Page 189 of Hell Fae King
CHAPTER 46
AJAX
“Do you remember that coin toss? The night Payan went after our final Hell Fae Bride Candidate?” I asked after materializing outside of Zenaida’s house.
Kuro followed, landing right on my shoulder. He’d disappeared during the energy storm in the Morpheus Kingdom. But now that things were calm again, he’d apparently decided to come back.
Or maybe he just wanted to see Zenaida.
“You mean the coin toss that you lost?” Az drawled before his eyes darkened to black orbs and narrowed at my owl. It seemed his inner Phoenix and my familiar were still not on the friendliest of terms.
“Yeah, that bet,” I said, my lips quirking up a little at the memory. It was the night I met our mate. “Kind of glad I lost now.”
“But was it truly a loss? Or fate playing her hand?” a musical voice asked as the door opened to reveal Zenaida holding a plate of her famous cookies. “Hungry?”
“I’m sure he’s starving after all that power-sharing,” a more masculine tone replied.
I rolled my eyes. “I should have known you’d be here, too,” I told my oldest friend.
Shade poked his head out from behind his grandmother. “I see you have the death stone again,” he said by way of a reply, his gaze on my hand as he brought a cookie to his mouth. “Does that mean you finally went out on that date with your mate? To play with zombies?”
I blinked at him, then recalled how he’d mentioned something about that when originally giving me the rock in my hand. “There were no zombies.”
He frowned. “That’s a shame. I’ve heard so many fun tales about the Netherworld Kingdom that I just assumed.”
“They’re Death Fae and Corpse Fae, not zombies,” a cultured tone replied from behind us.
I turned to find a tall male with long silver-white hair standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his vibrant gaze locked on Shade inside.
“I’ll be sure to share your expectations with my cousin,” he went on, still talking to my oldest friend. “Hades will be absolutely fascinated, I’m sure.”
My eyes widened.CousinandHadescould only mean one thing. This was a Mythos Fae. Or a God, as the Nightmare Fae often called them.
Zenaida sighed. “Well, you might as well all come in, now that everyone has arrived.”
“And why is Morpheus here?” Az asked, the name sending a chill down my spine. “Or is stopping by for cookies more important than properly governing a kingdom?”
“Last I checked, I have no such responsibilities ofgovernance,” Morpheus replied, his focus now on Az. “I am simply an icon to be prayed to. Sometimes I answer those prayers. Often, I do not.” He glanced at Zenaida. “What is ityou Fortune Fae always say? It’s frowned upon to interfere with fate?” He shrugged. “Seems like as good an excuse as any, yes?”
Az folded his arms across his bare chest, his phoenix tattoo seeming to bristle in response to his mounting irritation. “You let a Virtuous Fae into your kingdom.”
“No, the Strigoi throne did that. Which, if we want to be particular about it, was created by Typhos. Ergo,Typhoslet the Virtuous Fae into the Morpheus Kingdom. So I suppose I should be displeased, but I’m in a forgiving mood.” He waved to the door. “Shall we enter? I hear it’s the polite way to respond to being invited in.”
Az suppressed a growl, one I heard echoing in his mind.
I understood that urge, as I wanted to growl, too.
“Lucifer nearly died,” I told Morpheus. “Would you have stepped in had that happened?”
The Mythos Fae blinked at me, his blue-green irises even more intense as he captured my gaze. I nearly startled at the force of his stare, his features almost too perfect to be real.
I suddenly understood why they called this male the God of Dreams.
“I would have been severely disappointed had that happened,” he informed me. “Especially since your mate had the death stone. Fortunately, she figured out how to use it.” He again looked at Zenaida. “You know, for a Fortune Fae who says she doesn’t tempt fate, you certainly have a knack for finding ways to alter paths.”
“I’m certain I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied.
Because of course she didn’t.
