Page 126 of The Crown of Nyx

Knocking me out?

I frowned, shaking my head. Why had my magic reacted like that? Who was the demon?

And why was I in a dream?

“He knows,” the voice said again. It was feminine, laced with an accent I vaguely recognised. Why did I recognise it? “You have to find it.”

“Find what?” I shouted. “The crown? I’m searching, but I don’t know where it is!”

“Not the crown,” the voice whispered this time. It was so close to my ear. When I spun this time, I found a woman standing behind me. She wore a white dress that draped over her full, thick figure. She had black hair that tumbled down to her back, and silver eyes—not grey, but actual silver—that met mine. She looked so similar to the Goddess that I had to blink, but I knew it wasn’t Nyx standing before me.

“I know what he is seeking,” she murmured. “He is seeking our power.”

I nodded slowly. “Yes. I’m aware of that.”

“He learned the secret of the crown, Ivy. It was a secret that should have been lost with my death,” she continued, ignoring me. “I gave my power to the next Queen for a reason.”

It clicked, too slowly, who stood before me. “You’re Pandora.”

Her eyes darted away. “The line of Nyx cannot end with you. I did not let it end with me, Ivy. You must find it before he does. Or he will lay claim to our line. And there will be no more Queens.”

Something flashed in her hands, a round, bone coloured orb that disappeared in an instant.

I’d seen something like it before, but in the hands of the Goddess. During the worst of my nightmares, so terrifying I would wake up screaming.

“Why can’t you justtell mewhat I’m looking for?” I pleaded. “I can’t go find whatever it is you’re telling me to protect if I don’t even know what it is!”

Pandora’s eyes softened. “The skull, Ivy. Look for the skull. Or you are all doomed.”

A flashof light stole me from the darkness of the dream, leaving me in a world I recognised. I sucked in a breath, eyes flying open. My vision blurred for a moment, darkness swimming at the edges, but my sight cleared with another breath.

“Oh, thank fuck,” a voice said beside me. Before I could react, I was pulled into the warm embrace of my mate. I breathed in the scent of pine and earth that I associated with Elias, sighing in relief. “Don’t ever do that again.”

My arms were like jelly, but he held me too tightly to wrap them around him anyway. “I don’t even know what I did,” I replied.

“You blacked out,” someone else—no, Adrian—said. “And then you went somewhere…else.”

I shivered as I spared him a glance over Elias’s shoulder. It looked like we were inside the cabin. Wind howled outside, with rain hitting the shutters and pounding loudly on the roof. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace, warming the room we were in. I managed to meet the gaze of everyone, all mates and Damon accounted for.

But not the demon male who lived here.

Before I could ask, Elias’s arms loosened around me. “The demon is outside.”

There was a slight ache in my temple, either brought on by the stifling warmth or being knocked out. “Please don’t tell me you kicked him out of his own home.”

Rowan snorted from where he stood beside the fireplace. “No, babe, he’s letting us have the room.”

I frowned, glancing from my mage to the demon king, who stood not far from him. He wasn’t watching me or anyone else in the room, but rather had his eyes on the dark, rainy night.

“How long was I out for?” I asked carefully. When we had shadow jumped here last, there had been light, at least some sign of it left. But now, it was only a rainy darkness beyond the windows.

“Four hours,” Maeve said from the other side of the room. “We weren’t sure if you would wake up, butheassured us you would.”

“He who?” I looked away from the window Damon stared out of to meet Maeve’s eye. “The demon?”

That was the onlyheI could think of, but no one actually responded to that. I couldn’t even get a clear read on the mood of everyone. The only thing that came down the bond was their relief—relief I was okay and awake—but nothing else.

I shifted in Elias’s arms, but he didn’t release me. I had been resting—or sleeping—on his chest, while he leaned against a wall. Not far from us was Orion, who watched me, expression unreadable.

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