Page 60 of Hell Fae Captive

I let a slow smile stretch across my face. “Because you’re down here and the other candidates are up there, receiving their own gifts and vows of protection.” Well, not the latter. But she didn’t need to know that.

“What do you want from me in exchange?” she asked warily.

Clever indeed.She was already learning her way around Hell, and she’d only been here a few days.

“A kiss.” I extended a hand. “Just on the cheek will do.”

She still didn’t seem convinced.

“I don’t think you understand what it is I’m offering,” I said softly. “This vow will allow you to call on me whenever you need aid. Trust me, in the Nightmare Fae Trials, you’ll need my help.”

“You’ve just armed me with spells to survive,” she countered.

I slipped my fingers through hers, tugging her closer to me. She didn’t pull away. “What do you have to lose by allowing me to protect you?”

“My dignity?”

I smiled. “I assure you that your dignity will very much remain intact.”

I could tell she didn’t quite believe me, but she wasn’t resisting, either.

This would only work if she had a heritage that rivaled my own, something I had suspected the moment it’d become clear that she could read Ty’s book.

Something Ty would very much expect me to tell him.

But we had a game to play, and I had two more gifts I could still bestow on this little treasure, as knowledge only counted as one.

A kiss of protection couldn’t be considered a gift. A promise, yes, but not a physical gift. I was well within my bounds.

Drawing her closer, she held her breath as I whispered the vow in the ancient tongue. “Nadeehar Laki Nafsi.” Then I grazed my lips across the high arch of her cheekbone.

She shivered as magic ignited between us, the opening of the spell preparing to link our souls.

Similar to a Midnight Fae’s bite, this would be a permanent bond, with the main difference being that it required mutual agreement.

“You’ll have to repeat—” I began, only to go rigid in surprise when she reiterated my words with exact precision, her lips sealing the vow as she pressed them against my cheek.

The fires that stirred in my belly demanded that we do that again, except with tongue and skin. Just not yet. Not until she fully understood.

I shivered as the bond snapped into place, stirring a sharp inhale from deep within as her soul blossomed with mine, proving everything I’d already suspected to be true.

She’s of ancient blood,I marveled.I knew I felt that magic lurking in her soul, and now we’re linked. Which means her spirit is mine to explore.

Of course, that also meant my soul belonged to her as well. Something that might prove problematic later. But we would cross that bridge should it ever arrive.

This would allow me to keep a better eye on her, both to protect her and to ensure protection of Ty.

Because if Cami betrayed me—or if I found out she intended to hurt Ty in any way—I’d kill her. It would hurt a little to do it since we were bonded now, but I would accept the pain as my due for establishing an unworthy connection.

Ty wouldn’t be happy, and he’d be able to feel this change in me immediately.

But it couldn’t be undone now.

The options were to either ensure she survived or kill her. And I wasn’t going to let him do the latter without just cause.

I always acted instinctively. This was no different.

My soul had told me this was right, so I’d reacted.