Page 8 of The Bonds of Nyx

I DIDN’Tremember falling asleep, but I could recall the nightmare with frightening accuracy.

The warped figure with the crown of violet quartz came first with its warning of death and doom. As I gathered myself in Adrian’s arms, the exact words it’d spoken before the giant fleshy beast had attacked my family, replayed in my head.

“You will have to fight. And you will have to win…Or death will find you and all those you love.”

But then everything changed. Instead of the fleshy beast chasing me down with shadow creatures calling for my inevitable failure, I’d been transported back to Kerry’s house. Dropped into her dishevelled bedroom, blood coating my hands, and Maeve’s dagger held between trembling fingers.

At my feet had been Adrian, kneeling in a pool of blood, his hands clutching his stomach. Eyes of emerald green had met mine, full of betrayal and hatred, as his life spilled from him.

Bile rose in my throat, but I forced myself to focus on Adrian’s soothing voice, and the softness of his words as he whispered them in my ear. He was here, alive and with me.

He wasn’t dying. He didn’t hate me.

It wasn’t my fault.

“How are you feeling, Sweetheart?” he murmured, fingers running through my hair, the gentle feel of his fingers against my scalp lulling me into a net of safety.

But my eyes popped open, and I sucked in a shuddering breath to push away the darkness creeping at the edges of my vision. I couldn’t let myself fall back asleep. My heart still raced with the flashes of my nightmare, and I knew that if I let my eyes fall shut, if I let myself drift off, I would be back in that room with my hands covered in blood.

I released my breath slowly and looked up to meet his stare. “Better,” I replied honestly, shifting slightly. Adrian’s arms loosened from around me, and I pulled back to take in the room. The entire team was here, each taking a corner of the bedroom with expressions of worry. Their eyes almost seemed to brighten when I met their tired stares, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for this ridiculousness.

I cleared my throat and finally pulled myself from Adrian’s arms. I tried to ignore the flash of hurt in his eyes as I carefully hugged myself. “It was just a nightmare. There’s nothing for you guys to worry about.”

My cheeks heated with embarrassment. Of all the things they had to witness, and it was one of my nightmares? I wanted to laugh, but my throat was thick with emotion and exhaustion.

Adrian brushed his knuckles against my cheek, his touch eliciting a shiver of desire as a deep well of power pulled me towards him.

But I clamped it down and bit my tongue. His hand fell, and although I felt bad, the tug of desire dissipated as soon as his touch disappeared. Despite a slight pang of need in my chest, I sighed in relief.

Definitely not the emotions to have after waking up from that.

I took in the team again and shook my head. “I’m fine, really. You don’t have to hover.” Each gaze I met told me they didn’t believe me; Elias, stubborn and grumpy, kept a scowl on his ruggedly handsome face as he watched me. But hidden in hisintense green eyes, worry swam with fear as he stared at me. It was more emotion than I was used to coming from him, so I forced my gaze away to take in Rowan.

The red head looked exhausted; his hair was mussed, and hazel eyes outlined with dark circles. His head was lowered, but I felt his gaze on me, striking and passionate, despite the distance he had put between us before this. I wanted to know what was going on in his head with everything that had been uncovered, everything that had happened.

Even though I yearned for Adrian, the force between Rowan and I was still there, still alive and fighting to bring us together.

And then there was Maeve, the impenetrable leader. As she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, I wondered what her stance was on everything. She was eerily quiet, keeping her opinion to herself with her red lips pursed and her blue eyes narrowed, that carefully blank mask pulled tight over her face.

I dropped my gaze. “Thank you for worrying,” I murmured, “but I’m okay. Trust me. I’ve been dealing with them for a while now and I just have to push through. You don’t have to come running every time I have a nightmare.”

Someone grunted, but I didn’t have to look up to know it was Elias. He murmured something low to Maeve, I assumed, who responded just as quietly. I peeked through my lashes as they spoke, taking in Elias’s coiled muscles and Maeve’s careful mask.

Elias dipped his head, then walked out of the bedroom. I shivered at his departure, but wasn’t sure why.

Rowan left next without a word; he only threw his shoulders back and stalked away, leaving me with a deepening pit in my stomach, like I was going to lose him the longer we danced around whatever happened between us.

From the other corner of the room, Maeve cleared her throat. She stepped out from the shadows that had been protecting her,and I watched as she unfolded her arms. “We will be here until the Queen deems it safe to leave. Try and use this time to heal, Ivy, because as soon as we are cleared, we will be travelling for Avalon.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded. Her eyes left mine briefly and met Adrian’s. “We still have a meeting, but I understand if you wish to stay here.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened, but he bowed his head. “I’ll come see you soon.”

We sat in tense silence as Maeve also left. I chewed my bottom lip. What had the team said about my nightmares before? Something about it linking to my mates? I wanted to go over all the information they’d given me before, but I filed those thoughts away as Adrian turned towards me.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, reaching for me hesitantly, his fingers brushing the groove of my neck.

“I am,” I replied, drawing my legs up and holding them to my chest. “The nightmares are nothing new.”