“Why?” she whispered.
“Why what, sweetheart?”
“You’re risking everything, Kolstov.”
“Am I?” I replied, drawing back to meet her gaze.
“You are,” she insisted. “You just praised me for being altruistic by putting my people before myself. What are you doing? You’re putting an abomination before your ascension. You’re going against everything you’ve been working for. I want to know why.”
“Because it’s time for change,” another voice replied on my behalf.
I glanced sideways to find Shade lounging in my favorite recliner chair with his feet propped up on the coffee table. As I hadn’t sensed his presence, I assumed that meant he’d just arrived. Unless he’d been lurking in smoke form.
His Death Blood abilities irked me greatly.
“Change?” Aflora repeated.
“Yep,” he drawled.
“Care to elaborate?” I asked, arching a brow.
His icy blue eyes flashed with knowledge and secrets. “Do you believe all abominations are evil, Kolstov? That they should be exterminated on sight without any trial or cause aside from their mingled blood and powers?”
“Abominations have historically proven problematic,” I pointed out, avoiding his direct questions like he did mine.
“Have they?” he countered, arching a dark brow. “Or is that what our Council wants us to believe?”
“It’s an international directive to execute abominations,” I reminded him. “Not just our Council’s.”
“Fair,” he conceded. “But who proposed that mandate originally?”
“My grandfather,” I replied, aware of the history involved. “Shortly after a certain issue a millennium ago.”
He nodded. “Yes. Right around the time he also had all the Quandary Bloods executed.” He cocked his head to the side. “Now, I might be overthinking this, but it seems to me your family has a history of fearing those with the potential to be more powerful than them.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “If you’re trying to accuse me or my family of something, Shadow, then I suggest you stop hiding behind riddles and spit it out.”
His lips curled. “I see I’ve struck a nerve.”
“With your cryptic bullshit, sure.”
“No. With my concise recollection of just why all this started in the first place. Your grandfather didn’t want to risk the source being realigned again, so he exterminated the Quandary Bloods—or at least those he could find—and also strongly encouraged the fae community to execute all abominations. Which, when you think about it, is a very strange choice indeed when Midnight Fae males can become Fortune Fae Alphas by just refusing to ingest human blood. Thereby suggesting fae are actually somewhat related across the species. But I digress.”
He kicked his feet off the table and leaned forward, all signs of amusement leaving his features.
“Our Council requires change,” he continued, his blue irises landing on Aflora. “So you want a reason, little rose? That’s your reason. Our quad is going to change everything, including rebalancing a power source that has long been abused by the Nacht family. With, or without, Kols’s knowledge.”
“All right.” My hands went to Aflora’s hips to remove her from my lap, but her thighs clamped down around mine.
“Hold on,” she said.
“No. He’s just insulted—”
Her palm covered my mouth, shocking the hell out of me. “Why do you feel it’s been abused?” she asked Shade.
“Because the Quandary Bloods were removed from the equation, thereby dismantling the balance and allowing the Elite Bloods unfettered access to the source via the Nacht family line. Kolstov’s grandfather destroyed the Midnight Fae who were meant to protect the balance, all because he feared the source would be redirected to another line.”
I moved my mouth away from Aflora’s hand. “Is that the bullshit your father tells you?” I demanded with a humorless laugh. “Un-fucking-believable.”