Ty had enough on his plate right now without mecomplicating things—at least, those were his thoughts. They were loud enough for me to pick up.
You’ll see,I said.It won’t be any fun if I outline it for you, my king. Now, I’m bringing Ajax home for you to propose your deal, just as you had sent me here to do. So do put on your welcoming face.
Ajax was still a Midnight Fae. I couldn’t kidnap him, but I could try to convince him into returning for a visit. I just had to tread carefully. Not only was he welcome in this realm as a Midnight Fae, but he was also currently the guest to the most powerful family in the realm.
I’m always welcoming,Ty promised. His words sounded more like a threat, though.
Of course you are,I continued.But remember, we can’t keep him. Even if he agrees to the deal, he’s still a flight risk.
There, that was the little seed Ty needed.
Hmm,he said, sounding disinterested, but I sensed the spike in his curiosity.Are you suggesting I should change the terms?
Ty and I had carefully reviewed the deal he would propose to Ajax. But something was missing.
Giving Ajax back his position wasn’t going to be enough. Neither was citizenship as a Hell Fae. While that was something Ajax seemed to have wanted for a long time, everything had changed now that he had Cami. All he wanted to do was protect her—which had been my hope all along.
And, currently, there was one very obvious way Ajax could do that, if Ty proposed it correctly.
Not change,I told Ty.But you might consider an addition to give you the best control over the situation. Simply having Ajax and Cami in the palace wasn’t enough before, and I don’t want to assume it would be now. If Ajax chose to hide Cami again, he could, and we’d have no idea where he went.
As good a hunter as Az was, we were in danger of losing him, too.
It would be up to me to find Ajax and Cami again.
Which I could do.
But I much preferred not chasing them through the realms.
Silence spanned out as Ty considered what I was alluding to. There was only one way Typhos Lucifer could know where Ajax was at all times.
Perhaps,he finally agreed.Bring him for our talk. I’ll be waiting.
I could almost hear Typhos stoking the fires of his power now as he retreated from my mind, ready to burn the Warden down. But I knew he wouldn’t touch him. He wouldn’t want to risk his terms with me and Az.
Which was why he’d found a way around the deal.
Or rather, a way through it.
If Ajax accepted Ty’s proposal, my king would have the one thing he truly desired—control.
My little angel had given me an idea. One that just might save Ajax from the wrath of the Hell Fae King.
An altered deal. One Ty couldn’t resist.
I had planted the seed, as promised. And, hopefully, my little seed would grow into a fruitful tree.
Like a bad omen, the ex-Warden’s presence loomed down the hall, blacking out the white flowers with the warning of his shadows.
His blue-black eyes burned with power. I wondered if he knew how he had already changed by mating Cami.
Because the telltale blue-black of his eyes flickered with bursts of gold and red.
And if the week ended on my terms, Ajax’s fires would finally burn at their full potential.
He’d become one of us.
Ajax approached me holding a tray of food, I assumed for Cami. I magicked it out of his hands and sent it to her room while making a mental note of the new additions to her evolving preferences. Ajax wasn’t the only one changing.
