Page 123 of Hell Fae Warden
“Perhaps not, but they’re intuitive creatures. Actually…” He waved his hand toward the screen and uttered a command for a different channel. “Yeah, I figured this would be playing. A similar one was on before the last trials for the Centaurs and Minotaurs. Watch.”
The feed morphed from the bridal candidates to a marshy landscape, but not everything was mushy foliage.
There appeared to be an object in the distance. An object sparkling with color. Ajax maneuvered his hand in a gesture that caused the screen zoom, making me feel like I was on a flying ride over a swampy kingdom. But then a beautiful castle came into view, the towers covered in vines that glittered with power.
Fluttering creatures flitted in and out of existence, making me think something was glitching on the screen. But then a masculine voice boomed from the speakers with, “We honor the bridal garden.”
I blinked a few times as the screen moved through the castle, past various halls filled with living floral arrangements and wet footsteps appearing on the mirrorlike stones.
The image on the screen followed some sort of invisible entity. I couldn’t make much out except for a shimmer of magic that seemed to seep through the screen.
Then I gasped when it reached what could only be called a fairylike graveyard. It didn’t reek of death like the Netherworld Kingdom. This one was more of a remembrance of those lost and filled with life.
Statues of lifelike, beautiful female beings with sheer, silky wings raised their hands to the skies. They wore flowers that grew on vines, wrapping the figures in a living embrace. Their stones were the same mirrored material that reminded me of moving water.
What struck me with a strange sort of melancholy was that mirror tears seeped from their eyes.
“What is that?” I asked.
Ajax stretched his arm out behind me on the couch as he said, “It’s all that’s left of the Unseelie females, minus a small hidden handful that are still alive. A civil war once broke out among the Unseelie as males in the upper court tried to hoard females for themselves.”
I raised a brow. “I don’t remember seeing a chapter on that in the Marsh Lands book.”
“There wouldn’t be one, as it’s not allowed to be documented. Lucifer knows that history tends to repeat itself, so he prefers history to be remembered in certain ways.” Ajax nodded to the screen. “Such as the cost of infighting. Many females died during the war, leaving the Unseelie particularly starved for brides.”
“I thought it was the source that keeps removing females and that was the reason Lucifer needs brides?”
“It’s a combination of a lot of events. But it’s rumored that the source might have played a role in the Unseelie female extermination—it removed the point of contention to halt the war.”
“Oh.” I supposed that made sense. And given what I’d learned about Lucifer, it seemed like something his soul would do.
More fluttering appeared on the screen, drawing my attention back to the Unseelie. Now that I’d seen some of the statues, it made it easier to identify the creatures flying about.
The tall, incredibly gorgeous creatures moved almost too fast for me to see. They all had sheer wings that flitted behind them, reminding me of a hummingbird’s wings. Glitter shimmered over their skin with a metallic, mirrored quality, breaking the light as they moved. It probably had something to do with why it was so hard to focus on them.
While masculine bodies and impressive muscles assured me these were males, they still had soft features and a wild beauty about them that had me doing a double take.
“Wow,” I breathed. “They’re… very pretty.” I didn’t normally use that word to describe a male, but for the Unseelie, it definitely fit.
I could see why some brides might be interested in the Unseelie if they were all like that.
Ajax chuckled. “Yeah, I hear the Unseelie are pretty stunning. Although, I’ve never seen one. But don’t let their beauty fool you. They’re dangerous as fuck. Ruthless, too.”
“You can’t see them?” I asked, more confused by that than the other things he’d said. I pointed at the screen. “They’re on the screen.”
He shrugged. “That must be your Hell Fae talents coming out to play, because I don’t see anything except shimmering light. Az says they move too fast to be seen.”
“So he can’t see them either?”
“Oh, no, he can see them. But he’s exceptionally powerful. He’s also picky when it comes to appearances, so I trust his description when he says they’re pretty creatures.” Ajax leaned in to brush his lips against my cheek. “I mean, Az thinks you’re as beautiful as I do. So I’d say he’s a good judge.”
“Oh, I’m beautiful, am I?” I asked, allowing his flirtatious distraction.
“Very,” he said, now nibbling on my earlobe.
Leaning into Ajax’s embrace, I relished the butterflies taking flight in my lower abdomen.Maybe another round would help me relax more,I thought, turning and straddling him.We have time, right?
Ajax arched a brow as my short robe ran up my legs, revealing my lacy underwear beneath. “Eager for more, are we?” he asked.
