Page 145 of The Crown of Nyx

“My nightmare,” I whispered, glancing back at the others. “We’re in the forest from my nightmares.”

There were a few surprising breaths of relief that followed my words. “Thank fuck,” Adrian muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. “What? We didn’t know! We just started walking.”

I offered him a reassuring smile as I finally climbed to my feet. The panic I’d felt before falling asleep was a dull throb in my chest, but not nearly as overwhelming. My head pounded from the tears, and I probably looked like a total mess. But I was out of the worst of it.

Elias and Maeve helped me stand, the energy in the group shifting. Like I was suddenly more delicate now that I didn’t have my ass planted on the ground.

“I’m fine,” I said, voice soft. I tried to meet each concerned gaze; Elias had his jaw clenched and his hard gaze met mine; Maeve remained tense, though she forced a single nod; Rowan cocked his head like he didn’t believe me; Adrian glanced down at his hands, though I’d already noticed how drained he was; Hawk met my stare head on and didn’t even bother to hide that he thought I was lying; Damon’s red eyes met mine, though I couldn’t get a read on what he felt; and Orion simply looked…determined.

That surprised me. I thought he would be feeling some other way, but his hard eyes met mine, and he bowed his head.

“I know I freaked out back there,” I continued, crossing my arms. “But I’m not going to break. I’m a lot stronger than that.”

Maeve stepped towards me and cupped my cheek, her expression softening. “We know that,” she said, offering me an uncertain smile. “We just worry about you. That is our job.”

I gave her a smile in return, covering her hand with my own. “I know. And I love you for it.”

My chest warmed with my bonded mates’ own expressions of their love for me. Elias was so protective because he thought that was all he had to offer me; Maeve maintained the role of leader because she thought that was what I needed; Adrian and Rowan were both my support when things got tough, especially now; and Orion…

From his end of the bond, I got the impression that he would do anything in his power to protect me. Even if that meant risking his own life.

And I feared that most of all.

“We’d been walkingan hour before you woke up,” Rowan said, hand wrapped around mine. He nudged my shoulder with his own. “Creepy as hell.”

I shuddered, glancing around the path. Just like in my dreams, there were cart tacks, but no clue which way we were headed. I was certain we were heading towards the cottage, and the village Asael told us about. But I also couldn’t be one-hundred percent sure.

And there was something different about this forest. The one from my nightmares had always been dark, eery. The shadow-creatures who always tormented me in my nightmares were nowhere to be seen, though I hadn’t expected them to actually show up in reality.

Instead, there were little blue, glowing orbs dotting the darkened forest. They weren’t lining the path, but rather were hidden in the tree line, just out of reach.

I frowned as I glanced back at Rowan, who walked one side of me, and Orion, the other. Adrian and Damon were two steps behind us, with Elias, Maeve, and Hawk leading our party.

“Does anyone know what the glowing orbs are?” I asked, brows furrowing.

Rowan squeezed my hand. “Not a clue. So, not from your dreams then?”

I shook my head. “Absolutely not. It’s weird.”

Behind me, Damon snorted. “I knew it.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder. “You did not.”

“I knew they were notnormal,” he countered. “And you never mentioned them.”

My cheeks warmed as I turned away. “Well, I’ve never seen them before,” I muttered. Beside me, Rowan chuckled, his voice a lot lighter than before. There wasstill a clear, palpable tension between all of us, but it was slowly settling the longer we walked.

Ahead of us, Maeve stopped completely, her shoulders stiffening, back going straight. “We need to run,” she murmured, her head swinging back, eyes red like blood. “We are being followed.”

My stomach bottomed out. I chanced a look over my shoulder into the darkness, but there was nothing but the gnarled, twisted trees and the stupid blue orbs.

Orbs that were flickering out, one by one.

No one said a word as we ran. Elias shifted into his wolf, and without hesitation, I did, too. His great beast matched my stride, but we moved to the back of the group to keep everyone in our sight, and to ensure the others didn’t fall behind. Hawk couldn’t take to the skies; the canopy of leaves and branches was too thick and low. Even if he did try to fly ahead, he wouldn’t make it.

Adrian ran slower, so I moved to run beside him. His exhaustion was clear down the bond. Would it be weird if I told him to get on my back?

I barely finished the thought before something roared behind us. Whatever it was made a tingle run down my spine. I didn’t recognise the sound as being anything from our world—not shifter or creature from Avalon—so whatever it was had to be from here.

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