Page 117 of Hell Fae Commander

It hurts!

Hold strong, Cami,Az encouraged.You’re doing it. And you’re… beautiful.

I couldn’t see what I looked like, and I didn’t fucking care. All I knew was agony. All I knew waspain.

You’re beautiful bathed in my flames,Az said.You both are.

I was pretty sure he was a sadistic maniac, because I most certainly was dying a gruesome, horrible death. Ajax endured the claw of my nails, but surely he was burning alive just like I was.

I think I hate you,I told Az.

I accept your hatred,he returned.But don’t stop, little warrior. Embrace the heat.

The pain consumed me, but after what felt like several minutes of agony, I realized that I should already be dead.

Yet I was very much alive.

And my skin isn’t melting.

Ajax heaved a breath, echoing my own exertion. He held on to me while Az remained at our side.

The fires cooled, but not because they’d been quenched.

They’d disappeared…into us.

Dark, black streaks marred the ground, spanning out in a massive pattern that had been formed by the flames.

We stood in a triad circle, three points on overlapping magical waves that formed a knot.

Magic unfurled and I blinked up at it, seeing those threads again.

Is everything made of string?I wondered.

Lucifer’s source had felt like a bright strand. And then other magical elements seemed to consistently introduce themselves to me. Maybe it was more of Lucifer’s source interfering with my mind, or maybe this was simply how magic worked.

And I can see it.

“This is… fascinating,” Ajax admitted. His dark eyes glowed with new light, making him impossible to look away from.

Az was right. Itwasbeautiful.

“Why have you never used Phoenixfire on me before?” Ajax asked Az, being the first to back away. His hands dropped to his side, causing ash to fly through the air around him. His clothes had been burned off, just like mine. Like we had all been reborn. “It would have made sparring more interesting.”

The Phoenix’s hand remained on my shoulder, but his focus was on Ajax.

“It would have killed me?” Ajax asked, seeming to repeat Az’s mental answer. “Then why didn’t it kill me now?”

This time Az’s response entered my mind as well.Because you’re mated to me.The beast’s dark gaze swept over me and then Ajax.You both are.

And now, somehow, it felt real that we belonged to him.

Not just Az, but to the Black Phoenix. His bite had claimed us, but his fires hadpurgedus.

Swallowing, I watched as the threads of magic slowly faded away, but the new burn inside my soul remained.

Yesterday had been about learning that I couldn’t touch Lucifer.

Tonight had been a lesson in accepting the flames instead of fighting them.