Page 24

AJAX

Several Minutes Earlier

A z’s curse echoed through my mind, drawing my focus to an eruption of flames coming from the sky near the bridal dorms. What the fuck is that?

A very pissed-off Hellhound , he growled back at me. No one can get out of the paradigm.

What? I glanced at the portals opening all over the place in front of the arena. They’re certainly having no trouble getting in.

It seems to be a one-way ticket, he replied.

Fuck .

Exactly , he returned. Your dungeon is about to be full of pissed-off Nightmare Fae.

I studied the field from my position at the gates of the library, my jaw ticking.

Yeah was all I could say back to him as I stared, watching at least three new portals opening within the paradigm.

Az had his hands full with the brides, leaving me to strategize. I needed to figure out where to begin.

Because this wasn’t like the curfew games where Nightmare Fae roamed and the occasional one refused to go back to his or her cell.

This was a nightmarish mayhem.

It was on the tip of my tongue to call for my familiar, to ask for some assistance. Given the rising number of fae, we could use all the help we could get. But I didn’t want to risk Kuro being trapped inside the paradigm with us, so I refrained.

Here they come, Az said just before a cascade of fire burst over the upper side of the paradigm. I trusted Az to handle the chaos at the dorms while I figured out a plan, but it did sound like he was having all the fun.

Fortunately, I wasn’t to be left out. Two Minotaurs and one Manticore careened around the corner and spotted me, releasing roars as their footsteps shook the ground. I drew a circle with my finger and whispered familiar words intended to defend, not consume.

“ Hamaya Fuquay .”

The Minotaurs charged me, as expected, with their bullish tendencies. They slammed into my defensive spell, cracking it but not breaking it.

The Manticore launched into the sky. His pronged wings lifted him from the ground, giving him an advantage, as did his scorpion-like tail.

One strike with the tail might be enough to dismantle my spell.

Instead, he dropped onto the top of the barrier, using his weight instead of his natural defenses, making me frown.

I’d never seen a Manticore do that.

How are the brides? I asked. Are they okay?

The majority of them are trapped behind a collapsed wall, but the ones out here are more than okay, Az replied with a wave of approval in his words. Their training has paid off. They can handle themselves—for now. If this keeps up, though, we’re going to be fucking overrun. We need Typhos.

But we couldn’t reach Typhos. Which meant Vivaxia didn’t want him to be here for this.

What are you after? I wondered to myself, then glanced toward the fires flickering near the dorms. Dust and rock burst into the air as another wall collapsed, suggesting the goal was to separate our forces and pick us off one at a time. The brides? Is that all you want?

The remaining Nightmare Fae weren’t necessarily heading for the bridal camp, though. Groups of them stayed right where they were, breaking apart buildings and tearing through Hellhounds.

Vivaxia was attacking this whole paradigm.

Why?

Simple destruction seemed… petty. And pointless.

From what I understood so far, everything Vivaxia did was calculated, so there was something I was missing.

The Manticores on the ground grew tired of slamming into the barrier, but if they kept going, they’d likely break it. Rocks and dirt sprayed into the air as one began to dig. The other simply stared at me, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wild and… full of agony.

You don’t want to do this, do you?

This attack didn’t seem to be organized or even mildly thought out.

The sky burst with reds and oranges as a new column of fire climbed above the library.

The snarl of Hellhounds followed as Nightmare Fae invaded the flames.

One of the Hellhounds looked at me, but I gave him a nod.

It was a universal gesture that said I can handle this.

The Hellhound left with his group to manage the loose Nightmare Fae rampaging down the street. Given that it was a dragon breed, it would take quite a few Hellhounds to corral it. A wall of Hellfire roared to life in their wake.

As if drawn to the blaze, the Manticore coming at me from above turned to the excitement and flapped his wings, heading for the moving target.

He dove right into the flames, not even caring that he might get burned. Manticores could handle high temperatures, but not outright Hellfire with their batlike wings.

The Minotaurs roared and followed him, which was once again entirely unlike the beasts. They didn’t work in packs.

It’s like they’re just… feral. That was the term I had heard echoing in Az’s deduction, but it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen.

Two small portals opened directly in front of me. One delivered a Siren, likely from the Underwater Kingdom. The other, a Naga from the Marsh Lands, but strange shadows flicked around its scales as it spilled through.

Both were intimidating, but it was the Siren that captured my interest most.

Because… because it was male . Not female.

There are male sirens? I thought, mostly to myself.

But Az must have heard me because he responded, A few .

Oh. I’d never seen one before. The Sirens in my dungeon were all feminine in appearance.

Of course, they weren’t real Sirens. They were dark souls wearing a nightmarish mask.

This Siren, though, was the real deal. And he, along with all the other Nightmare Fae, had previously been cooperating with Lucifer, eagerly awaiting their new brides.

So why are you fighting on the wrong side? I wondered, taking a moment to look the Siren in his milky eyes.

And once again I found agony there that didn’t align with the sneer on his face.

The Naga took advantage of my hesitation and went right for me, finally shredding my defensive spell in the process. A pop rent the air as the fae clawed its way through.

I barely sidestepped in time, taking note of the uncharacteristic full-frontal attack.

Nagas were Hell Fae, not Nightmare Fae, meaning they operated less on instincts and more on reason. And they were sly; they didn’t just charge like a Minotaur.

And it was strange that those shadows were still clinging to it.

What is that?

Pain sent stars sprinkling across my vision when something hit me on the back of my head. I wasn’t used to fending off multiple Nightmare Fae at once.

Hissing, I palmed the bloody wound, and then a blow from a second rock made me stumble to the ground.

On your knees already? Az teased. Despite his playful words, I picked up on his concern. He was worried enough that he was using our bond to tap into my mind and monitor my progress. A bond that was much stronger now that I had bitten him. Twice.

Don’t worry your pretty feathered head about me, I purred in return as I found the male Siren picking up a rock in his hand. He gave me a toothy smile—or was it an apology?—before he hurled another one at my face.

I think I’m more worried about him, Az replied. What’s a Siren doing out here?

I disliked Sirens, but I tried to set my personal feelings aside because Az was right. A Siren shouldn’t be on land. Sirens could exist outside of their watery kingdom for short periods, but he wasn’t going to last long like this.

Something isn’t right, I told Az. And I wasn’t just talking about the state of the paradigm and the portals.

I knew Nightmare Fae behavior, and they didn’t act like this. Even the dark souls I had hunted and managed had an instinct for self-preservation.

The Siren’s gills flexed and closed as he struggled to draw in the oxygen from the air. It was possible for him to breathe, but difficult. He was exerting far too much energy by forcing his powerful tail to prop himself up in order to face me.

I inched closer to him, examining him while he clearly struggled.

“Why are you throwing rocks?” I asked him. “Can’t you sing? And what are you doing out here?”

He hissed at me in response.

Frowning, I drew my wand from my boot and gouged a hole in the ground with raw magic, then filled it with salt water that wouldn’t evaporate. “Go on, get in,” I told him.

He merely hissed again, ignoring the water, which didn’t make any fucking sense.

Nor did the agony that continued to reflect in his flinching gaze, as if he were trapped inside his own head.

Which looked… familiar.

My eyes widened as I realized what was going on.

Vivaxia is using her magic on the Nightmare Fae, I told Az. It’s that damned pet spell.

A flinch of hurt crossed my senses. I knew it was a sensitive topic for Az, and I still regretted using that spell on him. Even if I hadn’t known his history, or the trauma I had been reopening for him, I shouldn’t have taken away his free will like that.

But now… now I understood the depths of Vivaxia’s depravity. She viewed Nightmare Fae and fae like Azazel as pets to be controlled.

She didn’t give a damn about free will.

I know, Az replied, his mental voice softer than usual. I recognize it. And I can also see that these aren’t dark souls. At least, not all of them.

My teeth ached as I clenched them. Of course Az could tell the difference between innocent and evil souls. He’d had that ability all along; he’d just never explained it to me.

I’d been left in the dark, not just by Lucifer but by Az, too.

You’re not in the dark anymore, Az assured me, having likely heard my train of thought. I share everything with you now. That’s a promise.

And I knew he meant it. The ferocity of his words left me craving him, not just to continue where we’d left off but also to show him with my body that I accepted his apology.

I accepted him. And I would show that soon by biting him for a third time.

Mmm, Az purred in my mind, obviously picking up on my intent. Will Cami watch?

If we all survive this, she’ll more than watch, I promised.