Page 32 of Hell Fae Captive

“I assure you, the pleasure was all mine,” he murmured with a wink. “Have a good rest, Camillia. Perhaps I’ll see you again soon.”

“Cami,” I said without thinking.

He’d turned toward the door but paused at my word. “Cami?”

“It’s… uh… my name.”

“Cami,” he repeated again as though tasting the name. “You prefer it to Camillia?”

“Yes.” Camillia was my parents’ favored name for me, and I really didn’t want to think about them at the moment, considering they’d apparently made a deal with the devil that gave him control over my life.

“All right,” Melek agreed. “I suggest you tuck yourself in,Cami. Ajax may drop by soon to check on your whereabouts.” His eyes glittered with the words, then he stepped through the door rather than opening it. Similar to how I’d entered with the Warden earlier.

Frowning, I attempted to follow him but found the wood to be solid beneath my fingertips.

That must be the magic keeping me inside after curfew, I marveled, studying the frame and discovering that it appeared just like a normal door. Only without a handle of any kind.

So his opening it had been tied to whatever enchantment he’d woven that had allowed me to bypass the curfew spell and return.

“Hmm,” I hummed, turning toward the living area and debating my options. Then the weight of Melek’s parting comment settled across my shoulders.

“I suggest you tuck yourself in, Cami. Ajax may drop by soon to check on your whereabouts.”

Because I’d been out after curfew and set off the creatures.

Shit.

I darted toward my room and hid the book beneath my mattress. There was definitely something special about it. Both the figments and Melek had reacted far too strangely for this to be considered a normal text.

While Melek had seemed amused, I doubted the Warden would feel the same if I’d broken some sort of rule.

Again.

I paused to consider what I should wear to sleep in. Except footsteps coming from the other room gave me no time to ponder further.

I slipped into the bed to pretend to sleep.

But what if it isn’t Ajax?I wondered.Fuck, what if itisAjax?

I wasn’t sure which option I preferred.

This whole thing could have been a trick of the imagination, a punishment meant to castigate me for being out after curfew.

How is this my life?I thought, exhausted and frustrated and overwhelmed.What did I do to deserve this fate?

“You can pretend to sleep all you want, but I can hear your heart thudding wildly in your chest.” The deep voice carried through the room, slithering around me in a dark caress of sound. “I know you were out after curfew, little rebel.”

“The question is, what will you do about it?” another voice asked, this one even deeper and holding a lethal edge that skated goose bumps down my arms and legs.

I refused to open my eyes.

Refused to move.

I barely even breathed.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Ajax replied softly, his minty scent taunting my nostrils as he stepped forward to run his fingers through my ponytail. “Don’t abuse my hospitality, Camillia. You’ll regret it.”

“Hospitality?” I repeated, unable to stop myself.