Page 169 of The Crown of Nyx

You are not a selfish male, Sable had said.

But I wanted to be. I wanted to be able to walk out of this and claim her. To make her mine. To finally know what it would feel like for her to claim me as her own. To have my mark seared across her skin, claimed by my Fae side—and my demon half. I wanted to brand her like the Pride demon I was, right where everyone would see it. I wanted to take her into the clouds and fill her with my seed, like Aither begged for.

I wanted her claim on my skin. A bite on my neck, a brand on my heart, anything she had to offer.

I wanted to taste her again. To feel her lips on mine. To know the press of her body intimately.

I wanted to make it up to her. Wanted to prove I was worthy of her love. Her heart. I wanted to show her that I never wanted to reject our bond but claim it.

And yet I would not take that from Orion. Not when he had all of that with her, had given everything for her.

Because I couldn’t be a selfish male. For her, I wouldn’t be.

“We need to find him,” I said, my voice thick with desperation. “Now.”

I was pretty sure Archer understood what that meant, so he didn’t fight me on it. Instead, he followedas I ran in the direction of the flames, towards where I hoped Hyperion had taken him.

The rats had found their way to this side of the village now, too. Their rotting stench mixed with the smell of burning flesh. Some of the army were throwing the rats into the flames. Others used the fire against them. It gave Archer and I enough coverage to be left ignored as they tried to save their own lives. Fear triggered them to fight what they assumed was the bigger threat.

I could have taken to the sky, but thunder rumbled across the dark clouds. The storm, one I knew was created by Ivy, had been a hanging threat for a while now. But there were no violet strikes of lightning. Nothing to indicate that she was in a fight.

That realisation made my stomach twist with worry. Fear. Everything within me revolted at the idea that I was too late. That I would lose her.

Sable had warned me that if I didn’t do this, it would mean death for everyone. But I had a feeling it meant death forher.

My breath rattled in my lungs as I ran. The smoke made each breath burn, but I gulped them down, relying on the pain to keep going.

In the distance, I spied the hulking figure of the creature Ivy claimed as her mate. Tufts of fur had been ripped from his body, and there was blood matting what was left. He was in a race with one of the giant bear shifters, running after Beckham and Grey, who were moving towards the ruins of a large building, near a set of tents Archer and I hadn’t burned.

Magic pulsed from the building, a beacon of something bad waiting for us.

It’s too late,I thought, pushing myself harder. Faster. My legs throbbed, but I ignored it as I caught up to Beckham.

The shifter barely looked at me, but the shift rippled across his body. He was barely containing it. Barely holding the wolf at bay.

We passed the large building, our footsteps echoing like thunder.

Lightning struck the sky, a mix of violet and silver-white.

A scream tore through the air.

It was too late.

I’d failed.

I truly was a selfish male.

69

Ivy

Moments earlier

Shock rushed through me as Dante rose from where he crouched in the centre of the old cottage. He held the skull in his hand with a carefulness I hadn’t seen from him when he’d killed his own mother.

He looked the exact same as he had the night of the ball; his dark brown hair was slicked back from his head, shorter in the back but longer in the front, giving him thatfuck boylook I’d come to know well back home. He looked almost exactly like his father, Sir Otto, and nothing like his mother.

Instead of wearing a suit like he had at the ball, he wore what I could only describe asmilitary garb; a pressed jacket with fine silver threading, buttons with an emblem that was unfamiliar, but I guessed had real importance to him, because the same mark was on his jacket’s breast.He also wore swords at his side, dark pants, and leather boots that went to his calves.

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