Page 63

Ivy

I focused my energy on the crown, on bringing the beautiful piece into the forefront of my mind.

I imagined the crystals, red like blood, standing on a bed of bone.

I envisioned Nyx wearing it atop her hooded head.

I summoned the image of Greer wearing it when she’d invited me to brunch with Sable and her daughters.

I’d been in awe of it then, and as it formed in my mind, my breath caught at the structure of it—and the power it wielded.

Who would have known that the crown of Nyx would be what Dante sought?

Though, even as I thought it, a small part of me still couldn’t believe it.

That he would risk his life—his army—to venture into the Old World for a crown.

In all my studies, the crown had barely been brought up.

It wasn’t a feature of power in the histories of Nyx and her Queens.

If it were, then wouldn’t I have heard about it in class?

The crown itself was predominantly featured on Nyx’s head. Most statues depicting the Goddess, there was almost always a crown.

Of course, the Queens who came before me wore it, too. Mostly in their portraits. But not many people mentioned it.

That was why it surprised me when Dante had made a grab for it during the Nyx Ball. Unless he knew something I didn’t, the crown hadn’t been seen as a powerful object in the Queen’s rule.

My stomach twisted, but with the crown in my mind, the shadows surrounded us, and dropped us off in another new, unknown place.

My eyes opened at the feel of rain, heavy and hard against my skin. The world was darkened by clouds, though it appeared to only be rain and not a storm.

Ry wrapped an arm around me and moved me into the shadow of a cave. The others were just as wet as I was, and as soon as we were protected, a wind picked up.

“Fuck,” Rowan muttered as he wiped a hand over his face. “That is torrential.”

I grimaced as I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe my eyes, despite it being almost just as wet. “Any idea where we are now?” I asked Damon, glancing at him. He stood in the mouth of the cave, his back to us.

A shiver rolled down my spine at his silence. Following his line of sight, I sucked in a breath. We were in some sort of old sinkhole, with short cliffs surrounding us on all sides. With the rain, waterfalls were filling the cavernous space quickly, and the pool of water closest to us spilled over.

But across from us, there was a cabin .

It wasn’t exactly like the one in my dream. The one Nyx had shown me in my nightmare had been more of a fairytale-like cottage, with the thatched roof and stone exterior.

The one across from us was different. I could barely make out the details, not with the rain thundering around us, but it appeared to be more of a log-cabin styled home.

It must have been built using the trees above us; from what I could tell, there was an entire forest surrounding the deep hole in the ground we stood in.

So, why a cabin here? It didn’t seem safe.

Elias appeared behind me. “There’s someone in there.”

Another shiver rolled down my spine. A dark figure passed one of the windows, barely perceptible.

“Who would be living down here?” I muttered, eyes narrowing on the structure. “Why?”

Damon’s hands curled into fists at his side. “Demon.”

I glanced at him sharply. “What?”

The Elysian King didn’t look at me as he rolled his shoulders back. Tension lined his figure, rolling off him in waves. “There is a demon, full blooded and powerful, living inside the cabin.”

I wasn’t sure what it was about his words that made my blood run cold. My heart thundered as I stared up at him in confusion. His anger was almost palpable; it thickened the air and made everyone else wary.

Stay by my side, Elias said, reaching for my hand. Just in case.

I let him entwine our fingers. No complaints here , I replied.

Either we had just stumbled into a trap designed by Dante, or somehow, there was a demon living here without anyone’s knowledge .

It hadn’t sounded like the female from the palace ruins liked us very much, so I doubted she knew about a demon being here.

But how did a demon get all the way out here? If the creature wasn’t with Dante, then was it possible that a demon had stayed behind after the war?

It should have been impossible, but based on the way Damon glared at the cabin, maybe there was a chance.

I frowned, itching to reach for him, but held back. “Do you know who it is?”

Red eyes met mine sharply, his nostrils flaring. “I’m afraid I do.”

Somehow, I shuddered again. My magic didn’t react negatively, though. It remained a calm presence in my chest, neither hesitant nor afraid. And yet, I summoned it to the surface.

Damon wasn’t giving me the impression that the person in the cabin was a threat. Maybe I was misreading the demon king, but he didn’t look afraid, either. He appeared apprehensive more than anything.

Before I could ask anything, he stalked into the downpour. Despite being a tall, imposing figure, the torrential rain almost made him disappear.

“No!” I made to reach for him, to walk into the rain myself, but Elias held me back. “No one goes off alone,” I said.

“He isn’t,” Maeve replied. I shot her a surprised stare, but she didn’t meet it as she, too, entered the rain.

“Dammit,” I hissed. I stopped fighting Elias, though I remained tense. “I don’t like this.”

Hawk appeared in my periphery. “I have to agree. I can sense the demon. But I have no idea who it is. All I do know is they are powerful. ”

My heart rate picked up. The figures of Maeve and Damon appeared near the cabin, but I couldn’t tell much else, other than they were too far away to be heard over the rain. Even with my heightened hearing, I couldn’t tell if they were communicating or not.

Shaking my head, I tugged my hand free of Elias’s just as the front door of the cabin opened.

Magic coiled tightly in my chest as whoever lived there stepped into the rain, passing the doorway entirely.

I moved before anyone could stop me. The rain almost came to a stop as I ran, turning from streaks of water to droplets in the air. I didn’t stop to admire it. I must have tapped into Maeve’s speed, because before I knew it, I was standing between her and the demon from the cabin.

My breath left me in a huff as I stared into the dark eyes of the male demon from the cabin. That tight coil of magic in my chest recognised him and exploded.

Darkness greeted me, familiar and comforting. Was I in one of Damon’s shadows? I wasn’t sure. It didn’t feel like it. This darkness was different. But I knew why. I just couldn’t reach for the memory.

I felt for my mates, reaching for the presences—their bonds. But each one slipped out of my grasp, disappearing into the black void around me.

Maybe I’m in a dream , I thought. But even in dreams, I could find a way out.

“You are running out of time,” a voice whispered.

I turned sharply. It wasn’t a voice I recognised at all. My skin prickled as the smell of smoke filled my lungs, heavy and unidentifiable .

“Who’s there?” I called, searching the darkness. I thought I had my blocks in place to keep dream demons and Fae out, but maybe they’d failed.

My memory came back slowly. The cabin, Damon rushing off towards it, the demon male with the dark eyes.

Then my magic exploding and…

Knocking me out?

I frowned, shaking my head. Why had my magic reacted like that? Who was the demon?

And why was I in a dream?

“He knows,” the voice said again. It was feminine, laced with an accent I vaguely recognised. Why did I recognise it? “You have to find it.”

“Find what?” I shouted. “The crown? I’m searching, but I don’t know where it is!”

“Not the crown,” the voice whispered this time.

It was so close to my ear. When I spun this time, I found a woman standing behind me.

She wore a white dress that draped over her full, thick figure.

She had black hair that tumbled down to her back, and silver eyes—not grey, but actual silver—that met mine.

She looked so similar to the Goddess that I had to blink, but I knew it wasn’t Nyx standing before me.

“I know what he is seeking,” she murmured. “He is seeking our power.”

I nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m aware of that.”

“He learned the secret of the crown, Ivy. It was a secret that should have been lost with my death,” she continued, ignoring me. “I gave my power to the next Queen for a reason.”

It clicked, too slowly, who stood before me. “You’re Pandora.”

Her eyes darted away. “The line of Nyx cannot end with you. I did not let it end with me, Ivy. You must find it before he does. Or he will lay claim to our line. And there will be no more Queens. ”

Something flashed in her hands, a round, bone coloured orb that disappeared in an instant.

I’d seen something like it before, but in the hands of the Goddess. During the worst of my nightmares, so terrifying I would wake up screaming.

“Why can’t you just tell me what I’m looking for?” I pleaded. “I can’t go find whatever it is you’re telling me to protect if I don’t even know what it is!”

Pandora’s eyes softened. “The skull, Ivy. Look for the skull. Or you are all doomed.”

A flash of light stole me from the darkness of the dream, leaving me in a world I recognised. I sucked in a breath, eyes flying open. My vision blurred for a moment, darkness swimming at the edges, but my sight cleared with another breath.

“Oh, thank fuck,” a voice said beside me. Before I could react, I was pulled into the warm embrace of my mate. I breathed in the scent of pine and earth that I associated with Elias, sighing in relief. “Don’t ever do that again.”

My arms were like jelly, but he held me too tightly to wrap them around him anyway. “I don’t even know what I did,” I replied.

“You blacked out,” someone else—no, Adrian—said. “And then you went somewhere…else.”

I shivered as I spared him a glance over Elias’s shoulder.

It looked like we were inside the cabin.

Wind howled outside, with rain hitting the shutters and pounding loudly on the roof.

There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, warming the room we were in.

I managed to meet the gaze of everyone, all mates and Damon accounted for.

But not the demon male who lived here .

Before I could ask, Elias’s arms loosened around me. “The demon is outside.”

There was a slight ache in my temple, either brought on by the stifling warmth or being knocked out. “Please don’t tell me you kicked him out of his own home.”

Rowan snorted from where he stood beside the fireplace. “No, babe, he’s letting us have the room.”

I frowned, glancing from my mage to the demon king, who stood not far from him. He wasn’t watching me or anyone else in the room, but rather had his eyes on the dark, rainy night.

“How long was I out for?” I asked carefully. When we had shadow jumped here last, there had been light, at least some sign of it left. But now, it was only a rainy darkness beyond the windows.

“Four hours,” Maeve said from the other side of the room. “We weren’t sure if you would wake up, but he assured us you would.”

“He who?” I looked away from the window Damon stared out of to meet Maeve’s eye. “The demon?”

That was the only he I could think of, but no one actually responded to that. I couldn’t even get a clear read on the mood of everyone. The only thing that came down the bond was their relief—relief I was okay and awake—but nothing else.

I shifted in Elias’s arms, but he didn’t release me. I had been resting—or sleeping—on his chest, while he leaned against a wall. Not far from us was Orion, who watched me, expression unreadable.

Hawk took up position near what I assumed was the front door.

“Someone explain what is going on,” I demanded. “I just met the first Queen of Nyx in my dreams, so it’s clearly been weird. ”

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at me. Shock mixed with apprehension thickened the air, fuelling the tension that had already laid heavy between us.

“You may want to explain that, first,” Elias grumbled.

“Yeah…” Rowan pushed off the fireplace with a frown. “Definitely not what you leave us hanging for.”

“Nope.” I shifted again in Elias’s embrace so that my back was against his chest, and I could take in everyone. “I want to know what’s going on here first. You know, since we could be in immediate danger.”

“He won’t hurt us,” Damon murmured. His red eyes found mine when I looked over, though they remained unreadable. “Especially not now.”

“Why?” I asked, leaning into Elias as a wave of exhaustion hit me. Damn. Knocked out for four hours and I didn’t get any rest? My magic felt a little weak, like the explosion had drained me more than expected.

“Because,” Damon replied quietly, “he was Queen Pandora’s mate.”