“Where will we be staying?” Zeph asked, his arms folded over his chest as he analyzed the field with a speculative expression.
“In one of the dorms near the back of the campus grounds,” I told him.
Aflora appeared disappointed. “Not in your cabin?”
“Our cabin,” I corrected her with a squeeze of her hand. “And no. It’s too far from the Academy grounds. We need room to practice and learn, and we can’t do that in our meadow. These buildings are meant for training and mastering magic. So it’s best for us to stay here.”
“Oh.” Her lips pinched to the side, then she slowly tilted her head in agreement.
I urged us along, showing them a few of the academic areas and recommended enclosures for practicing offensive and defensive arts. Zakkai and Zeph took interest in those, their calculative natures taking over. Kols just seemed to take it all in stride, observing all the Midnight Fae we passed, and studying the general makeup of the paradigm.
It was all very real—as paradigms should be—but the underlying presence of Hell Fae lurked in the area around campus. Mostly because of the protection charms. Since some of Lucifer’s most powerful fae attended the academy, he helped bolster the natural defenses around us.
The village where my grandmother resided didn’t have the same feel because it was on neutral ground.
I used a spell to bring up a map for Aflora, explaining where the different sections of the paradigm resided and how each one interacted with the Hell Fae Realm. She gaped at it, fascinated.
Zeph appeared to be memorizing it.
Zakkai merely gave an appreciative grin. “Zenaida’s clever.” He admired the sky and the buildings, his approval evident. “I never considered mingling elements the way she has. It bolsters the structure while helping it blend.”
“Going to pass notes to your dad?” I wondered out loud.
Zakkai snorted. “I doubt that he’ll want to talk to me any time soon. I saved a Nacht, after all.”
True. It didn’t matter that Kols was innocent in the war; his grandfather started it. And the Quandary Blood wanted the Nacht line exterminated.
“Am I still considered a Nacht?” Kols called a cloud of magic to his hand, the colors a swirling mix of purple, red, cerulean, and green. “I don’t really feel like an Elite Blood anymore.” The flames extinguished in a flip of his palm, his burnt bronze gaze flickering with curiosity and a hint of something else. Not sadness—I felt his comfort with being part of our mate circle thriving via our connection. Yet there was a sense of loss in him.
For Tray, I realized.
Yes, Kols replied, our link open and allowing him freedom in my thoughts. I considered pushing him out like I had earlier, but didn’t. Instinct told me he needed the bonds right now. Because the one he’d established at birth was suffering.
He couldn’t exactly feel Tray, but their souls were joined in a unique manner—one that would never truly be severed. “You’re still a Nacht,” I said. “But a good one. Like Tray.”
Kols blinked at me.
However, it was Zeph who spoke. “Was that a compliment?” Shock underlined his words. “Like an honest to fae compliment?”
“I think so,” Kols replied, humor in his tone.
“How odd.” Zeph’s green eyes found mine, a grin lurking in their depths. Probably a joke at my own expense. Or maybe I’d pleased him. It was hard to say with the Warrior Blood.
“Shade has many layers,” Aflora said, dissolving my map spell as she stepped through it to wrap her arms around me. I kissed the top of her head, her embrace immediately putting me at ease.
Thank you, little rose,I whispered.
She responded with a rumble in her stomach, her hunger evident.
Zeph smirked. “Someone wants some mustard berries.”
Aflora shook her head against me, mumbling the appropriate term back to him like she always did.
The Warrior Blood’s gaze sparkled with delight, loving their banter.
Zakkai ignored them all, his focus on me, his eyes telling me that he was impatient to meet with my grandmother. He’d wanted a full briefing on security and everything else that went with the paradigm, too.
“The dorm we’re staying in is just over there,” I said, gesturing with my chin over Aflora’s head.