10. Cami
CHAPTER 10
CAMI
SEVERAL DAYS LATER
“ W ow,” I breathed, staring at my reflection. The gold silk clung to my hips and breasts, accentuating every curve.
This wasn’t a color I would have picked for myself, but it actually brought out the golden highlights of my dirty-blonde hair. And it complemented my skin tone.
Maybe because gold is my new color, I thought sourly.
Every time I’d come over the last week, I’d ended up covered in glitter.
Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately— Melek had left a special cleanser in the shower for me.
Consider this a token of good intentions, little angel , his note had read. I’d almost thrown out the bottle it’d been attached to, but morbid curiosity had gotten the best of me. And, well, I no longer resembled a disco ball post-shower. Pre-shower was a completely different story.
I loathed it.
Ajax and Az, however, were starting to love it.
Because apparently it tasted like ambrosia to them.
“Your pussy was delicious before,” Az had said the other day. “But now, it’s fucking divine. Come again, little warrior. I need more .”
It was… an interesting development. One that made my thighs clench as the male in question stepped into the bedroom. “Holy fires, Cami, you look…”
“Amazing,” Ajax finished for him.
“You both look pretty amazing, too,” I admitted, admiring the snug fit of their matching suits. All black, of course. Only, Ajax had an interesting addition adorning his shoulder. “Nice owl.”
Az grunted. “He’s an asshole.”
The owl bristled like he understood that and snapped his beak in Az’s direction.
My eyebrows lifted.
“Kuro is slowly warming up to Az’s Phoenix,” Ajax said with a slight smirk.
“You’re enjoying this,” the Commander muttered.
“A little,” Ajax admitted as Kuro’s wings flexed and unflexed.
“He doesn’t seem as mad at you now,” I noted, recalling the only other time I’d seen Kuro—he’d been on Shade’s shoulder, not Ajax’s, and he’d snubbed Ajax by refusing to look at him. “Did you, um, make up?”
I wasn’t quite sure what term applied here. Kuro was Ajax’s familiar, but when Ajax had become the Hell Fae Warden, he’d left his owl behind in the Midnight Fae Realm. And from what little Ajax had said, his animal hadn’t been pleased. But he looked content now.
Or rather, he looked a little miffed.
Only at Az, not Ajax.
“I’m not sure,” Ajax said, replying to my question about making up . “He showed up to help me get ready. Pretty sure this is for you.” He held out a bag I hadn’t realized he’d been holding, mainly because I’d been too busy ogling the tight fit of the suit and not his hands.
I accepted the small bag, my brow furrowing. “What’s this?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s a gift from Aflora and her mates. Shade probably sent Kuro to give it to me.”
“Which means his job is done and he can go,” Az said, his attention on the owl.
Kuro hissed in response.
Az growled.
And the two locked eyes.
My lips twitched. “I think I rather like your familiar, Ajax.”
He returned my smile with one of his own. “Me, too.”
Az’s irises turned black, his head cocking in a birdlike way. Kuro responded with another ruffling of his feathers, his posture stiff.
I fought a laugh and focused on the bag, pulling out a small box. My brow furrowed as my curiosity piqued. “The royals sent me jewelry?”
Ajax’s expression matched my own. “I guess.” He grazed his finger over the box. “Open it.”
I didn’t. Instead, I asked, “Did you just test it for a spell?”
“Not exactly.” He paused. “I was feeling for magic.”
“Did you sense anything?”
“I wouldn’t let you open it if I did,” he replied.
Fair enough , I thought, lifting the lid. A pair of earrings and a matching necklace glittered back at me, the pendants on both circular in nature.
“An interesting choice,” I mused out loud, wondering if the orb-like symbol meant something. “Is it supposed to resemble the Source?” Because it kind of reminded me of the Hell Fae Source, only the gems were more golden than blinding white.
“I have no idea,” Ajax said, sounding somewhat perplexed. “But it’s pretty.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, taking the necklace out first. “Can you help put this around my neck?”
“An excuse to touch you while you’re in this dress?” he countered, taking the glittering item from my fingertips. “Yes, please.” That last part was a low murmur as he swept my long hair over my shoulder to better access my neck.
His warmth bled into my skin as he slowly clasped the strand against my nape, his gaze on my throat and the gem hanging just above my breasts.
“Seriously, Cami, you’re gorgeous.” His voice had deepened, his gaze tracking over the deep V neckline. Then he took the box from my hand to grab the earrings and helped affix them.
Az said nothing the entire time, his Phoenix still in some sort of standoff with the owl.
But as Ajax stepped back to view the finishing touches on my outfit, Az groaned. “I’m going to be hard all fucking night, Cami.”
“Same,” Ajax muttered. “If we didn’t have to attend this ball, I’d have already ripped that dress off.”
“We still could rip it off,” Az said conversationally. “Fuck. A few times. Then head down to the party?”
I gave him a look. “I doubt Aflora and her mates would appreciate you ruining the gift they gave me.” I gestured to the gown. “You can’t rip this off of me. Not yet.”
“Fine. I’ll just take it off of you,” Az murmured, moving forward to play with the strap against my shoulder. “Slowly…” He started tugging on the silky strand, bringing it down toward my arm. “Gent?—”
Magic hummed across my skin as the fabric snapped free of Az’s fingers and righted itself once more.
I frowned. “That was weird.”
Az grabbed the strand again, tugging it off my shoulder with more force.
Only for it to jerk right back into place.
My eyes widened. “What the hell?” It reminded me of that chain dress Lucifer had made me wear to his nightclub. Goose bumps pebbled along my neck, trickling to my shoulders and arms.
I grabbed the zipper at my side and yanked it down, then yelped as it flew upward in response.
“ Noooo ,” I growled, refusing to be trapped in another garment. This one might be silky and cover me in all the right places, but it still functioned as a prison.
At least it’s not rubbing my clit, I thought.
Yet , another part of me whispered.
My eyes widened. No. No. No. I bent to lift the dress and tried to take off my underwear beneath. The lacy panties—the same color as the dress—reached my knees before magically gliding back into place with a resounding snap.
“What the hell is this?” I demanded, only belatedly realizing both Az and Ajax were already deep in conversation on the topic.
Kuro was nowhere to be seen, the owl having disappeared while I’d been freaking out.
“Typhos wouldn’t do this,” Az was saying. “He manufactured the chain dress as a sensual punishment. It was his way of making a statement. I’m not saying I agree with his methods, nor am I trying to explain them away. I’m simply stating that this doesn’t match Typhos’s usual methods.”
“Then who?” Ajax demanded. “Because I highly doubt Aflora did this.”
“Did what?” a deep voice asked as Shade materialized in the room with Kuro perched on his shoulder. “I assume whatever we’re discussing is why you sent Kuro to peck at me?”
“I didn’t send him; he left,” Ajax replied without looking at his best friend. His blue-rimmed black eyes were on me. “Is the jewelry spelled, too?”
I reached for the necklace and unclasped it. The pendant slid down as I pulled the chain away from my nape. “No, seems to—” The charm slid back into place, the necklace clasp re-clicking. “Never mind. It’s the jewelry, too.”
Shade frowned. “That’s an interesting trick.”
“What do you mean by ‘interesting’?” Ajax demanded. “Aren’t the dress and the jewelry from your mate-circle?”
I didn’t like the way Shade’s frown deepened. Because it told me without words that this wasn’t from him or any of his mates.
Which didn’t make sense.
Before Shade could confirm what I really read from his features, I said, “Zakkai brought the dress to me last week and said it was a gift for tonight’s ball.”
Shade glanced over the gown in question, his gaze lighting up. But it wasn’t in an appreciative way so much as an amused way. “Ah, right. His shopping date with the Virtuous Fae.”
I blinked.
“How do you know that term?” Ajax demanded, stepping between me and his best friend to capture all of Shade’s attention.
“Zakkai,” he replied with a shrug. “Your paradigm-crafting abilities could use some work, by the way. Perhaps you should go back to Headmaster Granton’s class and take it again?”
Ajax visibly bristled. “You heard our conversation last week.”
Shade arched a brow. “Believe it or not, I value your privacy. Zakkai, however…”
“Fuck,” Az muttered. “He heard everything, didn’t he?”
“He did,” Shade confirmed. “And he shared it with Aflora, whose privacy I also value, but I’m connected to her mind, so…” He shrugged again. “It’s fine. Your Virtuous Fae mate offered to answer any questions Zakkai might have, and that’s that.”
“My Virtuous Fae mate?” Ajax repeated. “I don’t have a Virtuous Fae mate.”
“He means Melek,” Az ground out. “It seems he and Zakkai have become friends.”
“Zakkai doesn’t have friends,” Shade replied at the same time Ajax said, “Melek is not my mate.”
Shade chuckled. “You’re in a mate-circle now, old friend,” the Midnight Fae drawled. “What’s Cami’s is yours and what’s yours is hers, and all that jazz.” He waved a hand. “You’ll learn. Anyway, I need to get back to Aflora. Kuro?”
The owl hopped from Shade’s shoulder to Ajax’s, then Shade vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.
“Melek,” Ajax growled, ignoring what Shade had just said. “He must have spelled the dress.”
“Why?” Az asked.
“Because he knew I would tear it off the moment I realized it was from him,” I seethed, grabbing at the gown in an attempt to do just that.
The silky fabric gave a satisfying rip.
Then mended right back together.
“No. No, I fucking refuse to wear this.” I spun around, determined to shred the damn material. “Give me a blade, Az.”
He didn’t argue, just handed one over out of thin air.
I sliced through the straps.
They reconnected in a blink.
I yanked on the slit in the skirt, trying to extend the split up through the bodice. But the fabric bled back together in a swirl of magic.
Ajax whispered some spells. They basically bounced off the offending outfit, creating sparks of purple and gold in the room.
I snarled, determined not to lose this battle.
But the damn dress wouldn’t budge!
Maybe this was Melek’s way of staking his claim or providing me with one of his trademark protection spells.
I didn’t care about the reason. Because I would not be caged, not anymore.
A scream built inside me in frustration, the memory of those chains weighing heavily on my thoughts.
The masculine jeers.
The metal against my clit.
Trying not to outwardly react. To be strong. To endure it all without blinking.
I didn’t want to go through that again. I couldn’t. It was horrible.
And it had ended with that portal explosion.
Absorbing Lucifer’s power.
Helping him only to end up in hiding here in the Midnight Fae Realm.
Now I had to face him. To follow through with our counter offer. To… to play out our plan.
In this prison-esque dress that glittered like the fucking Source.
“ Cami .” Az’s voice echoed through my mind, his domineering presence pausing my frantic movements.
I hadn’t realized I’d still been spinning, trying to tear off the magic gown.
One look at his concerned face suggested I’d been doing it for a while because he almost appeared to be afraid. Or maybe remorseful.
“I shouldn’t have let him put you on that stage,” he whispered, confusing me. “I should have stopped him. I’m sorry.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Typhos,” he ground out. “I shouldn’t have let him punish you like that.”
Ajax stood beside him with an equally worried expression. “You don’t have to go tonight,” he told me. “He wants a response from me. I can give it to him.”
I blinked again. “I’m not afraid of him,” I said. Which wasn’t exactly true—Typhos Lucifer was a frightening beacon of power—but I didn’t want to hide from him anymore.
He wasn’t the one who’d gifted me this dress.
Melek had.
That was what Shade had implied when talking about Zakkai’s new whatever-it-was-called with Melek. Friends. Allies. Secret exchangers. Who the fuck knew how to define it? Nor did it matter.
Because Zakkai had brought me this gown. And it had clearly been on Melek’s behalf.
I’d curse him in my mind, but that would require dismantling the barricade I’d built between us—a barricade that Az had helped me craft and perfect a few days ago.
I was still learning how to compartmentalize my mate-bonds. Thus, I didn’t trust myself to break the wall now to reach Melek. With my luck, it would permanently dismantle the barrier, and I’d have to start all over again.
Which meant I had to go to the ball.
Dressed like this.
For one single purpose—to find Melek.
And when I did, I’d fucking kill him.