Zakkai didn’t reply.
I nearly halted as a result but decided there was only one way to really know his intentions. So I pushed through the link to Zeph’s mind and hummed the spell Zakkai had taught me.
Tanoomeen Ma Ana.
Energy buzzed around me as I pictured the place I wanted—the park in New York City that he’d taken me to—and I opened my eyes to find him leaning against a tree in jeans and a button-down shirt. His green eyes narrowed at me before looking over my shoulder. “What is this?”
“I believe they call it a dream,” Zakkai drawled as he stepped up to my back to wrap his arms around my waist. “Well done, little star,” he whispered against my ear before dropping a kiss beneath my ear.
I tensed, waiting for him to say or do more, but all he did was hold me, his warmth a blanket of comfort against my back.
Zeph studied us beneath his intense gaze, his lips flattened into a line. “Who created the dream?” he finally said after a long minute of silence.
I swallowed. “Um, I did.” I thought that would be obvious by the scenery, but I could see where he might think Zakkai had manufactured it from a memory in my head. The Quandary Blood was fond of playing with my mind, after all.
He gently nibbled my earlobe. “I heard that.”
“Stay out of my head,” I replied.
“That’s not part of our arrangement, star. When dreaming, I’ll be monitoring all communication and thoughts. It’s a trust exercise, remember?”
My lips twisted as Zeph further narrowed his gaze. “Trust exercise?” he repeated.
“He agreed to let me dream-walk with my mates in exchange for—”
“It’s a test of trust,” Zakkai interjected. “I’m proving that I won’t harm you via her connection to you.” You can’t tell them about the Blood Gala, he added into my mind. They can’t know about our plans to attend.
Oh. Right. I cleared my throat. “He’s trying to make me more agreeable.”
“You look pretty agreeable to me,” Zeph replied, his gaze dropping to Zakkai’s arms around my waist. “He’s had you for, what, a day? And you’re already allowing him to teach you spells?”
The admonishment in his tone made me bristle a bit. “If I recall right, I let you whisk me off to a magical wardrobe shop during our first day together.”
“You didn’t let me do anything, Aflora. You protested everything, even the spaghetti.”
“You don’t like spaghetti?” Zakkai interjected, sounding amused.
“She doesn’t like a lot of things,” Zeph informed him flatly, pushing off the tree. “Why am I really here, Quandary Blood? What spell have you woven through her mind?”
“Several,” Zakkai replied. “But this dream is all her. I don’t even know where we are.”
Zeph snorted. ?
?You expect me to believe that? After you put Kols in a magical coma?”
“Kols is in a coma?” I repeated on a gasp. I spun around in Zakkai’s arms. “You promised not to hurt anyone!”
Zakkai rolled his eyes. “I didn’t hurt him. He attacked my spell and I retaliated, just as I said I would do. And that happened in your initial dream, not this one. He’s also perfectly fine.”
Zeph came to stand right beside me, his focus on Zakkai. “He was unconscious in his bed seconds ago.”
“Last time I checked, naps weren’t painful,” my Quandary Blood mate drawled. “Bring him into the dream, Aflora. Have him confirm for himself.”
“Don’t,” Zeph warned. “It’s a trap.”
Zakkai just shook his head. “You should have started with Shade. He’s much more agreeable.”
I considered them both, my mind reaching through the connection to read both mates. Zeph’s innate distrust hit me square in the heart, while Zakkai’s essence boasted tranquility and sincerity.