The wolf grumbled in reply.
Then it whined as its black eyes met mine.
Zakkai glanced back over his broad shoulder, my nail prints still embedded in his skin. “He’s saying it’s for you.”
I swallowed. “Do I want to know what it is?” Because the blood pooling from the beast’s mouth suggested I didn’t.
He made a noncommittal noise before studying his familiar’s jaw again, the low lighting of the moon painting dark shadows on the wolf’s muzzle. “Looks like…” He tilted his head, glancing at the other side. “A stonepecker.” He frowned. “Why are you bringing Aflora a stonepecker?”
“Didn’t Clove bring you a stonepecker after the attack on the Academy?” Shade asked.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Right before the Warrior Bloods showed up to search Kols’s quarters.”
Was Zimney trying to give us a warning? To tell us that Midnight Fae were coming?
“We never did find out who sent that stonepecker,” Zakkai said slowly. He reached for Zimney’s mouth, only for the wolf to back away, his eyes still on me. “He really wants you to take it, Aflora.”
“What’s going on?” Zeph’s low voice came from the kitchen entryway, his dark hair mussed with sleep as he walked in wearing a pair of pajama bottoms like the others. Kols followed close behind, his palm hiding his yawn.
“Zimney brought us a dead stonepecker.” Zakkai straightened, his brow furrowed. “You’re the one who disposed of the last one, right?”
“Want me to do it again?” Zeph guessed.
“No, I was wondering if you noticed any magic on the other one. I was just saying to Aflora that we never found out who sent it. I thought it might have been Zimney playing with Clove, but after she told me the purpose of it, I know it wasn’t him. He would never put her in danger like that.” He folded his arms over his bare chest, his legs bracing like he expected an argument.
But Zeph just shook his head. “I destroyed it in a hurry because Shade showed up to say the Warrior Bloods were coming.”
Zakkai glanced at Shade.
“Don’t look at me,” my Death Blood mate replied. “I was just trying to protect Kols. And I definitely wouldn’t give Aflora a dead stonepecker as a gift.”
“Tadmir?” Zakkai guessed.
“Why would Tadmir give her a stonepecker?” Kols interjected.
“Because he’s Zakkai’s uncle and he’s the one who left me the rock,” I replied, trying to avoid a snarky reply from the Quandary Blood.
The twitch of his lips told me he knew exactly why I’d been the one to respond.
“We never found out why he did that, either,” I added, thinking back to the day I cast that object history enchantment. “You were talking to me…” I frowned. “Except, no, it wasn’t your voice.” It was deeper. Different. “Was it Tadmir talking to me? He said he was coming for me. That I knew him. That I would become him. Why would he say that?”
“To move fate along,” Shade replied. “He was probably pretending to be Zakkai in order to prepare you.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to say exactly what he intended, but I know it wasn’t nefarious.”
Zakkai nodded. “I agree. He’s been working through time for too long to be trying to hurt you or any of us.”
“Hold on.” Kols held up his hand, his expression one of stark confusion. “Tadmir. As in, Malefic Councilman, Tadmir? He’s your uncle?”
“Half-uncle,” Zakkai explained. “He’s a Paradox Fae Quandary Blood masquerading as a Malefic Blood.”
Kols just gaped at him.
Zeph, too.
“And he’s been on our side the whole time,” Shade finished for him. “He helped create a diversion after your, uh, excommunication.”
I cleared my throat. “He also left the rock, so I’m wondering if the stonepecker is from him. Like a message, maybe? Or a warning? Did he send me the stonepecker and rock before as a warning?”
No, that didn’t seem right either.