Page 449 of Bitten By the Fae
But somehow I knew it would only be a temporary reprieve.
“Is this normal?” I asked. Because Kols had never needed blood like this. Or, if he had, I hadn’t noticed.
“No,” Zakkai replied, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “We suspect the dark source is preparing you for the next trial.”
“Or that perhaps it’s already started.” Shade resumed his seat at the table, sliding his book to the side. “Constantine won’t like that you not only circumvented his trap but also passed another trial soon after. So it’s likely he’s already initiated the next one in hopes of catching you off guard while you’re exhausted.”
Zakkai dipped his chin in agreement. “Yes, and if that’s the case, then the dark source is aware of what’s coming and wants you prepared, which is why you’re craving an abundance of blood.”
“I see.” I shivered, both explanations unnerving. “And you didn’t crave blood like this before any of your trials?”
He shook his head. “No. Just the normal amount.”
“Oh.” I bit my cheek. I’d have to ask Kols about this as well, but I suspected his answer would be the same as Zakkai’s. “Um...” I trailed off to clear my throat, my mouth suddenly dry despite all the blood I’d just imbibed. “What…? What was your fifth trial?”
“My sacrifice trial?” he clarified.
I nodded. Kols had told me all about his own trials in an effort to prepare me for mine, but he’d never moved beyond the unity test.
“Yours will be different from mine,” he warned.
“I know. I’m just curious about what you had to sacrifice.” Maybe it would give me an idea of what I’d have to sacrifice in mine.
He fell quiet for a moment, his gaze flicking to Shade before returning to me. “I had to sacrifice memories of my mom,” he admitted. “But in doing so, the source strengthened me by helping me to heal wounds I hadn’t realized were left open from her passing.”
I considered that for a moment, my lips tugging downward. “But how do you know that if you can’t remember those moments?”
“Because the source returned my memories upon my ascension,” he explained. “After I’d healed.”
“So the source… helped you?”
“In a way,” he replied. “The trials are about preparing a leader—testing their boundaries and helping to strengthen their weaknesses. In forgetting my mother… I was able to better focus. And then I was able to better appreciate her memory when I ascended, too.”
That made sense in a way. “Do you think the source will take the memories of my parents?”
He studied me for a moment, his expression giving nothing away.
“Tell her,” Shade said. “Tell her your theory.”
I glanced at him and then back at Zakkai. “You have a theory?”
He threw a glare at Shade. “I do.”
“She needs to know,” my Death Blood mate insisted. “It’ll help her prepare.”
“Or freak her the fuck out for no reason.”
“You’re the one who keeps lecturing Zeph about her training,” Shade retorted. “Go eat your own words,Kai.”
Zakkai clenched his teeth together, his irritation and discomfort palpable.
“He’s right,” I told him softly, my palm lifting to rest over his heart. “Tell me your theory.”
He remained silent for a moment, breathing expertly even as he released some of the tension in his shoulders and jaw.
His lashes fell as he blinked.
Then his expression mellowed.
