Page 8 of The Daughters of Nyx

No one but Sandy, head of housekeeping, believed us. She swore she’d seen one on the eighth floor. Last month, we had a couple of ghost hunters from YouTube stop by to try and catch something real on film.

I don’t think they did, but damn, it was fun to watch.

I smiled to myself as I shrugged off my coat and slipped it behind the desk. Tugging my scarf off, I took Kacie’s seat and checked the booking she’d mentioned. She hadn’t been wrong about it being last minute. They’d called about three hours ago and booked two adjoining rooms. Kacie had assigned them to the fifth floor—unfortunate for them, because that was Myrtle’s usual haunt, and she could be prickly.

I chuckled quietly under my breath and went through the motions of logging in and setting up for a five-hour shift.

Other than the last minute check in, we had three more groups checking in, and at least four checking out.

The routine was mindless, and I went through each step with a smile and a yawn lodged in my throat. My thoughts drifted back to the red-headed stranger and his familiar face. The sharpness of his features, the slight bump in his nose—probably from breaking it–called to some deep-hidden memory I struggled to pull out.

Warmth filled my veins again at the thought of him.

But why?

“Good evening, welcome to theCamilla Hotel!”

I looked up as the doorman guided a group of people into the lobby. A shiver coursed down my spine as my gaze landed on the red-head.No fucking way. Still dressed in the dark grey coat and red scarf, I wasn’t sure if he’d noticed me yet, sitting behind the desk.

The three others sure had, though.

And they were everything my nightmares had promised.

3

ELIAS

I hated the city.I hated the pollution. I hated the noise.

And most of all, I hated that I couldn’t shift and take my wolf form. The city was a jungle of steel and glass, nothing like the beautiful forests that spilled out over the island, which descended into tall cliffs, beautiful white sand beaches, and lagoons that very few could find.

I rolled my shoulders and looked up at the hotel we were forced to stay at. “What a shithole,” I muttered, grabbing my duffle from the dirty sidewalk as the valet drove off with the SUV.

Rowan Archer, mage and general pain in the ass, slapped my shoulder and grinned. “Cheer up, old chap. We’ll be in and out in no time.” He stalked off to the waiting doorman,

his own duffle thrown over his shoulder. He was far toochipperfor this mission.

And optimistic.

Rolling my eyes, I set off behind him. Maeve Grey, team leader and vampire, and Adrian Kingsley fell back, their heads bowed over a tablet enchanted to locate our future Queen—and keep tabs on us for Queen Greer, though I thought her own offspring would suffice in that department.

The blonde princeling looked a lot like his mother, but where she was poised and graceful, he’d taken after his mage father—quiet, clumsy, and inexperienced. He might have been a powerful spellcaster, but he wasn’t cut out for this mission.

Grey looked up and our eyes met. The old vamp, however, was someone I respected. I’d heard stories of her as a pup. I wasn’t surprised she’d made it onto this mission.

I smirked and turned away to follow Archer into the disgusting hotel. The weather was shit, and the doorman offered us a polite, yet stiff smile, the smell of cheese and cheap liquor wafting from his person. Both scents barely stifled the chemo he was on for the cancer in his lungs.

“You enjoy your stay at theCamilla!” he said, bowing his head as I approached. The bowler hat that sat atop his thinning hair dipped over his forehead, and he scrambled to push it back up.

The smirk fell from my lips, and I tried to give him one of thoseaward-winning-smilesI was oh so popular for as I passed, meeting Archer in the entrance. Grey and Kingsley were two steps behind as we entered the lobby together.

“Good evening,” the doorman said to the others. “Welcome to theCamilla Hotel!”

A sweet scent tickled my nose. I sucked in a deep breath to identify it, but it was unlike anything I’d scented before. It was warm and comforting, like coming home—familiar, even. Ecstasy filled me as I breathed it in, and even the wolf within lifted his head to take a breath.

Beside me, Archer chuckled to himself, his eyes on the hotel receptionist, but I took in the rest of the lobby: burgundy and crimson with splashes of white, it looked like it was trying to accomplish modernity while also catering to its historic roots. All the flowers were fake, and there was a sickly odour coming from the velvet, red settees in the waiting area that definitely shouldn’t be there.

My eyes drifted over the rest of the room and the doors of the two elevators on the edge of the lobby to finally meet the widening gaze of the receptionist. The entire team had come to a stop in the middle of the lobby—because ofher.

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