Page 165 of The Powers of Nyx

Leaving him to stew in his irritation and clear blue balls—I loved my mate, but I wouldn’t give up using those terms—I walked the perimeter of the ballroom, searching for thatmemorable mass of red hair and her magical signature. But with the hundreds of creatures in attendance, I couldn’t feel her.

As I drew closer to the walls, I waited for that familiar tingle to run over my skin from the wards. I’d attended my fair share of balls in the past; I knew just how guarded they were, but as I approached the back corner, I felt only the briefest touch of Sir Theon’s magic.

Huh. I frowned. Adrian had mentioned how his father’s magic no longer affected him the same way anymore. I hadn’t noticed it the last couple of days, but maybe I was finally starting to see the differences caused by the mate bond.

I chewed my lip as I paused in the corner and crossed my arms. Gazing out over the dancefloor, I watched Ivy being twirled around, shining dress billowing out around her. Even from my vantage point, I could tell she was tense—uncomfortable even. But she held her head high despite all that.

No Sable though, I thought, watching the surrounding creatures for my mother. She didn’t dare enter the ring of watchers, keeping to the thickest of the crowd most likely.

I pushed away from my corner and stalked towards the large dais where Queen Greer sat with her mates. My heart stuttered, realising one day—soon—that would be Ivy and us. I spotted Adrian’s father, as well as that asshole, Lazarus. They were in a circular formation around the Queen, with her oldest mates sitting at her shoulders, with Theon and Magnus at the edges. Adrian always had opinions about that, and I didn’t blame him, because it looked lonely being at the end of the circle.

I chanced another look out over the crowd as I drew nearer to the dais, cursing under my breath.There. Fuck. I stopped and glared at the dance floor, where my mother stood with a couple of Alphas from the packs outside the palace. That menace of a woman. She was laughing, smiling, and maybe flirting with the Alpha? Gross.

Dull, throbbing pain started in my head, the sudden force of it stopping me in my tracks. I brought my hand up to my forehead, but the movement felt jerky, almost like I wasn’t in control of my own body anymore. The throb turned into a pounding beat, like someone had taken a drumstick to my skin. It shouldn’t have taken me by surprise, but I still stumbled back, trying to force the vision away.

No. No, no, no. My ears rang with that familiar, daunting tune. I couldn’t see Ivy again in that prison. No matter how many times the visions showed it to me, I never wanted to return.

Heart thundering, my head fell back, and my lips parted as I tried to suck in air. I thought about anything else; Ivy down there dancing the night away, the feeling of her in my arms, the bond burning in my chest. Anything but what awaited me.

No matter how hard I fought, the vision still claimed me, throwing me into a gory future I couldn’t escape.

~

The vision spat me out in familiar, horrifying darkness. The smell of sulphur filled the air, as the clinking of chains cut through the otherwise heavy silence. I pulled myself into a sitting position, pain radiating through my skull.

The air chilled, the sensation burrowing deep into my bones. I trembled as I searched the darkness for any sign of my mate—or the male responsible for her pain. The only thing I knew for certain was that I was back in the cell wheretheykept Ivy in the future. I would never forget those sounds. The rattling of her chains. Her broken voice.

The sight of her, scarred and dirty, huddled beneath nothing more than rags.

Bile rose in my throat as I shifted. Something about it felt different, though. Not the darkness itself.

The vision.

Her whimper broke through the stillness, and I forgot the chill, forgot everything else as I tried to make it to her side. But the darkness was too thick. Too much. Fuck.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard the low, deep growl of a shifter. My skin puckered at the ferocity of it. I knew it couldn’t be Elias, but maybe it was a sign that she had found another mate.

A mate that was being used against her.

Suddenly, Ivy’s whimper turned into a scream as the growls cut off. I wanted to shout, to beg for her, but my mouth was glued shut. Not a sound left my throat.

Because I wasn’t here. I wasn’t real.

This was a future I wasn’t part of.

I knew the moment the bastard entered the cell. His magic crawled over my skin, slimy and wrong, but it wasn’t just familiar anymore. It was changed, different. Like it had been boosted in some way.

My stomach sank as soon as the realisation hit me. Whatever he’d done to Ivy with those runes, he’d achieved it. He’d made himself as powerful as her.

~

The vision faded, tossing me back into the ballroom with so much force I dropped to my knees. My heart pounded too hard, too fast, and the remnants of the vision replayed behind my closed eyes, over and over again. I might not have gotten to see her in then, but my mind could fill in the missing pieces.

Fuck, I wanted out of my own body right now.

Bile rose in my throat as I pried my eyes open to take in the ballroom once more. No one had noticed me; the Queen was still on her throne surrounded by her mates, and Ivy was in the arms of Elias, the music soft, guiding them through the motions.

I swallowed hard, expecting the pressure of a migraine to overpower me. I blinked rapidly at the floor like my eyesight might turn blurry and I’d pass out, but I remained conscious.

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