Page 11 of The Bonds of Nyx

Mate. Mate. Mate.My magic seemed to be screaming at me. The simple touch of his skin against mine ignited a storm of lightning through me. The nightmare disappeared to the back of my mind, the remnants forgotten because there was something else I needed.

I wanted to sayyes, but the soft creak of a door opening pulled me away from his sad green eyes.

Standing at the end of the hall, wearing an oversized shirt, Ginny watched me, her tired eyes filling with tears that already stained her ruddy cheeks. She looked so much smaller than she had at Eloise’s birthday dinner. She whimpered, and my heart cracked as she sobbed and stumbled into a run towards me.

I dropped to my knees without a thought and opened my arms for her. Ginny’s little body slammed into me and shook as she buried her face into my shoulder and shuddered with her cries.Pain laced each sound she made, cracking my already fragile heart.

Even with Adrian so close, my magic pulled away from the need to complete the mate bond.

As I clutched Ginny close to my chest, my eyes swung up to find Adrian’s. I didn’t need to say anything, because he offered me a soft smile and nodded. His eyes seemed to saylater, though he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head.

“We’ll figure it out,” he murmured, “I promise.”

Tears burned the back of my eyes as I nodded. I felt him leave, though I didn’t look up. I held on tighter instead, smoothing down Ginny’s hair as she continued to sob.

I should have been with them as soon as we arrived, I thought, smoothing a hand over her messy hair.I should have gone straight to the girls.

Part of me had been afraid of seeing Kerry in her state. Comatose, unresponsive, her chest barely moving even with the help of magic. There was guilt in there, too. Guilt over dragging my family into this mess, over not sending them away as soon as the threat became real. If only I’d listened to the team sooner, maybe Kerry would be alive.

But I felt guilt over not mourning, either. I was more worried about my sisters than I was Kerry. Our relationship was strained, and for the last few years, I’d been in low contact with my mother because of her outlook on my life. And I’d been fine with that. I hadn’t truly felt like I was missing out on anything.

Now, though, shame filled me as I soothed Ginny and waited for her sobs to slow. I felt guilty over not being sad enough, and it broke my heart that my sisters would have to continue with their lives—their verynot humanlives—without their mother.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured. “I’m here.”

Ginny hiccupped and nodded against my shoulder. “Why isn’t Mommy waking up?”

I ran my hand through her tangled hair lightly. A tear slipped down my cheek.How the hell do you tell your sister her mother likely isn’t going to wake up?

Instead of responding, I pressed my lips together. When her little body eventually stopped shaking, I pulled back slightly and looked her over. On the outside, she looked unharmed. No bruises, no cuts, no blood. Her eyes were red and puffy from the tears, but otherwise, she looked okay.

“Were you hurt, bub?” I asked softly, running my hands up and down her sides.

Ginny shook her head and rubbed her eyes, sniffling. “No. There was a scary man in my room. He told me to be quiet, and then I heard Mommy scream. But I fell asleep again.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Her blue eyes welled with tears. “But Mommy isn’t!”

“I know,” I whispered, wiping away a stray tear. “How about we go see Eloise and Maisie? Hmm? Then maybe I can give you a bath and brush your hair?”

Ginny didn’t seem too inclined to agree, but she nodded nonetheless, so I stood and took her small hand in my own. She guided me to the bedroom she and the girls were staying in and opened the door.

The only light illuminating the large room came from a lamp on the bedside table. A grey-haired woman stood from an armchair that had been moved to the bed and bowed her head as I entered. When our eyes met, I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear anything about being thenext Queen of Nyx, especially not in front of the kids.

The woman simply nodded and stepped away from where Kerry rested. Ginny dropped my hand and rushed to take the now open armchair, curling up on the plush cushion, her eyestrained on our mother, who laid eerily still in the centre of the large king-sized bed. Stretched out beside her, Maisie slept, thumb between her lips. The only child missing was Eloise, who I had to hope was in the other bedroom.

“I have no news for you,” the woman murmured. “Her condition is much the same. I’m simply making her comfortable at this stage.”

I gnawed my bottom lip as I glanced down at my mother’s sleeping form. The bruises that had marred her face the day of the attack were gone. “You healed everything else, though?”

The woman nodded. “Yes. The poison has no cure, though. Not natural or magical. It is why it is outlawed and rarely used within the Faery realm. There is little we can do now.”

I swallowed hard and nodded. “She can’t recover on her own? She’s survived this long.”

She hesitated a moment before shaking her head. “It is unlikely. The poison is painful. It is eating away at her. Because of that, her mortal body will not be able to heal on its own.”

“Can I heal her? With my own magic?”

---