Page 48 of The Daughters of Nyx

The bed creaked quietly as I swung my legs over the side. I winced, grimacing, then sucked in a breath. A cold chill swept at my bare legs, reminding me that I’d gone to bed wearing sleep shorts and a sweater. I reached my closet quickly and tugged on a pair of pink and baby-blue pyjama pants that were probably at least ten years old and were so worn down, they were frayed and falling apart.

As I left the comfort of my room, I found Adrian in the kitchen, his smile soft, and his eyes filled with concern and remorse. Had everything between us been a lie to get close to me?

I didn’t want to think he was capable of that, and yet, what did I really know about any of these people?

Instead of smiling back, I pursed my lips and approached the island counter, where a burrito and a cup of coffee waited. “Thanks for breakfast,” I muttered.

Adrian pushed them towards me. “I hope you don’t mind that I got you a caramel latte.”

My cheeks flushed. He’d remembered my coffee order. “It’s perfect, thank you.”

Taking the coffee and warm burrito, I looked around, noticing finally that Maeve and Rowan were absent, and all my belongings from the hotel were sitting by the door. I released a breath of relief. Even though these supernatural

beings might have ruined my weekend writing retreat, I might still be able to get some work done.

“Where did the others go?” I asked lightly as I joined Thea on the couch. Elias said nothing, instead keeping his eyes on me, like he expected me to jump out of the window and escape down the fire escape at any second.

I tried not to frown at that as I took my first sip of coffee. It was at the perfect temperature to gulp down, but I refrained from doing so. Instead, I sat it on the coffee table and turned my attention to my burrito.

As I took my first bite, the spice of chorizo and salsa hit me first, making my mouth water. That first bite almost had me moaning in ecstasy. But deep in the back of my mind, where I usually pushed the unwanted heartache from my childhood, I could hear my mother berating me about my unhealthy choices.

I pushed those horrible words from my head. “This is good,” I said around another bite, turning to Thea.

Her wide eyes met mine as she nodded.

Elias cleared his throat. “Maeve is working and won’t be back until tonight. Rowan likely won’t be back until later since he took the late shift. Adrian will stay here to create your protections while I make sure there aren’t any more hellhounds stalking the streets.”

I was almost surprised that he’d told us so much. But then again, I suppose they would want me to trust them, and giving me the answers to my questions would make that more likely.

Thea raised her hand. “What about me going to work later? Do I need a bodyguard, or is it just her majesty over here getting protection?”

I smacked her lightly. “Thea…”

Elias rolled his eyes. “Someone will be with you, no need to worry about that. Likely me.” He smiled ruefully.

“Fucking fantastic,” she muttered, slumping. “I guess there’s no more fun nights with Jase.”

“Probably best to cool it with him,” I replied, patting her knee.

She sighed dramatically before taking another bite of her burrito, almost done with it. “So, is this going to be a permanent thing? Or, like…” She trailed off with a wave of her hand.

I finished my burrito and glanced warily over at Elias. His shoulders tensed, his face revealing nothing. “We wait until we have our next orders. But we’ll do what is safest for Ivy.”

Something about that didn’t sit right with me, but I didn’t voice that. Instead, I resumed drinking my coffee quietly, Thea doing the same. After several moments of silence, Thea heaved a sigh and rose. “I’m going to relax before work. And you still have a deadline, missy.” She wagged a finger in my direction.

I eventually groaned and rose as well. “Yeah. Not the retreat I’d expected, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still get work done.” I almost expected Elias to interject and say something, but he simply strode towards Adrian and said something too low for me to hear before leaving.

Adrian scrubbed a hand over his face. Dark circles lined his eyes like bruises, worry marring the soft skin of his face.

He was so beautiful, it almost struck me as odd that he would look so tired.

That same warmth filled me as his eyes met mine. He offered me a smile. “Need some helping getting this back into your room?”

I hesitated a moment, my mind flashing through what we’d done last night; his lips on mine, the feel of his body above me, the fire that followed every touch, and the pleasure that had consumed me when his mouth had brought me to my climax.

But I shoved those memories aside and ducked my head as my cheeks flushed. I gave him a quick nod instead and grabbed my backpack, its heavy weight comforting and familiar as I slipped back into my room. Adrian followed with my suitcase, rolling it over to my closet.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your retreat,” he said quietly, standing awkwardly inside my room. “I know how important it is to you.”

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