Page 29 of Hell Fae King

“Then I’ll expect your kingdom to remain portal-free for now,” Lucifer said, drawing me back to the conversation between him and the intended Mythos Fae.

“For now,” Hades echoed.

“Let me know when that changes.”

“Sure,” Hades agreed. Although, it didn’t sound quite like an agreement so much as a placated statement. “Maliki?” He didn’t wait for the male to respond, simply disappeared into a cloud of smoke and left a sole black feather in his wake.

Maliki sighed loudly in response, shoving away from the wall to retrieve the plume as it drifted through the air. “Duty calls,” he deadpanned. “Next time, try not to start a bar fight, yeah?” That last part seemed to be directed at Az.

“Like you didn’t enjoy it,” the Commander drawled.

Maliki’s mouth curled into a sinister grin. “I didn’t enjoy it. I fucking loved it.” With that, he vanished. No smoke. No feathers. Just… disappeared.

His nickname—Ghost—really was fitting.

Lucifer turned to face me and Cami, then glanced at Melek and looked over him like he was searching for something. I followed his actions and took in the Hell Fae Prince’s suit-clad form, his pressed pants and crisp shirt as flawless as ever.

“Are you all right?” Lucifer asked, his voice soft.

“I’ll be fine,” Melek replied, the edge in his tone capturing my attention. “Ajax’s barrier is helping.”

“My barrier?” I echoed, flexing the protective spell around us. “You mean the one Hades and Lucifer both penetrated without so much as a blink?” I couldn’t hide the annoyance in my tone. Powerful beings or not, it wounded my ego that they’d so easily infiltrated my spell.

It’d taken years for Shade and me to perfect our abilities to slip through enchantments, yet those two had done it in a matter of seconds.

“Your magic invited me in,” Lucifer told me. “And as for Hades, his abilities reside on a different plane of existence. Don’t take it personally.” He moved forward to look over Melek, his expression exuding a concern I’d failed to notice before. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. As I said, the barrier is helping.”

“Helping what?” I demanded, not liking this cryptic conversation. I’d assumed Melek had wanted me to create a privacy bubble to mask our conversation, but it seemed his intentions went deeper. “What haven’t you told me?”

“A great many things,” Melek replied with a wry smile. “But in this case, it’s simply a weakness on my part that your magic is helping me mask.”

“The Soul Yards in this kingdom drain his magic,” Lucifer explained, surprising me. “Melek is all about life, while this place exudes death. It’s why he never comes here.”

My brow furrowed, a memory niggling. “You… you mentioned that once.” What was it he’d said?

“Ty told me the next trial is in the Netherworld Kingdom. It’s the one place I can’t go. And I’m worried Cami won’t survive it.”

His words flowed through my head, causing me to glance at Cami in alarm. “Are you okay?”

She frowned back at me. “In general or right now?”

“Both.”

“Then no, but yes,” she replied.

I blinked at her. “Melek worried you wouldn’t survive here…”

I returned my focus to the male in question, my instincts instantly tightening the barrier around us and bolstering the protective spell with another wave of power.

“Why did you tell me that?” I demanded. “Why were you worried about her survival in the Netherworld?”

“Because I knew she had Virtuous Fae gifts, but not what kind,” Melek replied, his voice serious again. “My magic doesn’t work here. I’m basically a human in this kingdom.”

That had my eyebrow inching upward. “Really?” How ironic. My Midnight Fae soul was more than at home here in the Netherworld, the chilling energy calling to my Death Bloodorigin. Yet Melek was distinctly uncomfortable. Weakened.Powerless.

“Having murderous ideas?” Melek asked, sounding amused, yet there was a hint of exhaustion underlining those words.