Page 87 of Hell Fae Captive

He muttered some words, causing a plate of cookies to appear on my coffee table. “From my grandmother,” he said. Not that I needed the explanation. “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, wandering through my flat as though he had every right to be here. His icy gaze missed nothing as he took in the decor, only briefly flitting to the screen—which had automatically switched off when he’d entered. I wasn’t sure if that was a result of the magic that powered the technology or if Lucifer had somehow felt Shade’s presence. Perhaps both.

Regardless, it unnerved me because it meant I was being supervised, even here.

Which shouldn’t surprise me.

Lucifer’s trust had to be earned, and I’d only been working for him for a decade.

“I’m going to assume the cookies from Zen are why you’re here,” I said.

Shade nodded, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “She said something cryptic about you needing a death stone for your date with the zombies.”

I blinked at him. “My what?”

Shade lifted a broad shoulder and unsnapped his cloak to drape it over one of my dining chairs. “I don’t pretend to understand her musings.” He fished a jagged black rock from his pocket and set it on the table. “For your date.”

My brow furrowed. “I have no idea what she’s talking about, but thanks?”

His lips quirked up just enough to show amusement.

Then he strolled over to the bar to help himself to my open bottle of blood wine.

“Sure, make yourself at home,” I drawled, setting down my own glass to go investigate the death stone. I was familiar with the magic but didn’t understand why Zen thought I needed this. When a visit to the Netherworld Kingdom was required, I just engaged a portal.

Did she tell Shade about the Netherworld Kingdom?I wondered, glancing at him. It was something I hadn’t known about until coming to work for Lucifer, and he’d been pretty clear about not sharing the information with anyone.

But Zen had lived a very long time.

And she knew a lot about everything.

It wouldn’t surprise me if she knew about the zombie-like realm filled with dead Nightmare Fae.

Lucifer had only told me about it because he’d needed me to complete an errand there once. My Death Blood magic had made me the ideal candidate, so now whenever he needed something from that kingdom, he sent me.

It’d taken me a while to learn how to tame the beasts in that world, but I understood them better now.

I cleared my throat. “So. How are things?” I hedged, feeling awkward.

Shade and I had been best friends, once upon a time. However, he almost resembled a stranger to me now. Not because of anything he’d done, but because of my own need for distance.

I hadn’t spoken to Seif, the third member of our old friendship triangle, much either over the years. Of course, Seif had his own responsibilities as the West Coast Regional Alpha, making him hard to keep in touch with.

But really, it was mostly me.

Hiding in a Midnight Fae paradigm in the Hell Fae Realm.

Lucifer was very particular about whom he allowed to visit and when, making it hard for anyone to reach me.

Shade had a pass since his grandmother had created this paradigm, but the dungeon was technically in Hell Fae territory more than the paradigm, so he was skirting the rules by shadowing down here.

Not that Shade ever obeyed authority.

“Aflora has decided to host a new version of the Blood Gala,” Shade murmured. “She wants to use it as a way to bring everyone together to celebrate life.”

I snorted. “Life. Of course. I suppose she is still the Earth Fae Queen as well.”