Hell Fae Prince (Hell Fae #4)

20. Cami

Mmm, cinnamon and sin. Such an addictive scent. I wanted to roll in it, swim in it, live in it.

I inhaled deeply, my insides coming alive as more delicious aromas taunted my senses. Pine. Peppermint. Bonfire.

All of it together made me think of enjoying a peppermint hot chocolate at a cabin in the woods.

Decadent.

Relaxing.

Safe .

I moaned, the silky sheets surrounding me reminiscent of heavenly bliss. I recognized this bed. Knew it from my dreams.

Which was why it didn’t surprise me to find a pair of sapphire eyes staring down at me.

Typhos Lucifer.

My ultimate temptation.

His dark hair framed his gorgeous face, a flash of white a new addition that suited him, his jaw tight as he studied me with his intense gaze.

“You’re wearing a shirt,” I said, somewhat surprised by his attire, and even more surprised by the rasp in my voice. Maybe it was supposed to be sultry. Dreams were strange like that.

He arched a dark brow. “Would you prefer me to be shirtless?”

My lips curled. “Well, you typically are…” I glanced over his button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled to the elbows. “But this works, too.”

He slowly lowered himself to the bed beside me, his movements different than his usual forwardness. Of course, my dreams almost always started with him naked and hovering over me.

But this was a nice change.

I reached for Lucifer, curious as to what else might be different.

Normally, he tied me down. However, my hands were free now, and I intended to take full advantage.

His eyebrows lifted as I touched his neck, my palm sliding to his nape as I partially rose from the bed. Then I used my strength to pull him the rest of the way toward me.

My name left his lips just before I kissed him, his body strangely rigid beneath my touch. Probably because I’d taken the lead.

Lucifer preferred to be in charge.

Well, too bad. This was my dream. And he hadn’t bound me yet. “Shouldn’t give me freedom if you don’t want me to take over,” I said against his mouth, my voice still raspy.

Actually, I felt a bit weak, too. Like I’d just finished an intense workout.

Maybe there’d been a part of this dream I couldn’t remember.

Well, I would absolutely remember this .

I parted Lucifer’s lips with my tongue, demanding that he kiss me back.

But he didn’t.

Not quite.

Instead, he palmed my cheek and nudged me back a little. “Camillia.”

“Lucifer.” I leaned in for another kiss, and this time he growled .

I smiled, pleased that I’d pushed his buttons. Because I knew what would come next.

Only, a surprise movement to my left gave me pause. I glanced over to find Melek sitting against the headboard with his long legs crossed at the ankles. “Hello, little angel.”

Oh.

I’d never dreamt of Melek and Lucifer together.

Someone else cleared their throat, drawing my focus to Az. He was standing near the foot of the bed with Ajax.

All four men? I thought, my stomach twisting. All right. I can handle this.

Cami, Ajax murmured into my mind.

Shh, I hushed via our bond. Let me concentrate for a minute .

Az and Ajax had been preparing me for anal play. But that’d been in real life.

In dream world… Yeah. I could handle anything here. Which meant taking three at a time wouldn’t be a problem. I’d just have to use my hand for the fourth.

Fae, I can’t believe I’m even entertaining this…

But dreams were safe.

Which was why I felt confident enough to lean into Lucifer again. His palm slid to my hair, his touch turning more dominant with each passing second.

He was absolutely going to tie me up soon.

Maybe even force me to take all three men while he watched.

My thighs clenched at the notion, my body more than ready to play.

“Camillia,” he said against my mouth.

“Stop talking and kiss me,” I demanded.

His grip in my hair tightened, the Hell Fae King not appreciating my command.

And he delivered his punishment with his tongue.

Holy. Fae.

We’d kissed in my dreams a dozen times now, but never quite like this.

His cinnamon scent burned through me, the aroma reminding me of a flickering candle. I inhaled deeply, reveling in his taste. His prowess. His masculine presence. His virility .

It was all around me, consuming me, owning me, claiming me.

Wow, this fae could kiss.

I was so lost to him that I couldn’t hear Az and Ajax. They were both speaking into my head, their words incoherent beneath my roaring cloud of need.

This kiss was devastating.

It ruined me for everyone and everything else.

It overwhelmed me. Branded me. Utterly captivated me.

And suddenly it was done.

Lucifer used his grip in my hair to hold me back when I tried to lunge toward him, his blue eyes darkened to midnight pools of need.

So much more intense than my other dreams, probably because his dark shirt highlighted his beautiful eyes.

Cami, Ajax tried again. Did you hear me?

I looked his way, my lips curling. “I was a little preoccupied.”

He didn’t return my smile. “I can see that.”

“Are you feeling all right?” Az asked, sounding concerned.

I laughed. “I’m feeling pretty amazing.”

Lucifer’s lips twitched. “Are you now?”

“Yes,” I hissed, stretching my arms over my head. “Now take off your shirt.” Because I wanted to explore his muscular torso —something I never could do in previous dreams because of his penchant for tying me up.

He arched a brow. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you always do.”

“Do I?” He cocked his head. “When?”

“During my dreams,” I told him with a laugh. “Although, I like having my hands free. So that’s a nice change.”

“Are you usually tied up, little angel?” Melek asked, drawing my attention to his smoldering gaze.

“You’re awake, Cami,” Ajax interjected before I could reply to that. “This isn’t a dream.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. What?

That’s what I was trying to tell you—this is real, he stressed via our mental connection . You’re very much awake .

I looked at him and then at Az.

“You fell from the Virtuous Fae Realm,” Az told me, his words like a bucket of ice. “Typhos caught you, but you’ve been out for hours. We’re in Typhos and Melek’s suite right now.”

“Let’s rename it the royal suite,” Melek suggested conversationally. “I suspect we’ll all be here more in the coming days and weeks.”

I blinked from Az to Melek and then back to Ajax and Az.

And eventually to… to Lucifer. “Oh, fae…” I… I’d kissed him. His hand was still knotted in my hair, his mouth scant inches from mine. “ Oh .”

This fae was going to kill me.

Horribly.

Painfully.

His nostrils flared, his lips curling down. “Breathe, Camillia.”

I didn’t.

Because what was the point? My life was forfeit. Each passing second brought with it a new memory, starting from our dance to my leaping into that dark hole.

I hadn’t felt much beyond that, just emptiness.

Until I’d awoken in this bed and thought it was a dream.

“Sorry,” I managed to get out with my last bit of oxygen. It seemed pretty meek and sad in comparison to the apology I owed him. But I didn’t have the air to voice much more.

“ Breathe ,” he demanded, his dominant tone hitting me square in the chest and forcing me to inhale. “Good girl, Cami. Again.”

His praise had me obeying, my need to please him a unique desire that I didn’t want to analyze too deeply. Because I doubted I’d like the reason.

After several more inhales, he complimented me again.

But then he said, “Tell me what happened. How did you end up in the Virtuous Fae Realm? And what did Vivaxia want?”

I gaped at him. How was I supposed to answer that? If I tell him I’m a siphon, he’ll kill me.

He already knows, Az replied softly. He’s aware that Vivaxia has been using you. He wants to help.

I nearly laughed.

Because that was impossible.

And just the notion of it being true had me wondering if this was all a dream again.

“I’m not going to kill you, Camillia,” Lucifer said after a beat, suggesting Az had told him what I was thinking.

Or maybe Melek had.

Our connection was completely open again, though he hadn’t tried to talk to me at all. That seemed odd. He was constantly talking to me before…

And you blocked me in response, Melek replied, his trademark amusement missing from his tone. I would like to avoid being punished like that again, so I’m trying to leave you alone.

I glanced at him in surprise, his use of the term punish one that caught me off guard.

“I apologize,” he stated out loud. “I won’t use our link again until you’re more comfortable.”

My brow furrowed. Melek seemed… different. Hurt? Pained? Insecure?

Did something happen to Melek at the ball? I asked Az and Ajax, my mind connecting to theirs with ease. I was finally getting a handle on all these mating links. Why does he seem so… sad?

I blinked, that final word reminding me of what Lucifer had told me on the dance floor. My focus instantly went to his unreadable expression, my heart skipping a beat.

He wanted to know what had happened. How I’d ended up in the Virtuous Fae Realm. What Vivaxia had said. And he’d just stated he wasn’t going to kill me.

Probably because he couldn’t.

But he could imprison me.

Just like Vivaxia had commented.

Just like he’d done before.

Oh, fae, I kissed him… like, really kissed him. And his hand was still in my hair.

He’d let me shift my attention to Melek, but he hadn’t released me.

Why? Was he leashing me? Holding me in place? Preparing to throttle me?

“Camillia,” he said, drawing my gaze to his mouth. The one I’d just kissed.

Fuck. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I thought I was dreaming.”

He released my hair, sending a chill down my spine. Then he grabbed my chin to draw my focus away from his lips and back up to his intense gaze.

“You don’t owe me an apology, little one.” His soft tones were at odds with the king I knew, the king I feared . “But I would like to know what Vivaxia said to you.”

I shivered. “You’re going to imprison me.”

He frowned. “For being a siphon?”

My eyes widened. He knows I’m a siphon. Az had already told me this, but hearing Lucifer say it aloud drove the knowledge home.

Lucifer released my chin and sat a little straighter. “I felt you fight the pull, Camillia. You shoved my light back into me when you could have taken it. Maybe it was all for show. But I don’t think so. I think Vivaxia is using you to harm me. Convince me otherwise.”

The subtle command on those last three words caused my brow to furrow. “Convince you that I want to hurt you?”

“Sure.” He stared at me. “Well?”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I snapped, fed up with this stupid cycle between us. “And I don’t want your Source. But apparently, I was created to absorb your light and restore the Virtuous Fae Realm. Because according to Vivaxia, you shattered their Source when you refused to atone.”

I almost rolled my eyes at that last part. Saying it out loud was almost as insane as hearing it.

But Lucifer’s features hardened. “Is that what she told you?”

“Yes. She said you created all the Nightmare Fae and Hell Fae for your own twisted enjoyment, therefore breaking a vow —not a deal , by the way—to protect life. So you were cast out as punishment, but the light followed you in an effort to help you atone. When you refused, the Virtuous Fae Realm fell apart.”

I was surprised I’d retained all that, given how strange my brief experience in the Virtuous Fae Realm had been.

“Oh, and while I’m rambling, Vivaxia is also apparently my grandmother.” Might as well get that little fun tidbit out of the way. “And my mother is alive, but my father is dead.”

My lips curled down at that last bit.

I didn’t exactly like my parents but… but I…

I cleared my throat. “I don’t actually know what happened to him, but I think Vivaxia ordered his death?” I phrased it as a question, as my mother had somewhat implied that his passing had been necessary.

I shook my head.

Everything she’d said, that Vivaxia had said… it was… a lot.

“They told me I was created to steal your light and rebuild their realm.” I had no idea how it worked or how to stop it. “Vivaxia kept trying to imprint a spell on me, one that altered my reality. I kept forgetting things, then seeing mirages, and… and…”

I wasn’t sure what else to add. Or what had made me speak in the first place. But I’d said my piece.

“I don’t want your Source,” I stated in conclusion. “I don’t want to be a siphon. And I think I might hate my mom.”

My lips twisted as I stopped talking.

No one spoke, causing my insides to churn.

Their sworn enemy is my fucking grandmother. Of course they didn’t have anything to say. They probably hated me now, too. As they should.

Vivaxia had imprisoned Az, kept him caged as an animal.

She’d tricked Lucifer into falling.

And I was pretty sure she had something to do with all the security issues in the Hell Fae Realm, too. Although, we hadn’t discussed that part. Still, it seemed to be?—

“Do you believe her?” Lucifer asked softly. “Do you think I created all these fae for sinful purposes?”

I blinked up at him. “Do I believe her?” I echoed back at him, my eyebrows lifting.

“Yes. Do you believe her?” he asked again.

“Seriously?” I huffed a humorless laugh. “Why the hell would I believe anything she said? That bitch created me to hurt you. Not to mention all the things she did to Az. And now she expects me to bow to her will? To take your light and restore her realm?” Another laugh escaped me. “Fuck. That.”

He smiled, causing me to freeze. Because just like when we’d danced, that expression took my breath away.

But it also scared me.

Because a pleased Lucifer couldn’t be a good sign. Not in this situation. Not after everything I’d confided in him.

He’d probably just decided what to do with me.

“You’re going to punish me now, aren’t you?” I asked, swallowing my unease.

I couldn’t exactly blame him for whatever he had planned; I was obviously a threat. And I had no idea what Vivaxia had done to me with all those spells. Maybe they’d been meant to brainwash me, but I suspected she’d done something else as well. She struck me as a master chess player, someone always thinking ten steps ahead.

Just like Typhos Lucifer.

“Oh, Camillia, I suppose I am,” he murmured, reaching forward to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “But not in the way you fear.”

I frowned. “I don’t understand.” Pretty much everything he did evoked fear inside me.

“I’m going to teach you how to use my Source,” he replied. “It won’t be easy, and it’s probably going to hurt. A punishment, as you suggested, for the gift inside you.”

What? I gaped at him. Because I still didn’t understand.

“Vivaxia wants to use you as a pawn,” he went on, his knuckles brushing my jaw. “So I’m going to counter her.”

“How?” I breathed, both curious and terrified to hear his response.

Especially since he was smiling again, the action reaching his dark blue eyes.

“By changing your position on the board,” he replied, his words complementing my thoughts about Vivaxia being a chess master.

Because it seemed Lucifer was just as skilled.

And eager to make the next move.

“When we’re done training, you’ll no longer be a mere pawn, Camillia De la Croix. You’ll be a queen. Our queen. And together, we’re going to destroy Vivaxia and take down the Virtuous Fae Realm once and for all.”