Page 61 of The Powers of Nyx
The fire wanted me to suffer. It wanted to devour me. And my magic only made it worse.
I gasped as the burning subsided almost as soon as it appeared, leaving a tingling feeling in its wake. A dull fuzziness rang in my ears, drowning out the world around me.
Slowly, I regained some sort of feeling. I knew there were hands on me. Elias, Adrian, and Maeve. Nothing but tingling. Ringing in my ears. Then freezing cold.
It was a shock to the system, and my eyes flew open as I stared at the water falling from above. Elias held me to his chest, while the others shifted to cage me in.
“What happened, Ivy?” Maeve asked, cupping one of my cheeks.
I cleared my dry throat, as I tried to piece it together. “Nightmare,” I whispered hoarsely. “Then—I tried to test the bond withhim.”
“Why?” Adrian asked. Fear darkened his eyes, and he held tightly onto my ankle. “Ivy—fuck. That was terrifying.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I know.” My eyes closed, and snippets of the nightmare flooded my head, as well as the bond, frayed and dimly lit. “But there’s something wrong with it.”
A growl vibrated from Elias, and his arms tightened around me. “We need to see the Queen.”
Tension grew between my three mates as Maeve shut the water off. I hadn’t even noticed the drastic change from feeling so hot I could melt, to so cold my teeth chattered. But Elias didn’t release me until there was a large towel covering my body, and even then, when he placed me back on my feet, he didn’t let go.
It was a blur; hands carefully stripping me of my soaking wet sleep-clothes and towelling me off. There was a sort of urgency to their movements, which were stiff and almost robotic, but as they worked, there were whispers of praise, reminders not to sink into the panic rising in my chest. The lump in my throat grew harder to ignore as Elias kissed the top of my head.
“You’re safe now,” he murmured, turning me to face him so Maeve could carefully braid my hair back. “We’ll sort this out.”
Maeve brushed her fingers lightly down the curve of my throat as she finished. “Do you need more layers?” she asked softly.
I shook my head. The chill in my bones was mostly gone, but as I brought my hands together, I realised how cold my fingers were. “I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I actually felt. “I am fine.”
From the corner of my eye, I watched as Elias looked over my shoulder, likely at my other two mates. Sighing, I turned to the others. “I’m going to be okay.”
“You said you feel something wrong with your bond.” Adrian joined Maeve’s side and reached for one of my hands. “You aren’t okay.”
I swallowed thickly, tears burning the corner of my eyes. I didn’t want to admit how terrified I was; about the bond—or Ry. What if something had happened to him?Washappening to him? A new kind of pain started in my chest as I thought about all he’d revealed during those months together. Even without words, I knew he’d been hurt by someone close to him. Was that happening again? Was he protecting me from that?
Cool hands framed my face and forced me out of my thoughts. Maeve swiped her thumb beneath my eye, chasing away a runaway tear. “Don’t go there,” she murmured. “Chances are, something triggered your nightmare and the pain you felt. It might be him, but we don’t know that. Let us at least see Queen Greer and Seer Sable first before you think the worst.”
I forced myself to nod and suck in a breath, blinking back tears. “You’re right,” I replied. “Everything might be fine on his end.”
“And if it’s not, we’ll assess what to do next as a team,” Adrian added. “Rowan will stay here with Thea and the kids while we go down to the visitor meeting room where my mother is waiting. Okay?”
“Okay.” Ignoring the panic, I let my mates guide me out of the bathroom. I had one hand entwined with Elias’s, while Adrian took the other. As much as I wanted to feel Maeve’s touch, she led our party, and I took comfort in knowing she was making the decisions I couldn’t.
Despite the hole in my chest, I was glad I had these people around me. Supporting me. The fear I had seeing the love and devotion surrounding Queen Greer seemed like a hazy memory now as I glanced at each of my bonded mates. We might not have been at her level yet, but I knew how much they cared for me—and how much I loved them, too.
~
The meeting room they took me to was similar to the sitting room we’d been in the day before, only this one seemed more formal and elegant. The colours here were reds and gold, depicting an air of royalty and formality. Rather than two different sitting areas with comfortable couches and coffee-tables laden with food, there was a long table, with one end holding the Queen, Seer Sable, and two of Greer’s mates, while the other had what looked like a make-shift coffee station.
I didn’t even need to ask. While Elias and Adrian guided me to sit across from Queen Greer, Maeve made me a coffee. It seemed like she’d learned my order during our time in the safe houses, because she handed me a caramel latte like it was nothing.
“Thanks,” I murmured, my cheeks warming as she ghosted her fingers over my shoulder, her brief way of showing intimacy.
Maeve took a seat beside Elias, glancing at me momentarily before turning her attention to the Queen. “Last night, Ivy had a nightmare. One that seemed to trigger her bond with the mystery mate.”
Queen Greer eyed me warily for a moment, as did one of her mates.Sir Amais, I reminded myself. The silver eyed vampire, one of Queen Greer’s first mates.
“How do you feel now?” Greer asked, her soft gaze meeting mine.
I shrugged. “I don’t really know how to explain it. But I’m terrified of reaching out to it.”