Page 56 of The Daughters of Nyx

Rowan could be a dramatic fucker sometimes, but I knew there had been some inkling of truth hidden within his declarations of love. He felt something for her, and now he was keeping himself at a distance, and I couldn’t figure out why.

I slowed as we approached the gated entrance of the park. My breath shuddered through me, sharp in my lungs, thanks to the evening chill. We’d need to return to the apartment soon; Elias would need to be relieved of his shift with Ivy, and I had a feeling he was hating the hours spent watching her at the hotel.

“What the fuck is going through your head at the moment?” Rowan asked. He bent over, hands on his knees,

as he regulated his breathing. Sweat glistened across his brow, and dark circles bruised his eyes.

I stiffened and ran a hand through my wet hair. “Nothing,” I grunted, glaring at him from the corner of my eye. “What’s been going on with you? What happened to Ivy being the love of your life and all that bullshit?”

Rowan shot me a dark look that told me to shut my mouth, but all I could do was grimace. “You’ve been avoiding her since the vision,” I continued. Though, I supposed I couldn’t comment on his avoidance when I, too, couldn’t be in the same room as her after the night at the hotel.

I needed to be alone with her. Apologise. I had the night shift with her, so maybe I could beg her forgiveness then.

“It’s not any of your business,” he hissed, straightening.

I frowned. “Since when?”

Rowan shook his head and started for the open gate. I rushed after him, catching him quickly as the sky darkened and the sun disappeared. “Seriously? What the fuck is going on, Ro?” I asked softly.

My friend remained silent for a block, his eyes hard and jaw clenched. It’d been a while since he’d been in one of these moods; where he found silence easier than speaking and brooding easier than smiling. It’s been a while since I’d last seen him like this, and the idea that maybeIhad something to do with it made my stomach turn.

“I don’t want her to leave me,” he whispered finally. He didn’t look at me.

I tensed. “Ivy?”

“I don’t know what it is about her that pulls me in, but I know that it’ll break me if I get too close. I need to stay away from her for my own good, Adrian. I can’t lose her.”

I swallowed thickly. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, and yet, something struck me that forced me to come to a stop. “Have you ever considered that you might be mates?”

Rowan stuttered to a halt, swinging around to stare at me.

I continued before he could speak, “I mean, think about it. You were drawn to her from the very beginning. Even before we knew who she was. You wanted to see her more and more. I’ve seen you with other women, but never like this. And I’ve never seen you so afraid of losing someone.”

If I was wrong, and if I gave him some kind of false hope, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. And yet, I could feel the truth of those words, despite how much they tore through me.

Because I couldn’t be sure if the same could be said about me and Ivy. Rowan came from a powerful family line—it would make sense that they were mates.

And if he was, he could help her start regulating her power in ways none of us could.

I hoped it was true, yet a deep, dark part of me hated how he could be the one to share this with her while I couldn’t. That I couldn’t be one of her fated mates; someone she could rely on, someone she could need andwant.

Rowan’s throat bobbed, but he didn’t say anything. Instead of pushing, I left him with those thoughts and tried not to drown in my own.

~

The apartment was quiet and dark when I slipped inside. The smell of fresh brownies permeated the air, and warmth radiated from the recently used kitchen. Said brownies sat on a plate on the counter, and I would have grabbed one if it weren’t for Elias standing by the far window, his scowling face turned to the dark street.

I stiffened as he looked at me. “She’s in her room. No issues. Doubt she’ll be out for a while,” he said, barely containing the growl in his voice. Tension thickened the air around him, and I could almost sense the shift preparing to take over him.

Somethinghadhappened today, but nothing he wanted to admit to.

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. Frustration pulsed inside me even now, my words to Rowan ringing in my ears. “And Thea?” I asked carefully.

Elias motioned to Ivy’s bedroom. “In there too.”

Eyeing the door, I felt a twang of defeat. I supposed my apology would have to wait. If I’d learnt anything about Ivy’s best friend, it was that she would be the hardest person to win over. Her protectiveness—hell, their protectiveness of each other—was almost admirable.

But fucking annoying, right now.

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