The Hell Fae Realm.
My eyes flew open, the room around me making me dizzy and sending me tumbling to the floor. “Fuck!” I cursed as my head hit something hard.
A chuckle followed, causing my focus to shoot upward to the male standing over me.
Melek.
He bent to retrieve the object that had broken my fall—the book—then set it on a nearby chair before helping me up off the ground.
I wanted to snap something at him, something likeI don’t need your help. But I was too tongue-tied by my dream and his sudden appearance to speak just yet.
That residual energy continued to shiver across my skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake.
So cold.
Yet I’d craved the light. The heat. The blinding source of brightness.
Melek set me on the bed, his angelic face reminiscent of a different kind of dream. But he released me to take over the chair, the book sprawling in his lap.
“Nightmare?” His soft tones tickled my ears, making me blink. “I suppose that’s appropriate, considering your situation.” His eyes went to the book while he spoke, but a tray of food materialized on the nightstand beside me. “Perhaps a meal will help, hmm?”
I gaped at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Reading,” he deadpanned, glancing up at me as he opened the book. “With my eyes.”
My lips threatened to twitch at the comment, and his mouth curled into a full-blown smile.
“There’s my little angel,” he mused, winking at me before returning his attention to the page he’d revealed. “Eat and I’ll read.”
Part of me wanted to say,Excuse me? The other part growled in temptation at the pizza waiting for me on the plate.
Grease.
Cheese.
Tomato sauce.
Goodness.
Yes. Please.
He’d even paired the meal with a beer. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it’s working,” I informed him, shuffling to a more comfortable position on the bed in preparation of indulging in the feast beside me.
He arched a brow but didn’t look at me as I pulled the plate into my lap. “There would be no need to try, angel.”
I snorted, mostly to keep from reacting in any other way to his statement. Because I hadn’t meant to say what I’d said, and I certainly didn’t want to encourage his reply to my naïve statement. Rather than muddle it up more, I shoved the edge of the triangle piece into my mouth and groaned at the abundance of flavors.Soooo good.
Melek smirked like he could hear me, then flipped another page. “Ah, yes, here we are.”
I licked grease off my fingers, watching him as his eyes danced across the words.
“Quomodo tame a bestia,which roughly translates to ‘taming the beast.’ A funny phrase, honestly. Speaking from experience, it’s impossible to tame him. But I don’t think that’s the point of this passage, do you?”
I stared at him. “Uh, no?” I guessed, not having a clue where to begin with answering that or deciphering his phrase. Besides, he wasn’t really listening to me anyway. He’d already started skimming the page again.
“Still, I might have to try it later. Or not. But you could, surely. All it takes is a phrase, according to this delightful reading material.Somnum Dameonis.Two words. Try them for me.”
I finished swallowing a bite of my pizza—which was just as delicious as the first taste—and muttered the two words back at him.
