Page 49

Ivy

T here were three creatures in the hallway across from me. The ones Adrian alerted me to.

But as soon as they appeared, more did too, trapping us in the centre of the ruins. I had a feeling if we tried the trap door at our back, we would find more of them. They reeked of that unfamiliar, different magic.

They were inhuman in appearance. The three shadow-creatures were now positioned on the ground around the room.

And with them were other things from the gothic world.

Werewolves—not the shifter kind like Elias, but rather, the ones from gothic horror movies—took up positions around the room.

They were at least seven-foot-tall standing on their hind legs, with claws that gleamed silver and razor-sharp teeth dripping with saliva .

But that wasn’t all. Screw trying to fly out of here, because there were winged creatures perched on the tops of the walls. They looked almost like the gargoyles that protected the academy.

I was pretty sure there was a sea-creature looking thing with tentacles and green skin, but those monsters were shrouded in darkness.

Summoning my heightened senses, I breathed deeply through my nose. No stench of death from them. They had more woodsy scents. Like they spent their time outdoors.

But they didn’t really look like the monsters one would expect—like the zombie-rat.

No, these were actually more human looking.

From a quick cursory glance, there didn’t appear to be a leader of the group. I had to assume they were at least working together—they had us strategically trapped here. They’d sent the three shadow-creatures to watch us. So, what did they want?

Probably us. Probably our deaths. That was a stupid question.

They likely knew that at some point, my shields would fail.

Though I didn’t feel the burn of magical exhaustion now, there was a chance I would soon.

Recharging with Maeve and Elias the night before had certainly helped, but the recharge wouldn’t last forever.

And I had a feeling once my shields started to fail, they would attack.

I really don’t like this, I sent to no one in particular. We really do not have time for this.

Dante could be anywhere right now. He could have docked his ship, and be on his way to finding the crown. Meanwhile, we were here, with these creatures.

What are the chances of us being about to outrun them if I just…blow everything up? I asked. Would that even be possible ?

Not without knowing how many are out there. We don’t even know if this is all of them. There could be more in the ruins, Elias replied. Nice thought though, Angel.

I pressed my lips together, annoyed. So, what, we try diplomacy?

That is your job, Adrian pointed out. Our eyes met, and he shrugged. If we get them on our side, then they might not fall for whatever bullshit Dante feeds them.

He was right. We could make allies out of them. Or fail miserably.

I sucked in a deep, calming breath and released it slowly. “Do you have a leader?” I called out. “Someone who speaks for you?”

The team tightened their formation around me. It was no secret they were protecting me—they didn’t even try to hide it. Several of the larger creatures watched me in particular because of it.

My stomach twisted as we waited. Maybe they couldn’t understand me. This was a world that likely had never even heard of English.

I looked sharply at Adrian. “They probably don’t understand?—”

“Some of us understand quite well,” a female said. We all turned in the direction of her voice and found a group of creatures standing under an arch parting to reveal an elderly woman.

She appeared to be in her sixties, maybe seventies, with greying hair and weathered features. She walked with a slight hunch, a cane gripped in one of her hands. But what surprised me most was the curve of her ears—or lack of.

The female looked to be Fae, with the points of her ears.

But when she smiled, there were fangs, like a vampire’s.

And based on scent, I couldn’t exactly tell what she was.

I hadn’t met a vampire-Fae hybrid before, not at the academy or outside it, but I imagined, like Hawk and other hybrids I had met, there would be a particular scent about her that leaned either way.

Or a feel about her magic that revealed her dominant side.

Hawk leaned more into his Fae side, which was why I never guessed his other half was demon.

But there was nothing like that with the elderly female. She had that same, strange magic as the others.

Like she was a bit of everything…

“Do you speak for all?” Damon asked, his voice booming.

“That depends,” she replied, “on who speaks for you.”

Before anyone else could respond, I stepped away from Elias, Adrian, and Rowan. “I do. I speak for my team. And all of the creatures under Nyx.”

“All?” She cocked her head, and her eyes, dark like ash, narrowed. “You are not like the rest.”

“I’m not,” I agreed. “I’m the Daughter of Nyx.”

Her head snapped up, and there were sounds from the other creatures that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

I felt the annoyance from my mates for outing myself, but I wasn’t charmed with anything to hide my power.

Not anymore. The ring just had my normal protection charms woven into it now.

I stood tall, with the others flanking me. “We are not here to cause any harm. We only need to find something.”

The female took several steps forward, the creatures behind her moving in. They made sure not to get too close to the bubble though, and I didn’t even attempt to extinguish the shield.

“Find what? We have nothing you or your kind need,” she said. I tried to ignore what your kind meant. “This land no longer belongs to you.”

“I know,” I replied, though the others bristled.

“This is your land. Your home. And we aren’t here to do anything other than save it.

” I looked around the creatures warily. “We aren’t the only ones who have made it here.

But we are the ones who aren’t going to hurt you—unless you pose a threat to us. ”

One of the towering, Lycan-looking creatures growled and shifted.

Okay, not a monster then.

One moment, it was the hulking, frothing at the mouth beast. The next, it was a he . A male.

He had to be of a similar age to the female, and like her, he had pointed ears. His eyes were two different colours, one violet like Orion’s, and one red, like Damon’s.

“We are no threat to you,” he growled, moving to stand beside the female. “And you will not?—”

“Hush,” she murmured, glancing up at him adoringly. “Who else is here?”

“A threat. To all of you. To all of us.” I addressed her completely, taking another hesitant step towards her. “I take it you know what the Daughter of Nyx means.”

She bowed her head. “I know the stories.”

I swallowed hard. “Then you know what I do, then? What I represent? What my power means?”

Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she gave me another nod. “Balance. Peace. At least, that is what the old stories say.”

I nodded. “There is someone who is going to destroy that. He is hunting me, because he wants my power. And he is also looking for the same thing I am. If he finds it first, if he manages to take my power, then that balance—that peace—is gone. All the worlds, from this one to the human realm, will be destroyed.”

“This would not be the first time someone called for the destruction of our world,” she said softly.

“First was the Rift between worlds. It disrupted the magic that the Goddess used to create this land. Next, it was the war that took you and your people away. And now, it is another seeking power. That has nothing to do with us.”

“It has everything to do with?—”

“Phaedra.” A deep, almost musical voice cut me off. My chest heaved with frustrated breaths, but I turned to the source of the voice.

Another male. Young, maybe the same age as me, or a little older.

He had dark brown skin, and short, tightly coiled hair.

His ears were sharply pointed too, though he had rings running the length of his left ear.

Unlike the other male, he had almost soft features and dark eyes that met mine briefly, before returning to the older couple.

I couldn’t ignore the slight shift in my magic at his appearance.

Traitor , I thought, tightening my hold on the powerful beast in my chest.

His scent tickled my nose, so different to the fresh, earthy scents I’d already encountered. His was sweet, almost sugary. Too nice as I breathed him in.

The new male moved to stand beside the couple, and he dropped his head to say something to her. Although I could hear him perfectly, I couldn’t understand the words he spoke. It was a language I’d never heard before.

The elder looked up at me, before meeting the stare of the young male. As they spoke, I turned away. The three shadow-creatures were now standing together, but none of the others had shifted. If they could, that was.

I do not like this at all, Maeve said. Be careful with what you reveal to them.

I glanced at her and gave her a shallow nod. I know.

The red hadn’t left her eyes. But now, it completely erased the blue. There were dark veins around her eyes, down her cheeks, that made my heart lurch .

Are you okay? I asked. I had never seen her reach this point before, where her features completely shifted. Her hands into claws, yes. But the way her eyes looked…

Not even hunger had brought it out.

Maeve’s brows furrowed, but she didn’t respond right away.

“What is it you seek?” the female asked finally. “Why are you here?”

I swallowed hard and looked away from Maeve to take in the three now watching us. “We’re looking for something of Nyx’s.”

“I need more information than that.” She cocked her head, though her eyes shot to the young male beside her. “Before I decide your fate.”

“While I respect your authority,” I replied, “my fate is in my hands now. And while I don’t want to hurt anyone here, I will if I have to.”

We could get out of here with Damon’s shadows. It’d been at least two hours since our last jump, so maybe he was strong enough now to get us out. I doubted we would find the crown here, anyway.

The palace was important, but not nearly enough to be the hiding place of the crown. I couldn’t feel it. Nothing about the magic here felt powerful enough.

The elderly female’s lips twitched, either with amusement or annoyance, I wasn’t sure. “The one you say is here hunting you…he has an army with him.”

My stomach sank. “I had a feeling that was the case.”

“How did he follow you here?” she asked, brow raised. “None from your world have come here in centuries.”

“He stole something that wasn’t his,” I replied vaguely. “And that means he is far more dangerous than you could imagine. ”

She hummed under her breath, before glancing at the males either side of her. As she did, I looked at Damon. His horns had receded, but he still wielded his death magic like he planned on cutting down everyone around us. His eyes found mine, and I gave him a subtle shake of my head.

No need to try and communicate with actions, wife, his voice sounded—in my head. I made sure we were able to communicate the fun way, too.

I tried to keep the surprise off my face. Once we were out of here, I would discuss boundaries with him. But for now, I was a little grateful for his foresight. But that meant the only one I couldn’t communicate with now was Hawk.

Are you strong enough to shadow jump again? I asked, ignoring the twist in my gut that reminded me just how screwed up this situation was. Why did a male, who really had no other tie to me than a need for an alliance, want more of a connection to me than my own mate?

Of course, my Queen. But I am strong enough to wipe them out, too, he replied, maybe a little too smugly.

Don’t , I warned. They don’t need to be harmed. If we can get out of here without bloodshed, then we do it that way. Okay?

The look he gave me said he wasn’t pleased with that answer, but I really couldn’t bring myself to care.

These creatures hadn’t done anything to us, and I had a feeling they wouldn’t.

We were the ones imposing on their land, and with us we’d brought danger.

They had every right to be wary of us—there hadn’t been anyone from the realms of Nyx here in over a thousand years. For so long, this had been theirs.

The elder female finally turned her attention back to us, and I couldn’t help but stiffen as those hard eyes found mine once more.

“We will not harm you or yours,” she stated as she stepped away from the males either side of her.

“Yet. If you prove to be a danger to my people, I will not hesitate in finding a way to put you down.”

My magic rose at the threat, tingling across my skin and manifesting itself visibly across my exposed flesh. “As much as we appreciate your acceptance,” I bit out, “we won’t be here long enough for that to become an issue.”

The woman narrowed her eyes, but I moved back into the formation of my team, letting them surround me. I glanced at Damon, his smirk enough to assure me he had already knew what I wanted.

There was something about it that also made my magic react strangely.

I couldn’t help myself from glancing over at the young male creature. His eyes were on me, narrowed though not critical. Maybe curious. I pulled in another breath, his sweet scent filling my lungs, a balm for my magic.

But I didn’t have time to dwell on that as the shadows surrounded us and pulled us into its familiar embrace.