Page 21 of The Crown of Nyx

No one could answer that question, because I was right. We had no way of knowing who was loyal and who wasn’t. Dante might have been arrogant and wrapped up in his own desire for power, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d managed to remain hidden for so long because he was smart. Whether it was his own smarts or because of someone else, that was to be debated.

“We could just…commandeer a vessel?” Rowan asked, making a face as we all turned to him. “Nothing too violent, just…hold the captain and their crew hostage temporarily.”

“We risk getting caught,” Hawk muttered. “It would draw too much attention to us.”

Rowan shrugged. “It was an idea. Maybe not a good one, but what other choices do we have? Ivy’s right. We don’t know who’s loyal. We can’t take any risks with her safety. If Dante catches on to where we’re going, he will try to stop us. With force. Deadly force. Like, he will kill us all, I’m sure.”

My stomach bottomed out, heart racing as flashes of the vision played across my mind; of my mates dead, their bodies laid out before me like a reminder of all I had to lose. I pressed a hand against my abdomen and sucked in a breath.I cannot let it happen, I thought, blocking my mind from the others.

“He’s right,” I murmured. “We can’t risk Dante and his men finding us.”

“Leave it to me,” Orion stated, stepping back from the group. His gaze, dark and swimming with so much untouched emotion, lingered on mine. “I may be able to tell who is and who is not with him.”

From the other side of the circle, Elias snorted. “How are we meant to trust you? How the hell do we know you aren’t working for Dante?”

Bile rose in my throat. “Elias…”

Orion lifted his chin, jaw clenching. “Everything I have ever done was to protect Ivy. And that’s more than the rest of you,” he replied darkly. “Dante’s people know to fear me. I can find safe passage.”

“Then you take one of us.” Maeve glanced at me before crossing her arms. “From now until we get Ivy her crown, we do not go anywhere alone. After what happened at the ball, we cannot risk it.”

Tensions rose, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Trusting Orion again after everything he’d done went against all the anger I felt towards him. Part of me—the one tied to my magic and the boy he’d once been—wanted to trustthat he wouldn’t leave again, that he wouldn’t put any of us in danger. That part of me wanted to take him back as my mate, reclaim him, and ensure he would never do anything to harm me or my family again.

But the part of me that was hurt by his actions couldn’t look at him the same way. It wasn’t just leaving. It was everything that came after.

My heart pounded, magic rising in my chest in agreement. “I agree with Maeve,” I said, tightening my arms around myself, breathing deeply to keep the magic down. “No going alone. I don’t even like the idea of two people leaving the group.”

“Then we should make these side quests as few as possible,” Rowan replied. Through the bond, I could tell he was trying to reassure me, but my heart still raced with fear.

I swallowed hard and glanced between Maeve and Orion. If there was anyone I trusted most to go with the Fae prince, it was her. “No one goes out alone.” I turned my attention to Orion. “I get that you’ve been doing things your way for a while now. But not anymore. If you think you can secure safe passage to the Underworld, then great. But Maeve goes with you.”

Orion’s jaw ticked. In the violet of his eyes, it was clear he wanted to argue. He hesitantly reached through the bond for me, and although the part of me used to blocking him wanted to throw up a shield to keep him out of my thoughts, I let him slide into my mind.

You don’t trust me, little flower?Though he posed it as a question, I could tell it was more a statement. And the hurt that followed made my heart clench.

You haven’t given me much reason to, Ry,I replied.I still don’t know you—none of us do. And there’s a lot of time to account for.

From the other side of the circle, Orion lowered his head. His end of the bond flickered out like a bad connection, and he glanced at Maeve. “You and I will go out. The less people with us, the better. We don’t need Dante’s followers finding out what we’re doing, and too many of Ivy’s mates will draw attention.”

My vampire mate nodded. “They won’t see me as a mate. They will see me as an agent.” She turned to Adrian, though her blue eyes flickered to mine. “Can you create a charm that will hide the mate bond? Very few would know I’m one of Ivy’s mates. In this instance, that should serve us well.”

Stomach bottoming out, I tried to hide how that unsettled me. My emotions were rocky at best, and I couldn’t trust myself to be logical about any of this. And my magic…

It really didn’t like the idea of our bonds being hidden.

Adrian murmured his response. Without looking at me, he took Maeve’s outstretched hand and started drawing something on the inside of her wrist with the tip of his finger. Through my bond with Maeve, I felt her own hesitancy over the command.

It makes sense to do this,I told her.The bond will put you in danger.

She stiffened, and darkening eyes found mine.No, it puts you in danger. I will not risk your safety. Never again. Dante has always been one step ahead of us. I will not let him win.

A shiver danced over my skin, lifting the hairs of my arms. I couldn’t form a response to that statement. But Adrian finished his charm, and although I couldn’t tell there was a difference, obviously there was by the way Hawk grunted.

“I can’t tell you’re mated, and I’ve been around you before and after the bond,” he muttered. “It works.”

Adrian released a shaky breath. “That charm will only work for two hours, tops. Our bonds to Ivy aren’t meant to be hidden, and I can only do so much to hide that power.” My mage glanced at me with worry before taking a step back from Maeve. “You next, Orion.”

My entire body locked up as the Fae prince stalked towards Adrian. There was a darkness in Orion’s eyes that sent a shiver down my spine, but he said nothing as he pulled his shirt sleeve up to reveal the inside of his wrist. He didn’t move to pull the glove off, and as I stared at the pair, my chest tightened with panic.

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