Page 62 of Hell Fae King

“We’ll start from the beginning,” he murmured, taking the feather between his fingers and scrawling across the page.

I frowned, not following. From this distance, I couldn’t see what he was writing, so I crept forward.

My frown deepened when I realized what he’d conjured with that snap. “That’s my contract.”

“Technically, it’smycontract,” he returned. “One I had with your father. And now”—the edges of it began to burn—“it’s no longer active.”

I blinked. “No longer…” The parchment went up in flames, the flickering red ends glittering with magic.

I watched in awe as the paper melted away, my father’s inscription disappearing into a flare of bright embers that swirled in the air.

“I don’t…” I lifted my gaze to Lucifer. “What does this mean? Will my father be punished for this?”

Only…

Only, my father couldn’t be punished. Because he was dead. At least according to my mother.

Which meant the deal was already inactive.

And therefore this all meant nothing. It was just for show. “You’re trying to trick me,” I said before he could answer my previous questions. “Why? What lesson is this?”

His brow furrowed. “I am not trying totrickyou, Miss De la Croix. I’m trying to start over by destroying the contract that binds you to my realm. And as for your father, he upheld his part of the bargain by having his daughter participate in the trials; thus, his soul is still free from my Source.”

I snorted. “Yeah, because he’s dead.”

Lucifer looked from me to Melek. “Is this confirmed?”

“No, because it’s the first I’m hearing about it.” Melek stepped up to my side, his palm pressing to my lower back. “Why do you think he’s dead, little angel?”

“My mom told me he’s dead,” I replied, a little startled that I’d failed to mention that to my mate.

Is it normal not to think much about a parent’s death? To not really mourn the loss?

Maybe too much has happened for me to process what my mother had said. Or maybe… maybe I just wasn’t normal.

“I see.” Lucifer’s voice seemed to deepen with those words. “I released him from my Source as part of our deal, so I can’t easily confirm your mother’s claim. But I’ll look into it personally.”

“You think she lied?” I asked, even more startled now.

“I think it’s possible, yes,” he replied. “It’s also possible that he was her puppet all along, something I should have caught when he approached me with his offer.”

“You had no way of even suspecting Virtuous Fae influence, Ty,” Melek interjected. “Don’t take that blame on yourself.”

“He was my responsibility, and I failed him. It’s as simple as that, little prince.” Lucifer waved a hand through the air, causing a blank sheet of parchment paper to appear. “But we’re not here to discuss my shortcomings. This is about training Camillia. And to do that, she needs to understand how I make deals.” Hefocused on Melek. “So let’s show her how it’s done, little prince. Make me an offer, one I can’t refuse.”

CHAPTER 17

CAMI

Igaped at the Hell Fae King. Not only did he just suggest my father might have been under my mother’s influence when he’d engaged in the deal regarding my fate, but he also seemed to think my mother might be lying about my father being dead.

And he intended to look into it—personally.

“Why?” I blurted out, cutting off whatever Melek had been about to say. “Why do you care?”

Only, he’d answered that already.He was my responsibility, and I failed him, Lucifer had said.

“Do you really think he was manipulated?” I added aloud before he could respond to my previous questions.