Page 118 of The Crown of Nyx

There was a numbness now from all the death. All the unnecessary destruction. I hadn’t truly felt it before, but now, the casualties caused by my own hands weighed heavily on my heart. The woman with the blond hair who had kicked me down after kidnapping me back in Forthampton. The male with blood spurting from his throat after I stabbed him.

How many others had I killed? Maybe, after it was all over, I would learn their names. I would make amends.

But I would never know the names of the creatures burning before me. Dante wouldn’t even care to know who they were. They were casualties in a war they never knew about.

I scrubbed a hand over my face as I took a step away from the flames. The warmth was too much. Their concerned stares too heavy. A small part of me resented how they could be so much more worried about me, when there were others dealing with so much worse.

But it strengthened my resolve—my determination to finally put an end to Dante and his bid for power, once and for all.

48

Ivy

Asnowstorm blew through the ruins of the ancient city, turning it into a dangerous tundra of ice and wind. There weren’t many places safe from the ferocity of the storm, though we wouldn’t be trapped here long.

It felt like a response from the land, a battle cry for those who’d been lost to Dante’s arrogance.

I paced the length of the one room we’d found that was completely safe from the storm. The floor was mostly clean, which meant at some point, it might have been used by the people who’d lived here. But other than the space being cleared, we couldn’t actually find any sign of their lives. No homes, no belongings. They could have been travelling, might have stopped here at the wrong time, but part of me believed that they’d made this part of the Old World their home.

Then again, it hadn’t looked like the creatures at the palace ruins had made a home of it, either.

“How long until we can jump again?” I asked, glancing at the demon king. He leaned against one of the cracked walls with his head thrown back, arms crossed over his chest.

Damon hummed under his breath. “My reserves are starting to wane, my Queen,” he murmured. “Which is strange. I’ve never had this much trouble.”

“You are transporting seven additional bodies alongside your own,” Hawk replied. I turned to him; his dark, shoulder-length hair was tied back, revealing the points of his ears.

“And the magic here is…different,” Hawk continued without looking at me. “I think we can all feel it.”

Well, not all of us. I felt no different, though I couldn’t tell if that was because of the power that came to me with Greer’s death, or because I hadn’t been paying very close attention to it.

But there were murmurs of agreement, which included Adrian. Was that why he appeared so exhausted? The magic he was using to find a way to stop Dante…was it draining him quicker because of the land?

I chewed the inside of my cheek as I turned to Damon, who had his eyes open now. “An interesting observation,” he replied, though he made no move to push off the wall. “And one that might have merit. It does feel…different to the last time I was here.”

“Three thousand years ago…” Rowan muttered. “I’m pretty sure it’s natural for things to change in that span of time.”

“I became King that long ago by request of Nyx,” Damon clarified. “A thousand years ago, I spent sometime here, too. Just outside of the knowledge of many. I could leave the Elysian Fields, though only briefly.”

“And now?” I asked cautiously.

Amusement flickered in Damon’s red eyes as they met mine. “Now, I make an exception. The world is ending, after all.”

I released a breath and turned on my heel. I wrapped my arms around myself as I began pacing again. My nails dug into my forearms as I moved, each breath I took cut by the icy air. I was a little more grateful for Elias’s abilities. Once upon a time, I was a sucker for a cold day and wrapping myself in a mountain of blankets with a nice, hot coffee and a book. I ran cold. Bundling up was my best friend during winter.

But now I barely felt it. There was a fucking snowstorm, and it only barely bit into my flesh.

Wild what having access to my shifter mate’s abilities could mean for me.

My other mates, not so much.

Adrian and Rowan had gloves on. Apparently, one of the cool parts of our gear was that it regulated our temperature. Whoever designed them thought of everything. Like the belts with charmed interiors that allowed one to store just about everything within. Who needed a bag when they could reach into the little pouch at their hip and pull-out whatever weapon oritem you needed?

But even with the extra perks of the gear, they could still feel the chill. Their cheeks were pink and noses red from the cold. Maeve was fine, as were Hawk and Damon. The demons, for whatever reason, ran hot as literal hell—not my words, but Damon’s. And Orion…

He came from the temperate climate of the Luna Court. I knew little to nothing about the lands of theUnseelie—it was the one place now that I hadn’t seen in person, only in passing on the ferry ride to Avalon.

But what I knew of the Fae was that they didn’t have the same advantages as shifters and vampires. He always wore his gloves, but he sat in the corner of the room with his head against the wall, eyes closed and knees against his chest. I knew he wasn’t sleeping, could feel it easily thanks to my access to his magic, and our bond, but he remained eerily quiet.

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