Page 135 of The Powers of Nyx

And watched it fizzle out before it could reach Hawk.

We both gaped as the space where the lightning should have been. “Was that the runes?” I asked, glancing between him and the floor.

Hawk stepped around where it should have hit and made his way to my side. “That should have hit me. Try it again.”

Something didn’t feel right, but I closed my eyes and went through the motions of building the ball again. This time I made it bigger, trying for something a little more powerful. I brought in the fear from the last few times I’d used my own power. The pressure to protect my sisters. To shield us from attacks. Dredging up those memories had my heart racing, but I tried not to focus on the panic or the fear. I just wanted to replicate the strength of my magic from the times where it saved not just my life—but the lives of everyone I loved. The lightning that struck the demon attacking Adrian. The power that saved him, too.

I conjured all of it and let it fill me and the magic brimming in my hands. Blowing out a breath, I opened my eyes and with Hawk at my side, I released the ball again.

It hit the centre of the circle, but instead of fizzling out, it exploded. Lightning struck the wards and ricocheted off the barriers and walls. Some sprung towards us, flashes of bright, violet light. Hawk wrapped an arm around my middle and we hit the ground before the lightning could hit us.

My heart thundered wildly in my chest as I stared, wide eyed, up at the male covering me. His wings unfolded from his bare back to cover us, enclosing me in a dark bubble with only him. His arm, braced beneath me, burning like a brand, and my skin tingled where our flesh touched.

I couldn’t think, couldn’tbreathe, with how close he was. I should have been more afraid of what was happening in the room. But terror gripped my chest as the well of magic purred and reached for him.

Before it could make itself known, I locked it away and buried it deep.

His dark eyes locked on mine, full of something I refused to acknowledge. I couldn’t read into it more. It was ridiculous to even consider.

Hawk had always made his thoughts about me pretty clear. I wasn’t ever going to be delusional to think he even considered me more than just an irritation at this point.

Something crashed above us, and I flinched as the sound echoed through the room. Hawk cursed under his breath, dropping his head closer to mine so that our foreheads almost touched. “Do you think you can reel your magic in?” he asked quietly, breath fanning my face.

I swallowed thickly and shook my head. “I don’t know. This hasn’t...”

He growled as something else crashed above us. “Ask your prince. See if he knows anything.”

I reached for my bond with Adrian, and noticed the dark, almost frayed bond with Ry. The blocks around it were still in place. But there was something deeply wrong with it, even after our last meeting.

Adrian?I called.

His end of the bond awoke immediately.What’s wrong? What’s happening? Are you hurt?

I gave him a short, sweet version of the problem, though I tried to not show just how worried I was. The last thing I needed was him and Elias rushing here.

I should go see my mother. Are you safe?he asked.

I don’t know. It’s...haywire. I just need to know if I can bring it back into me.

Adrian was silent for a moment, his end of the bond going dark. But he came back with,You need to funnel it through us, I think. Fuck, I don’t know. But you need to be careful. You can still get hurt, Ivy.

I shuddered, but I had no other choice. “You need to move off me. I need to see what’s going on,” I whispered.

Even though his wings blocked out most of the light, he clearly wasn’t impressed. “Princess...”

“Trust me. I need to see it.”

His jaw ticked, but another crash had him pressing into me. After a moment, Hawk huffed and finally moved, pulling me up with him. He didn’t remove the arm around me, though. It remained a chain, caging me to him.

Ignoring the dark look in his eyes, or the fact that he was basically pulling me into his lap, I turned to take in the room. Lightning struck from the ball of power still sitting in the centre of the circle. It had grown smaller, so it was releasing the energy in bits. But the wards Hawk had been so cocky about before had already crumbled. The runes were dark, some torn apart by the magic, others blackened by ash. There were holes in the stone, the walls and ceiling unstable.

“So much for being safe,” I muttered, twisting in Hawk’s arms to glare at him.

But he wasn’t looking at me. “What’s your plan for that?”

“I take it back and funnel it to the others.”

Hawk glanced at me, clenching his jaw. “And does Kingsley think this will work?”

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