My grandfather appeared equally as enthralled and partially dumbfounded. He gaped at the approaching Councilmen, his gaze settling on the white-haired one at the front.
“Oh, yes, you don’t recall this from our history together,” Tadmir drawled. “Well, in a previous timeline, you knew my true nature. You killed my Quandary Blood mate. Tried to take my son, too.”
A dark-haired male with tattoos swirling up his arm appeared in the next instant to lean against a tree. My eyebrows lifted in recognition.Kyros. Paradox Fae. He’d been the one helping Shade manipulate time.
The male winked at me as though he’d heard my thoughts, then kicked up his foot behind him to rest against the trunk of the tree.
“Unfortunately, time did not allow me to save my mate. But it did allow me to properly prepare for you and your destructive plans for the Midnight Fae.” He waved a hand over himself. “You wanted an all-male council, so I became a Malefic Blood and took a new mate—a female who was best friends with my previous one. It’s a long, drawn-out story that ends in a myriad of timelines, this one being the preferred avenue, of course.”
His eyes lifted to Aflora.
“The timeline where she becomes queen,” he concluded with a smile. “I told you that you knew me. And now you see why. We’re alike, you and I. Abominations who use our power for the betterment of the world, not to destroy it.”
“The message on the rock,” she breathed, her lips curling faintly. “I remember, and now I see.”
“You do,” he agreed, bowing his head in subtle reverence. “My queen.”
“This is what I’ve warned everyone about,” my grandfather said, his fear palpable. “That abominations live among us and will take our kingdoms. You’re proof. This is proof. The fae kingdoms need to see!” He sent up a spark of power that blew in a sudden gust of wind, dissolving in fire a beat later.
He gaped at it, then his gaze flew to the tree line as an abundance of power rocked the earth.
A familiar presence touched my senses as the trees parted in reverence, allowing the Elemental Fae Queen to enter with her Spirit Fae King and Water Fae King mates on either side of her.
And a very irritated-looking Earth Fae behind them.
I swallowed.
The last time I saw that giant rock of a man, he’d introduced his fist to my face. And I really wasn’t in the mood for a repeat performance.
A Fire Fae and an Air Fae appeared next, the queen’s entire circle surrounding her in obvious protection.
Then her gaze locked on Aflora.
Everyone stilled.
Until my grandfather smiled. “I told you she was an abomination. Just like Elana. I think you know what has to be done.”
Oh, fuck.
I squeezed Kols’s hand,sensing his tension.
We both knew what Constantine’s words implied and how they might be perceived, but I felt the earth source shining down upon me. Which meant Sol could sense it, too.
His green-brown irises met mine over Claire’s head, his concern evident in his features. But one look and his lips curled at the edges.
He knew I was still me. Just a new and improved version.
An enhanced one.
More powerful.
But still an Earth Fae at heart.
I curtsied to my Elemental Fae Queen, showing my respect. “Queen Claire,” I greeted softly. A few months ago, I would have run up and begged her to take me home. But seeing her now, surrounded by her mates, I realized that they no longer represented my preferred haven.
The Midnight Fae realm was my home now, my roots having grown deep into the soil of this world and claimed it as my own.
Because of my mates.
