Page 64 of The Crown of Nyx

Tears burned my eyes as I buried my face into his chest. “I was more worried about you guys,” I said, pulling back enough to see the others enter the room.

Adrian released me, and I immediately went to them. Maeve’s face went from hard stoicism to sudden relief as she pulled me into her arms. She wove her fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck, the other holding me to her chest as she breathed in deeply.

“I do not like that you smell of…others,” she whispered. “But you aren’t hurt.”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, squeezing my eyes shut. “I’m okay.”

Maeve, very reluctantly, released me into Rowan’s arms. Tears brimmed his hazel eyes, and as soon as I was in front of him, he buried his face into my shoulder,arms winding around my middle. I looped mine around his shoulders and held him close.

“Fuck, waking up without you—knowing you weren’t here—feeling that loss—” He stopped and shuddered. “I should have known you would be able to take care of yourself though.”

If only he knew, I thought.

Slowly, I untangled myself from him to meet his stare. “Are you able to feel the bonds?”

Damon had assured me the sleep spell that had kept me from reaching them should have worn off a while ago, but as I reached for Rowan’s thoughts, I felt a slight push back from his end of the bond. Frowning, I cupped his cheek and searched his eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He leaned into my touch, pressing his lips to the inside of my palm. “Of course. But just in case, we’ve all replaced our blocks. We know Dante was coming here.”

I shuddered, turning to the others. Elias bowed his head, and when he reached for me, I accepted his hand with relief. He tugged me into his chest, dropping a kiss to the top of my head.

“You have no idea how worried we were.” His arms tightened around me, chest rising and falling with a sigh. “Fuck, Ivy.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “We’re together again. That’s all that matters.”

Elias released me with a look that told me he didn’t fully believe me. “You have your blocks up, just as strong as the rest of us, Angel. What are you hiding?”

I glanced at my remaining two mates. Orion had a perfected mask of indifference, though the tell-tale signs of distress—something I’d picked up on when we were young—played in his violet eyes. He wouldn’t let theothers know what he was feeling, but I knew, even with the bond quiet, something was wrong.

Hawk, on the other hand, looked at me like he already knew what I’d done.

“I had to make a deal with King Rhadamanthus,” I said, stepping away from Elias, wringing my hands once more. “A deal that’s not only going to get us to the Old World, but a guide, and a really strong alliance with him.”

I tried to ignore the weight of their stares as I started pacing again. All the anxiety that had escaped me at seeing them again came back full force now. “I need you guys to trust me on this.”

“We always will,” Adrian said, frowning. “But what deal did you make?” His eyes dropped to the very obvious snake tattoo circling my arm.

Actually, all eyes did, and I held my arm up so they could see. “This was more a deal to protect me,” I said, heart pounding. “But there’s a second one.”

And Damon had put it in theworstplace imaginable.

Releasing a shaky breath, I hiked up the skirt of my silk dress to reveal the new band wrapped around my thigh. Another snake, this time with different details, but it had its own tail in its mouth. The Ouroboros.

The little I knew about the symbol came from lore back home. And Damon had no intention of explaining what it meant to him when he’d placed the shadow tattoo on me.

Elias’s nostrils flared, eyes darkening as they met mine. “What did you promise him?”

“My hand,” I said, “in a unifying marriage.”

27

Ivy

It pained me, seeing my mates angry. Terrified.

But it also frustrated me to no end that they didn’t trust me.

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