Page 30 of Hell Fae Commander

Death,I answered myself.He will absolutely kill her.

Lucifer had made that much clear earlier.

Can I stand by and watch her die?I stared down at her shaking form, noting the way her eyes squeezed shut as though she was trying to hide from her own weakness.

Or maybe she was hiding from me—fromthis—her need to be held. Her need to be protected. Her need to be cared for.

Am I really caring for her by sitting here, waiting for the Hell Fae King to come back and do whatever he intends to do?

That coma she’d been in had obviously depleted her energy. She’d been shivering,crying, driving Az to act.

Yet he hadn’t returned, and it’d been at least thirty minutes. If not longer.

What’s taking so long?I wondered.What are he and the Hell Fae King planning now?

Az was on Lucifer’s side. He always would be. Never mine. His actions tonight had proved that.

Which hurt a lot more than I wanted to admit.

But I wasn’t exactly surprised. I knew the parameters of their bond. I would never come first for Az.

And neither will Camillia, I thought, my fingers weaving through her hair as I held her against my chest.She hasn’t come first for any of us. Including me.

Lucifer had. Every step of the way, I’d supported him. Obeyed. Done mostly what he’d requested.

Then he’d set a trap with Camillia, waiting to see how long it would take me to end up in bed with her. Just so he could punish me.

However, it hadn’t been just me he’d punished.

Camillia swallowed, her body feeling almost frail against mine. Weak.Beaten down. And I hated it.

This wasn’t the fiery little Halfling who had challenged me when we’d first met. It was a shell of the woman she used to be. An exhausted soul who didn’t deserve any of this.

She’d helped fight whatever entity had been ripping apart the Marsh Lands. She’d saved those fae.

And Lucifer had rewarded her with a coma? Thanked her by threatening to kill her?

Sure, she’d tapped into his power—something she should not be able to do—but maybe he should be looking at hismatefor answers instead of Camillia.

Melek was the one who had done something to her. Bonded them. Played with fate. Indulged in tricks. Dragged her into his penchant forgames.

Camillia had suffered enough.

And I was done sitting by while watching it happen.

I choose you,I decided.

Something shifted in my soul as a result of my declaration.

My alliances had been to Lucifer, to Az, and to the Hell Fae Realm.

But they didn’t deserve my loyalty, not if this was how they treated women who were supposed to be their brides.

Not if this was how theycontrolledthose who were unexpectedly powerful, just like Constantine had done. The Midnight Fae Council had viewed his actions asnormal.

And it seemed the Hell Fae felt the same about Lucifer.

I’d lived through the torment of watching all those I loved die at the hands of a closed-minded leader.