Page 32 of The Powers of Nyx

His shoulders slumped, and he sighed. “Okay. This goes against everything I’m feeling right now, Sweetheart.”

“I know.” And I did. The longer I clung to consciousness, the clearer our bond became. His worry and fear clamped around my heart, but he was trying his hardest to hold it back. To trust me.

I blew out a long breath and turned towards the wreckage. The SUV had essentially been destroyed in the hit; the left side of the vehicle was completely crushed, the windows blown out from the impact, and the doors melded together. That side of the bonnet was also torn apart, and it looked like it had sustained further damage since the hit.

Adrian drew something against my skin before kissing the inside of my wrist. “A protection rune,” he said when our eyes met again. “I made sure Maeve would be protected as best I could, so the SUV is charmed. I just didn’t have time to make it sun resistant. Those take days to make.”

“That’s okay.” The power in my veins burned brighter as we crawled towards the car. The closer we got, the louder the fight became. Metal crashed against metal, and the roars of shifters echoed through the air. I didn’t even bother to ask how the supes were keeping this hidden from the humans—I just had to assume they were controlling the situationMen in Blackstyle.

I scanned the side of the SUV and caught sight of Hawk; great, black wings unfurled from his back, feathered and strong as he pushed into the air and took flight. My stomach bottomed out as he swooped, taking out a lumbering green creature with the swipe of his sword.

Bile rose in my throat, and I quickly returned my gaze to the SUV. “That was an Orc,” Adrian whispered, anger darkening his voice. “Protected by the Fae. They aren’t supposed to leave the Seelie Court.”

“I don’t know what any of that means,” I replied, sparing him a glance. “But I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”

He gave me a weary smile. “She’s in the back. I pulled one of the back seats down and moved her into the trunk.”

Adrian moved into the wreckage first, clearing the broken glass and debris away as he did. With magic moving under my skin, I barely felt the bite of metal against my shin, but as I looked down, the cut healed immediately.

I hummed under my breath, quickly following Adrian. He moved aside as soon as I entered the back of the SUV and motioned into the darkened trunk. “She’s in there.” Before I could go any further, he gripped my upper arm. “She’s experiencing blood lust. I need you to promise me you’ll be careful. My charms are keeping her trapped there temporarily.”

“She won’t hurt me,” I murmured, removing his hand. “She’ll never hurt me.”

His expression told me he didn’t fully believe me, but I pushed on regardless. A hum of magic slithered over my skin as I pushedthrough the centre console and into the trunk. A cold chill seeped into my bones, and something heavy pitted my stomach.

“You should not be here,” Maeve whispered, her voice cracking. She was sitting pressed up against the car corner where the back windshield had cracked on impact. Her body seemed smaller as she wrapped her arms around her legs.

The smell of blood filled the air, followed by the static of my magic rising around us. “Let me help you, please.”

Maeve shook her head. “I’m too dangerous right now. Please,a mhuirnín, I need you to get out of here before I do something I’ll regret.”

“You won’t hurt me,” I replied. “But I need to help you.Please.”

I tried to crawl closer, but she snapped. Red seeped into her blue irises, turning the bright colour crimson. Fangs ripped through her bottom lip, claws appearing from her fingers. But she remained eerily still as her chest rose as she scented the air.

“I can smell your blood,” she rasped, accent thickening with each word.

I shuddered, but not out of fear. My lower abdomen tightened from the heat in her stare. “If you need to feed, then feed. I can take it.”

She shook her head, long strands of black hair falling from her once neat bun to frame her face. “No, you can’t. If I bite you, I will kill you.”

Something inside of me told me that wasn’t true. Slowly, I inched closer, ignoring the crunch of glass beneath my hands and knees, until I was sitting in front of her. “I willnotlose you,” I whispered. “I refuse to lose anyone else. So,feed.”

The mask of fear and anger seemed to slip from her face; I took that opportunity to take a piece of sharp glass and lift it to my neck. Maeve’s lips parted, pure fear filling her eyes, as I cut into the soft flesh of my throat.

“Ivy—” Her voice came out strained, and before I could move, she took me into her arms and pressed me down into the roof of the SUV. Her weight was light above me, almost like she wasn’t there—like she thought she’d hurt me if she gave in.

Maeve revealed her fangs; they brushed her full bottom lip, almost puncturing the flesh. Anticipation pulsed through me as she lowered her head to run her nose over the slope of my throat. “You smell too good,” she murmured, what sounded like a purr vibrating from her chest. “If I start, I’m afraid I won’t stop.”

Need pooled in the pit of my stomach. “I trust you.”

As if to prove my point, something slammed into the body of the SUV, rocking us and further damaging the cracked window. Maeve cursed under her breath, shielding me completely with her body as the SUV continued to groan from the impact.

My heart thundered wildly as she lifted herself off me. “Are you afraid,a mhuirnín?”

I shook my head. “Not when I’m with you.”

Maeve watched me for a long moment before she struck. The burn of her fangs cutting through my flesh left only a moment of pain, like the initial touch of a tattoo-gun, followed by the numbness after. Only the numbness didn’t last, either; it transformed into something pleasurable, and it tingled down my spine right down to my fluttering core. I clenched around nothing, and yet it was almost consuming.

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