“Maybe that’s what he wants.” Zeph scratched the dark stubble dotting his jaw. “His motives all seem to revolve around creating chaos. If the Council finds out what happened last night—”
The door opened to reveal my father on the other side, his expression one of relief. “Oh, good, you’re already here.” He joined us without asking, his gold eyes narrowing at Zeph just enough to indicate he still wasn’t pleased with the Warrior Blood, before fixating on me. “Is the recording true? Is her power growing out of control?”
“I haven’t heard it all yet to comment,” I answered carefully.
Disapproval radiated from my father. “You’ve spent the last few months supervising her. Surely you can make an assessment regarding her power.”
“Yes. From what I’ve observed, her power level remains the same as the first day she arrived.” Not exactly a lie. She was born with Quandary Blood abilities; she just hadn’t used them much until her forced enrollment at Midnight Fae Academy. And last night, she sort of exploded because of that contained power.
So, yeah, she was losing control. But the quad-bond mating ritual we’d performed as a result of her outburst should help ground her. Maybe.
Which opened a whole new realm of consequences.
We’d solve those problems another day.
One issue at a time.
The first one being to free Aflora from the dungeon.
“Then why is she claiming a need to be exterminated?” my father challenged.
I considered his query and quickly formulated a safe reply. “From what little I’ve heard of the recording, it was a hypothetical statement—if she proves too powerful, she needs to be removed. Aflora feels very strongly about protecting her Earth Fae.”
My father studied me for a long moment, his gaze narrowing. “So what caused the inferno in her room at the Elite Residence on campus?”
Fucking gargoyle, I seethed. My brother, Tray, wouldn’t report the incident. Neither would his mate, Ella. Which left the damn stone guardian at the front door. “That was my fault. I had a little too much aggression after my duel with Shade and released it inappropriately. I’ll repair the quarters myself.” By using magic, of course.
The tick in my father’s jaw suggested that he suspected I wasn’t providing the whole truth, but he eventually conceded with a stiff nod. “The Earth Fae is your ascension trial. I trust you to see it through appropriately.”
“And I am,” I promised him. I just wasn’t doing it the way he’d originally intended. What with accidentally mating the girl during sex and biting her soon after to initiate the Midnight Fae bond.
My father left without another word, never once acknowledging Zeph other than that initial glance. Normally, it would irritate me. Today, I had other, more important matters to address.
“He knows you’re lying,” Zeph said before I could speak. “But I don’t think there’s anything incriminating on the tapes, or he’d be angry, not just disappointed.”
A fair assessment. If there was anything about the quad-bond on the recording, my father would have reacted differently. Such as throwing my ass in the dungeon and Zeph into an execution chamber. “Whatever it is, it had to be enough to call an emergency meeting and require her detainment.”
“That wouldn’t be hard. The Council often overreacts.”
I snorted. “You would say that.”
“Just as you wouldn’t,” he returned, his tone lacking his usual teasing disdain. He seemed as tired as I was. Likely because we both didn’t do much sleeping last night, having enjoyed the new connection with Aflora a little too much.
Palming the back of my neck, I blew out a long breath and looked at the ceiling. “She thinks we betrayed her, Zeph.”
“She’ll get over it.” He clearly didn’t share my concern. “Go prepare for the Council meeting. If the findings are dire and she’s truly in jeopardy, text me a note about possibly missing a few classes this week. If she’s fine, let me know when you’ll be back on campus. I’ll react accordingly.”
I bobbed my head in agreement. “Okay. And if you see Shade before I do, punch him in the face for me.”
Zeph grunted, his green eyes blazing with vengeful power. “If I see him first, there won’t be much left of his face for you to hit.”
“Good.” Because the fucker deserved a beatdown for whatever game he’d engaged us all in now.
I just hoped Aflora wouldn’t pay the ultimate price for his newest diversion.
Chapter Two
Aflora