Page 51 of Hell Fae Commander

“Oh.” His brow crinkled. “That… that must have been interesting to observe.”

“It was certainly something,” I admitted, still unsure of how I felt about it all. Melek had mentioned consent, just like he’d made it sound like a choice as to whether or not I would take him as a mate.

Then he’d doused me in his golden essence like some sort of claiming spritz.

I could feel it settling into my being, the power warming my skin and leaving behind a subtle kiss of electricity that hummed along my exposed arms.

With a curse, I tossed the towel to the floor. All of this… it…ugh.

I wanted to scream again, but my still-sore throat wouldn’t allow me to enjoy it. So I grabbed the water and finished chugging it. The bottle vanished when I emptied it, along with the coffee mug and all of the other food-related items Melek had brought with him.

Including the grapes.

“What…?” I glanced around, then realized Ajax was holding a wand.

“If you want anything else, I can conjure it. But I don’t trust Melek’s food,” he explained. “Or what I assume was food from Melek, anyway.”

“It was,” I confirmed in a low grumble.

Ajax nodded. “I don’t know how he circumvented my spell to enter, but my magic caught him on the way out. That’s what woke me up.”

“Oh.” Not exactly my most profound response…

“But him finding us this quickly is a problem. We’re not just in the Midnight Fae Realm; we’re in the Midnight Fae Palace. He skirted all the protocols to get in here, which means Lucifer can as well.”

I didn’t reply because I wasn’t all that surprised. Lucifer was the literal devil. Of course he could traverse other realms with ease.

And Melek was… well, I didn’t know exactlywhatMelek was, but he was definitely powerful.

Ajax blew out a breath and sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers twirling his wand in rapid movements. “Shade invited us to midnight breakfast.” He uttered a spell to reveal the time. “That’s in about two hours. Maybe they’ll have some suggestions.”

“Melek mentioned that Zakkai was playing with his powers.” I wasn’t sure if that information would be useful or not, but it seemed important. “So Zakkai at least knows Melek was here.”

“I can’t imagine he was pleased. Zakkai and Shade have always met with Lucifer in the paradigm, never here. At least not that I know of.” He ran his free palm over his face, his exhaustion palpable. It made me wonder how much sleep he’d actually gotten, since I felt mostly rested.

Because he brought me here,I thought.He chose to protect me.

“Why?” I whispered. “Why did you bring me here?” I’d already asked him that, but I… I couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. That he’d put his life on the line…for me.

No one had ever done that before. Hell, no one had ever come close to supporting me in any real way. Not even my parents.

Fuck, my dad had given me up to the devil for his Hell Fae bridal games.

My mom barely acknowledged my existence.

My best friends—if they could even be called that—probably didn’t even realize I was gone.

Granted, I didn’t really allow personal relationships.

Hell Fae Rule #4: Don’t Trust Anyone.

But part of me wanted to trust Ajax now, even despite everything we’d been through.

His actions definitely prove his intent, I told myself, referring to rule number ten—Actions Speak Louder than Words.

“I had nowhere else to go,” Ajax said as his wand disappeared into thin air. “I left the Midnight Fae Realm to escape my memories. But what happened yesterday…? What Lucifer and Az did?” He swallowed and shook his head. “They made me realize that those memories will always haunt me.”

The pain in his voice made my heart ache for him. I… I should hate him, should hateallof them, but I couldn’t fortify my walls with that necessary emotion right now.