Page 250 of Bitten By the Fae
“Tryallof it,” Tray replied, his tone telling me how he felt about me keeping him in the dark. “You enchanted the entire room but forgot the damn door connecting our suites.”
“Seriously?” Zeph sounded exasperated.
“I need to go.”
“Fix it,” Zeph said, hanging up.
“Yeah, sure,” I replied to the phone, tossing it to the side. “Tray?—”
“You mated her, didn’t you?” he accused.
My eyes widened, going to the door I’d apparently forgotten to enchant.Rookie move,I chastised myself.
“I already enchanted it,” Tray said, referring to the threshold. “It’s just you and me. So no more secrets. No more hiding. Talk to me.”
I just gaped at him, unsure of where to begin.
And that was apparently the wrong response.
“You think I’m an idiot?” he demanded. “I’ve known for a few weeks now what happened in her room that day and the real reason you set it on fire. I couldfeelit, Kols. But I waited for you to come to me, to confirm what I already knew. And I had to hear about itthrough our fucking door?”
“Shit,” I repeated, clearly out of decent terms. “I didn’t want to involve you.”
“I’m your fucking twin,” he seethed. “You don’t think I can feel these things? We’re magically bonded by blood, Kolstov.”
I rubbed my hand over my face. “I’m sorry.” Two meager words that definitely didn’t help the situation, but they had to be said. “I didn’t want to risk you knowing too much. You know how bad this is, what they’ll do if they find out.”
“And you thought I’d turn you in?”
“No,” I replied without hesitation. “I was worried about what they’d do to you if they found out you knew and didn’t report me.”
“You think I’m afraid of them?”
“You should be,” I muttered, thinking about what I’d learned today. “They’ve been hunting down a race and exterminating anyone involved, including Royal Fae like Aflora’s parents. You think they’d spare me or you if they found out about this?”
A few months ago, I might have thought they’d forgive us because of our bloodlines. Now? Yeah, now I wasn’t so certain.
“She’s a Quandary Blood, Tray,” I whispered. “Or at least part one. We don’t really know, but she has cerulean magic and can undo and rewire enchantments.”
He gaped at me. “That’s how she knew the song.”
“Yes, but she didn’t understand the lyrics,” I replied.
He started to nod, his shock evident.
When he said nothing else, I softly added, “Now do you get why I hid this from you? From Ella? If the Council finds out…” I didn’t need to finish that statement, his expression told me he already knew.
“Fucking hell, Kols.”
“Sounds about right,” I muttered, rolling off my bed to land on my bare feet. Like me, he had on a pair of pajama pants and nothing else. “Is Ella sleeping?”
“Yeah,” he replied, sounding defeated. They’d both joined me and our parents for dinner tonight, but Tray hadn’t known the reason for the family gathering. “I can’t believe Dad kept all of this from us.”
“It’s definitely raised a few questions,” I admitted. “Like how he’s okay with exterminating our own kind. I get that Quandary Bloods are terrifyingly powerful, but Aflora…”
“She can’t even kill a burning thwomp,” Tray replied.
“Exactly.” She wasn’t weak by any means, just thoughtful. Caring. “She’d never hurt someone for personal gain. Hell, she wants to turn herself in as an abomination because she doesn’t see herself as fit to lead anymore. How could the Council vote to kill someone like that? She’s honorable and kind.”
