Shade ran his palms up and down my arms, his mouth brushing the pulse of my neck. “It’ll pass in a few minutes, little rose,” he whispered.
“Maybe now you understand how I know that you won’t tell Zeph our location.” Zakkai lowered his forehead to mine. “He wouldn’t last more than a few minutes outside my walls.”
I wanted to nod but didn’t try.
Shade kissed my throat again before saying, “Aflora said you want to talk about the rock. Did you figure out who enchanted it?”
“No, because I haven’t seen it yet.”
Shade stilled behind me. “What? I put it on the table.”
“It wasn’t there when I dropped by.”
“Then someone else picked it up,” Shade said slowly.
“Just like someone sent Aflora a stonepecker via her falcon,” Zakkai added, his gaze leaving mine to focus on Shade. “She said it was destroyed after you warned them the Warrior Bloods were coming?”
“What are you implying?” Shade countered. “That I’m fucking with you?”
“Oh, we both know you’re fucking with me, Shadow. It’s what you do best. But in this case, I think someone is fucking with us. Who have you been talking to?”
“I talk to a lot of people.”
“I know. Who?”
“Hello, Zakkai,” a female voice interjected, her tone holding a magical lilt to it that I recognized from the LethaForest.
Zakkai sighed long and hard. “Of course you took the rock.”
“It was the only way to ensure you ended up where I wanted you,” the woman replied as she moved toward us. I still couldn’t move, but I caught her image in the corner of my eye—her long, dark hair unmistakable. Zenaida. Shade’s grandmother. “It’s not who you think, Zakkai. And the intentions were well meaning, not unkind.”
My Quandary Blood mate heaved another sigh, his eyes finding mine before dropping to my mouth. “We may need to use a spell to warm her up faster.” He cupped my cheek, his thumb drawing a hot line along my lower lip. “You’re still tinged blue, little star.”
“He exposed her to the Antarctic climate,” Shade explained.
“Accidentally exposed,” Zakkai corrected in a clipped tone as his magic poured over me, thawing my icy limbs and removing the binds freezing me in place.
I inhaled a deep breath, his oceanic scent a calming cologne that I welcomed into my lungs. Then Shade’s essence added to the mix, his refreshing aroma adding a layer of tranquility that had me relaxing between them both.
Thank you, I whispered into their minds.
I’m sorry, Zakkai replied, pressing his lips to my temple again before looking at Zenaida. I followed his gaze to take in the petite female Shade called Grandmother.
“I have nothing to say to you,” Zakkai said flatly.
“That’s fine. You can listen instead.” Her tone was very matronly for a female who appeared to be no older than thirty. She wore a navy top of thick band-like straps around her torso that left her midriff exposed. And below her waist was a matching skirt that flowed all the way to the ground.
She was stunning.
I hoped I could pull that off in a thousand years. Assuming I was still alive.
“Hmm, well, I also have no interest in listening to you,” Zakkai added.
“Just hear her out, Zakkai,” a gruff voice said as a silver-haired male appeared at the tree line. A second man stepped into the clearing beside him—the one who resembled a slightly older version of Shade.
Zakkai looked sharply at my Death Blood mate.
Shade lifted his hands as he stepped back from me. “I had nothing to do with this. I wasn’t even here when Aflora called into my mind.”