Page 118 of Hell Fae Commander

What lesson are you trying to teach, Az?

Because this certainly didn’t feel like a way to protect myself against Lucifer.

It felt more like a lesson in letting others in and giving them access to my very soul.

Acceptance,he whispered back to me.It’s a lesson on acceptance and trust.

And how will that protect me in the future?Because all it did was leave me feeling more vulnerable than ever.

You now have access to my Phoenixfire, Cami. Trust me—it’ll protect you when you need it. Simply call upon that mark in your soul, and it’ll be yours to command. Just like my ashes and my beast.

CHAPTER25

CAMI

TWO WEEKS LATER

The dreams had startedthe night of the Phoenixfire.

At first, I’d frozen, thinking the dream had been real. That Lucifer had found me. But as I’d slowly processed my surroundings, I’d realized that nothing about the situation had made sense.

I’d been naked—that much hadn’t surprised me.

But he’d been…smiling.

His lips curling in promise. His words whisper-soft against my exposed skin. His compliments a sensual kiss to my senses.

Something had happened when Az marked me with his Phoenixfire. Something drastic. I couldn’t define it. But it’d somehow brought me closer to Lucifer.

Or perhaps it was simply my growing connection to Az that was wreaking havoc on my mind.

He was linked to Lucifer, which made me somewhat connected to him, too.

Melek as well.

Both males seemed hell-bent on making me see their Hell Fae King in a new light.

Between Az’s lessons on survival—all of which seemed to link back to Lucifer in some way—and Melek’s sporadic visits, I’d discerned the similarities and determined that their common goal wasn’t just to teach me how to survive against Lucifer, but also how tounderstandhim.

Which had to be why I kept dreaming of the intimidating male.

Oh, but I wasn’t only dreaming about him; I wasromanticizinghim and his power.

Because every time I closed my eyes, a different side of Lucifer was there, waiting for me. One that was so unreal I doubted it was even a side of Lucifer that actually existed.

Whether it was real or fabricated, tonight proceeded exactly as the rest had. I was trapped inside my own mind as I mindlesslyconsumedraw power. Flames kissed my naked skin, leaving me caged in by muscular arms that burned with rugged fire.

I looked up to see the Hell Fae King gazing down at me. His wings were real in this dream. They spread behind him, magnificent and full, with white plumes that appeared plush enough to sink my fingers into. The urge to test the soft down for myself made my fingers itch.

But I didn’t dare move.

We rested on a bed of liquid flames. The sheets might have resembled red satin in another life, but everything moved and curled with heat. Nothing about the dream felt ethereal, though.

It was all too real. Heat washed over me, seeping into me as some unknown void yawned from deep within my soul and sucked down the power, filling me with fiery energy and dangerous embers.

Imbibing the flames only caused them to grow fiercer,stronger,threatening to drown me in magnetic energy and hot intensity.

All the while, the flawless Hell Fae King hovered over me with his sensual grin, his blue eyes sparking with dark hunger.