Page 45 of Hell Fae Prince

I blinked.

“How do you know that term?” Ajax demanded, stepping between me and his best friend to capture all of Shade’s attention.

“Zakkai,” he replied with a shrug. “Your paradigm-crafting abilities could use some work, by the way. Perhaps you should go back to Headmaster Granton’s class and take it again?”

Ajax visibly bristled. “You heard our conversation last week.”

Shade arched a brow. “Believe it or not, I value your privacy. Zakkai, however…”

“Fuck,” Az muttered. “He heard everything, didn’t he?”

“He did,” Shade confirmed. “And he shared it with Aflora, whose privacy I also value, but I’m connected to her mind, so…” He shrugged again. “It’s fine. Your Virtuous Fae mate offered to answer any questions Zakkai might have, and that’s that.”

“My Virtuous Fae mate?” Ajax repeated. “I don’t have a Virtuous Fae mate.”

“He means Melek,” Az ground out. “It seems he and Zakkai have become friends.”

“Zakkai doesn’t have friends,” Shade replied at the same time Ajax said, “Melek isnotmy mate.”

Shade chuckled. “You’re in a mate-circle now, old friend,” the Midnight Fae drawled. “What’s Cami’s is yours and what’s yours is hers, and all that jazz.” He waved a hand. “You’ll learn. Anyway, I need to get back to Aflora. Kuro?”

The owl hopped from Shade’s shoulder to Ajax’s, then Shade vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

“Melek,” Ajax growled, ignoring what Shade had just said. “He must have spelled the dress.”

“Why?” Az asked.

“Because he knew I would tear it off the moment I realized it was from him,” I seethed, grabbing at the gown in an attempt to do just that.

The silky fabric gave a satisfying rip.

Then mended right back together.

“No. No, I fucking refuse to wear this.” I spun around, determined to shred the damn material. “Give me a blade, Az.”

He didn’t argue, just handed one over out of thin air.

I sliced through the straps.

They reconnected in a blink.

I yanked on the slit in the skirt, trying to extend the split up through the bodice. But the fabric bled back together in a swirl of magic.

Ajax whispered some spells. They basically bounced off the offending outfit, creating sparks of purple and gold in the room.

I snarled, determined not to lose this battle.

But the damn dress wouldn’t budge!

Maybe this was Melek’s way of staking his claim or providing me with one of his trademark protection spells.

I didn’t care about the reason. Because I would not be caged, not anymore.

A scream built inside me in frustration, the memory of those chains weighing heavily on my thoughts.

The masculine jeers.

The metal against my clit.