Page 45 of The Daughters of Nyx

Those words rattled inside my brain as I stared at my best friend, confusion playing in the blue-green of her irises.

I cast my gaze between Maeve and Elias before stepping in front of Thea, drawing Maeve’s eye down to me. “What makes you think Thea is like…you?” I asked carefully, reaching behind me for my friend’s hand. Her fingers squeezed mine in three small bursts, telling me she was okay.

Maeve’s blue eyes flashed a dangerous red before she took a step back. “Her scent. Different species in our world have different scents, but hers is something I cannot identify.”

“Maybe it’s my perfume, or the disgusting sweat of being in a kitchen for five hours,” Thea muttered, squeezing my fingers again. “And what the hell are you talking about?”

“They aren’t…human,” I replied quietly, keeping an eye on the two supernatural’s currently eyeing my best friend.

Thea pulled her hand from mine. “The hell do you meanthey aren’t human, Ivy?”

I shook my head, the words caught in my throat, but she continued. “Also, you brought up me being likethem,and to be honest babes, I’m hoping this is one huge prank.”

Our eyes met, and the hope filling her irises disappeared. “You aren’t joking, are you?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t really understand what the hell is going on either.”

Thea’s gaze flickered from me to someone behind me. “And you think I’m like…you?”

Elias grunted. There was no doubt the growly, wolf-like sound came from anyone else in the room. “She could be a problem,” he replied, voice hard.

“Thea isn’t dangerous.” I eyed Elias, who appeared in my peripheral. “Thea and I have been best friends since we were children.”

Maeve remained quiet for a moment, and I allowed myself the chance to take her in; tonight, she wore leathers that clung to her lithe frame, the collar of her shirt rising high around her throat, and black gloves covering her hands. The only skin visible was her face, though a slip of thin, black material hung around her neck, like it was meant to go up around her mouth and nose.

Who the fuck are these people?

What had Elias said earlier? Maeve was avampire, but upon a first glance, I wasn’t sure if I believed it. I hadn’tseenher do anything tonight that might make me think she was anything but human, but hadn’t Thea and I been joking that these four strangers were more than what they seemed?

I stepped back into Thea, who carefully pulled me into her side. “So what the fuck do we do with the Cullens?” she whispered.

“They claim I’m supposed to be their Queen.” I swallowed hard and shook my head. “Queen of all the supernatural world.”

Thea snorted. “That sounds like some weird cult bullshit, babe.”

“I would agree, but…” I trailed off, mind slipping back to the three beasts that had attacked me. If I hadn’t seen Eliasshiftinto a wolf, would I have simply thought the creatures rabid dogs and moved on? Would I have even considered the possibility that everything I knew was a total lie, and that all the things I had fallen in love with in stories were real?

That the monsters of my nightmares were real?

“What happened tonight, Ivy?” Thea asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I cleared my throat. “I was attacked by something. I… I watched Elias turn into a wolf. Rowan used magic.”

“You shouldn’t be telling her any of this,” Elias snapped, suddenly in front of me. “Not only will you be putting yourself in danger, but likely also her.”

Jaw clenched, I shook my head. “You guys are the ones accusing Thea of being something else, so excuse me, I’m going to explain it to her. She might be some kind of

supernatural creature and she sure as hell deserves to know if she is or isn’t,” I replied, glaring up at the towering wolf-man. His nostrils flared, eyes darkening, and though the smart,normalpart of my brain screamed at me to be wary and maybe run, the other part of me that has been inexplicably drawn to these four strangers told me I was safe, that he wouldn’t hurt me—or my best friend.

Adrian approached warily, his hands raised in surrender. “You’re right, Ivy,” he said quietly, almost as ifIwere some rabid beast he was trying to calm. But then again, hadn’t he said I might become volatile with magic? “And you deserve to have someone on your side who can adjust like you can. Yes, there is a chance Thea is also from our world. And yes, if that is the case, she deserves to know.”

“Thea is my best friend,” I stated simply. “I would have told her regardless. This isn’t something I would have been able to keep from her.”

Elias scoffed. “You can’t tell everyone in your life, though, Ivy. Because itwillput you in danger.”

“Who else would I tell?”

He eyed me for a moment before frowning. “Your family?”

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