Page 64 of The Daughters of Nyx

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Soon.

22

ADRIAN

FEAR wrapped around my gut as I watched Ivystruggle to breathe. Each breath rasped from her lips, shuddering through her hunched over frame.

I should have been contacting Maeve for immediate extraction. I’d lost sight of Thea, but I knew Maeve would be tracking her on the tablet thanks to the charms woven into the costume, and I couldn’t leave Ivy to go find her friend.

But for some reason, I hesitated. I couldn’t roll up my sleeve and contact the team. Instead, I remained in front of Ivy as the magic that marked her a Daughter of Nyx embraced her.

We’re running out of time. She shouldn’t have been having explosions like this. “Ivy?” I murmured, reaching out warily

to brush her hair back. Unlike the last time, she didn’t flinch away from my touch. Her eyes opened, a ring of gold that hadn’t been there earlier now wrapped around her irises.

“Can you tell me what you’re feeling right now?” I asked.

She sucked in a shuddering breath. “Fire. It—it’s burning me. I don’t—I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Is this the first time you’ve felt this?”

She hesitated, but shook her head. “No.”

“When?”

Her eyes flickered shut, and when she opened them again, the gold was gone. Her breathing returned to normal as she rested her elbows on her knees. “Before knowing any of this. Thea and I were in a bookstore. I started…” She paused, biting her lip. “I was having a panic attack when I felt it.”

I nodded. “Okay, you know that means you’re further along in your transition than we all thought, right? That means we need to get you back to Avalon much sooner.”

Ivy flinched and averted her eyes. There was a war being raged behind the dark-brown of her irises, one that both worried me and excited me. She looked like she was considering it, and part of me hoped she would stop fighting us, so that I could take her home and introduce her to my world.

I blinked and pushed those thoughts aside. The other part of me, the loudest part, was worried that if I took her back, I’d lose her forever.

But this is what she needs, I reminded myself. Mate bonds to anchor her. My mother to train her.

“Please don’t tell the others,” she whispered. My eyes flickered to hers. “I’m not ready yet. I promise—soon. I just…I need to get stuff in order. I need…I need a little more time.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “Ivy, this is going to get worse, you know that right?”Worse for both of us. I could still taste her on my lips, feel her pressed against me.

She’d seemed jealous of the other girl, and the old part of me who’d enjoyed the attention and atmosphere of a party would have charmed her into my bed.

But it was Ivy I’d wanted. The ghost of her touch, the vision of her laid before me as I feasted on her remained a constant image in my dreams. I wanted more than anything to go back to that, to have her in my arms, spilling her hopes and dreams as we enjoyed one another’s company. Fuck, I wanted her in my bed, spread bare before me so I could worship her again.

The other woman had been attractive, but she wasn’t Ivy.

I swallowed hard and looked down at my arm, where the rune magically tattooed to my flesh sat on the inside of my wrist. “I think it’s time to go home.”

When I looked up, Ivy nodded. “Yeah, I can agree to that.”

I rolled my sleeve up and enchanted the rune. “Ivy is ready to leave. I need someone to come in and get Thea for me—she went off with her friend. Probably upstairs.”

“We have her location. Meet us at the car. Rowan is going in for Thea, Elias is meeting you at the door.”Maeve’s voice was sharp as she finished the message.

Ivy stared down at her hands, cheeks flushed and disappointment dancing in her eyes. “Thea deserves a bit longer.”

“I think she’ll understand.” Without thinking, I reached out and pressed my palm to her cheek. “You basically consumed enough magic to knock you out for a week. That’s the risk with your transition. You’ll be taking in the magic Queen Greer is currently releasing.”

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