Page 154 of Hell Fae Commander

Is that why Ajax is so much more appealing now?I wondered, eyeing the stoic Midnight Fae. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, clearly waiting for me to say whatever I needed to say so he could leave.

Very unlike the Warden of the past.

Very much like a potential new mate.

A male I might just want to add to my inner circle.

Because he stood before me now as an equal. Not an infatuated Midnight Fae with a hero-worship complex. He’d seen me as a king before—a powerful king he’d wanted to serve for eternity, no matter the cost.

Now he was looking at me like I mattered very little to him.

A fascinating change, one that had my lips curling despite everything that Melek had just revealed.

Your meddling has turned into gambling, Melek,I told my little prince, my gaze sliding to his. Are you sure you’ve drawn the right hand?

Melek relaxed into his chair, his head lolling back to expose his throat in a way that made me want tobite.Come, my love. You know I’d never play cards without a few aces up my sleeve.

Hmm.

Melek was toying with fire, but perhaps he felt that he needed to.

Too much in my kingdom—mylife—was in danger of falling apart.

The Nightmare Fae used to hold me up on a pedestal, admiring me from afar, but the events of late were breeding disquiet among the ranks. They were concerned.

Rightly so,I thought, scowling inside.

However, I never ruled for power. I ruled to serve those who needed protection. And if I couldn’t do that, then I would lose far more than my crown.

I would lose myself.

Ajax’s jaw flexed as I considered his hard features. He represented a past I recognized in my soul.

A time when I’d thought all was lost.My wings. My fizzling light. All those dead fae.

Melek was the one who had pulled me out of the shadows, helped me find my way in the dark.

Ajax had looked to me for a similar anchor a little over a decade ago. I’d provided him with the tools I’d thought he’d needed. But seeing him now, I realized how wrong I’d been.

It hadn’t been his position or his home within my realm that had helped him survive. It’d been Az.

And now… now Camillia appeared to be the one who had returned his light.

Or perhaps both Camillia and Az had rekindled his spark, their matings providing him with a renewed purpose in life.

Regardless, it seemed I’d failed him.

I shouldn’t have put Camillia on that stage,I told myself.She was his light. And my actions had nearly snuffed it out.

Perhaps not literally.

Well, no, I had absolutely planned to kill her. But that was after she’d touched my source again.

That night at the club had been my version of a playful punishment. However, none of it had been playful to Ajax.

And seeing what I did now made it very clear to me why he’d chosen Camillia over his loyalty to me. He loved her.

I’d threatened that.