“There’s no way they’ve found her,” I said.
“According to enchanted Malik, Shade provided the?—”
The card on the table sizzled into ash, cutting off Zephyrus’s explanation.
But it was enough for me to infer what he intended to say.
Shade gave up his grandmother’slocation.
That wasn’t something he would ever do willingly. Which meant there was another ploy at play here, one I feared Zephyrus had just walked right into.
If the Council knew about their bonds, they’d use those links to try to provoke Aflora out of hiding. And I’d just waltzed her into the heart of Nacht territory.
My senses flared to life, assessing our surroundings and zeroing in on Zephyrus’s pin.
Fucking fae.
The Guardian had led them right to us. I should have studied him more closely when he sat down and searched him for signs of enchantments.
Because Aflora wasn’t the beacon. Zephyrus was.
“We should go,” I said, my words for Aflora.
“Oh, no. I think you should definitely stay,” a smooth voice said from behind me.
Zephyrus’s gaze widened, and Aflora stiffened.
I just shook my head and sighed. “Hello, Constantine.” I’d never had the displeasure of meeting him in person, but I would be able to pick out his voice anywhere.
“Zakkai,” he returned, taking the chair beside me as several Warrior Bloods appeared out of an enchanted mist to fill the rest of our table.
Yeah, this wasn’t going to end well.
What I couldn’t figure out was how they knew we’d attend tonight. I’d been careful with all the wards, and Aflora hadn’t breathed a word of it to?—
Dakota, I realized, her brown hair flashing in my peripheral vision.That fucking bitch.
She gave me a little wave as though she’d heard me and came to stand behind Constantine, her fingers lightly teasing his shoulders. “Will you be needing anything else?” she asked him.
“No, darling. You’ve been perfect, thank you.” He leaned over to kiss her wrist, dismissing her as he did most women.
Zephyrus’s jaw clenched, his palm having gone to Aflora’s thigh.
Because yeah, Dakota being here meant Constantine knew everything. No wonder she’d been so obsessed with my intentions for the Blood Gala. She was hoping to provoke an incident that the Elite Bloods could squander in some grand display. But all I’d intended to do was show Aflora the truth.
That plan hadn’t exactly backfired. She was about to learn some hard truths very quickly. However, this wasn’t how I’d intended to show her.
“Where’s Kols?” Zephyrus asked calmly.
Constantine shrugged. “Otherwise detained.”
Because he knew about Kolstov’s ties to Aflora. Brilliant. Honestly, I almost wanted to applaud Dakota for her trickery. “So what was the plan?” I asked, reaching for my wine to swirl it in my glass. “Was Dakota supposed to seduce me like she didwith Kolstov and Zephyrus?” Because yeah, I knew all about that incident. “Was she supposed to gain access to the source through me? Then report back to you?”
“Something like that,” Constantine admitted. “But your lack of interest made that difficult.”
“Yeah, power-hungry cunts aren’t really my thing,” I drawled, glancing at Zephyrus. “No offense.”
He didn’t reply or acknowledge the statement, his attention on the new wave of Warrior Bloods who had approached the table. We were up to twenty now. A reasonable number. But Constantine severely underestimated my skill if he thought that would intimidate me.
