Page 99 of Hell Fae Captive

Something many of my men were learning a lesson about now, as they’d divided their gifts among several candidates rather than focusing on one.

Perhaps they would make better decisions during the next round.

I reached around Melek to set my glass beside his and rested my head on his shoulder while he observed Candidate Sixty-Six. “Has she used any of your gifts?” I asked softly, wondering what other intangible items he might have given her.Not that many could compare to a mating bond.

His gaze narrowed as though he’d heard my thought. Maybe he had. But his response was to my question regarding gifts. “No.”

“Is that why you’re irritated?” I asked softly, kissing his throat.

“Not really, no.”

“Liar,” I whispered, nibbling his earlobe.

“She used a spell to heal a Centaur,” he replied as I rounded the booth to slide in beside him.

“And that bothers you?” Because I’d found it rather admirable. Shocking, too, as I hadn’t realized she could use magic.

And oddly…endearing.

She’d approached everything with a discerning eye, taking in her surroundings before making decisions, and even trying to befriend the Centaurs—which had made me chuckle a little.

As though my Nightmare Fae wanted to chaserocks.

It would have been demeaning if I hadn’t found it so damn adorable.

No one else that I’d observed had tried that approach. Of course, I hadn’t watched many of the others. I’d been more intrigued by Melek’s reactions than the actual candidates, and Camillia had been the only one he seemed interested in observing.

Given he’d mate-bonded her at the first level, I wasn’t surprised by his choice.

But it did leave me curious enough to watch her with him.

I’d never seen him so serious, his expression etched in stone as he observed her through the first trial. “I gave her that knowledge for herself, yet she chose to use it to help another.”

“And that upsets you?”

His lips curled down. “No. It actually quite pleases me.”

“Oh? Is that why you’re frowning?”

He glanced at me. “I’m merely confused as to why she’s rejecting the knowledge I gifted her.”

Ah.So his pride was wounded because the female had rejected his version of a gift. “Perhaps she doesn’t want to use magic as a crutch,” I suggested.

He pondered that for a moment. “Perhaps.” His focus returned to the darkened screen. “How long will this last?”

“Until this part of the trial is complete.” The girls who had found the lava pit portals would continue to spin until every female made her respective move.

“They’re all going to be dizzy,” Melek remarked calmly.

“Which should make the maze all that much more fun.” Or it would end quickly with a bunch of unconscious candidates.

I supposed we would see soon.

“Did you gift her a spell to help with headaches?” I wondered aloud.

He gave me a knowing look. “You just want to know what spells I shared with her.”

I shrugged. “I’m more curious to know how you knew she could use spells to begin with.” It wasn’t something many fae could do, let alone a Halfling. Her soul wasn’t connected to the Hell Fae Source, which meant she had to tap into the power inside her own spirit—an ability most fae didn’t possess.