Page 14 of Hell Fae Warden

Typhos didn’t understand it.

But he was a good king, and he’d allowed them to remain with the requirement that every human be tested through the trials before officially mated.

Of course, he hadn’t had much choice. He could either allow them to remain or kill them.

Because the portal had fizzled and burned once the last of our fae had returned home, closing the temporary door to the alternate universe and their infamous Monsters Night—which was apparently a holiday in that realm, not a term our fae had created. It was that world’s version of the mortal holiday Halloween, which was very different from that of our own Human Realm.

Much more deadly.

With real monsters, not just mortals in masks.

And it was called Monsters Night instead of Halloween.

A fascinating concept that I would have loved to explore on a different day. Perhapsafterwe finished working through all the chaos inspired by the Nightmare Fae’s little take-a-mate session with the alternate realm.

“I understand giving Azazel three days,” I went on when Typhos continued to stare at me. “You need our Commander focused on regulating the Nightmare Fae, specifically on our various kings”—whom Typhos referred to as hislieutenants—“but leaving Cami to rot isn’t a solution.”

“What do you propose instead?” Typhos asked, his blue eyes narrowing. “That I let you keep her in a bedroom cage?”

A visual appeared in my mind of Cami naked in a cage with a collar around her neck. “Actually—”

“No. That would be a reward. And you don’t deserve one.”

My eyebrows rose at his cutting reply. “Oh? What do I deserve, then, Typhos? To be punished by feeling her starve?”

He flinched and shook his head, his expression immediately contrite. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Then what did you mean?” I knew he was under a lot of pressure to perform, but I wasn’t going to stand here and take this nonsense from him.Ihadn’t tainted the source.Ihadn’t opened a portal. AndIcertainly hadn’t helped Cami escape.

Well, perhaps I had in some unexpected way, if our shared link had anything to do with it.

But it hadn’t been intentional. Why would I want her to leave? She had the potential to complete us. I wouldn’t push her away for the world. In fact, I’d probably sacrifice the world just to bring her closer.

Typhos wrapped his palm around my nape and pulled me into his chest, his opposite arm branding my lower back. Then his head went to my neck where he sighed long and hard, his big shoulders heaving with the motion.

I blinked, surprised by his uncharacteristic display of need. He usually put me on my knees, his desire to dominate second nature to him.

But this… this was a side of him I rarely witnessed, even in all our millennia together.

“I won’t let her hurt you,” he whispered against my skin, his arm tightening around me. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

I embraced him in return, my lips going to his thick, dark hair. “Why are you worried about me, Ty?”

“Because I don’t have the answers I need,” he admitted. “And without answers, I feel as though I’m losing control.”

His confession shocked me.

Typhosneveradmitted to losing control. He was the Hell Fae King. A fallen Virtuous Fae. One of the most powerful beings in existence. Fuck, he’d even created his own source of power.

“One dark strand doesn’t mean you’re losing control,” I promised him. Although, I had noticed that his power had been growing wildly for centuries now with him as the only anchor, and I’d been worried about his ability to handle it all.

Not because he couldn’t, but because he was the type to take it all on himself rather than lean on others for help.

Others like me.

Because he didn’t want to burden me with the responsibility of grounding the Hell Fae Source.

Which was why I felt we needed someone like Camillia, someone who could potentially provide us with a new way to secure the expanding bundle of energy. I wasn’t sure why I suspected she could assist, but I did. And I wasn’t one to ignore my instincts.