“It led to her learning information about me—aboutus—that she isn’t meant to know,” he fired back at me. “That makes her a threat, Melek. Don’t you see that? Or are you too busy playing one of your games?”
I was always playing a game. He knew that better than anyone. However, this game had an ending I hoped would one day please him.
Just not today.
Because if he thought the part about her being able to read the book was a threat, then he really wasn’t going to like what else I had to tell him. “There’s more, my king. Vita has been very… well, similar to me, I suppose. Meddling? Conniving? Beautifully intelligent?”
Ty narrowed his gaze, his lips flattening into a disapproving line. He clearly wasn’t amused by my humor.
“Vita didn’t just show her the source. It, well, it led Cami to the heart of it. And she touched one of the strands, which is why it turned black.”
“That’s impossible. Vita would never do that.”
“Nor would it usually present itself to an outsider, as you called Cami. But Cami’s explanation is the truth. The book showed her the story of your fall, then led her to the source, where she was drawn to the light. One of the strands darkened beneath her fingers, and she ran away. And, Ty, the sourceallowedher escape.”
He stared at me, unspeaking.
So I elaborated with “If the source truly saw her as a threat, it would have killed her, just as I know you’re considering doing now. But the source of your power tested her for thirty days and decided to let her live. That has to mean something.”
“It means she’s far more powerful than we realized and needs to be exterminated.”
I tightened my grip on him before he could attempt to teleport to the Midnight Fae Realm and handle her. “It means we need to figure out what she is and determine whether or not she’s useful to us.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do with Cami—I saw her as much more important than a general resource—but I knew how to talk to Ty. How to convince him to see something as a benefit more than a threat.
“She’s scared, Ty. She doesn’t understand what happened. She woke up in Ajax’s bed a few hours ago, fell into a historical story within the pages of your book, faced one of the mightiest sources in all the fae realms, and returned only to be interrogated by two very pissed-off fae males.”
I paused to let all that sink in.
Then I concluded by saying, “That’s not someone who is a threat, my king. That’s someone who is naive about her own power and has the potential to be very useful if trained appropriately.”
Or has the potential to be a perfect mate for us all,I thought, careful not to telegraph that to Ty. He wasn’t ready to hear that part yet. But someday, he would be, and I couldn’t wait to present her to him as the ultimate gift.
Because she was the ideal candidate and her visit to the source proved it. She could help anchor Ty, ground the source, be the outlet he truly needed.
But only if he allowed it.
Only if he was able to see beyond his own fears, his own bias, his own history, and potentially trust again.
Cami might be the key, but only if he accepts her.
“The source tampering and the portals are unrelated,” I continued when Ty didn’t speak. “Which means we need Azazel and Ajax to come home. We need them to track the culprit. And in the interim, you and I can work with Cami to determine her true origins.” Because whatever she was, she was more than a mere Halfling Hell Fae.
“If she’s as powerful as you’re claiming her to be, then I don’t want you anywhere near her,” Ty said through his teeth.
I chuckled. “You know better than to label something as forbidden to me, my king. That’ll only make me rebel more.” As I’d already proved that by venturing into the Midnight Fae Realm to see her when I knew he wouldn’t approve at all.
It was dangerous for one as high-ranking as I was to venture into another fae world without permission. However, that hadn’t stopped me from seeing my darling angel.
Of course, had I been caught, I would have just argued that her being there with Az and Ajax made it acceptable for me to visit. I was mated to her, after all. Just at the first level, but it still qualified me for entry.
“I mean it, Melek. She’s dangerous.”
“She’s not,” I promised him. “If she were, the source would have killed her.” It didn’t hurt to repeat that out loud because it was a worthy argument. And the way his pupils dilated told me he knew it, too.
“She could have tricked the source,” he hedged.
“Possibly,” I agreed. “And if that’s true, you’ll discover that trickery for yourself when you talk with her.”
