My teeth clenched. “She’s fine.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Then I’ll take you to her,” I said, throwing my hands wide. “Is that what you need? Because he’ll let me into the paradigm. I mean, he might kill you in the process since you’re tied to Kols, and he wants the entire Nacht family line to burn. But sure. Let’s give it a go. Now, perhaps?”
I was so done with this bullshit about trust and lies and deceit. I didn’t enter this role of my own volition. It chose me. Fate decided to make me her bitch and turn my world upside down. I’d spent years protecting everyone. And for what? To be attacked by a damn gargoyle and left to suffer beneath an elitist spell?
Fuck this shit.
I just wanted a damn nap.
No, I wanted to hold my mate.
Oh, but she hated me now. Again.
This wicked loop needed to fucking end.
“You know how to locate her?” Kols asked softly.
“Of course I do,” I snapped, done with this dance.
Kyros cocked a brow, surprised by my tone.
I ignored him.
“Can you work out a way for Zeph to see Aflora?” Kols pressed. “One where he isn’t killed by Zakkai? If what you say is true about him caring for Aflora, then perhaps he would be open to a meeting, to discuss how to work this out between us.”
Now Kyros’s lips parted.
As did mine.
Because never had Kols suggested such a notion. He always wanted to charge in there with all his elitist energy and destroy.
But now… he wanted to talk? To seek a potentially diplomatic solution? This couldn’t all just be because I’d bitten him. Maybe it had something to do with Aflora, or the Council sharing their knowledge of the Quandary Bloods. That’d been another change in this rendition of events, as had everything that occurred before it.
This entire version of time differed from the others.
It sparked a glimmer of hope inside me that maybe I’d finally gotten this right.
I really hoped that was the case because there was no going back now, not without forfeiting everything I’d learned in the process.
“I can try talking to Zakkai,” I said slowly. That wouldn’t have been possible in the past since I’d betrayed him in every way. But this time, I’d worked with him, at least on the surface. I still had every intention of betraying him in the end.
Unless…
No. I couldn’t think like that. Not after everything I’d seen.
Zakkai was dangerous to us all. And Aflora would be, too, if she chose to join his path.
Hell waited for us all regardless of her decision.
“I want to talk to him, too,” Zeph said. “He doesn’t scare me.”
“He should,” Kyros interjected, pushing off the wall. “Because he scares the shit out of me.” His dark eyes landed on me. “We good?”
I nodded. “For now.”
“Excellent.” He stroked the hilt of his sword and vanished.