Page 57

TYPHOS

I stood back as Melek kissed Cami, his hands roaming over her beautiful form as though ensuring every inch of her still existed. Az and Ajax had done the same thing, but now they stood beside me, their gazes on the diseased Strigoi blood fields.

A sigh left me as I took in the damage. “I should have visited sooner.”

“It wouldn’t have changed the outcome,” Az replied. “King Nos betrayed you and his people.”

“And a lot of Strigoi died as a result,” I muttered. I had to fix this. To help them. To rebuild the kingdom. But I didn’t want to overstep again.

The throne had been my way of helping them survive without a Sigil. While it’d worked for a while, it’d clearly bred resentment, too.

With the gates no longer existing, they would be free to find mates and establish a proper hierarchy. However, they wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything without a royal bloodline to keep their hive-like energy alive.

Which meant I had to give them something to hold them over.

Something to help them thrive and survive long enough for a Sigil to be found and crowned as the Strigoi Queen.

Cami’s mind stroked mine, our thoughts aligning as power rippled out of us over the deteriorated fields. The black rot spread far and wide, the decaying plants wilting with death.

“They used to be sturdy and tall with blood fruits on the ends,” I told her, describing what the area around us should look like.

“There are humans down below,” Ajax said, his vampiric senses no doubt picking up on the live blood bank used to power the field. It stemmed from a combination of human lives in stasis and the power from a Sigil. When one failed, all failed.

“They’re not in pain,” I assured him. “Just… frozen.”

“Because that’s a better way to live,” he muttered, clearly not pleased by this development.

“Humans are food,” I replied, glancing at him. “As a Midnight Fae, you should understand that.”

His black irises flickered, the blue rim around the edges seeming to pulse. “I prefer to bite.”

My lips curled. “Yes, you do,” I agreed. “ Mate .”

Cami pulled away from Melek to face us both, her gaze assessing. I could feel her searching for how and when Ajax and I had mated. I didn’t make her hunt for it, instead sharing that he’d bitten me to make me wake up.

Approval radiated from Cami, surprising me.

But on the heels of that approval came a wave of disapproval as she surveyed the fields. “Holding human life in stasis like this isn’t okay.”

I’d already pointed out that humans were food for Strigoi, so I didn’t repeat the explanation.

Instead, I folded my arms and stared at my pretty little mate.

“Without the blood fields, the Strigoi will die. And the blood fields require two things—a Sigil and the human essence energizing the crops. So what would you propose we do?”

It wasn’t meant as a taunt, but as a legitimate question. I wanted to hear what my queen desired in this situation. Because I couldn’t exactly disagree with her thoughts right now. The term barbaric kept floating through her head, and, well, she wasn’t necessarily wrong.

“Is it really the only way they can survive?” she asked after a long, thoughtful moment.

I considered her question. “As far as I know, yes. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t ask them to find an alternative.”

It didn’t even have to be a direct request, just an implied one with whatever solution we devised for the Strigoi Kingdom. Perhaps we’d put a time limit on our assistance, or reevaluate in a few decades once things had calmed down throughout the kingdoms.

Camillia’s power brushed over me as she explored the fields with her mind, her ability to feel sources of energy and souls taking over as she learned more about the land. The people here. The Nightmare Fae in need.

They’d been lost in a state of necessary survival for far too long.

But with a queen at my side, perhaps now they could thrive .

Melek stepped back to give her room, his expression one of acute adoration. That look would have irritated me a few weeks ago.

Today, I understood it.

Hell, I probably exuded a similar appearance.

You don’t, he murmured, clearly in tune with my thoughts. You’re as stoic as ever, my king.

My lips curled. Stoic? I didn’t want to be stoic around Camillia. I… I wanted to be adoring to a point. Supportive. Protective, too. But not stoic .

You’ve mastered that regal look, Ty. It’s just who you are. But your mind tells us all how you feel. He met my gaze. As do your eyes.

I hummed, unsure if that was enough.

I wanted the realms to know how much I’d fallen for our new queen, to understand that she was the cause— the key —to our existence. She’d saved the realm from a horrible fate. Saved the Nightmare Fae from being leashed. Saved me from giving up my light.

The Source belonged to her now as much as it belonged to me.

Which made her their monarch, their Goddess , and they needed to know how their king felt about their queen.

Camillia’s power warmed our bond again—the unique connection created by our souls—and I felt her testing her vitality on a nearby stalk.

She siphoned a little from the Source to embolden the human roots and watched as the plant grew tall and proud.

Red bulbs— blood fruits —blossomed in a blink, causing her to cant her head to the side.

“This is the realm of dreams,” she murmured. “These humans can at least be given pleasant visions while they sleep. Perhaps even full lives. But this can only be temporary. The Strigoi need to find another way.”

Her words carried on the wind, our Source informing the kingdom that their queen had spoken. And not only that, but she was issuing an edict of sorts.

It would be an easy one for the Strigoi to agree to since the humans beneath the stalks already dreamt. Though, they might also be experiencing nightmares. So perhaps the Strigoi could guarantee pleasant sleep for their mortal fuel.

Either way, I would honor my queen’s wishes and ensure the remaining royal bloodlines in the Strigoi Kingdom understood her demands—by sending a missive to their homes.

We’ll help you for now, I thought, translating her words into a script that I would later draft on paper. However, we will be back, and we expect to see changes . So find your mates. Locate a Sigil. And claim your title. Then fix your territory .

“The Ghouls can feast on the dreams of these humans, too, right?” Camillia asked, her power spreading through the fields.

I nodded to confirm her question. “Yes, they feed on nightmares and dreams.”

“Okay, then these humans can serve multiple purposes,” she replied. “But I expect them to be treated with kindness. And I want them all to eventually be released.”

“Do you have a timeline expectation?” I asked, arching a brow. “Other terms to add?”

“Are we crafting a deal?” she returned, glancing at me. “Or am I creating a ruling?”

I smiled. “That’s entirely up to you, my queen.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Terms and timelines sound like a deal.”

“Yes, but edicts often require similar traits.” My arms fell to my sides, and my hands slid into my pockets, which weren’t really there. Because apparently my suit hung around me in tatters.

A consequence of the fall and everything else.

Actually, we were all a little worse for wear. Cami, too. Her tank top torn and spotted with blood, her jeans ripped, her hair wild.

Az and Ajax were shirtless, their chests painted in ash and dried blood.

Even Melek was less than pristine, his suit torn open at the chest to show off some of his tattoos, which appeared to have dried blood streaked across them.

Hmm.

We all very much needed a shower and some rest.

As well as a good fuck .

I’d waited long enough to claim my female. Yet she wasn’t done testing the boundaries of her new role, learning where I would bend and how deep-seated my dominance went.

I raised a brow, daring her to press harder. “Which is it, little mate? An edict or a deal?”

Her power continued to spread, the stalks throughout the field rising in waves.

“I’m not ready to define more terms or a deadline.

For now, I’ll give the Strigoi time to recover and strengthen their kingdom.

However, I expect the humans here to be treated well.

They might be food , but that doesn’t mean they need to suffer. ”

I nearly pointed out that they weren’t suffering today, just utterly unaware.

But I’d save that history lesson for another day.

Instead, I simply nodded. “As you wish, my queen.”

Now she arched a brow. “Really?”

I stepped forward with a smile. “Are you wanting to see what else you can demand of me and our realm?”

“It’s not really a demand. It’s?—”

I caught her by the nape and pulled her into me, the sharp movement abruptly ending her statement. “It’s a gift that you’ve given them,” I rephrased. “But you seem to want to test my dominance. So what would you like to demand of your king, Camillia?”

She stared up at me. “I can ask for anything?”

“Always,” I told her, meaning it.

“So long as I’m willing to pay the right price, yes?”

My grip tightened, my dick suddenly taking an interest in the direction of this conversation. “I think that depends on the desire, my queen.”

Her pupils dilated as the last of her power spread across the field. She pressed one palm to my chest, the other still at her side. “Our souls are mated.”

“Yes.”

“I think our bodies should mate, too,” she whispered, her gaze boldly holding mine.

My lips curled once more. “You’re asking me to fuck you.”

“No, I’m telling you to fuck me.”

“Hmm.” I drew my thumb up the column of her slender neck as I wrapped my other arm around her. “Terms?”

That eyebrow of hers winged upward again. “We’re negotiating sex?”

“For our first time? Yes. Yes, we are. I need your limits, Camillia. Otherwise, I’ll do whatever I want to you.”

Her breasts met my chest as she inhaled sharply, her cheeks reddening. “Okay.”

“Okay what?” I asked when she didn’t say anything else.

“You can do whatever you want to me.” She cocked her head. “I have a safe word. But I don’t think I’ll need to use it.”

“Oh?”

She gave me a sexy little smile that sent a fresh stroke of sizzling fire through my veins. “I can handle you, Typhos Lucifer.”

Apparently, our queen is ready, I thought at Melek, recalling our conversation about waiting.

I think we are all ready, my king, he returned. But I’ll save the rope play for coronation night.

Mmm, red silk…

That is what I promised you, he replied.

The way Camillia’s blush deepened even more told me she’d either understood our mental conversation or was perhaps being enlightened by Melek.

Either way, it had me very eager to play.

However, I’d introduce her slowly. She’d claimed she could take me—and I believed her—but that didn’t mean I’d rush this between us.

I wanted to make it memorable for us both.

A king taking his queen.

Claiming his mate.

And joining their souls in the most intimate of ways.

I reached for her hand—the one at her side, not the one against my chest—and took the death stone from her. “Warden,” I said while holding Camillia’s gaze. “Can you find a safe place to put our prisoner?”

He stepped up to my side and held out a hand. “I think I know who to ask for advice.”

Zenaida , I heard him think.

I nodded and set the stone in his palm. “Can you go with him, Azazel?” Zenaida would never hurt Ajax. But I preferred the pair to travel together, especially when visiting the powerful Fortune Fae Omega.

“Trying to keep Cami to yourself?” Azazel asked. “Because she’s ours , Typhos. You have to share.”

I glanced at him, amusement touching my chest. “I can share. However, you’ve all played with her for months. It’s my turn.”

“It’s not our fault you took so long to claim her,” he pointed out. “So you can have her tonight. But she’s ours in the morning.”

His tone told me this wasn’t a negotiation.

Unfortunately for him, I didn’t care. So all I said was “We’ll see.”

Then I grabbed Camillia and whisked her to our suite in the palace before anyone could stop me.

My love, Melek murmured. Would you like me to play emissary here for a bit? Make sure the Strigoi and others are all right?

Yes, I replied, my forehead falling to Camillia’s as I closed my eyes. But join us after. I’ll have our queen wet and ready to be fucked by then.

Amusement mingled with intrigue as Melek whispered, Enjoy, my king.

Oh, I will, little prince, I promised. And so will Camillia…