Page 95 of Hell Fae Warden

Lucifer hadn’t even taught me about Nightmare Fae until I’d passed a series of tests and earned a higher level of trust. They were well hidden from the fae population for their own protection. Lucifer didn’t tell just anyone his secrets. I’d learned about them because I’d earned the knowledge.

Most of that had been because of Az.

“Yet you’re supposed to be my Hell Fae tutor?” Camillia asked, a hint of teasing in her voice. When I didn’t laugh, she cleared her throat. “Sorry, I just… I thought you might… Never mind.”

“If it’s something I don’t know, it’s something none of us are meant to know,” I told her. “Lucifer has a great many secrets. One of the first lessons I learned in this realm is to never pry. Everything here happens for a predetermined reason, even things I might not like.”

She stared at me. “Things like the bride trials?”

“I might not agree with some of the methods used, but I understand the overall purpose of the trials, thus allowing me to respect them.”

“And what is the overall purpose?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone. “Other than forcing fae to mate against their will?”

“No, that’s just it—it isn’t against anyone’s will. The Hell Fae mate-bonds can only snap into place when both spirits are willing, and the trials are meant to help sort those who are worthy from those who are not.”

“And what happens to those who are considered unworthy?” she pressed. “They die?”

“It honestly depends on why the source considers them unworthy. Most females are just sent back to where they’ve come from. But if the candidate possesses ill will, or a darkness inside, the source will exterminate the intruder, if nothing more than to protect those beneath its umbrella of power.”

“Okay, so if that’s true, then why am I here?” she asked, her blondish-brown eyebrow arched upward in a haughty display of annoyance. “The sourceliterallysent me home. Yet you and Az dragged me back.”

“True,” I agreed. “But I’m talking about the candidates who are determined unworthy of all the fae within this realm at the end of the trials. Your situation is unique in that you touched the source, and it wasn’t during the trials at all.”

She twisted her lips to the side, seeming to want to argue, but there was no disputing the truth.

“Do you want to know the true purpose of the trials?” I asked her. “The whole reason they were created?”

“To find mates for Nightmare Fae and Hell Fae?” she guessed.

“To an extent, yes. But it’s so much deeper than that, Camillia.”

“Enlighten me, then, Professor Ajax. Teach me.”

I could tell she was being facetious, but I ignored her sarcasm. Because she really did need to understand this. It was the heart of her contention—being forced into these trials. And while I understood her anger, I needed her to understand why it’d been necessary.

“Several of the Nightmare Fae species are bordering on extinction because there are no females, and no females means no procreation. However, the source is incredibly selective about who it allows within the realm gates. The whole point of this realm is to protect the monsters every other realm refuses. And all it takes is one or two bad fae to ruin everything Lucifer has built.”

“And for some reason, the source rejects females rather than males?” she asked, her tone shrouded in doubt.

“Yes. I don’t know why, but it seems females are less likely to be compassionate toward monsters. Perhaps out of fear, or repulsion. However, it doesn’t seem to be a problem among male fae nearly as often.”

“So even Hell Fae females tend to be rejected,” she said.

I nodded. “Yes. Although, Hell Fae females are rare in general. Most Hell Fae are born male. But Lucifer has spent the last one thousand years hunting for the right candidates—Hell Fae and other fae alike—to participate in the trials. He only made deals for those he knew the source would allow through the gates. The trials are set up to determine if all his research and work prove fruitful.”

She considered that for a moment. “So he found bloodlines of females who should survive in his world, but only if they are truly compassionate or worthy of his misunderstood creatures.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “And if they prove themselves as true candidates, their souls will align with a fae and a mate-bond will be formed. But it has to be accepted by both of them.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t sound completely convinced, but I could see the pieces slowly falling into place. “So now I’m no longer eligible because the source sent me home.”

“You’re no longer eligible because you’re proving to be a handful,” I corrected her. “The source has neither accepted nor rejected you yet. And Lucifer is trying to determine what to do next.”

“Kill me or keep me,” she mused. “Excellent choices.”

“Or a good reason to try to run,” I hedged.

She looked at me, her gaze sharp. “You still don’t believe me?”