Page 14 of The Crown of Nyx

“Abyss has been loyal to Nyx for thousands of years. I doubt a con artist like Dante can sway their judgement,” Nash muttered. “But I am surprised about Aither. How did they change sides so quickly?”

I’d almost forgotten he was a bastard of the Unseelie Court. Where bloodlines were most important, he would have never fit into their court politics being a halfling. But he served well as a soldier, and that was likely all they cared about. It was all the Phoenix Compound cared about, too. Which was why it bothered me that so many could already be on Dante’s side. Sir Ya’Dahir oversaw all the training. So how did so many disloyal agents infiltrate us?

I shook my head as the Fae prince shrugged. “It was before I ever found out. But some High Rulers were tempted by the idea of taking back the old kingdom of Fae. With our own Queen. Only my father decided if he were most loyal to Dante, a Queen would not rule the Fae Realm—he would.”

Ivy’s curiosity had been piqued, and she cocked her head. “They stopped having Queens when Nyx created the first Queen of Nyx, right?”

“More or less, though there are many different stories as to how that came about.” Orion looked Ivy over with worried eyes. “It isn’t important, though. We cannot trust the Fae. Not even the courts who aren’t loyal to Dante. Even they are intrigued by the idea of having their own monarch, to reinstate the High Queen. They just don’t agree with Dante—yet.”

Ivy’s hand tightened in mine. “But you’re all sure the demons are loyal?”

I nodded, as did everyone else. “The demons have always been Nyx’s most loyal. The chances of Dante reaching them are slim,” I replied. “But we can’t be sure.”

For a moment, Ivy didn’t respond. She pressed her lips into a firm line, staring down at the crown now lying by her feet. Though I could hear the sound of her heart, it didn’t race with nerves like I might have expected.Instead, her heart rate remained steady, and her resolve seemed to strengthen.

“We need to go to the Old World,” Ivy said finally, lifting her eyes off the crown. “That’s where Nyx would keep her Crown. That’s where we’ll be able to stop Dante.”

6

Thor

The pain was swift, but death was not.

The sound of the whip as it cracked through the air no longer frightened me like it used to. After years caged behind these charmed bars, hidden in the caves beneath the mountains, there was little that scared me anymore. Especially not our keepers. Though they came to anger quickly, it was not as severe as it once was.

I barely glanced up at the sound of heavy feet descending into the prison. Punishment would claim any who did. Sometimes Watcher wanted us to look upon him with fear. Other times, it did nothing for his ego, and anger meant retribution.

Today, though, I was too tired to look up and bask beneath his cruel gaze. As I scented the air, I took inthe other, more overwhelming scents that followedhim. He was a rare presence, but there were others. Most I didn’t recognise.

More prisoners, perhaps.

When the cages near mine opened, I finally looked up from the stone beneath my body. There were males, several of them, all different creatures being tossed into one large cell. They were bloody and wounded, weakened by whatever magic Watcher andhepoured into them.

“Pathetic,”hespat. “And weak.”

I barely caught sight of another figure. A small female. Music sounded when she moved, as did the clank of chains.

One of the males grunted. “You are the pathetic one, Dante. A weak, little boy?—”

A hard crack filled the air, and the male fell silent, collapsing to the dirty stone floor.

“Anyone else?” There was no response tohisquestion, at least not immediately. It didn’t matter, because the damage was done.

I felt the dark weight of his stare on me. I lowered my own eyes to the ground. To the stone I knew too well. The blood permanently staining the cage floor and the gouges where my claws left their mark were the only indication that I ever existed.

Hemoved in closer, his scent clogging my senses. But there was another smell, blood, that I knew did not belong to him. My heart pounded, jaw clenched, as I felt him move nearer, as the scent grew stronger.

Rage unlike anything I’d felt before clawed its way up my throat. I could not understand why, though.

“This one is the best you have?”

Watcher appeared, the toes of his bloodied, brown boots filling my vision. “Yes. The best tracker. The largest, too. Trained well.”

Hehummed under his breath. “And you can control the beast?”

Beast. I could tear him apart.

“Of course. He wouldn’t survive otherwise.”

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