Page 70 of The Crown of Nyx

I forced myself to turn away from him, unsure of how to feel by how unbothered he seemed. “Now that we have that cleared up, do I get to change?”

Damon’s glowing eyes swept over me, but he shook his head. “No, I happen to like the dress. I told you; you are the most stunning creature there is. And the demons will need to see that, too.”

“And why would they care what I look like?” I asked as he moved to walk around me. He started for the door, his strides long and purposeful. “Damon.”

He chuckled, knocking three times. “They will care because denizens from all seven houses will be there. Pride will want to see you at your best. Lust will wish they were with you. Wrath will want to fight for you. Gluttony will want more of you. Greed will need to have you. Envy will want to be you. And sloth will need you to be their saviour. You must appeal to every single one of them.”

“Okay, fine,” I replied. The door opened, and the same demon attendant who had brought my mates to me appeared, bowing at the waist. “I understand that.” Sort of, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “But this dress is?—”

“Perfect,” he said, voice stiff.

“Gross,” I finished, holding up a hand to stop him from responding. “I see the vision. I really do. But I?—”

“She smells like she just spent hours in a club,” Elias interjected. “I agree that she is perfect. She always has been. But she’s clearly not comfortable in that.”

I offered Elias a grateful smile before turning back to Damon. “I like the dress. I really do. But does it really show them that?”

Damon’s eyes darkened as they found mine, and he gave me a tight-lipped smile. “Who do you think gave you the dress?” he murmured. “Sao will show you to the throne room. I will be waiting for you, my bride.”

The male turned into shadows and disappeared right before my eyes again, though this time, not before letting his shadows brush my bare arms and caress my cheek. The touch was so soft, it made me suck in a breath.

But he was gone, leaving me standing in the open doorway with the demon attendant, and my unimpressed mates.

“My Queen,” the demon hissed, fist thumping his heart as he bowed again. “We are your eternally loyal subjects. Please, follow us. We thank you for the blessing of joining with the House of Elysian.”

My stomach twisted as I bowed my head.What do I say to that?I asked Adrian, hoping he had his bond open enough to hear my question.

Adrian sent a wave of calming energy down the bond; the gentle caress of his thoughts made me sigh.Thank them. You’re doing well, Sweetheart.

The slight burn of tears made me pull back and thank Sao, who smiled with appreciation. The demon stepped back with a flourish, and I noticed others standing either side of the hall. They all appeared to be from the different Houses—representatives from each, I assumed.

The demons of House Wrath were marked by their weapons and armour, while the demons of House Lustwere dressed in soft silks and gauze. Pride wore what I considered ‘ethereal finery’—everything Thea and I hadthoughtwe would get to wear at the palace but didn’t.

My throat tightened at the thought of her.I’m doing all of this to protect her. To save everyone, I reminded myself. These demons included.

Before I had the chance to step outside the room, a hand gripped mine. Electricity ran the length of my arm to coil around my heart. I inhaled sharply, finding Hawk at my side.

“Let me go out first. You need a protective detail,” he said, voice low.

My heart stuttered, but I didn’t fight him on it, letting him slip out the door ahead of me. When he let go of my hand, I felt the loss immediately. I closed my fingers into a fist as he moved to stand ahead of me, saddened when he didn’t look back.

I doubted he ever would.

Shaking my head, I turned to my other mates. Adrian appeared one side of me, offering his elbow. “Let me escort you?” he asked. His emotions gave nothing away, but I didn’t need access to his thoughts to know he was still wary about this plan.

But it meant the world that he—that all of them—trusted my decision.

I took his offered arm. When Rowan appeared on my other side, I let him take my free hand. We left the room with Maeve moving to walk with Hawk, her protective team leader persona settling into place, while Elias and Orion followed at our back.

The procession took us down a dark, dimly lit stone hallway. As we passed the representative demons, they each dropped to their knees, lifting their fists to their hearts, bowing their heads.

Hold your head high,Orion whispered down the bond.Remember that you are the true Queen. That is all they need to see.

A shiver rolled down my spine, and it took all my strength not to look back at him. Those words had felt like weights the first time he’d uttered them to me. Chains trapping me in a life I never wanted. That I never asked for. A danger I didn’t want to face. A power that could hurt everyone I loved.

Now, though, I wore it like armour. I lifted my chin, keeping my eyes on Maeve and Hawk, and straightened my spine.

The hall ended at a tall set of stairs carved from the mountain itself, though these were polished to a shine. Veins of silver and gold cut through the black stone, weaving through the rock like rivers did a valley.

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