Page 72 of Hell Fae Prince

Perhaps they sensed my mood—or maybe they sensedCamillia.

Whatever the reason, they were wisely keeping their distance.

I wasn’t in a playful mood. A rare occasion for me. But nothing about today had been normal.

Feathers, the last week had been atrocious. Having access to Camillia’s mind just to be barred from her thoughts had to be one of the worst punishments a man could endure.

And I wasn’t even surewhyshe felt the need to block me.

Everything I’d done had been to help her, not hurt her. Yet she’d made it very clear that she didn’t trust me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure shelikedme.

Which was an annoying little concern.

Everyoneliked me.

I was lovable. Kind. Good-looking. Fun. Confident.

Or I used to be, anyway.

Camillia had made me question myself in more ways than one, which probably explained why I was questioning myself even now.

Because I couldfeelher here. Yet deep down, I didn’t trust my instincts.

Maybe my insecurities had something to do with watching Lucifer fall for a second time.

Talk about triggering.

But this time, he accepted my hand…

An eon ago, the situation had been much more dire. Much lesstrusting.

But tonight, we were united, his power literally oozing off of him and permeating the entire realm.

It was so different from the first time he’d fallen. This time was more like a power explosion from above, my king having teleported himself almost all the way to the Hell Fae Realm before losing control and tumbling from the cloudless sky.

His fall from the Virtuous Fae Realm had been from a much greater distance. And the damage that incident had caused had been far more catastrophic. Yet it had also symbolized rebirth, his beautiful power stretching far and wide in an effort to rebuild.

Tonight, he hadn’t exuded the same broken stature as before, but the vision of him on his knees had been magnificent. Empowering. The rise of the Hell Fae King.

He seemed to be even more powerful than I remembered, as if Camillia had done so much more than return his Source. It was as though she’d healed that ancient divide that had always tormented us.

Or, at least, started the healing process that I hadn’t even realized we still needed.

I owed Camillia a debt of gratitude, one I’d repay once I found her.Are you even here?I wondered, wandering the library, searching for my little angel.

Ajax had felt her in the Barren Lands.

Azazel had flitted off back to the Midnight Fae Realm.

Yet I was sure she’d been here. At least until I’d arrived. Because now… now I was almost certain she wasn’t here at all.

“Prince Melek?” a female voice chimed.

I startled as I looked down at the seated female I hadn’t even noticed was there in the center of the room. Another sat across from her and stared at me with wide eyes.

Their uniforms marked them as Hell Fae Bride candidates, but neither of them was the one I was looking for.

“Candidate Twenty-Two.” I acknowledged the female with silver hair bound in a ponytail, one that revealed her pointed ears. She had a regal posture that reminded me of Camillia’s spirit, but that was where the similarities ended.