Page 23 of Hell Fae Warden

Zakkai canted his head, causing his long, silvery white hair to fall across his handsome face. “So you didn’t use Ajax to escape?”

I snorted. “No. I mean, I thought about asking him to help me, but I knew he wouldn’t, so I never did. And I wanted to escape on my own. I’ve been trying to find a loophole in the book.”

“The book that took you on a journey to the source?” Zakkai asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s full of Lucifer’s deals and a lot of random Hell Fae knowledge. Melek says I shouldn’t be able to read it, but…” I shrugged. “I can.”

“Because you’re powerful.” Zakkai pushed away from the wall to come stand beside my chair. “Powerfulandinnocent.”

Ajax hadn’t spoken a word, his dark eyes swirling with emotions I couldn’t decipher. He seemed to be trying to pull the shadows in the room around him, to hide from the scene before him.

“Her aura is clear. She’s not lying.” Zakkai’s wand appeared again, the tip a little too close to my neck. “But she’s also not what she seems.”

My eyelashes fluttered as I turned to look up at him. “What?”

“Who are your parents?” Zakkai asked me, his wand flickering with power.

“Um, Mystika De la Croix and Pierre De la Croix.”

“One is obviously a Hell Fae, yes?”

“My father. He’s the one who made a deal with Lucifer.”

Zakkai nodded. “And your mother?”

“She’s human,” I told him.

“You’re certain?”

“What else could she be?” I countered.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I would wager something powerful. Or your father has a relative he’s not aware of somewhere.”

“What do you sense, Kai?” Zeph asked, the nickname suggesting intimacy between them.

“An equal,” he replied, his wand vanishing as a cloak settled around his shoulders. “Well, this was more insightful than I anticipated. But it seems Ajax certainly has his hands full.” He looked at the Warden and added, “Do let Lucifer know that I’m available for when he needs help figuring this one out.”

With that, he disappeared, leaving Zeph smirking in his wake. “He’s an insightful dick, but he grows on you.” He clapped Ajax on the back and walked out through the door. “I’m going to go see if Florica manages to set Shade on fire again. That’s always enjoyable.”

The door disappeared in a blink, leaving nothing but a wall behind.

Midnight Fae magic,I realized. Because that door hadn’t been there before either; Zeph had somehow conjured it. Or perhaps it existed behind some sort of veil.

Regardless, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was the silent Warden standing across from me. He said nothing, his gaze assessing, his lips pressed in a firm line.

“Let me guess—you still don’t believe me.” I folded my arms and winced as it pulled at the snake bites decorating my skin.

Feeling those reminded me of how much I wanted to kill Ajax for inflicting that torment upon me. But I suddenly felt too weak—toodejected—to move. And not because of some weird spell, but because I was just, well,exhausted.

When was the last time I ate something?

Did I even sleep in the last thirty days?

Maybe I truly was running the entire time, trying to escape the ball of fire…

I shivered, recalling how intense it had felt, howreal. Apparently, it had been real.But what even was it?I had no one I could ask. No one I could talk to. No one I could trust.