Page 60 of The Powers of Nyx

For a long moment, she stared at me, her words hanging in the air. My heart finally slowed until it was a strong, steady beat in my chest. But my blood hummed in my ears, and the effect of her being so close tingled across my skin. When I sucked in a breath, all I could smell was her; the ocean on a cloudy day, the wind skating over the sand and carrying within the brine of the sea, and a touch of sweetness, a dollop of vanilla.

“I’m still broken,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “but I’m here. I won’t push you away.”

My heart twisted, but I knew that was better than nothing. I just hoped she trusted me with whatever was tearing her apart.

“I won’t run away,” I replied, offering her a smile.

Maeve’s eyes closed in relief, and we stayed until the water cooled and I was forced to get out. The heat of the shower and the smell of coconut relaxed the other, overwhelmed parts of me. Maeve and I would find our new normal. The kids were finally safe. There was a chance a bond would be revealed between Rowan and I, and there was two weeks before I’d be forced into one of those atrocious uniforms.

And yet, I touched my chest and rubbed my sternum. That knowledge that I was still missing something created a deep ache in my body. Even now, I reached for the bond between us and found it dark andwrong.

In time, my flower, he whispered down the bond.You will be mine.

22

IVY

I RAN.

The ground was like sludge, making it hard for me to move. Each step weighed me down further. The inky darkness threatened to swallow me whole.

Hands reached from the shadows, grabbing at me. But they always fell short; a warning of danger, that they could have me if they tried.

I looked over my shoulder, searching for the beast who haunted my nightmares.

But it wasn’t behind me. My legs gave out and I stumbled, falling to my knees. I waited for that familiar shock as the earth tumbled with its thundering footsteps, but nothing happened. There were no screams in the air. No taunting voices telling me it was too late to save my family.

Silence thickened the air. The hands that had once reached for me were gone. I was totally alone in the strange, twisted forest I constantly found myself in when I entered the nightmares.

I was used to the chase now. I knew I had to step up—to fight—if I wanted to protect everyone. I had no choice. If I gave up, we were all doomed.

But this...this conjured a new kind of fear. A fear that twisted around my heart and gripped my lungs.

Something shifted, breaking the thick silence, and I turned slowly to take in the familiar towering figure. Cloaked and hidden, I recognised it immediately. Gone was the crown itusually wore when it visited me. Instead, it wore a skull atop its head, one weathered and browned with age.

A shiver rolled down my spine, but I didn’t move. The cloaked figure lifted a skeletal hand in my direction, pointing a bony finger at my chest. “In time,” it whispered, “you will be mine. Dooming the world of Nyx. Turning the world to ash and death in your wake. If you fail, Daughter of Nyx, you belong to me.”

Pain unlike anything I’d felt before crashed into me, and the ground swallowed me whole.

~

I shot awake, my hand travelling to my racing heart, as remnants of the dream flooded me. Fear tasted bitter on my tongue, making my mouth dry as I sucked in calming breaths.

I’m okay, I’m safe,I thought, sitting up slowly. The light from the sunset lamps on the bedside table reflected the early morning dawn, casting the room in a soft glow. It was early, too early considering the night before and the last couple of exhausting days.Shadows still danced in the corners of the room, shadows that moved the longer I stared.

ButI let the words of the figure echo in my head as the bed shifted. Adrian and Elias both rose, one either side of me. I was surprised my mage had awoken, given his inability to wake on time any other day. But I knew just how aware Elias was of the nightmares.

My shifter pulled me into his side and kissed my temple. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, tucking me into his warm embrace.

“Yeah,” I replied, blowing out a long breath as I tried to push the nightmare out of my head. “It was probably just stress.”

Or Ry related, I thought. But given everything, I refused to give him that much power over the dreams. He’d reached out before without triggering them.

Thinking of him, I closed my eyes and checked his bond again. It was still that same dark,wrongthing in my chest. Ever sincethe accident, it hadn’t been right. Maybe he’d done something on his end to finally close it off for good. He hadn’t been particularly happy about me tearing down the wall.

I prodded it gently, to test whether it would awaken, but searing pain struck me. I cried out mentally, but my voice echoed in my ears, too.

A burning sensation radiated throughout me. Every part of my body ached fiercely. It scorched my body, a roaring fire that threatened to consume me.