Page 89 of Night Fae

Was that jealousy?

He didn't want to be jealous, but he couldn't help it. He'd never seen Zev like this. Guard down, eyes soft, leaning into someone's touch without hesitation.

Rhys pulled Zev into an embrace, and Zev's arms wrapped around him naturally, as if they'd done this a thousand times before.

"I've missed you," Zev whispered.

"I know." Rhys pressed his forehead against Zev's. "I've been waiting."

Malik wanted to look away. This raw, private moment wasn't meant for his eyes. But he couldn't turn from the naked emotion on Zev's face, the grief and longing and relief all mingled together.

"I failed you," Zev said, his voice breaking.

"No." Rhys cupped Zev's face in his hands. "Never think that. I chose my path, just as you chose yours."

"But if I had been there?—"

"You would have died too." Rhys's voice turned firm. "And that was never what I wanted."

Malik's jealousy dissolved, replaced by an ache that wasn't entirely his own. The pain in his chest resonated with Zev's grief, making it difficult to breathe. This was the weight Zev carried. The ghost of a love cut short, of promises unfulfilled.

Malik might have been happy for Zev, for this moment of absolution, but something was wrong.

Once Malik noticed the shadow tendrils, they were everywhere.

They were so fine they were nearly invisible, but they curled around Zev's ankles, his wrists, his throat.

Leon was right. The Fields were feeding on him.

No!

Panic seized Malik. "Zev!" he tried again to call out again, but his voice wouldn't carry in the dreamscape.

Zev didn't notice him at all. He just kept talking to Rhys.

"I killed a werewolf," he confessed. "To protect someone else. They made me choose."

Rhys's expression softened with understanding. "The Court has always excelled at impossible choices."

"He was from your pack."

"Of course."

"How can you not hate me for that?"

"Because I know you." Rhys traced the curve of Zev's ear, the line of his jaw. "Because I've seen inside you, the parts you hide from everyone else. You carry enough hatred for yourself—I won't add mine to that burden."

The shadow tendrils thickened, winding more tightly around Zev, who seemed completely unaware of their presence. Of course he was. He was trapped in an illusion that told him everything he'd ever wanted to hear.

Malik needed to do something. To break Zev out of this.

But there wasn't anything hecoulddo.

And the shadows had nearly engulfed Zev now, winding around his chest, his throat, seeping into his skin like ink in water. His outline flickered.

Malik stared in panic.

"Let him go!" he screamed, even though he knew he wouldn't be heard.