Page 55 of The Powers of Nyx
At the head of our group, Queen Greer’s mate cleared his throat. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your suite.”
20
ROWAN
IVY’Sexcitement and worry rolled off her in waves. It was like being in Avalon heightened everything; my feelings towards her, the bond between us, the strength of her magic.
But right now, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The wonder in her stare, the way the brown of her irises brightened like mahogany under the sun. It made my heart skip a beat. There was a soft flush to her cheeks, and a beautiful tilt to her lips, both of which I wished were directed more at me.
Maybe later. I couldn’t blame her for her reaction to the palace. It was...something. The ceiling was broken into tall arches and little laneways for pixies who lived there. They were like pests, especially if you weren’t favoured by them. But if they liked you, they tended to bring you gifts.
Or at least, that’s what Adrian always claimed. I was not one of the favoured.
Sir Ya’Dahir guided us towards the north wing, which overlooked the forest. It was the second most secure wing in the palace, and I understood why he was taking us there, but the Queen’s wing would have had Ivy losing her shit.
“Have you any news on the Inferno?” Maeve asked. Her back was stiff, her shoulders thrown back. She had her hands clasped behind her. I wondered how she was dealing with the whole...being Ivy’s mate thing. She didn’t seem to be taking it well. Actually, she seemed a littletoostressed, if I had to guess.
The Phoenix Compound leader glanced down at her, and he tensed. “They were received fine. So far, we have not learned anything new, and they have yet to be taken from us.”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. Five hundred years, and the Fae male had the tact of a freshly shifted wolf. Not like Maeve was any better. I could tell he was trying, but one look at Eloise, and I knew he was failing. It was hard enough keeping her in the dark at the safe house. Apparently, a couple of bruised fists had her figuring shit out faster than we thought.
But they continued to talk in hushed tones all the way through the palace. Most floors were upgraded with elevators, yet we still walked the long way to the guest suites.
I slowed until I was walking beside Ivy and Thea, who had their arms linked, whispering about the palace. “What are you two gossiping about?” I asked, shoving my hands into the pockets of my gear.
Ivy glanced up at me with a soft smile before shaking her head. “We weren’t gossiping.”
“Let me guess,” I teased, “you were...gushing about Sir Ya’Dahir. He has that effect on all new recruits.”
She snorted, and Thea laughed. “No, but it’s good to know that’s Sir Ya’Dahir. I’ve only met Sir Theon.” Ivy couldn’t keep her eyes off the architecture. We were walking into one of the larger great halls, though I was surprised we weren’t taking servant passages towards the wing. “This place is just...wow.”
Maybe it was because I grew up here, in the Council wing with my mother, so I wasn’t seeing what she was. There were statues of Nyx all over the damned place. The great hall, which was used more as a local chamber of council—or whining about shit, if I were being honest—had a huge stone motif dedicated to the goddess that looked over the people. It was just a towering wall of rock, with Her chiselled into it. I had no idea why they thoughtit was good; it wasn’t like Her presence stopped the aristocracy of Avalon from being assholes.
But even though I didn’t see what she saw, it was still a wonderful thing, getting to observe Ivy. She was seeing my world for the first time, completely raw in her reactions. She wasn’t hiding anything, and I took great pleasure in watching each twinkle in her eye, every sharp intake of breath, the soft whispers as she pointed out something new.
“Wait till you see everything else,” I finally replied, smirking down at her. “This is just the shit everyone else gets to see. You’ll be surprised by what only you have access to.”
Ivy’s eyes widened, and she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. As we passed through the great hall, I looked up at the stone depiction of Nyx and pointed at it. “You’d think we’d be on our best behaviour with Her looking over us, but nope. Absolutely abhorrent things happen in this room. Pretty sure there’s been bloodshed.”
“Archer,” Wolfy snapped. He sent me a withering look, but I grinned. “If you’re going to play tour guide, at least make it age appropriate.”
At that, I rolled my eyes. “Right. Little ears, what Imeantto say, is that sometimes there are groups of people in this room who just don’t get along. And they fight.Right beneaththis statue of theGoddess. Pretty bad, huh?”
Eloise didn’t bother deigning me with a response, and Maisie didn’t quite get it, but Ginny snorted before covering her face.
“Got you to laugh, Gin.” That earned me another laugh from her, and when I glanced back at Ivy, she was grinning. “And you. Did I get you to laugh?”
Ivy shook her head with an exasperated sigh. Before she could respond, Sir Ya’Dahir guided us into a hidden hallway with another elevator. The attendant pressed his fist into his heartand bowed as we approached—more for Sir Ya’Dahir, since the charm on Ivy still worked at hiding her power perfectly.
“We’ll be going to the fifth floor, thank you,” Sir Ya’Dahir said as we stopped. There wasn’t much for Ivy to gawk at here, but when we did hit the fifth-floor bridge, she’d be amazed by the view.
The attendant punched the button and as soon as the elevator doors opened, escorted us in and punched the number on the door. It seemed a little...excessive now, after spending time with Ivy in the mortal world, but she smiled and thanked the older mage brightly, as did Thea.
When the doors closed, Thea sighed dramatically. “He reminds me of Moe.”
“Right?” Ivy replied, frowning. “I miss him. And Kacie. Hell, I’ll even say I miss Tommy.”
I stiffened, which was stupid, because she was just rattling off the people she used to work with. Maybe there was a hint of guilt in my reaction.