Page 51 of The Crown of Nyx

“How can you be sure?” I asked, crossing my arms. The charm mage glanced at me, before turning back to Nash. It was clear he wasn’t sure if he liked me or not. I didn’t care. He wasn’t someone I’d looked up to at the academy, and the only thing I’d known about him before Ivy was that he’d been notorious for how many females he’d slept with and how drunk he would get at parties. I knew he was a different male now, that he’d changed long before meeting Ivy, but I’d seen it all firsthand during my first year.

“Because I had a meeting with their head of house, Ravenna. She and I made a…deal.” Nash glanced away, though not before revealing a hint of shame. My anger rose again. Had he handed himself over to the succubus leader of Lust? Rather than his own fucking mate?

I didn’t have the same enhanced senses as shifters and vampires, but Fae were better than mages and witches in that area. Although I couldn’t scent another female on him—no arousal or desire from him or another demon—it was clear he was hiding something.

“The deal will mean nothing if we don’t find Ivy,” he added, as if to distract us. But just the idea of him doing anything like that made me wish I didn’t have the control I had over myself. It made me wish that if I hurt him, it wouldn’t hurt my flower, too.

“What happened?” Grey demanded. “The ship went down. And the sea monster…”

“The monster is like a guard of sorts. It must have recognised Ivy and delivered her somewhere safely. To where, no one knows,” Nash replied, voice tight. “That’s why Ravenna has demons out looking. She thinks she knows where Ivy is now, and she’ll be moved somewhere safe.”

“She needs to be broughthere,” Archer snapped. “Why the hell would you make a deal for Ivy without consulting us? You aren’t a bonded mate.”

I took a little too much satisfaction from the way Nash flinched. His jaw clenched, but before he could utter a response, Grey stepped in. “Fighting amongst ourselves doesn’t help,” she warned, keeping her voice low. “For her sake, we need to be a united front. Especially if we want to get her back safely.”

I stiffened, but the vampire had a point. For Ivy’s sake, I would put away my anger for the half-Fae male. It appeared as though there was plenty to go around, anyway.

“It gets worse,” Nash deadpanned. He’d effectively wiped away any emotion, or feelings about being reminded that he wasn’t worthy of making decisions for Ivy. “Dante is planning to meet with the Elysian King. To make a deal.”

My stomach dropped. Somehow, those words were enough to have everyone stopping to stare at the half-Fae with a mixture of anger and horror.

If Dante successfully made a deal with the Elysian King, the one ally we—no, Ivy—truly needed, then this war would be over for us. He would have won.

22

Ivy

Iwasn’t sure how long the darkness lasted. Moments? Hours? Days?

But it just continued. Worse than falling through Wonderland. At least Alice had something to look at.

It should have just spat me out. Taken me back to the mind of my wolf, where I was still trapped. A passenger in a body that was mine but wasn’t. What was going on with the white-furred beast anyway? Was she awake, still wandering the lonely volcanic plains? Or was she asleep, trapped in the darkness same as I was?

I couldn’t pull myself out. There were no threads to turn to, no clear paths out of the dark. But whose mind had I fallen into? Was I still with Orion, or had we been forcefully separated by whoever had beenin his dream?

It’d been a demon, but what kind? Were there demons capable of that? Just like the Fae, there were so many different parts of the Underworld I didn’t understand, and Hell was a large realm I hadn’t worked with yet.

So, it was possible there were demons capable of entering dreams, just like the Fae. But whoever kicked me out had been powerful.

A flash of light struck the darkness, crossing the blackness like an ‘x’. A twisted joke? Like ‘x marks the spot’ and you’ll find the buried treasure? I hesitated where I—stood? Floated? Mind fuckery was not my greatest weapon, clearly. One day, I prayed to Nyx, I would be given the chance to learn how to understand all that came with the dream walking. Because even though I hesitated, I still reached for the light.

It disappeared before I could grab hold of it. I turned and waited to see if it would cross the darkness again. Had I lost my only way out? If I had, and I was trapped, then I was more than just screwed. But there had to be other ways to leave whatever this prison was.

Could the darkness be one of Blythe’s tricks? Something she planted in Orion’s mind at his request? It was possible. But I was more powerful than Blythe—hell, if it was the doing of a demon, then I was more powerful than them, too.

I was the fucking Queen of Nyx. Anchored by five mates. With the full power blessed by the Goddess Herself. And I could take care of myself.

The light struck again, and this time, I didn’t hesitate.

When I reached for it, I stumbled through the darkness into a blindingly white room. For a moment, there was nothing more than just light and the smell ofhoney. Almost as soon as the smell hit me, it was gone, and so was the white room.

Smoke, cloying and thick, hit me hard. I was back in a dark room, but not the endless darkness I’d started with. This was a murky darkness. Almost tinged red. And there was a strip of pinkish light at my feet.

I pushed through whatever room I was in and found myself stumbling free from a heavy curtain into a dimly lit bar. I stopped, eyes narrowed. The sound of laughter and hushed voices filled my ears, and as my eyes adjusted, I realised I wasn’t alone. There were demons—at least a couple dozen—seated at booths and around a bar. It had the vibe of a vintage speakeasy, with the low light and smoke filling the air. But there was a large stage in the back, the lights dimmed, and the curtains pulled back.

And there was someone on the stage, tied to a chair, their head bowed and a bag covering their face.

My stomach bottomed out. Ringing in my ears almost drowned out the chatter of the demons who gathered to look and point at the male strapped to the chair.

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