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Orion

I vy’s eyes widened in shock as the words hung heavy in the air between us. “He…what? That’s?—”

“Forbidden?” I raised my brow, laughing sharply. “Oh, I know. But that didn’t matter to him, and since he could pass it off as an accident, no one questioned him. He was on the council, after all.”

My father was more than just a weak man. I’d done a lot to hide these particular memories, but now, they came rushing to the surface.

“Why do you think I went to the trouble of hiding you?” I asked, voice cracking. I lifted my hand to her face and released a breath when she leaned into my touch.

Her eyes found mine, soft and full of so much understanding.

I did not deserve her softness, her pity.

I’d still done things that hurt her. Hiding myself from her, making her fear me at the academy.

I knew my attack on the mages who cornered her during her first week disgusted her.

And when she’d asked me about it, I’d done something I wish I hadn’t: lied.

And those lies still burned like acid on my tongue whenever I thought about them.

“If he had found you, then he would have killed you,” I whispered. “More than that.”

“He really hurt you, didn’t he?” she asked, her voice dark. It was only brief, but her magic rose around us, prickling across my skin protectively. “He abused you.”

I nodded. “He did.”

She sighed, eyes saddening. “Ry…”

“Please don’t,” I murmured, inching my face closer to hers. “There was nothing you could do. Nothing anyone could. Not while he had power—and you didn’t.”

She flinched at that, and reeled her magic in. “So, he killed his mate?”

“All of them,” I replied, and her eyes widened. “Nyx graced him with three. And none were what he wanted.”

“What do you mean?” Horror filled her dark eyes, though she did not move away from me.

I could sense the trajectory of her thoughts; how she couldn’t believe that someone would kill not just one of his mates, but three.

How she couldn’t even imagine harming any of her own mates, not even the one she did not currently like.

I swiped my thumb beneath her eye. She was so fucking beautiful, even with the snowflakes dropping onto her lashes.

“He wanted power. And none of his mates could give him that.” I thought back to Corvus, the last of my father’s mates to die.

He’d fought. He was the son of a noble family in Dream.

A male with a decent amount of power, his ability to dream walk strengthened by his ability to manipulate the darkness in one’s mind.

Father used him to conjure terrifying nightmares in not only my dreams, but in the minds of others .

Otherwise, to Hyperion, Corvus was useless. Unnecessary. He could not give him an heir that would claim a throne. Corvus was not the one he wanted most.

“My father believed he was owed the most powerful mate of all,” I murmured. “He believed himself worthy enough for Greer. Believed Nyx had failed in not blessing him with a bond to her.”

Ivy sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh.”

I chuckled darkly. “Indeed.” I watched as another snowflake landed on her pink nose, as it melted into her flushed skin. “The three Nyx blessed him with meant nothing for his bid for power.”

“But why?” Her disbelief was almost palpable, darkening her eyes. “Your mates are your power. That’s been drilled into our heads. I don’t understand?—”

“He wanted to be as close to king as possible, and by being Greer’s mate, that would put him there.”

Ivy shook her head. “What a fucking nut job.”

“He is dangerous. Those without regard for their mates…they are not only weak, but they are not worthy of living.”

She shivered, though not from the cold. “Who were they?”

They were memories I never wanted to let free, but I did so—for her.

“First, there was Ursa. She was also of the Luna court. He hated her the most, I think.” She had not come from a noble or royal family.

She’d been an orphan. I remembered her only barely.

Sometimes, she came to me in dreams, dulled by my infant memories.

“My father kept her around for looks only. But he did not want her bloodline to taint his.”

A grimace played at Ivy’s lips. “That is sickening.”

“He was a purist, and somehow, he found others like him.” It made my blood boil just thinking about it.

Because of him, I had been forced to hide from my mate and lie about someone I loved.

I’d told him Ivy was dead so that he would think I was like him.

So that he wouldn’t question me further.

And it disgusted me even thinking about it.

“My mother came next. She was a cousin of the High Lady of the Dream Court. My father was almost happy with that.”

“And what was she like?” Ivy asked, her eyes softening. “She had to be a little decent, to have a son like you.”

“Well, she certainly wasn’t worse than my father. But…” She was even more difficult to think about. “Eislyn was her name. And I did not know her.”

Warmth spread down the bond, calm and reassuring. “If you don’t want to speak about her, then we don’t have to,” she offered. “I just want to know more about you, Ry. More about where you came from. So, I can…understand why you did what you had to do.”

I nodded. It was the least I could give her. She had always been so open with me, and I’d hidden everything from her. But my flower was smart, observant. She had known there was something wrong with me long before now.

“After I was born, Hyperion kept me away from her,” I said, turning back to the icy tundra around us.

I couldn’t take the sadness in Ivy’s eyes.

I still didn’t deserve her pity. But they did.

“I think she died from some sort of infection, a sickness. Ursa raised me for the first few years, and I never even thought to ask about Eislyn. Not until Ursa started defying Hyperion. That was when he found Corvus.”

Ursa might have been like a mother to me, but she had been deeply jealous of Corvus when he arrived.

He was from the Dream Court, like Eislyn.

He came from a wealthy family. Those were two things my father coveted.

He was a purist only in power. He didn’t care that Ursa had come from Luna.

Within her own right, she’d been a master at shadow weaving and the illusions she could create from them. But that was never enough for him.

“And that was when the worst of the abuse started. Ursa fought Hyperion, and so he took it out on me. I think…I think he liked that he could make me hurt. Because it hurt not only Ursa, but it kept Corvus in line.” I shook my head of memories that threatened to make an appearance.

“But then they started to enjoy it, too.”

“Oh, Ry,” Ivy whispered. “I am so sorry.”

For the first time since I left her in that dilapidated cabin, I felt tears burn my eyes. “Corvus died the night I escaped,” I whispered. “It was his one last attempt to help, I think.”

“He got you out?” Her hands twitched towards mine, like she wanted to hold me. And I so badly wanted that. To feel her against me again, after so long without her.

I nodded slowly. “I hadn’t known it at the time, but yes.”

Ivy sighed. “Can I hug you?”

I met her stare, bowing my head. “I want nothing more.”

Her arms wound around my torso, and she buried her face in my chest. My heart raced, aching painfully at her proximity. My breath quickened, but when I breathed in, it wasn’t blood that filled my lungs. It was her—coffee and coconut and safety.

I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her shoulder.

I could ignore the scents of her other mates easily.

It was all her that I breathed in. It was the same comfort I’d sought out eight years ago in the cabin.

The same comfort I would conjure for myself when I was alone after a beating from Hyperion .

No one can hurt you, especially not him, she said through the bond. I won’t let him. Okay?

My arms tightened around her. My fear is that he will find a way to hurt you.

You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not going anywhere.

Unfortunately, that did not comfort me at all.

The storm lessened after a few hours of waiting. I knew through the bond that Ivy wasn’t entirely ready to let me back into the folds of her mate circle, but we were closer now. I knew her pain, her nightmares, and now, she knew some of mine.

When the howling wind finally died down, she looked between me and her charm mage mate, who sat at her other side, his head resting in her lap as he slept.

Whatever he was building with his magic drained him.

I knew it had to be for his brother. But I hoped whatever he had planned could be used against Hyperion, too.

Ivy ran her fingers softly through the prince’s hair as she sighed. “How are you feeling now, Damon?” she asked the demon king, barely looking at him. “Do you think you have another shadow jump in you?”

The king of the Elysian Fields moved from where he leaned against the wall across from us.

He was a figure I could not get a read on.

Everything I knew about him felt…different now, after being in his presence.

Watching how he interacted with Ivy, the way he appeared to worship her like one of her bonded mates, it altered my perception of him. Though not by much.

It’s not like you have any place for judgement , I thought sourly as the male prowled towards us—no, her .

“Can you find us a location, my Queen?” He stopped in front of her, head cocked. Fuck, he was tall.

I knew Hyperion would be seething if he knew the Elysian King was here, working alongside us, and not him. Unlike the others, I had a feeling the giant demon had no intention of betraying Ivy. Not with the reverence in which he spoke to her, like she was his salvation.

I understood the feeling. She was peace and hope wrapped up in comfort and power. I couldn’t fault him for regarding her in such a way, because I was guilty of it, too.

Ivy squeezed my fingers as she sighed. “I think I might be able to think of something.”

“Good,” he purred. “My reserves have refilled. And if we are lucky, we may be able to escape what is left of this storm.”

With that, he stepped away. From the corner of my eye, I watched my mate as she ran her fingers through Adrian’s hair one last time before waking him.

“Time to get up,” she murmured, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

It took him a moment to stir, but when he did, he groaned. “Fuck,” he grunted, sitting up. “We leaving?”

“Yeah.” She pressed her lips together, worry evident in her dark eyes. “Are you feeling any better?”

I could tell immediately he wanted to lie and tell her he was fine.

That the sleep helped more than he expected.

I didn’t know Adrian Kingsley personally; we’d never spent time in the same circles, not when he’d been at the academy, nor after.

The parties he’d attended was something I refused to participate in.

Though, knowing now Dante was the one hunting Ivy, I wish I’d attended some.

I wish I’d put that bastard on my radar sooner and hunted him in return .

Instead of lying, Adrian shook his head. He must have responded through the bond, because her features softened, and she cupped his cheek gently.

I expected to feel a sense of intrusion. Like I should not be here, experiencing this moment. But she still had my hand trapped in hers, holding me tightly. And through the bond, I felt nothing from her end that made me want to escape.

It didn’t take long for us to leave. And to my surprise, Ivy remained at my side. Her magic hummed around us, filling the air. I almost considered removing my glove for her, for that real contact of our skin, but with all eyes on us, I couldn’t make myself do it.

I’m not rushing you with anything , she said, her eyes meeting mine briefly. We still have a lot to work through .

Despite appreciating her assurance, it still pained me to know there was still a barrier between us. I knew it wasn’t the gloves; Ivy, even without knowing the true meaning of why I wore them, would never judge me for the protection they afforded me.

It was everything else that made reconnecting difficult. I still had secrets, things I was terrified to admit—things I couldn’t because of the glamour. I was the reason she had taken her first life, even though I knew I would rather her alive and unharmed.

I was the first to break her heart, even though it was the only way to save her from the inevitable wrath of my father.

I said nothing, though, as the shadows swarmed around us, and darkness claimed us once more.