Shade coughed a laugh, then grimaced beneath the power holding him down.
I touched my neck, wondering if I’d just dreamt up this whole nightmare. But no. I was bleeding. And Shade’s lips were tinged with my blood. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” I demanded. “You bonded us.”
“Yeah,” Shade replied, his voice a rasp of sound. “You’re welcome.”
I gaped at him, then pushed off the floor onto unsteady feet. My muscles ached as though I’d been hit by a freight train. “Let him up,” I said, talking to Tray. “I don’t want him handicapped when I kill him.”
The Paradox Fae grunted. “Again?”
“No,” Shade snapped.
“Again what?” I asked, flabbergasted by his presence. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Kyros,” he replied, tipping his dark head at me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Do you always ask the same questions?” he countered.
“The same questions?”
“Yeah, I see that you do,” Kyros replied, pushing off the wall to straighten his leather jacket. A hint of tattoos peeked out from beneath the coat.
“Someone start talking,” Tray inserted, his arms folding over his sweater. Ella clung to his arm, her blonde hair curling in the tendrils of magic wafting off my brother.
“Release Shade from your magic, and he’ll give it another attempt,” Kyros said.
I narrowed my gaze at him, then looked at my brother again. “Do what he says.” Because I was beginning to understand the situation.
Kyros and Shade had been playing with time—a very dangerous game, indeed. None of us would have any idea how many times they’d shifted through this moment, nor any clue as to what happened before. They also could have jumped back to this second from many days, months, or even years in the future.
My jaw ticked.
As much as I wanted to kill Shade, a part of me recognized that he had a reason for his antics.
Perhaps that was why he’d bitten me—to provide me with a glimmer of understanding regarding his motives. Yet this stage didn’t afford me much insight. It actually linked him more to me than me to him.
That realization had me narrowing my gaze.
He was up to something.
He also clearly had a death wish because I strongly doubted that the Council had told him to fucking bite me.
Tray reluctantly removed his spell, allowing Shade to begin the recovery process. Sir Kristoff stood beside my left foot, his tiny stone s
word held out before him like a wand.
Gargoyles were small but mighty, their magic potent and long-lasting. Hence Shade’s continued weakened condition on the floor. Tray’s spell had only prolonged his misery, negating his ability to heal. But it was Sir Kristoff’s enchantment that had knocked the Death Blood onto his ass.
Kyros yawned again, then resumed his stance of leaning against the wall, only this time he closed his eyes as though taking a nap.
I could see why these two assholes were friends.
Sir Kristoff growled as if to agree, except I knew he couldn’t actually read minds.
Shade, however, might be able to hear my louder thoughts. It was a rare gift that came with some bondings, and given some of his unique abilities, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was one of them. Aflora had never mentioned it, but I’d also never asked.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear her.