Page 131 of The Powers of Nyx

And any who did were long dead, their eyes feasts for crows and their hearts locked away where none would find them.

“My son,” he drawled, setting the glass onto his desk. “You return.”

I feigned an air of arrogance as I cocked my head, lifting my chin in defiance. “A simple task, nothing more.”

“That is not what Kamaria tells me.” My father’s eyes, which were a shimmering silver, drifted over to the Fae female in question. “She tells me you...hesitated.”

My jaw clenched but there was no use in arguing whenshewas involved. My handler, she liked to call herself. Another blight on this land, I considered her. And her death would be sweet when I delivered it.

“I don’t hesitate,” I replied, refusing to look at the female. “Their death was just, and punishment was served.”

Hyperion hummed under his breath, but he turned towards the large window overlooking the gardens of his Avalon estate. They resembled the ones at the palace back in the Luna Court. Simple yet beautiful, with flowers that reflected the night sky. And it was twice as deadly.

“You have done little to disappoint me, my son,” he said, finally turning his dark stare on me once more. “I’ll trust you only want what is best for the cause. For one day, you will be High King.”

~

The itch to see Ivy crawled across my skin, but I held back. To see her would mean trying to break into the palace, and as much as I believed myself infallible, I would not risk it.

Not when I was so close to freedom.

It should not have surprised me, finding Blythe waiting in my dorm room. She stood with her back to the door, looking out over the dark, gloomy campus. If it weren’t for the prestige of Oberon and the chances it afforded me, Hyperion never would have accepted the invitation to attend the academy. He would have sent me to one in the Fae realm, where I would have been amongst my own people.

But it served a different purpose, being here. It put me in a position of power no one else could achieve, not sincehewas here.

Years ago, the usurper attended Oberon Academy. I believed he got his taste of power here. And while it served Hyperion and the cause to be at the academy, it also servedme.

It meant I was with Ivy. And it meant I might find the False King somewhere in the walls. Find whispers of him hidden throughout the campus.

If his rise to power started here, then perhaps he still has a purpose at the academy.

Blythe turned as the door closed, and she ran her eyes over me critically. “You’ve returned unscathed,” she pointed out, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall behind her. “Though not any better than when you left.”

Pursing my lips, I stalked to the trunk at the end of the bed and began stripping my weapons, tucking them into their place. “It went as well as expected,” I replied. “Kamaria was up to her old tricks. I believe she wanted to see me beaten for questioning her today.”

If it weren’t for the fact that she was of pure Luna descent, I would have thought her a demon. She liked it as much as the feeder demons who preyed on pain.

“She’s a cunt who thinks she’s better than she is,” Blythe retorted, rolling her eyes as she pushed off the wall. “And your father is smart not to feed into her cruelty. It provides him nothing.”

“He knows better now.” But the mention of Hyperion made my blood boil. As I put away the last of my knives and runes, I stood. “No more talk of him, please. My head already pounds from this last meeting.”

If the male wasn’t my father, I would have killed him already. He was weak. Easily manipulated. He thought himself more powerful than he was, and if it weren’t for the political power he had, he would have never lasted as long as he did. The False King who wanted Ivy’s crown also protected him, gave him something that shielded him from potential enemies.

I shook my head. “Anything I should know about?”

Blythe shrugged as she dropped onto the bed. “Nothing of import, unless you count Layla and her newest exploit. She thinks she has a chance with a particular prince that isn’t you.”

“If she does look elsewhere, all the better. I do not enjoy her questions about—” I stopped. The glamour I’d used on Ivy hadn’t just been for her—it had been for myself, too. As much as I wished to finally let her name roll off my tongue, it protected us both. There was no chance I would slip and reveal the one thing I wanted most in this world.

The witch snorted. “She thinks she has a chance with Prince Adrian, you fool.”

I stiffened and turned to her. “It’s no secret he has a mate.” And that he’d been seen parading her around Avalon. “But if she seems determined to have herself expelled, then so be it.”

“You have no idea.” Blythe sighed and settled into the bed like she owned the fucking thing. “To not only mess with a bonded mate, but also the Headmistresses’ brother?” She shook her head. “I truly have no idea what is going through her head. She seems to think he must be a central bond or something. Has it in her head.”

Blythe’s dark eyes found mine, and I realised what she meant as her words settled between us. “You think she’s enchanted.”

“Not quite,” she replied, sitting up. “I think she’s been mind fucked.”

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