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Evelina

Evelina paced beneath the twinkling lights of the grove. She needed to see Daimon—to talk to him. It was supposed to be impossible, but so was having a child in the dream realm—so was everything that had happened up until now.

Dream orbs lined the forest floor, casting a warm glow through the dark trees. A memory crossed her mind of the attack that had left two Nox dead, when Evelina had been too late to save them.

But that was before she left to be a healer on the war front. Before she opened her heart up to Daimon again. Before she lost her mother and sisters and brother. Before she became queen and lost Daimon, too.

She wasn’t afraid anymore—not of the shadows, or Nyx, or even Vidaris.

She was going to change their fate.

“Okay. This is going to work.” Her voice was shaky as she closed her eyes.

This had to work.

“Nyx,” she whispered, slightly unsure how to pray to a dark god. Praying to Eurydice was as easy as breathing, something she did before going to sleep at night or waking in the morning, but this was unfamiliar territory. “I need your help.”

This was the last thing a Manor queen should be doing. Evelina herself had seen the punishment Carwyn had suffered for doing so.

But life had taught her things weren’t always so simple. She was going to be raising this child alone.

Evelina needed to at least tell Daimon that she was having their child. To get his blessing to go forward with this plan.

So much had changed in ways she never expected. The pregnancy with Leda wasn’t lonely; she had Senna by her side. He had sat with her through the days she couldn’t keep food down, brought her water and warm broth when she couldn’t get out of bed.

This time was going to be different.

She just hoped Nyx would be willing to help. Please, Nyx, she begged in her mind.

She had hoped coming to Nocturna territory would help, but as the minutes turned into hours, her hope began to fade. He wasn’t coming.

With one last longing glance at the glowing dream orbs around her, she turned in the direction of the palace, thinking through how she would protect the child.

“Evelina Manor.” A voice as thick as night snaked through the dark forest. “I’ll admit, I was surprised to receive a prayer from you.”

She slowly turned around, her heart beating wildly as her eyes landed on the God of Fear and Dreams. “Nyx.”

A feline smile curled across his face, his eyes gleaming with delight. He looked just as he did in the Celestial Plane, his gaze holding the same look of knowing far more than she wished.

“Well, don’t be shy.” He tilted his head, watching her closely.

She steeled her spine. “I need your help.” He nodded, waiting for more. “I need to speak with Daimon.”

Nyx raised a brow. “That is not a wise idea. ”

“It doesn’t have to be long,” she rushed out. “If you could just help me get in contact with him?—”

“And risk Vidaris sensing your bond?”

Evelina swallowed. “Maybe there’s a way you could hide?—”

Nyx laughed, a cruel and sharp sound that made the blood drain from Evelina’s face. “There is no hiding from Vidaris,” he said through another chuckle. “What could be so important to risk such a thing?”

Evelina instinctually placed her hand over her stomach. Nyx’s eyes flicked down to her hand and the smile on his face disappeared.

“Evelina Manor,” he said slowly, his face deadly serious. A chill ran down her spine at how intensely he watched her. “Please tell me you are not with child. Tell me you two didn’t find a way to be together while he’s under Vidaris’s rule.”

Tears welled in Evelina’s eyes as she turned her head, unable to give him the answer he wanted. There was no point in lying.

Shadows fumed from his hands, brushing Evelina’s skin, alarmingly close. But they were silky, cool, and did not harm her.

“I will not be making the connection for you to contact him.” His voice was hard—unyielding. However, when his gaze met hers, she found pity.

Her chest tightened. “But?—”

“I will not help you,” Nyx repeated. “You cannot see each other again.”

She froze. “Ever?” she whispered. At Nyx’s unyielding gaze, she pleaded, “But Daimon said on the Harvest Moon it’s safe. Vidaris can’t see past the Vale while Eurydice’s light is strong.”

“I suggest you never see him again.” Nyx’s eyes hardened. Before she could protest, he continued, “Unless you want Vidaris to have a claim on the child.”

The wind was knocked out of her, as if he had kicked her in the stomach.

“Claim?” she whispered, her voice shaking .

“Daimon made a deal when he became the Lord of Shadows,” Nyx explained. “All that he is, all that he creates, and all that he owns belongs to Vidaris now. The bargain gives Vidaris free rein to claim the child as hers—to use it as she sees fit.”

Evelina gasped and shook her head. “She can’t.” She didn’t want to believe it. “This is my child. Mine and Daimon’s.”

Nyx sighed. “She can. She will .”

Evelina never knew a heart could break so many times. Never knew there were a thousand ways her heart could feel pain. Her lungs emptied and she gasped, failing to take in more air. With one sentence, her entire world had come crashing down around her.

She couldn’t risk Vidaris finding out who the father was. It wasn’t just about keeping the kingdom from learning about the child’s parentage—now it was about ensuring the Goddess of Vengeance didn’t find out either.

“Which is why we can’t see each other again,” Evelina whispered.

She knew Daimon. He carried the weight of the entire realm on his shoulders, and he would blame himself—would wonder if Evelina regretted it too. All her actions would be affirming his shame in himself, of the shadows within him, when she wanted nothing more than to tell the kingdom the baby was his. That the father was the hero who slayed Moros.

That she could never regret this—only that she had to hide the truth to keep him and the baby safe.

Nyx nodded. “Exactly.”

She knew what she had to do, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. Her hands began to tremble. She wondered if, at some point, she would forget where the truth started and the lies ended.

“The blessing ceremony,” Nyx continued formally. “You need to hide the connection to Daimon; it can’t be shown as severed when it comes out of the child.”

She nodded, her body numb. “A human has agreed to claim it as his own.” Pain stabbed at her chest. “If the father is announced as human and we find a way to hide the shadows, it wouldn’t be odd if no magic came out.”

“It could work,” Nyx hummed. “He’s simply agreed to this?”

“He wants to help.” She still felt a well of guilt from asking Lawrence to do this, but she was out of options.

Nyx’s eyes were blank, but his brows pulled together slightly. “When your light comes out of the child, you could use your affinity to make it brighter, to hide the shadows.”

She nodded firmly. She would do anything to keep the child safe. A tear slid down her cheek as she realized she would truly have to face this alone.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She still struggled to understand what Nyx had to gain in this. What price would she have to pay?

“Good luck, Evelina.” He turned, already walking away.

“Why help me?”

Nyx paused, his back to her. He looked over his shoulder, his midnight eye landing on her briefly. “Because I didn’t do it right the first time.”