Page 14

TYPHOS

T y just hasn’t realized that yet…

Those words reverberated through my mind, my connection to Melek allowing me to hear most of his current conversation with Camillia.

None of the reveals were new to me. I was very familiar with Melek’s concerns, despite his attempt at hiding them from me. However, he was right about Camillia changing my outlook on everything.

That alluring little enchantress had achieved the impossible and had broken through each of my walls.

I’d fought her, thought I hated her, even. But now… now I saw her potential as an ally.

And so much more , a dark voice whispered in my head.

Ajax cleared his throat beside me, snaring my attention once more.

Distrust swirled in his blue-black eyes, his expression exuding a lack of patience.

Probably because I’d been in the middle of lecturing him about dark souls, only to freeze when Melek had started thinking about the true purpose of the Hell Fae Bride Trials.

He’d been focused on Camillia, but his thoughts had been loud as he’d formulated what to say and how to voice it.

My little prince had been forthcoming, a trait I knew he struggled with deep down. He might not mean to be cryptic—another term floating through his mind on repeat—but he adored riddles and puzzles. Words were merely a tool to be used in a game.

However, he’d forced himself to be coherent and informative with Camillia. You really love her, I whispered to him.

He didn’t reply, but I knew he’d heard me. And I felt his agreement pulse through our bond.

“Do you love Camillia?” I asked my Warden, causing the distrust to deepen in his expression.

“Why? What are you planning to do to her?”

“Make her a queen,” I answered bluntly. “But that’s not why I asked. I…” I frowned, not actually sure how to voice the reason for my question. “Melek loves her. I wondered if you do as well.”

“She’s my mate.”

I waited for him to elaborate. When he didn’t, I arched a brow at him. “That’s not the same thing, Warden. Azazel is my mate, and I love him like a brother, not a lover.”

“Cami is my lover.”

“And that’s still not the same as saying you love her.”

“How I feel about Cami is none of your fucking business,” he bit back. “And I don’t see how it’s relevant to what we’re doing here.”

I sighed. “It’s not. I… I shouldn’t have asked.” Because he was right. At this point, his feelings weren’t my business.

But I wanted them to be my business.

Which was a revelation in and of itself. One I wasn’t ready to face yet. However, I wasn’t sure I had a choice on that front.

Melek had thought about time being of the essence, mostly in terms of when I’d arrive for Camillia’s training. Except deep down, he’d been thinking about the Source, too.

My imploding power.

My potential inability to hold this realm together.

My need for help. From a queen.

“Melek thinks Camillia can balance my power,” I confided in Ajax, causing his brow to furrow. “If he’s right, then your love for her will be imperative. Because she’ll need you and Azazel for balance, too.”

When he just stared at me, I decided to elaborate and shared everything Melek had just told Camillia. I wasn’t sure what he already knew, so I didn’t leave out a single detail.

And by the end, it seemed a little of that distrust had left his expression.

Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

Either way, I’d bared my soul in a way I’d never done before.

“Even if Melek is wrong about her potential as a queen, Camillia is at risk,” I went on. “Because if I implode, Azazel and Melek will be impacted.”

“Which Cami will feel and experience, too,” he translated.

“As well as you,” I pointed out. “So you can hate me all you want, Ajax, but you need me right now. And I need you.”

His expression appeared to thaw just a tad bit more. “All right. And you think having Cami extinguish a dark soul is where her training should begin?”

I nodded. “Yes. The goal is to help her learn how to focus her power and master her control over it. This is also a simple task, one that she should be able to handle quickly. Which, if I’m right, will boost some of her confidence, something I think she needs.”

He considered me for a moment before angling his chin in agreement. “All right. I see your logic.”

“So you’ll support my training exercise?”

“Support it how?” he countered.

“By being my Warden,” I replied. “I’ll be focused on Camillia’s powers and ensuring they don’t grow out of control. Which means I need you focused on the prisoner.”

“I assume you have a certain prisoner in mind?” Ajax drawled, arching a brow.

My lips curled. “Indeed I do.” The perfect one for Ajax to watch die. “You recall what I said about these dark souls? How I’ve trapped them in a nightmarish form as punishment?”

“And then had me supervise them under the guise that all Nightmare Fae had to be tamed?” Some of that distrust returned to his expression. “How could I forget?”

“I deserve that note of sarcasm,” I admitted. “But at some point, you’re going to need to take my apologies seriously.”

“Oh, taking them seriously isn’t the problem,” he drawled. “It’s believing them that’s an issue.”

“I don’t think believing them is the issue,” I countered.

“I think accepting them is the problem.” I folded my arms to mimic his defensive stance.

“You’re angry, and rightly so. I should have explained who you were guarding from the beginning.

I didn’t. I acknowledge that mistake. Now I’m going to make amends. ”

“By training me properly,” he muttered. “Yeah, I got that.”

My lips curled. “No. By giving you a dark soul whose extermination I think you’ll very much enjoy.”

That eyebrow of his arched even higher, reminding me a bit of myself.

Maybe that was what drew me to Ajax in the beginning—our kinship. I saw myself in his suffering. He was angry. I’d been angry, too.

Hell, I was still angry .

But I channeled it into power and protection, something I suspect he would do now that he had someone he cared about. Someones , actually. Because I had no doubt he would guard Azazel and Camillia with the same ferocity and passion.

“There’s someone I’ve kept here, a soul that Zakkai and Shade wanted to be imprisoned and tortured in a very unique way.

I’m not sure if they ever told anyone else.

By your expression right now, I’m guessing not,” I went on, noting Ajax’s piqued curiosity.

“Zakkai removed her life source from the Midnight Fae Source, and I tied her to the Hell Fae Source instead.”

“Her?” Ajax repeated.

“Well, you have noticed some of the Nightmare Fae in your dungeon are females, yes?” I asked, causing the Warden to roll his eyes.

“Yes. The Sirens are notably irritating.”

I smirked. “The Sirens are not the only ones. I’ve trapped dark souls in all sorts of forms.”

I paused then and realized this also served as a teaching opportunity.

“Before the Hell Fae Bride Trials, the dark souls under your watch were some of the only females I allowed in my realm,” I explained.

“The other females in my realm are mates of high-ranking and well-trusted fae, and there are very few of them. But the dark souls kept here are actively being judged by the Source. And I masked many of them in nightmarish forms that rivaled their inner sins.”

In this case, I’d chosen an Unseelie, as they were known for their trickery. They also valued beauty, which wasn’t exactly a sin but could be if vain enough.

And this female—the one Zakkai and Shade had brought me—was notoriously vain.

A treasure hunter. A betrayer. A wannabe black widow without the power or prowess to properly slay.

Uttering all those facts out loud had Ajax staring at me. Hard. “Who did they give you?”

“A Midnight Fae named Dakota.”

Ajax visibly stiffened. “She helped Constantine kill…” He trailed off, pain flashing in his eyes. He didn’t need to finish his statement. I knew what he meant to say— She helped Constantine kill my parents. She helped Constantine kill Emelyn.

I might not have been there that dark day, but I knew all about the executions Constantine had carried out in the Midnight Fae village.

He’d encapsulated several fae with a spell, holding them captive while he’d killed loved ones after claiming the Midnight Fae Council had agreed to their fates.

“Dakota led several of the accused up to that podium,” I said softly. “And that was after all of the manipulative acts she conducted on Constantine’s behalf. Today is her judgment day.”

“That bitch has been in my dungeon for ten fucking years?” Ajax snapped, seeming to come out of his morose state and diving headfirst into one fueled by fury.

I saw his fist coming before his arm even flinched.

Still, I let his knuckles meet my cheekbone, more than ready to accept his brutality. He had a right to be angry. Perhaps not at me, but I’d be that outlet for him if he needed it.

Typhos , Az whispered into my mind. Why does Ajax suddenly want to kill you?

It’s fine.

That’s not ? —

It’s fine, Azazel , I replied as Ajax took out a wand.

“You put that treacherous bitch in an Unseelie form and let me guard her?” the Midnight Fae seethed. “I ought to?—”

“Go grab her and deliver her for Camillia to destroy?” I interjected while voicing my words as more of a suggestion than a demand.

He narrowed his gaze. “I’m not letting that bitch anywhere near Camillia.”

“In her current state, there’s not much she can do. And you’ll ensure she stays that way.” I started walking down the corridor, not bothering to tell Ajax to follow because he was already right on my heels.

“You have no idea what that crazy fae has done.”

“Oh, I’m very aware of everything she’s done,” I countered. “That’s why I accepted her soul from Zakkai. She more than earned her fate here.”

Which served as yet another lesson for Ajax.

For a decade, he thought his role was to simply guard the rogue Nightmare Fae. Little did he realize those rogues weren’t really Nightmare Fae but fae of other origin whom I’d subjected to this prison to live out their worst fears.

Hence the reason so many of them were dangerous and angry.

The paradigm had become a courtyard of sorts while preparing for the Hell Fae Bride Trials, something that had served two purposes.

First, it’d allowed some of my dungeon dwellers to taste a bit of freedom and amplify hope—hope that they might escape. Only for that freedom and hope to be yanked away.

And secondly, it’d provided a training ground for the trials.

I’d let some of the dark souls roam free to see which candidates could see through their mirages, and also to test the goodness of the brides.

So many female fae wanted to join the Hell Fae Realm, as evidenced by all the agreements I’d penned that had allowed them to participate in the trials. Some of them were agreements between me and their parents, but most were between me and the fae themselves.

Naturally, I hadn’t trusted any of their motives.

Which had led me to craft a purpose for all the dark souls lingering in my dungeons.

Some of Ajax’s ire dissipated as I explained all that while we walked, his interest piqued once more.

“How do they live out their worst fears?” he asked, focused on that tidbit of information.

“In a myriad of ways. Each dark soul’s imprisonment is personally crafted, like that cell you once put Camillia in with the enchanted furniture,” I told him, recalling that event clearly. “The whole purpose had been to make her uncomfortable.”

I might not have visited personally, but I knew what had been done.

Just as I’d known about my little prince trying to enhance her accommodations. So many plays. So many games. All of it so much clearer now. Hmm .

I hear you thinking about me, my king, the male in question murmured into my mind.

Always, I replied, layering that single word with affection and promise. Because I was suddenly in a punishing mood.

Which had me all the more excited for Camillia’s training this afternoon.

Is she ready? I asked him.

As ready as she can be, I think.

Good, I replied, pausing outside of Dakota’s cell door. See you soon, little prince.

“Camillia had only been a visitor in this dungeon, not a permanent ward,” I said, facing Ajax. “You saw her accommodations as plainly as she did. But as you’ve learned, mirages are a powerful tool in this realm. And your dungeon is no different.”

The more I confided to him, the more I realized how badly I’d fucked this up.

I’d put him in charge of a prison he hadn’t fully understood, made him a Warden in name only while my power served as the grand master here. He’d basically been placed here to ensure no one entered or escaped. But I hadn’t afforded him the opportunity to truly lead.

That would change.

Starting now.

With a single thought, I unwove the veil around us and let him see the prison for what it truly was—a dungeon of nightmares. Each one shaped for the captive in the cell.

For Dakota, it was a stage.

One I knew he would instantly recognize.

“The village,” he whispered, taking a step back as the landscape etched into her walls came into view.

A sea of faces stared at the Unseelie standing in the center of the room. Some shouted spells. Others screamed. And one in particular cursed up a storm.

That female seized Ajax’s attention, yanking him toward the door once more. “ Emelyn .”