I’d gone from… from something… to… Did they all have to be so distracting? “You all need clothes.”
Kols reached for me, the inky lines along his arms writhing with hypnotic power. Zeph released my face, his hands dropping to my hips. I glanced down, noting how I straddled his thighs.
Why am I wearing clothes?I wondered, biting my lip.That’s not the point of dreams. I should be naked. But didn’t I just tell them…?
I flinched as Kols’s palm met my cheek. His skin burned against mine, his power a shock wave that yanked a gasp from my throat. “Oh!” I arched upward and nearly fell, but Zeph’s hand landed on my lower back, holding me steady.
Energy hummed through me, magic warring deep inside my soul.
I closed my eyes, falling into the black hole of whirling energy, searching for the cause of the disturbance.
Red and cerulean battled.
Beautiful colors.
So bright and vibrant.
Only, they were trying to destroy one another.
No, no, couldn’t have that. They were too pretty to harm each other.
I plucked at them, tugging the two cords apart, and shoved them to separate recesses of my soul, then jolted awake on Zeph’s lap once more.
He was shouting.
Kols had fallen off the bed, and Shade was trying to help him up.
I frowned. “What happened?”
“Zakkai,” Zeph snarled the name.
I blinked, then gasped. “He wants to kill Kols!”
“No shit,” Shade snapped, his sharp tone startling me. He never spoke to me like that.
And considering how we’d left things, he should be groveling. “You gave me to Zakkai,” I said slowly, everything coming back to me in a surge of insanity. That part wasn’t important. I needed to tell them about his intentions for Kols. Except, hold on, I already did.
“Are you all right?” Zeph asked, cupping my cheeks once more. “I need to know you’re okay. I could feel your pain.”
“My pain?” I repeated, trying to pull away to look at Kols, but Zeph held me steady.
“Aflora, did Zakkai hurt you?”
“No,” I replied, frowning. “No, Dakota did.”
His eyebrows flew upward. “Dakota?”
“Some Elite Blood,” I said. “She hit me with a horrible spell. It… it paralyzed me. Zakkai made her stop. Then he took me back… to sleep… in his room.” I glanced around as the dream started to blur. “Zeph, he wants to kill Kols.” I tried to grab him to ensure he understood, but my hand went through him.
“Aflora!”
“Zeph!” I cried out, lunging for him. “He wants to kill Kols!”
He caught me by the waist as I nearly tumbled to the floor and yanked me back up onto the bed. I curled into his lap, shivering. “I don’t know where I am,” I whispered. “I don’t know where he’s keeping me, but there are mountains and sunshine.”
I glanced up, a plea for him to find me lining my lips, only his eyes had turned a silver blue. And his dark hair now fell in white waves around his shoulders.
Zakkai.
