Page 106 of The Crown of Nyx

A cottage appeared before me, with a thatched roof and light stone exterior. There were two windows in the front and a plain wooden door. Flowers grew on vines over one of the windows, and it looked like small fruits dangled from those vines.

Something in me reached for the building, like it knew where I was. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t make my feet move.

It meant something, the cottage. It reminded me ofsomething, but?—

I shot awake,my breath catching in my throat as the forest from my nightmares disappeared, leaving me in the tall trees of the one I’d fallen asleep in.

My heart raced from whatever pulled me out of the dream. I searched the surroundings for anything that might have triggered me, but other than Adrian who slept peacefully beneath me, there was nothing wrong.

I felt another presence at my back and turned towards a face I hadn’t expected to see.

Orion lounged against the old stone wall with his eyes closed, shadows dancing around his body, circling him like a blanket. Though I couldn’t see the blade of shadows he liked to wield, I knew it was a summon away. Someone like Orion didn’t sleep without it.

His chest rose and fell with even, calm breaths. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was dreaming again, or if he kept them away. His nightmare came back to me. Was that normal for him or had it been triggered by the demons?

I didn’t dare reach for him, mentally or physically. Beneath me, Adrian still slept, his eyes fluttering. My link to Orion’s power was weak from our lack of connection, so I could only tell Adrian wasn’t trapped in a nightmare.

“Everything alright, Princess?” Hawk asked.

I tore my eyes from Adrian’s sleeping form and sat up, ignoring the dull ache in my side. With a grimace, I ran my eyes over him tiredly. There was nothing to indicate that Hawk Nash felt…anything. Tired? No idea. Bored? Who knew? He wore a carefully curated mask similar to the ones my vampire mate wore. And it appeared he’d gotten better at it since I’d met him.

His masks were more intricate now, better placed—when around me, that was. Like finding out we were mates had sent him into secretive team leader mode, and not just asshole-team-leader mode.

I suppressed a sigh as I shifted, climbing to my feet. “Fine. Where is everyone?”

My stomach twisted with worry as I took in our little camp. Though I sensed the others nearby, I couldn’t see them from our position in the trees.

“Patrol and hunting,” Hawk replied easily. “Black drew the short straw on resting with you and Kingsley.”

I glanced back at the sleeping pair, chest warming briefly. “Good. They need rest. But so do the rest of you.”

“I’m plenty rested, Princess.” His eyes, dark as coal and just as hard, softened just enough to make me wonder if he wasn’t as dismissive of our bond as I thought. “You find anything?”

The dream. A shiver rolled down my spine, and I shrugged as I crossed my arms. “Not sure,” I replied carefully, chewing my bottom lip. “I’ll explain once the others return.”

His eyes hardened again, jaw ticking with…annoyance?

I didn’t understand him. Didn’t get what his fucking problem was.Hewas the one putting distance between us. Making it difficult. I was giving him the space he so clearly wanted, and when I didn’t fall for his shit, he got annoyed.

I was not interested in being played with. If he couldn’t muster enough courage to actually have a conversation about what he wanted, then I would keep my distance from him.

Huffing under my breath, I turned back to my sleeping mates and found Orion’s eyes open and resting on me. His expression was unreadable, but as I took him in, I noticed black veins of power running along his arms, up his bare neck. I sucked in a breath, but when I blinked, they were gone.

I swallowed hard and rubbed a hand over my face. There was still a hint of exhaustion weighing in the back of my mind, but not in theI need sleepkind of way, but in thesex makes magic betterway. And neither of the males were really an option—as much as our dire circumstances required it.

I would not betray my better judgement and heart for dick.

But said dicks would mean winning a war.

How fundamentally dumb. Even though I wanted to blame Nyx for that, I had a feeling it was something born of the first Queen, Pandora. I had no idea how she’d managed to make a connection between sex and magic, but it kind of sucked for me.

I sighed, moving to sit beside Adrian again. The mossy earth was drier now, so sitting became less uncomfortable. Adrian didn’t stir, and I didn’t have it in me to wake him—not yet, not until the others made their way back.

“How are you feeling?” Orion asked, his voice stiff.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “Fine. Sleep helped. I might have an…idea of where we need to go next.”

He nodded his head once, though his features remained blank. “Good.”

---