Page 68 of The Powers of Nyx
“I’ll stay on my contact,” Elias grunted. “Now, can we go be with our mate? The wolf isn’t taking well to being away from her after this morning.”
Rowan rose and stretched his arms over his head. “Yeah, I feel uneasy. Which doesn’t seem normal.”
Silently, I rubbed my chest. It was hard to ignore the feeling, but there it was. Ivy was only a room away, and yet I needed to be at her side again. The bond demanded it, and so did my magic. I wouldn’t know peace until I had her in my arms again.
The tablet disappeared from Maeve’s hands, and she also stood. “As much as I would like to get ahead of this, I don’t believe I can.”
Rowan and I shared a look. It was nice, knowing I wasn’t the only one. That we were all the same: completely and entirely in love with Ivy. I knew part of the desire to be with her came from the bond, but even without it, I wanted to be by her side. I wanted to step into the bubble of her life, to join her in it.
And I knew I wasn’t alone in that.
We made our way back into the spacious bedroom to find Ivy and Thea in the centre of the bed, with the children sprawled out at their feet. A musical played on the television mounted on the wall, and there was a suspicious amount of sugary food covering the duvet.
They looked up as we entered, and for the first time since Ivy woke up, there was a genuine, hopeful smile on her lips. “Hello again.”
Elias was the first one to approach the bed. “Space for us, or have we been kicked out?”
Ivy glanced at Thea, who lifted her brows, then met the curious stares of the other children. After a moment, she shrugged and met Elias’s eye. “You got anything to offer?”
It didn’t take long to conjure up a few extra sweet treats and drinks. Palace staff left us Avalon’s finest pizza outside thebedroom for lunch. The nightmare and bond-discussion were still a heavy weight in the back of my mind, but I was able to focus on our little family for as long as it was possible. No meetings, no training, no reason to leave Ivy’s side for the rest of the day.
And I couldn’t wait until we finally made it to a place where this could be forever.
25
IVY
REMNANTSof the dream plagued my waking thoughts, a constant swarm of memories that refused to go away. The pain was there, too, a hollowness in my chest where Ry should have been, his bond still quiet and dark. Despite everything, I wanted to reach out, to make sure he was at least okay. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. But if I’d learned anything since meeting the team; after Adrian nearly dying and the rush of power that had risen within me to keep him alive—if somethinghadhappened to Ry, then I would know—that any power would protect him if I could not.
I rubbed my sternum as Thea exited the suite, humming under her breath. She wore a flowing pink dress—so entirely not her usual style, yet I had to admit, it looked comfortable. One of the many things I was thankful for. Plenty of comfy clothes now gracing our walk-in closets.
Two steaming mugs of coffee landed on the glass table between the lounge chairs lining the balcony. The smell of vanilla from her cup assaulted my senses, more syrup than actual coffee.
“Your Majesty,” she quipped, curtseyeing before dropping onto the chair beside me.
The balcony outside my bedroom overlooked the waterfall and lake below. There was nothing stopping us from falling except a magical barrier that I refused to trust. Ginny and Maisie were banned, which meant we had total privacy away from little ears.
I rolled my eyes, taking the coffee and cupping it between my cold hands. I breathed in the caramel syrup that was swirled atop mine and smiled. “You should practice those. It was pretty pathetic,” I replied.
Thea snorted, but she stretched out beside me, a groan leaving her lips. “When you get that fancy crown, I’ll go to lessons.” I kept my eyes glued on the waterfall despite knowing she watched me. Even though it was so close, it seemed to make no noise. I chalked it up to magic, like everything nowadays.
After a long moment, she sighed, and finally looked away. “You want to talk about it?” she asked carefully, like she thought I might break.
It was possible. I was capable of it. Being torn in a thousand different directions certainly didn’t help my fragility.
But I hated feeling sopathetic.
I shrugged, bringing the mug to my lips. “I’m not sure.”
“You can talk to me about it.” I turned to her, and she offered me a half-smile. “Perks of having a best friend. And I won’t lie—I kind of miss you.”
A lump formed in my throat as I met her smile with one of my own. “I miss you, too.”
“You should. I’m the best.” The smile turned cocky as she settled back to take in the waterfall. “It’s so fucking pretty out here. Honestly, I know you’ll be getting some fancy ass wing of the palace, but I could stay here.”
I chuckled lightly as I returned to staring out over the huge mountain. The water sparkled under the sun, while a light dusting of clouds obscured the top of the cliff. Even from our perch, I could make out a few people enjoying the lake below. It might have been winter back home, but here it felt like spring.
Warmth settled across my skin, the chill in my bones finally moving out.“It really is magical,” I admitted. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.”