Page 59 of The Daughters of Nyx

Something that would change everything for Ivy.

~

As I entered the apartment, Grey looked up from the enchanted tablet, a frown darkening her ruby lips. Her eyes narrowed on me as I closed and locked the door behind me.

“You’re late. Did anything happen?” she asked, sitting back on the leather sofa.

I stiffened and rolled my shoulders, forcing myself to lock away thoughts of Ivy and our…bond. There was still a job to do, and protecting her, even from myself, was the most important thing. “I wanted to walk the perimeter before I checked in. We were stopped on our way back by Ivy’s mother and younger sister.”

All emotion disappeared from Grey’s face. She was good at that, I’d noticed. “And? How did that go? Did you get a read on the situation between Ivy and her family?”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back against the wall beside the door. I knew both Archer and Kingsley were on duty with Ivy, so it was just me and Grey inside the apartment, but I still waited a moment before speaking. I

let my senses shift, my hearing heightening for a moment, sense of smell stronger. I gave over to it for a brief moment before letting it all fall away when I was certain we wouldn’t be interrupted.

“It wasn’t what I expected,” I started, my hands tightening into fists. I thought back to Ivy’s stance when her eyes had landed on the woman who looked both similar and yet, so vastly different to my future Queen. The tension and discomfort that had rolled off her had been startling, but it had also called for the wolf, who had been ready to jump in front of her and protect her from the woman striding towards us.

I’d even considered stepping back and giving her a moment with the little girl who’d almost tackled her to the ground, but I’d been rooted in my spot, forced to observe the entire scene like I was just some bystander and not—

I swallowed hard and lowered my head. “It’s clear there is some…tension between Ivy and her mother, which may prove difficult for us. Ivy cares for her family, I’m certain of that, regardless of what I observed today. She is protective of her siblings, and I can’t imagine her willingly wanting to leave them behind.”

Grey leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. It was hard to glean what she was thinking—both Archer and Kingsley wore their hearts on their sleeves, so they couldn’t hide shit—but Grey had over two hundred years of practice. I envied that.

Early on, I’d learnt I’d need to do the same. When you grew up in the orphan’s program at the Phoenix Training Centre, the central command centre for all of Queen Greer’s

soldiers, spies, and agents, you didn’t get the luxury of being a child, and emotions were used to turn you into the perfect soldier worthy of the crown.

I didn’t have the luxury of being anything but a soldier, and until my last breath, that’s what I’d be forher.

“We should be prepared to relocate them,” Grey murmured, reaching for her tablet. “I have no doubt the organisation wanting Ivy dead will not have any problem using those children against her. And wecannotrisk endangering anyone should Ivy’s magic start appearing.”

As Grey typed away at the tablet, the nagging sensation I’d felt since leaving Ivy’s mother tore at me. There was more to their situation, one that Ivy clearly had no idea about.

“There’s something else you should be aware of,” I murmured. “Something we can’t tell Ivy until we’re certain.”

Grey’s eyes turned to slits. I could tell she wanted to call me out on the fact thatshewas the leader of this operation, but she held it in and nodded, giving me the go-ahead.

For the first time since I’d returned, Grey’s eyes widened with genuine surprise as I spoke. I recounted what I’d figured out while I’d been with Ivy this afternoon. As Grey mulled it over, I tried to ignore the tug in my gut telling me to walk to the apartment across from me and lay it all out for my mate. Tell her the truth.

But Grey agreed: Ivy didn’t need to know yet. So I ignored that tug until it turned into a dull ache that made bile rise in the back of my throat.

Leaving Grey, I headed into our bedroom and dropped onto my bed. The thing was barely big enough for me, but it

was a place to sleep only, and it was still better than some of the beds I’d had growing up.

I scrubbed a hand tiredly down my face. I’d fucked up today. Planted myself into a situation I knew I should have left alone.

And despite it all, I knew without a doubt that even if I couldn’t stand beside her as her mate, I would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe.

Even if it destroyed every last part of my heart to do so.

21

IVY

“IT is not.”

Thea raised a brow and stared pointedly at the calendar. “Face it, babe, you forgot.”

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