Page 23 of The Daughters of Nyx

Rubbing my eyes, I released a heavy breath. “The magic…it’s familiar. I know who has her. I just…I’m not sure.”

“Think harder,” Wolfy growled, eyes darkening. He took a threatening step towards me, but Maeve was there, pushing him back towards the wall.

“I can’t. My head is about to explode, you jackass,” I hissed, rubbing my forehead. “Until we get back to Avalon, I probablywon’tknow. I recognised the magic, which means I’ve spent time with whoever it was, but not enough to know their signature.”

“Is there a way we might be able to find out from here?”

I looked up and met Maeve’s stare. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’d need to ask my mother.”

Maeve pressed her lips together in a frown. “This stays between us. No one else.” She released Wolfy from where he was trapped against the wall, stepping away. “Seer Sable already warned me about something similar. She believes

there’s someone within the palace who is going to try to stop the new Queen from taking the throne.”

“And you’re only telling us thisnow?” Wolfy asked, raising a brow. Anger radiated from him, and right now, I almost felt the same.

“I was warned to keep it between myself and Sable.” Maeve’s eyes jumped from me to the shifter. “But now I know that what she suspects is true. We all need to be aware of this danger.”

The bathroom door opened to reveal Adrian; he’d changed his shirt, instead opting for a plain-grey sweater tucked into a pair of black slacks. I could tell he’d tried to style his hair, but a messy array of blonde curls fell over his eyes regardless.

“While I’m with her, I’ll put an additional protection charm on her,” Adrian said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “It won’t do much, but if she’s in distress, I’ll know. But when I get back, I’ll start working on something a little stronger. A spell with a tracker, just to make sure we know where she is at all times, with protection qualities.”

“A dampener, too,” I replied, disappointed in myself and this whole mess. “Her scent gives her away, and she has magic. We should try and dampen both so anyone who comes looking won’t look ather.”

Maeve nodded. “Perfect. We don’t know how much this shadow organisation knows. They could already be in this city. The more precautions we take, the safer she’ll be.” The phone in Maeve’s pocketdinged, and a frown darkened her red lips. For a moment, we all waited, holding our breaths, as she read the message.

Time ticked by slowly, but her eyes dropped from the phone after typing a quick response. “Elias, get ready. You’ll be meeting with Francine to pick up the keys to the apartment. Take the warding kit with you—she said the place is ready. I’ll call Jay and tell him we’re ready for the furniture. I’ll text you with an ETA on his arrival.”

I sighed a breath of relief. Bless the old bat, Franny had finally gotten the apartment ready for us. We’d gotten a brief look inside the other day, and I thought Wolfy was going to puke over the stench the old tenant had left behind.

Even now, he looked wary, but nodded regardless. Jay, one of the few field ops I knew from the academy, who worked within one of the human world’s organisations, had been given minor details about our mission. All he knew was that we were out in the field investigating some potential academy recruits.

It wasn’t too much of a stretch for him—or anyone—to believe.

Now I understood why my mother and Queen Greer were keeping this so hush hush.

Wolfy gave a single nod in response before disappearing into the adjoining room, slamming the door behind him.

The boss’s eyes landed on me. “Rest. If you remember anything else, tell me immediately.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond as she slipped into the room behind Elias. Instead, I fell back onto the bed, head pounding. I felt Adrian beside me. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked quietly.

The lights in the room dimmed until it was almost dark. Shrugging, I sat up and scooted back on the bed, finding his stare. “Hurts like a bitch, but I’ll get over it.”

“I know you’re disappointed,” he replied. “I know how much you wanted to go out with her.”

Disappointed didn’t cut it. I wasn’t sure how to describe how I currently felt, but fuck me, it burned. I wanted to hear her voice again, to feel that spark in my veins at her nearness. There was something so captivating about Ivy, and I was going crazy trying to find out why.

Maybe it was because she didn’t fall over her own feet to talk to me. If there was one thing I’d learnt about my station, it was that there were going to be people willing to doanythingto get close to the Queen—and my Princeling best friend. It had meant very fewrealrelationships, and the ones I’d had never lasted long.

Even though the idea of lying to her sent a flurry of pain through me, I couldn’t help but like her not knowing who I was,whatI was. Having her see me without my power—without my family name—behind me, excited me.

Releasing a breath, I pressed into my pillows and watched my friend. If he thoughtI’dseemed nervous, then he was worse. He picked at his nails, at the skin around the beds, and chewed his lip like he was intent on biting the thing off.

“Stop it,” I muttered, throwing my arm over my eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

“I think she’s going to be disappointed that it’s not you,” he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What do I do?”

I peeked out at him from beneath my arm. “Flowers. Corner store.” His eyes met mine, and although they were

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