Page 49 of The Crown of Nyx

But Orion’s dark chuckle filled the air. “Did you really think I would let you leave that easily?” he asked, voice eerily close to my ear.

My eyes flew open, and I tried to move, to turn so he wasn’t at my back, but the mud had claimed my feet. A whimper of frustration passed my lips before I could stop it.

“Ry, it’s me. It’s Ivy,” I said, desperation filling my voice. “I’m not a demon. I’m not your enemy. I’m your mate. We were separated in the storm, remember? That sea monster came for us. And I don’t know where I am—I don’t know where you are. Please, you need to hear me now.”

He circled me slowly, but rather than anger darkening his features, there was a furrow to his brow and confusion in his violet eyes. “My mate is—” He stopped, almost as if a glamour were keeping him from speaking.

A knot formed in my stomach as I looked around the dark space. “If there is anyone else in here, show yourself.”

There was a chance I was wrong. But I couldn’t help but wonder if there was still a glamour on his end. I could speak to him freely, but from what I’d gathered the last few days, Ry had done so much to protect me. To keep me hidden.

I might hold some deep resentment towards him, but I also could admit there was still a lot I didn’t know about him. About what he’d gone through these last eight years.

But I had to believe that after all this time, he would know me.

There had to be someone else here. Someone in his dream.

Ry stopped in front of me, head cocked, but he said nothing as an unnerving silence permeated the dark, twisted forest. I swallowed hard as I waited; I hesitantly searched for something that shouldn’t be here, like a magic I didn’t recognise.

But it hit me full force; a different kind of power, one I had no frame of reference for. I knew it was demonic, but I knew little about demons, and what I could remember, didn’t help.

I met Orion’s eye. I opened my mouth to say something, but a shrill laugh cut me off. I covered my ears, my mate doing the same as the dream around us darkened.

And once again, I was thrown into darkness.

21

Orion

Iawoke with a start, the image of Ivy burned into my retinas. The sound of shrill laughter echoed in my ears as the haziness of the dream died, leaving me in unfamiliar darkness. The stone beneath me was warm as I tried to sit up. I expected the familiar ache of pain from being beaten, but nothing came.

Because you’re no longer withhim,I reminded myself as I took in the rest of the room. I wasn’t in a cell, but rather on the floor of a bedroom. Sweat dampened my skin, but I made myself rise and take it all in, from the rumpled bed I must have been placed on, to the small window looking out over red skies and a demon’s death garden.

I’d never been to the Underworld, but I’d heard plenty of stories. The leaders of each demon House had what they liked to call adeath garden. It was a homage tothe gorgons of old, but not nearly as nice. The garden was full of bodies, and those who were still alive were essentially eaten alive. Those who were dead were nothing more than rotting flesh and broken bones. Some were buried, so only their heads remained above ground, while others were tied to posts and exposed to the elements.

I grimaced as I turned away from the window. At least that gave me some indication as to where we’d landed.

As far as I knew, none of the demon Houses of Sin had sided with Dante. I was certain my father would have boasted that accomplishment, but the demons were loyal to Nyx. And they were loyal to the Elysian King.

He might not technically rule over the demons—his domain was the Elysian Fields and death, more than the denizens of the Underworld—but they respected him despite his absence. It was better than what they were left with when Hades disappeared, leaving the Underworld without a monarch.

But the demons worshipped Nyx, and they bowed to Her Queen.

That didn’t mean Dante hadn’t foundsomeoneto do his bidding here.

The rest of the room was bare, save for a table pressed against the far wall nearest the door. On it was a tray with a pitcher of some sort of liquid—probably water, though wine flowed freely here in the Underworld, and they had a taste for pomegranate juice—with a silver goblet beside it, as well as a small cake.

The door, though, was plain wood and gave nothing away. There were no bars or window. I tried to get a sense of whether there was a guard beyond it, but my magic was weak.

That didn’t surprise me. Even though I’d been around Ivy more the last several days, I wasn’t nearlyas strong as I once was. Connecting with her through a dream the first time had strengthened my power tenfold, but I knew then it wouldn’t be a consistent balm for my magic, especially once she realised it was me in her dreams. I’d felt horrible doing it that first time, but once her powers unlocked, mine had followed, and the bond had forced us together—no matter how far apart we were.

Initially, I thought it was just another dream of her. For so long, I’d forced myself to never trip into a dream where she could be pulled in with me. Imagination only. And for a time, I thought that was all it had been. Just another thing my mind conjured in an effort to feel closer to her, so that my thoughts wouldn’t wander to the next time Hyperion would inflict his punishments upon me. The night it happened had been one of his worst beatings yet.

And then she’d been there, and nothing could’ve stopped me from revelling in her beauty, her scent, her comfort.

Shame burned through me. The power I had over my own dreams should have stopped the lust demon from entering my head, and instead, I’d tried to attack my mate. She was the only one I ever wanted inside my dreamscapes—the only one I trusted with the twisted nightmares within.

I couldn’t feel her nearby, which either meant she wasn’t in one of the rooms near me, or she was gone. She’d wanted to know where I was. I scraped a hand down my face as her words replayed in my head.

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