I’d pulled the power into me, absorbing it, morphing it,re-creatingit.
And all of fae kind had changed.
I flipped through several pages outlining the impact and the shifting of the faedoms, the creations, the aftermath, the insanity and splicing of power that had followed.
Then I sighed and closed the book. This wasn’t about Camillia. This was about Melek.
“You’re telling me to trust him,” I surmised, aware of tonight’s lesson. The book was reminding me of our sacrifices and everything Melek had done for me.
I’d lost my faith in him once, and we’d both almost died as a result.
Vita was telling me not to make that mistake again now.
I had no idea why he’d chosen to mate this girl, but Melek never did anything without a reason.
However, if I found out she’d tricked him in some way, I would put her in a magically induced coma to keep her alive, and lock her in a fucking box.
Just to protect his soul and heart.
No one harmed those I considered to be mine.
I love you, little prince,I whispered to Melek.I’m sorry.
He didn’t reply.
Because he still had me locked out of his mind.
He’d let me back in once he realized I’d “overcome my tantrum.” Until then, he’d give me space.
And I’d grant him the same in kind.
“You may go,” I told Vita.
The book disappeared in a blink, returning to a place that made it feel safe—which was typically in a library somewhere. It often ventured through the realms to hide in plain sight. If someone else found it, the pages would reveal nonsense. Only I could truly read it.
Well, Melek and Az could technically read it, too. Since they were bonded to me. But Vita was mine. My history. My deals. My magic. And she protected me just as much as she protected herself.
Sighing, I cleaned up the drinks in the sink, then went back to bed to wait for my devious prince.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
AJAX
I glaredup at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
“I choose my fate, and no one will ever take that away from me.”
Camillia’s words played through my thoughts on repeat, her conviction one I felt to my very soul. She truly believed that she was in control of this situation, that she could find a way out.
I both pitied her and envied her. Pitied because I knew her odds of success weren’t favorable, if they even existed at all. Envied because I used to feel the same way. I used to believe in controlling my own destiny, too.
Just like Emelyn.
She’d been betrothed to a Midnight Fae Prince.
Yet she’d chosen me over him. She had refused to conform to society’s expectations of her. Which had led to her death sentence.
Not because she’d desired me.