Page 46 of The Daughters of Nyx

“You mean a mother I avoid at all costs and three sisters who want nothing to do with me?” I rolled my eyes, though it hurt to say it all aloud. “Unless they absolutelyneedto know, I won’t tell them anything. The girls are children and wouldn’t understand any of this. Meanwhile, I have noideawhat my mother might do with news that I’m supposed to be some sort of Queen.”

Maybe the last couple of hours were finally catching up to me, or maybe I’d been more drained than I initially believed,

but I tiredly scrubbed a hand over my face as exhaustion flooded every fibre of my being. “Look, do we have to do this all tonight? No offense, but I’m still pretty pissed off, I think I have demon guts on my pants, it’s got to be after midnight now, and my entire productive weekend has been ruined.”

I could tell Maeve and Elias wanted to argue, but Adrian sent them a scathing look before offering me a soft smile. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about him now, especially after what we’d done only a couple of hours ago. I had trusted him, and now…

I looked away from him and the others. “I need to go back to the hotel in the morning for my stuff.”

“I can go there now, if you’d like,” Adrian offered. Pain filled his expression as I took him in. “I can have it all here for you before you even wake up.”

Blowing out a breath, I nodded and handed him my key card, which he slipped into his back pocket.

“Elias, go with him. We don’t want to be split up, not when they’re getting bold with their attacks. Rowan and I will remain here, extending the wards,” Maeve instructed.

Both Adrian and Elias nodded without a word before slipping out of the apartment. As they left, Adrian sent me one last lingering stare that I couldn’t hold, because the promises held within the brightness of his green eyes nearly made me fold. They were the kind of promises I wasn’t sure he could keep.

The door clicked shut behind them, leaving Thea and I alone with the vampire and the mage.

I never thought I’d think those words.

With a shake of my head, I turned towards Thea. “I’ll shower after you. And the baby rash cream is in the drawer under the sink with the face masks.”

Thea eyed the pair still standing in our living room before giving me finger guns. “I’m just a scream away.”

As she disappeared into our cramped bathroom, I released a heavy breath. “So, what now?” I asked quietly, listening as the shower started.

From the corner of my eye, Maeve and Rowan shared a look. “We need to get you back to Avalon, the island where you’ll eventually rule from. There, the current monarch, Queen Greer, will take over your training before she steps down and gives you her crown.”

Since returning to the apartment, Rowan hadn’t looked at me. Not really. It sent a pang of hurt through me that the only comfort he’d offered was sitting beside me. What I wanted was for him to crack some sort of joke, and yet even now, he rose from the couch without sparing a glance in my direction. He’d hardened, changing from the flirty man I’d met earlier this week. Was that all a lie? Some kind of ploy to get close to me?

The thought didn’t sit right with me, cracking some kind of resolve inside of me.

“Say I go with this,” I replied slowly. “Say I go with you and I believe everything you’ve told me tonight, how long do I have? I have a whole life here, one that I love, one that I’ve been building since I graduated college. How can you expect me to give that all up for a life I don’t know? That I don’t want?”

I waited for Maeve to answer, but it was Rowan who finally spoke up, his voice terse. “Sometimes, we all have to do things we don’t want to do, Ivy. You were born to rule, to take the crown from Queen Greer. Your destiny was written for you, and now you just have to accept it.”

“Just accept it?” I asked. “You’ve all admitted I’m basically in danger, and that you might be too. My family will be in danger too, won’t they, whether or not I tell them about this?”

Maeve’s eyes softened, and she reached for me hesitantly, wrapping her gloved hand around mine. I hadn’t realised I’d started shaking again—maybe I never stopped. “If you are worried about your family, we can send in a team to extract them safely and take them to Avalon quietly. You do not have to worry about them—we can look after your mother and sisters. In the meantime, you and Thea are safe, so long as you take the necessary precautions. We’ll add wards to the building and the apartment. We’ll give you charms to wear that’ll both protect your bodies but also alert us if something goes awry. Neither of you will be alone.”

The vampire stepped towards me, her scent—rain and the brine of the ocean, sweetened by vanilla—overwhelming me. “You are right. There are dangers, but you know as well as I that there is danger for us no matter who we are. There is a faction that does not want to see you on the throne, but you are our Queen. Nyx commanded it, and her wrath will fall upon those who try to stop her.Thatyou can be certain of.” I chanced a glance over at Rowan, who had been watching us, but his eyes flickered down to his cell. “We have all sworn oaths to protect you. And those extend to the people you love.”

Silently, I nodded. I couldn’t speak, the words lodged in my throat. So instead, I pulled out of her grasp and entered my room alone.

~

I awoke at seven to Thea glaring down at me. Her sharp eyes and furrowed brow told me that everything that had happened last night hadn’t been some crazy, elaborate dream, and had actually been true.

Stifling a groan, I rolled over and buried my head in my pillows. I’d felt my friend slip into my bed after I’d already turned the lights off, and I’d felt more than relieved to have her beside me. Even if it meant waking up when she did.

“What?” I groaned as she prodded my side.

“They’re still here,” she hissed, leaning into me, poking her finger into the side of my boob.

I glared up at her for a moment before I realisedwhyshe was leaning into me.Ah, the super hearing theory.Then I frowned. “What do you mean, still here?”

“As in—” She motioned to the door, and I heard the clank of dishes being washed. “They’re all in our kitchen. Have been all night.”

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