Definitely dehydrated and starving.
Fine. I’ll accept this meal.
But I will not accepthim.
Even if he does have chocolate-covered strawberries.
Which he held out to me next. I took one because, well, it sounded good. However, that didn’t mean I was buying into this whole act-of-kindness thing.
He watched me bring the berry to my mouth and bite down, his eyes tracking my tongue as I swiped it across my lips. He seemed to be in a particular sort of mood, one I really didn’t want to play with right now.
“Are you here to take me back to Lucifer?” I wondered aloud. “Or are you here to fuck with me?”
Amusement flirted with his expression. “I definitely want to fuck you, angel. But?—”
“That’snotwhat I asked,” I interjected.
“I’m here to check up on you,” he continued, ignoring my interruption. “How are you feeling, little angel?”
My eyes narrowed. “Like my days are numbered,Prince Melek.”
“Hmm,” he hummed, his amusement seeming to deepen.
That makes one of us,I grumbled to myself.
Because I was very muchnotamused.
Ajax had tried to rescue me. I remembered pieces of the supposed event, allowing me to somewhat believe that information. But that just meant he’d defied Lucifer.
Which, in turn, meant we were both dead fae.
I had no doubt that when the Hell Fae King found me, he’d drag me back by my hair and execute me in front of everyone.
Well, no. He’d probably send Az here to do the dragging part.ThenLucifer would execute me. Horribly and publicly. And he’d probably do so in a manner that required me to be naked since that seemed to be a common theme in my relationship with these men.
I picked up another strawberry, then focused on my coffee for a bit while the Hell Fae Prince studied me in silence.
He probably bespelled this fruit,I realized.And now he’s just waiting for it to take effect.
I was naïve to trust him before and an idiot for trusting him now. But I was so damn hungry. “How long was I asleep?” I mused aloud.
“A while,” he replied cryptically. Because of course this fae couldn’t give me a straight answer to anything. Why would he ever prove to be helpful or forthcoming?
I finished the coffee and set the mug on the nightstand next to me. A bottle of water appeared beside it, making me roll my eyes before I refocused on the grapes. “You’re not going to buy my forgiveness with food,” I muttered.
“I’m not trying to buy anything, Cami. I just want to take care of you.”
“Oh?” I arched a brow at him. “By what, exactly? Fattening me up before Lucifer puts me on display again?”
His multicolored irises flickered, an uncharacteristic note of emotion fluttering across his expression. It was too brief for me to define, just a slight tug of his lips that seemed to go against his usual smirk. Almost as though he’d been about to scowl.
“I realize Ty’s actions were, well,uncomfortablefor you. However, he had to do something to maintain order. His Warden and Commander took a bride without permission. That couldn’t be overlooked, or other Hell Fae would react accordingly and steal their own brides.”
“You mean capture captives who were already there against their wills and force them to mate? Which is precisely what the games are doing anyway?” I countered.
Melek’s expression darkened. “Are we back to that intentional misunderstanding of events again? The one where you pretend not to comprehend the entire purpose of the trials?”
“Are you just going to ignore the fact thatmostof the females are unwilling?” I tossed back at him, aware that I was being a judgmental brat and not caring in the slightest. Because fuck him. And fuck his king.
