I blinked, glancing around the opulent room. Floor-to-ceiling windows spanned one wall, a set of doors situated in the middle that led to a balcony overlooking a black sky sprinkled with bright stars.
“Where are we?” I asked him, taking in the expensive fixtures and flickering candlelight.
He followed my perusal, his lips twitching. “My suite at Nacht Manor. It was easier to bring your mind here than to join you since I don’t know exactly where Zeph took you. He’s not answering my calls.”
“He’s not?” That seemed odd. “You should wake me up so I can check on him.”
“Not needed. I can sense him near you now,” he murmured, his fingers clasping my chin to draw my focus back to him. “Are you at his flat in New York City?”
“Yes. He took me to Central Park.”
“Did he?” Kols seemed amused. “Well, that’s why I’m struggling to connect with him. Our phones don’t always work across realms, but apparently dream manipulation does. At least when connecting to a mate.” He leaned in to brush his lips against mine. “I missed you today, sweetheart.”
“I missed you, too,” I replied, feeling warm all over.
“Did you learn anything at the tavern?” he asked, his fingers sliding into my hair to comb through my tangled strands.
Oh, he didn’t know what had happened because he hadn’t spoken to Zeph yet.
“Um, he was there waiting for us. The one with the magic I recognize, I mean. I… I think he was trying to get to me, but I stopped h
im. Sort of.” I frowned. “It was weird. I could feel his magic, and mine responded to it, then Zeph bit me and I passed out.”
“Zeph bit you?”
I swallowed, the intensity in his gold gaze leaving me uneasy. “Yeah. To pull me out of the enchantment.”
His gaze went to my neck, a flicker of jealousy flaring in the depths of his soulful eyes. “I’m glad he did,” he said, his hand leaving my hair to run his knuckles over my neck. “Protecting you is priority number one. And you’re right; whoever the Quandary Blood is that’s responsible for these attacks is trying to take you.”
The certainty in his tone had me studying his expression. “How do you know that?” I wondered out loud. “And how do you know it’s a Quandary Blood?” We’d discussed the familiarity of his power but hadn’t decided his fae type. At least, not with the resolve he’d just spoken those words.
“There’s a lot I need to tell you, Aflora,” he said, sighing and withdrawing his hand. “It’s actually why I brought you here. While this conversation would be better in person, I can’t leave without looking suspicious, and I didn’t want to wait to tell you what I’ve learned. My father is requiring I stay here through my free days to review some texts that are related to our current situation.”
“Oh. I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“No, you’re not,” he agreed, sounding sad. “I learned today that certain members of the Council and our Elder circle have been hiding several crucial secrets, all revolving around the Quandary Bloods.”
My heart dropped into my stomach as he continued telling me all about his meeting today and how they questioned Headmaster Irwin. He told me how he learned that Quandary Bloods were in fact not eradicated, how the Elders had continued hunting them with help from the Council, and how Shade knew about this for months without letting on.
“He bit you because they told him to,” Kols added. “Or that’s what I thought until I spoke to him later. He’s hiding something, and I suspect it’s Fortune Fae related because he mentioned seeing a future path.”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“You knew?”
“Not about your Council’s secrets or that they told him to bite me, but I know he’s working with a Fortune Fae.” I didn’t know whether or not I should elaborate. It wasn’t my story to tell, and while I trusted Kols, I didn’t want to put Shade at risk.
“That explains his penchant for being cryptic,” Kols muttered, his arm flexing as he shuffled on the bed beside me. It drew my attention down to his chiseled chest. Similar to my figment, he wore only a pair of pajama pants, while I remained nude.
Something about that wasn’t quite fair.
And thinking of my white-haired figment reminded me of his final words. Consider that I exist.
Do you? I wondered. Do you exist?
Then how was he in my dreams? Well, Kols had infiltrated my head without mating. So it was definitely possible. I needed to learn more about how he did it. That would help me determine if I had anything to worry about or if my head was just playing tricks on me.
“There’s more,” Kols said, drawing me back to our conversation. “It’s about your parents.”