Page 121 of Hell Fae Warden

So how are the brides feeling?I wondered, thinking again about the ones I knew.

They were probably all together now, waiting for the inevitable. I’d missed that gathering last time due to being stuck in a prison cell, thanks to Melek’s antics.

I took a sip of my coffee and glanced at the screen again. Part of me didn’t want to see the brides again. Not all of them had been kind. And those who had… I felt guilty on their behalf. However, a stronger part of me wanted to stand with them in solidarity and support them.

That stronger part was what had me walking over to the screen and turning it on with the command Ajax had taught me.

I didn’t have to search for the channel I needed, because it appeared as though waiting for me, the excited chatter of feminine voices filling the otherwise quiet room.

My eyebrow inched upward in surprise. I hadn’t expected to see so much enthusiasm.

Unless the cameras are purposely focused on this crew rather than the others.

I could see a few frightened candidates in the background, but not many. Most were smiling, some of them were stretching, and several were showing off their gifts.

As I settled myself on the couch and coddled my coffee, I recognized some of the familiar faces. One with a punk look, whom I’d seen at the Centaur trial, as well as another, named Sarah, that I’d seen on my way to the library.

One group stood out with more “gifts” than the rest. It was their attitude that gave them away, though.

“The Elites,” I said to myself, recalling the group of brides I’d encountered during one of the trials.

They’d been prepared, arrogant, andrude. But knowing what I did now, I understood them better. They’d been training for this all their lives.

They’d been… looking forward to it.

And their rolled-back shoulders and lifted chins implied that nothing about them had changed.

They were Hell Fae Brides in every form of the word. Beautiful. Powerful. Confident.

And they’d obviously earned plenty of gifts from Hell Fae suitors. Magic practically oozed off the screen as I examined them.

Their tight leathers showed plenty of skin, but there was a magical sheen to them that told me they had special protections, as did many who wore talismans not unlike the one Melek had given me.

The talismans they had on certainly weren’t the same, but they were magical in nature. I noted one had a necklace made of pure fire that didn’t burn her. Instead, it seemed to coat her in warmth.

“I’m hoping we head to Unseelie territory first,” she informed the others. “I’ll definitely turn some heads with my new magic.” She demonstrated red flames licking across her fingers. “My sponsor taught me to summon Hellfire.”

Another girl clad in blades scrunched up her nose. “But Unseelie don’t like fire.”

Based on what I’d read about the Unseelie, that was true. Which suggested the Elites had done their homework.

Are their sponsors giving them these details? Or did their parents prepare them?

Having a Hell Fae father would certainly give a candidate an edge, assuming he’d bothered to explain the Nightmare Fae.

Mine certainly hadn’t.

Although, I supposed my parents had tried to prepare me in a bizarre sort of way, if the grenade birthday cake was any indicator. My trust levels were low and my ability to survive was high as a result of their awkward training.

But no expectations had ever been placed on me as far as mating was concerned.

My parents had taken very little interest in my love life other than to often remind me that fae males possessed a natural birth control—they could only procreate if they intended to, and typically only with a mate—which at least gave me a carefree experience with a fae like Ajax.

So there were no faeling accidents.

That wasn’t the case with human males.

Meaning that I knew my existence had at least been planned. Unfortunately, now I knew why.