Page 37 of The Crown of Nyx

“I know,” I replied quietly.But that’s why I’m terrified,I thought to myself as I lay there, soaking in the quiet with them.

A flash of my vision hit me, the sight of my mates dead outside the bars of my cage. I tried to push it from my mind, but it was a dark shadow reminding me of everything I had to lose.

16

Ivy

Storms. That was the danger Captain Meira alluded to when they’d decided to take this passage.

But as I stared out over the dark, churning ocean, I realised it was worse than just that.

We were headed into a graveyard.

The remains of ships lay half exposed to the elements, the crashing waves hiding some from view while also exposing others to the frigid, stormy air. Masts reached for the darkened sky, some fractured, others snapped in half from the force of the waves. What I could make out of the decks and even some of the interior cabins of a few ships made my heart lurch.

A lump formed in my throat. I was almost certain there were bodies still scattered throughout the ships. Some were nothing more than skeletons, their bonesyellowed from their exposure to the elements, but there were also a few that looked…fresh.

Forget lump. Bile rose in my throat, and my stomach gave a warning turn before I heaved. I barely held myself up as I puked over the edge of the ship, my stomach completely emptying of the sad, tasteless stew I’d eaten earlier. Never in my life had I puked because of a rocky ocean. But the ship swaying from side to side and the apparent bodies scattered across the ship graveyard were a terrible mix.

I tried to straighten, but the ship rocked again, almost putting me on my ass. I grunted at the thing—no,person—that appeared behind me as a barrier between me and the deck.

“What—” Tingles shot up my arms at the force, and a shiver rolled down my spine as I breathed in a familiar, spicy scent.

Hawk.

My stomach churned for a different reason this time. Although I’d reassured Adrian and Rowan that what the male behind me had said wasn’t as bad as they thought it was, I still couldn’t ignore the ember of insecurity that arose, knowing he didn’t actually want a mate bondwith me. The sane, logical part of me that still existed as Ivy Wilson, receptionist by day and romance writer by night, understood what he meant. I’d felt the same way when learning about my bonds.

But the Ivy Wilson, Daughter of Nyx and now Queen of the supernatural realms, kind of hated him more than I had before. It wasn’t even just him; my magic recoiled at the feel of him, pissed off at his rejection. Then there was the insecure part that wanted to know if he thought I wasn’t good enough.

It was strange, the war of emotions, but maybe a good reminder that not everything here would be sunshine and rainbows in the romance department.

When the ship steadied again at the shouts of Captain Meira, I pulled myself out of Hawk’s embrace. The half-Fae male let his arms fall to his side, and he said nothing as I put my back to the roaring ocean and the…bodies.

Our eyes met, and I noticed immediately the hardness in his. They were as dark as ever, and there was a tension surrounding him that I could only think was because of me.

Quickly, I looked away, seeking out anythingbuthim and the ship graveyard. My bonded mates were scattered across the deck; Elias, Adrian, Rowan, and Orion were recruited by the other crew to do something with the sails. Something about preparing them for the worst of the storm.

The fact it would get worse made my stomach churn again.

“Ivy.”

The sound of my name on his lips chipped away at my resolve.No, I would not give him the attention he wanted. Instead, I sighed, searching the rest of the main deck for Maeve. I tested our bond gently so as not to startle her, and realised she must have been below deck.

“Ignoring me, Princess? Mature.”

I rolled my eyes and spared him a quick glance. “I’m not. I’m trying to focus on anything else but?—”

But the crack of lightning that illuminated the sky, cutting through the dark clouds like Zeus himself was telling us to turn back and not try the passage. The thunder that followed a heartbeat later almost had merunning back to the cabin I’d been sharing with Rowan and Adrian, but I couldn’t move from my position.

Hawk raised a brow, though the tension seemed to lift from his shoulders a bit. “You overheard my conversation with Kingsley and Archer, didn’t you?”

“Yep.” No point in lying, I decided. He could probably tell if I tried. “And it’s fine, honestly. Does not matter to me one bit.”

Okay, that was a lie. There was a part of me that did care. Hopefully he didn’t realise how much.

Hawk’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t point it out. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked me over. “I do need to have a conversation with you about what to expect in the Underworld.”

“Why?” I asked, partly curious and partly because I just wanted him to leave me alone. Talking made the churning in my gut worse. “I’m sure the others can help me just fine.”

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