Page 72 of The Powers of Nyx
Rowan huffed, and the tension dissipated as we rose from the dining table. He slid an arm around my back as we walked to the door. Tingles of electricity, far more potent than before, ran over my skin. Glancing up at him, I found him smiling, his cheeks pink, as well as the tips of his ears.
Seer Sable span around. “One last thing before I go!”
I pressed my lips into a line to stop myself from smiling at the shift in Rowan’s expression.
Seer Sable took my hands and pulled me out of Rowan’s embrace. Her fingers were cold yet soft, and they wrapped tightly around mine. “The academy is where it will all fall into place,” she said. Her eyes glossed over, and it almost looked like she wasn’t quite present anymore. “You’ll find answers and you’ll find allies. They are most important. You will need them. But you will also meet darkness. And you will be forced to face your truth.”
My blood ran cold, and a shiver prickled my flesh as she released my hands. Her eyes cleared, and almost like it didn’t happen, she smiled.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask what she meant, not as she patted Rowan’s cheek and whispered something about catching up, and certainly not as she made her way out of the suite. Her warning settled like a brick in my stomach.
It wasn’t until the door shut behind her and the magical locks pinged that I finally drew in a deep breath. “She’s...”
“A menace,” Rowan muttered. He appeared in front of me, framing me with his towering, lithe body. Long finger strokedmy cheeks as he ran his eyes over me. “I’m sorry about her. About cornering you like that.”
My smile felt stiff as I cleared my throat. “It’s fine. Honestly, having a conversation with her kind of...helped. I mean, she gave it to me straight, didn’t beat around the bushes, and made it so much easier to understand, I guess. I just don’t know how you two are related.”
Mirth filled his hazel eyes, and he shook his head. “I wonder the same thing, sometimes.”
“But the last thing she said...” Another shiver, this time raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “She didn’t mean that in a joking way, did she? That was completely genuine?”
Rowan’s lips twisted. “Yeah,” he replied, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, “it was. That wasn’t just a vision—it was a warning.”
~
The rest of the afternoon was filled with tense silence. I wanted so badly to fill it with something else, but I found myself in front of the trunk again, this time accompanied by Rowan.
“I could fit Maisie in this thing,” I muttered, throwing the last of the plaid skirts on top of the few comfortable sets of clothes I’d found hidden in the closet, “even Ginny if I tried hard enough.”
From where he was sprawled across the bed, Rowan snorted. “You wouldn’t want to take them there, trust me.”
I looked up from the contents and raised a brow. “Because it’s brutal?”
“No, because everyone there is horny twenty-four seven. People are finding their mates for the first time. And there are a few sex demons who like to spread the love. Common room orgies are pretty normal.”
I couldn’t tell if I was intrigued or horrified. “What?”
Rowan met my stare, his smile roguish, and laughed. “Are you surprised? Sex is different here. More...open. But once you findyour mate—or mates—it becomes more personal. Still, there are some who like to get it on while others are around. Usually, it’s a weekend thing. But don’t worry, they’ll let you know. It’s more fun for them if the people watching actually want to experience it.”
My cheeks warmed at the explanation, but not because of what he was saying.
I’d felt that way when I’d been with Elias while Maeve and Adrian had been there to witness it. There had been something almost...empowering about experiencing a moment of pure lust. And the idea of having all my mates there...
I sucked in a sharp breath. Blocking my thoughts was hard. I had three mates, all scattered around the palace, and the last thing I wanted was to distract them with those...thoughts.Fantasies, really.
I shook my head and started re-folding the clothes in the trunk. I wasn’t sure how to respond—or if there was an appropriate way to continue a conversation about how horny the common rooms supposedly were.
“I’ve rendered you speechless,” Rowan said. “It was bound to happen.”
I huffed, trying not to laugh, as the weird tension lifted. Glancing up at him, I replied, “How do they not get jealous? Or worse?”
Rowan sat up and shrugged. “Same way we don’t, I suppose. Although, I did promise Adrian that you and I would be ravenous for one another once you realised the bond.” His eyes darkened, and I felt that same pulse of electricity I recognised was part of my mate bonds. My magic reacting to a potential mate. Reaching and testing whether they were worthy.
My skin warmed as his eyes ran the length of my body. Heat flared in the pit of my stomach, coiling around the pulsating desire building within me.
“Ro—”
“Do you feel that?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He leapt from the bed and joined me at the foot of it, almost crushing me into the edge. “Am I wrong to think there might be a chance?”