There was never any competition," Zev assured him. "Just different chapters of the same story."

"That's unexpectedly poetic."

"Don't tell anyone. Lyrian would have a field day with that."

"Your secret's safe with me." Malik leaned forward, his lips brushing against Zev's in a kiss that felt like a promise. "All your secrets are."

Zev deepened the kiss, one hand moving to the back of Malik's neck while the other pulled him closer. Something seemed to glow between them—not just metaphorically, but literally. A golden thread of light, visible for just a moment, connecting them heart to heart.

When they finally broke apart, neither mentioned the phenomenon, though both had seen it. Some things didn't need explanation.

"Stay with me tonight," Malik whispered against Zev's lips.

"Always," Zev whispered back.

And as the otherworldly lights continued their dance across the fractured sky, they found their own connection in each other's arms, a different kind of power to carry them into whatever chaos awaited.