Which I unfortunately needed at the moment.
“It reminded me of my Quandary magic,” she finally replied. “And I sensed it before the chaos began, almost like the being had warned me of his presence before attacking.”
My brow furrowed. “How do you know it was a male?”
“Did you miss the part about her journey in his body through the Death Blood Education Building?” Shade asked, arching a brow. “She heard his voice.”
Right. That’d been when I wasn’t paying attention. Now I really regretted the trip through my head. “She heard him?”
“She was him,” Shade corrected, his icy gaze turning glacial. “He imprinted the memory on the rock for her to find, even left her a message. And I’m guessing it wasn’t a coincidence that today, of all days, he attacked the village. Because he set it up for her to travel back in time with that rock just before making another statement. Oh, and I’m also going to venture a guess to say the tavern was done on purpose.”
“Why don’t I believe those are guesses?” I countered, narrowing my eyes. He spoke with confidence, telling me he knew a lot more than he was letting on. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”
“There’s a hell of a lot I’m not telling you,” he retorted. “And I can’t. That’s not how the future works.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, not this shit again about the future.” I wanted to beat some sense into his cryptic ass, and probably would have if Aflora hadn’t stepped out from behind Kols and directly into my path.
Her palm found my abdomen as she ensured that I didn’t step any closer to the bed, her gaze burning into mine. “Zeph.”
My inner turmoil ceased in the space of a breath, my hands grasping her hips to pull her closer as if I craved her comfort. And maybe I did. “Aflora,” I murmured, utterly lost to her.
Surprise flickered through her features as if she expected more of a fight. But I didn’t want to argue with her or upset her. I
merely needed to protect her.
“I wish you would have told me,” I admitted, my voice far less combative than earlier. Hell, I sounded downright contrite. And the shock rolling off Kols told me just how out of character this was for me, but I couldn’t seem to help it. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on, pixie flower.”
Her features softened considerably, her irises flaring with emotion. “I should have told you.”
I nodded in agreement. “But at least you did now,” I conceded.
She lifted up onto her toes to brush a kiss against my jaw. “I’m not used to relying on others,” she whispered.
“I know,” I replied just as quietly.
“Well, I think it’s pretty clear what our next steps are,” Shade drawled from her bed.
“Yeah? Please share because I have no idea what the hell is going on,” Kols said.
Shade grinned, the cocky bastard enjoying our torment just a smidge too much. “We need to take Aflora to the village and see if she senses the same energy signature. If she does, it’ll prove it’s the same person who attacked the school.”
“The Council is already sure of that,” Kols pointed out.
“Maybe, but they also think you’re responsible. So if we’re going on what they believe, then…” Shade let that insinuation hang in the air.
“He’s right,” I said, hating that I agreed with the Death Blood but also respecting the hell out of his reasoning skills. “We need to see if Aflora can sense anything at the attack site. She might be able to give us a hint about who it is, or maybe see something the Council hasn’t.”
Shade nodded. “Exactly.”
Aflora glanced over her shoulder at the male on her bed, and they engaged in another of those secret conversations that ended with the Death Blood smirking. She shook her head in response, clearly exasperated.
“What are we missing?” Kols asked.
“He’s leading us,” Aflora said in a tone that sounded both amused and irritated at the same time. “He can’t tell us what he actually knows, so he’s ensuring we wander down the right path instead.”
Shade dipped his chin in acknowledgment, causing me to frown. “Why don’t you cut the cryptic bullshit and just tell us what you actually know?” I suggested, irritated with this game.
“He can’t,” Aflora replied, drawing my attention back to her. “Just like he can’t tell me why I recognized the magic.”