Page 1 of The Powers of Nyx

1

ROWAN

I CROSSEDmy arms over my chest as Elias threw another punch at the painfully silent traitor. The Changed vamp was now a picture of bloody bruises, ones that wouldn’t heal thanks to a potion a mage cooked up for our guests.

“You can choose not to speak,” Wolfy growled, capturing the bastard by the throat, bringing his snarling face close to the vamps. His fingers tightened dangerously around the bruised flesh of the asshole’s throat. “But every second of silence, means another hour of pain.”

The vamp opened his mouth to say something, but his words—Death to the Queen, the only Goddess damned thing the bastard would say—fell silent as Elias snapped his neck. Every time he muttered those words, my chest tightened out of fear.

Fear for Ivy.

Fear we weren’t doing enough.

I’d been so damned close to finally claiming her as mine, but these wankers had to come in and ruin it with an attack. A little longer, and Ivy might have been able to recognise the bond. Maybe, just maybe, her magic would have chosen me.

And now we were separated.

“That was uneventful,” I drawled, uncrossing my arms, trying to shake off my unease. “I say we starve him. Apparently, that might do the trick.”

“Starving takes too long,” Elias growled, picking up the vamp’s limp body and re-tying him to the chair. “We don’t have time for that.”

From the doorway, Jay snorted. I almost forgot he was there, the prick. “You’re too impatient,” the half-demon said. “We can take him back—”

“None of these assholes are going to the compound,” I said, any humour left in me disappearing. “Last time we sent them a prisoner, it got away. So, these ones stay where we can see them.”

“That’s a mighty large accusation,” Jay warned, pushing off the doorway. “And hard to prove.”

I shrugged. “It’s no secret there are spies in our midst. We know as much now. And in order to protect Ivy—” I cut myself off and spared Elias a look.

The wolf was mostly in control, not the man. I should have expected the wolf would take over once he was separated from his mate, but seeing it was another thing. The thinly veiled desperation reminded me of what I could be going through if I’d bonded her.

Going up against him was probablynotthe best thing to do. I wasn’t a certified mate yet, so to the wolf, I was the enemy.

I didn’t want to test my luck.

I had no doubt he knew I’d donesomethingwith Ivy, but since neither he nor Adrian had come for my balls yet, I assumed Ivy hadn’t said anything about our brief time together. She’d seemed to like it, which surprised me, considering the jackass I’d been the last couple of weeks. Not to mention the wholestanding her upanddeflecting like a shit-head child.

She was too good for me.

The wolf growled, pulling me out of my thoughts, and stalked to the door. “We deal with them here, or we get them to Grey so she can look into their memories.”

Jay shuddered at the suggestion, and I didn’t blame him. The idea of Maeve going through my memories sent a shiver of fear up my spine. There wasn’t much there for her to go through, but it was the principle of it.

“What about the others?” I asked instead, following Elias onto the loading bay. The four SUVs we’d arrived in were lined up all nice, recently warded with new charms and checked over thoroughly by Jay’s team for any trackers the enemy might have left behind for us.

We’d ended up losing the one vehicle we’d put a charm on. They’d been smart to ditch their car and take another one. A team found it in a lake an hour from the safe house, completely submerged with a single body inside. It’d been one of theirs, but not even a necromancer could have gotten it speaking again.

Jay grunted as he joined us, locking the door behind him. He checked the wards over before turning to us. “Lost one. Despite the check, she had something on her and managed to kill herself. The other is only saying the same shit as this one.”

Elias swore under his breath and scrubbed a hand over his face.

Why Maeve separated us, I had no idea.

We were a team—Ivy’steam, her protectors—and we shouldn’t have been divided.

I looked to Jay. “Check the other two prisoners again. Make sure there’s no way they die on us.”

“Or are leading their people here,” Elias added, eyes wary. “I promised Ivy I’d protect the girls. And that’s what I intend on doing.”

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