He relaxed against the couch, his gaze capturing and holding mine.
“I know you feel this is all unfair and you may not agree with the purpose, but one day I think you’ll understand it.” He reached over to brush his knuckles against my cheek. “The Hell Fae Source is selective because the core inside of it has been severely wounded. It will take a special fae to heal that wound.”
I stared at him. “Lucifer kidnapped six hundred and sixty-six women, all of whom are being forced to fight to the death in some sort of bizarre mating ritual for monsters. I’m not sure I’ll ever understand that.”
“Not all of the women were kidnapped, Cami. Actually, many of themwantto be here.” He lifted his ankle to his opposite knee, his arm stretching out on the couch behind me. “Lucifer left it up to the parents to prepare their daughters. Just as he left the terms of the deals up to them, too. He’s merely collecting what he’s owed, not for himself, but for his people.”
“So you’re telling me to blame my parents, not Lucifer.” Something I’d already deduced. But I still held the Hell Fae King responsible for the trials and how callously he viewed our lives.
Although, apparently, most of what I saw today was some sort of fucked-up mating ritual, not actual death.
But I wasn’t sure that made any of it better.
“I’m saying to keep your eyes open, Cami. You may be surprised by what you see. For nothing is as it seems here. Not even me.”
“So you’re hiding a monstrous side?” I asked, arching a brow. “Do you turn into a Manticore or a Centaur or something else lethal?”
“Something else lethal,” he confirmed, grinning cheekily. “But some call me angelic, not monstrous. Perhaps even Virtuous.” He winked and pushed away from the couch to stand. “You might want to wait for me on the floor, just in case that spell reignites. I don’t have control over it, and while it hasn’t come back yet, I suspect it will at some point. As I said, nothing is what it seems in this place.”
He picked up the book to set it on the rug.
“I’ll leave that for you, in case you want to do some light reading.” He straightened again, his hand running down his light-colored shirt to smooth out the wrinkles. “You did well today, Cami.” His lips curled as he started toward the cell, the door seeming to automatically open for him. “I’ll be back soon.”
With that, he left me to wonder if he truly meant what he’d said.
Any and all of it.
Time would tell.
Until then, I took his advice and slid off of the couch to join the book on the ratty rug.
I was too exhausted to read, so I used the leather as a pillow instead. And opted for a nap on the floor.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
AJAX
I needed Az.
Because none of these fucking Nightmare Fae were giving me the fight I truly craved.
A fight that wouldendmy misery.
Which I supposed meant I craved death. Maybe I did. Maybe I was just a masochist that craved pain. I really didn’t fucking know.
All I did know was that these assholes weren’t giving me what I needed—a bloody fucking fight.
Growling, I headed back to the dungeons, done chasing Nightmare Fae through the LethaForest. They were all assholes, their dark souls thriving on my anger.
Yet none of them seemed capable of making me truly bleed.
Hell, the burning thwomp had done a better job of flaming my ass than the two Centaurs who’d attempted to spear me with their horns.
Maybe I’d set Clarence free, just to give him another round in the LethaForest.
Yes,I decided.That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
That fucker would love a chance to try to kick my ass. I should have thought of that before running out here, but I’d been so distraught after Cami’s screen went black that I hadn’t thought much beyond needing fresh air.
