Page 10 of The Powers of Nyx
“Are you sure you have everything, and haven’t left anything under the beds or in any of the rooms?” I asked again, gathering the bags the children had brought with them to the compound.
They’d been quiet since arriving, which didn’t surprise me. Whatever progress Ivy made with them at the last house, was all but destroyed. But I wish there was more I could be doing for them.
Maisie looked up from the page she was colouring and shrugged, before returning to the image of a unicorn. From time to time, she asked when she would see her mother again, and each time I had to tell her their mother was gone. Eloise had started explaining it like their father being gone; that they never saw him, so they wouldn’t see Kerry, either. That it wasn’t quite the same, but there was permanency in both.
Eloise stalked over to the table with three stuffed animals and several articles of clothing. “Found these shoved under a bed,” she huffed, dropping them and crossing her arms. “I told them not to do that.”
I offered her a half-smile as she sat. “It’s okay. If it turns out we’re missing anything, we’ll ask an agent to come back and give the place another search.”
Eloise sighed and slumped in a chair. Her frustration was palpable, bitter, and not something I was good at handling. If she were another agent, I would pull rank and tell her to step up and pull her head in. But this was my mate’s little sister. Unfortunately, with Eloise’s recent birthday, recent events weren’t solely responsible for her sour mood.
Sirens from the Fae Court of the Abyss were creatures I knew little about. I could identify one by scent and knew enough about the powers they wielded to fight one if needed. But I couldn’t help Eloise, especially as she began her own transition into our world.
My first shift happened around the age she was now, and it was terrifying being without my own pack to teach me how to control the beast.
Her shift would be something else entirely. And until we made it back to Avalon, we wouldn’t know the extent of her capabilities.
My gaze drifted down to the tablet and the soon to be confirmed evacuation plans. The meeting with Queen Greer and Sir Ya’Dahir would be happening in less than thirty, and Jay was with our two traitors. The useless bastards still refused to cooperate.
Thea passed the table with a sigh on her way to the kitchen. Her scent had shifted, like she was coming into her own species a little more each day. Still, I couldn’t recognise what she was. Smoke replaced her once sugary scent, and despite questioning Jay about the different demons of hell, he couldn’t tell me what the baker might be, either.
For now, I knew she wasn’t dangerous to Ivy or the kids, and that’s all that mattered. So long as she remained that way, I would protect her the same as I would the children.
The double doors to the main warehouse opened, Archer’s scent hitting me. I breathed in the old coppery blood staining hishands and his less potent scent, which was overpowered by his own fatigue.
Our eyes met across the room, and he gave me a single nod to indicate a new change.
“I’m going to the meeting,” I said, addressing Eloise first. “I’ll help you later tonight with the packing.”
She sighed but nodded. “Fine.”
“You’re leaving?” Maisie asked, finally looking up from her page.
I rose, and gently rested a hand atop her head. “I’ll be back soon. It’s just a meeting about leaving.”
Ginny made a soft sound but didn’t speak, keeping her head lowered. I couldn’t help but sigh.
I left the table, giving Eloise one last parting look that she met sternly, her bows drawn in a line, lips pursed.
I felt sorry for the agents I was leaving her with, but at least I knew the kid could look after herself. She was stronger than she appeared, and I had no doubt that was because of Ivy’s influence in her life.
I followed Archer out of the main compound and into the long hall, passing through the additional protections we’d added since arriving. Each ward tingled over my skin and lifted the hairs on my arms, but did nothing else. The magical charms were stronger, but I worried they wouldn’t be enough.
“What did you learn?” I asked once we were out in the loading bay.
Archer’s hands formed fists as he led me towards the holding rooms. One of Jay’s guys waited outside with his head bowed, a cigarette hanging from his lips.
“He said something new,” Archer murmured, pausing outside the room. “Something I heard only in my vision.”
I stiffened. “Which vision?”
Archer sighed, stepping away from me.Good.My wolf rose within me in warning. “From the second vision. The one I had while at the safe house.” I remembered which one he was speaking of; it’d been triggered by a crystal his mother sent him in Forthampton, when we’d first found Ivy. “As you know, it wasn’t much different from the first one. Still had Ivy locked away, and she was in chains. Only this time, whoever was holding her said:Death to the Queen. Let the true King rise.”
I paused and scrubbed a hand over my face. I knew all of that, but as I watched him from the corner of my eye, I wondered if there was more he wasn’t telling me.“What else?” I asked through gritted teeth.
The mage averted his gaze, but it wasn’t fear tinging his scent—it was rage. “I focused a lot of my study on rune work,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “But in the vision, I saw runes that shouldn’t exist. Runes designed to hold Ivy’s magic.”
My stomach twisted as our eyes met. “There are runes for that?” I asked quietly.