Page 21 of The Daughters of Nyx

“It’s just coffee,” I replied, shaking my head. Pursing my lips, I pulled my hair up, glancing between the mirror and my friend. “Up or down?”

“Down is definitely more casual.” Thea strutted into the bedroom, still only wearing the long t-shirt, and flopped onto the bed. “But up gives a better view of your neck. And if heisa vampire, then you’ll be all the more enticing.”

She laughed like a maniac from the bed, but I caught the windowsill in the corner of the mirror, the scratches just visible from where I stood.

“Did you hear anythingweirdlast night?” I asked, dropping my gaze from the window to instead find a claw clip. Rummaging through the basket of random scrunchies and bobby-pins, I found a dark green one, wrapped around a bunch of hair-ties.

In the mirror, I watched Thea tap her chin. “Other than Jason’s weird turtle moans in my ear?” She shook her head. “Nothing out of the ordinary, why?”

I cringed. “Gross. Look at the window.”

Frowning, Thea pushed herself off the bed and approached the window, brows scrunched in worry. Without a word, she pulled it open and stuck her head out, a soft gasp passing her lips. “What the actual fuck?”

“It’s weird, right?” I asked, almost afraid.

“Yeah,” she said, sticking her head back in. “Lorenzo across the street has a really nice ass even though he’s pushing fifty, and you canjustsee into his apartment from—”

“No, you perv!” I huffed a breath and pushed her aside, pointing at the scratches. “This! I heard some weird growling outside my window, and then I woke up to this. And I know for a fact they weren’t there before.”

Thea held up her hands in surrender as she took in the windowsill. Brows furrowed, she ran her fingers over the indentations. “That…is definitely weird,” she amended. “Do you think it could be one of the stray cats?”

My window overlooked the fire escape, but there was also a wide enough ledge that an animal could have made its way up here and couldn’t get back down.

I released a breath. “Yeah, that could be it.”

“Look,” Thea said, giving me a soft smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll text Franny later about it and see if there’s something animal control can do. In the meantime…” The soft smile turned into a full-blown grin. “Youhave a date to get to.”

My stomach did a flip, but not out of nerves.

Warmth flooded me as I finished getting ready.Something’s coming, a small voice said. And I couldn’t help but believe it.

8

ROWAN

WHY the fuck am I so nervous?

Pacing the length of the room, my heart raced erratically in my chest, beating so hard against my ribcage, I felt like it might tear out of my body and fallsplaton the floor.

From his bed, Adrian groaned. “Chill out, Ro.”

I turned to face him. His golden hair fell in his eyes as he attempted to play some stupid game on the cell-phone Sir Ya’Dahir had procured for the group before we’d left.

“Wouldyoube chill if you were about to take the future Queen of all Nyx’s Creatures out forcoffee?”

Adrian frowned and gnawed on his bottom lip. “I mean,” he drawled, “I’ve taken thecurrentQueen out for dinner before?”

I threw my hands up in frustration as he laughed. From the corner of my eye, I spied the box my mother had sent me, unopened, because she’d texted,not yetas soon as Ivy had left last night. And if I knew one thing about my mother, it was to listen to her warnings.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind me as I locked myself within.She has a real sadistic sense of humour.My dear mother, who had sent me on this damned mission.

“If you see this,” I whispered, pointing at myself in the mirror. “I hate you.”

I could already see her small frame shaking with diabolical laughter. If I wasn’t sure before, I definitely was now—she knew something, and wasn’t giving us any hints. That woman could know the end of the world was coming and just giggle and sip a martini until the day came.

Chuckling under my breath, I lowered my head until my chin rested on my chest. I could feel the pounding of my heart against my chin; it thundered against my ribs with the force of a thousand horses, so hard I expected my heart to shatter through flesh and bone. I’d never felt so uncertain in myself, in my choices.

Asking her out wasnotone of my intentions, and yet, seeing her there… The words had slipped from my lips before I could stop myself.

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