Page 29 of Hell Fae Warden

Too dangerous to be allowed to live, perhaps.

My Phoenix sent a rumbling roar through my throat in response, having heard my thoughts.

Shit.He couldn’t truly hurt me, but he could take out his rage on the male before us. A male he saw as on my side and not his, thanks to Ajax’s lie.

Run!I shouted, willing my mouth to form the word, but my beast had his talons sunk deep into our shared spirit. He wasn’t letting go until his bloodthirst was sated.

The dark flames turned into blades and shot like bullets at Ajax.

Stop this!I repeated for the thousandth time, but it was futile.

He was really trying to kill the Midnight Fae. Lucifer’s chosen Warden, whom I had approved. Someone who had our allegiance. Who hadearnedit.

A fae who deserved our protection after all he had done for us. He was one of the few beings in the world who could contain my Phoenix’s energy. He was an outlet for us.

But more than that, he was our friend.

Rare fear gripped me when two of my black blades embedded themselves in Ajax’s chest. Blades I’d thrown.

No, not me.My fucking bird.

However, that didn’t stem the deep-seated ache of betrayal inside me from blossoming with guilt.We love Ajax, you fucking bird. Don’t kill him!

Fortunately, Ajax wasn’t going down without a fight. He grabbed the hilt of one of the magic knives and drew it out, sending dark, tainted blood splattering onto the charcoal-bladed field.

He threw it back at me—at my Phoenix—which was a pointless move. These blades were conjured by my beast, causing this one to puff into smoke just before it would have impaled my face.

“You hurt Cami,” my Phoenix hissed again. “You will die.”

It seemed my animal worked on very simple terms. He saw Camillia as his intended mate; therefore, anyone who harmed her would pay.

Including me, as evidenced by how my Phoenix had shoved me down into the pits of my own body, forcing me to watch him murder one of the few fae I actually cared about. Perhaps he felt this was justice for me binding him earlier. An equal betrayal to what I’d done to him.

But really all it would do to us was rip us further apart.

Alas, my damn bird wasn’t thinking about the future. Only now.

Why aren’t you running?!I shouted in my head as Ajax pulled out the second blade and gripped it. This time his words moved on a spell as he wielded his wand with his other hand.

While Ajax was formidable and had experienced almost a decade of sparring with me, he couldn’t take on my beast.

Very few could.

The dagger sailed through the air, and a rush of energy swept around me as my Phoenix tried to disintegrate it like the first one, but it didn’t work.

Pain exploded through my left chest as the knife buried itself in my human form.

Directly into my heart.

A roar ripped from my throat as agony burned through my muscles, bone, and skin. I crashed to my knees and dug my fingers into the rocky field. Blood trickled down my palms as my entire body shook with the effort not to pass out.

Fortunately, a strike to the heart couldn’t kill me, something Ajax knew. A Black Phoenix would just be reborn. While it wasn’t a pleasant process, it was one I’d experienced countless times before.

Maybe it’ll act as a reset,I hoped.Give me control again and help me tame my beast.

However, my body didn’t disintegrate the way it should, making me realize that Ajax had done more to the dagger than reprogram my Phoenix magic.

“Now that I have your attention, I need you to listen to me,” Ajax said as he limped toward me.