Page 84 of The Crown of Nyx

Adrian finally pulled himself out of bed with a groan. “Is it time?” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

I tested our bond carefully, finally noticing how drained he was. “How much magic did you use last night?” I asked, stalking to the side of the bed to sit beside him, careful not to let Elias’s shirt ride up too much and show off…everything.

Almost everyone in the room had seen me naked. Except Hawk, which I was more than happy to maintain. And it’d been eight years for Ry.

Neither needed a peep show now.

I took Adrian’s hand, which was warm, clammy. “Are you okay?” I asked quietly.

He eyed me tiredly for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, Sweetheart, I am.”

I wanted to argue, but something thumped on the ground between me, Elias, and Maeve. I looked up, only to find Hawk stepping back. “Those appear to be yours, Princess,” he said. “Delivered this morning.”

It looked similar to the duffels we’d brought with us on the ship. “My gear?” I glanced between him, Rowan, and Orion warily. “It better not be another stupid dress.”

Rowan chuckled. “It’s your gear. From what I can tell, it’s the gear you were wearing when we got here.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t get the chance to grab the bag. Elias took it and dumped the contents onto the bed with a frown. Something silver hit the covers, light reflecting off the long hilt and steel blade. I gasped. Before Elias could stop me, I scooped up the dagger Maeve had given me and held it to my chest.

“Thank the Goddess,” I whispered, wrapping my fingers tightly around the cool steel. My gaze flickered up to find Maeve’s, who watched me with a soft smile.

It’ll always return to you,she said through the bond.

I know, I replied. It’d been such a regular part of my everyday life that most of the time, I forgot I even had it. But I wanted to make more of an effort to rely on the weapon. On being able to protect myself.

Elias rifled through the rest of the items that were in the duffel. I recognised what was mine, down to the boots. Hell, even my plain underwear was there.

My shifter detangled the gear from the mess and set them down beside me. “They’ve been washed.”

I grimaced. “I don’t know how I feel about that,” I said, glancing down at the bra and panties that Elias dropped on top of the pile. “I guess it’s not the…worst thing in the world.”

From the hallway, one of the other males grunted. I looked up, only to find Ry striding into the bedroom, nose crinkled in disgust. He pulled something from the belt of his gear, a small vial with something red within.

“What is that?” I asked, frowning as he stopped in front of me. I had to crane my neck to meet his dark stare. “I’m not drinking anything?—”

“Don’t worry, it’s not going to shrink you,” he muttered, pulling the cork from the vial. My stomach gave a surprised flutter at the reference. A story I’d told him under the stars. I didn’t think he remembered any of that. “It’s going to completely dismantle any lingering charms.”

The frown didn’t leave my face, only deepening when he swiped his finger beneath a blade sheathed to his belt. Blood welled at the tip of his finger. I made a sound in the back of my throat, reaching for his wrist, but he lifted his finger above the vial and let two drops of blood hit the red plant within.

The reaction made the vial glow with a soft, pink light. I bit my tongue as Ry swirled the vial twice before dumping it over the pile of clothes.

Beside me, Adrian said something, which was drowned out by Elias’s growl.

“What did you use?” Adrian asked darkly, grabbing the pile. Whatever the liquid had been dried up immediately on the clothes, because when I snatched them from Adrian, they felt exactly as they had before.

Ry took a step back, putting the vial in his pocket. “Algae from Abyss. Disarms charms.”

Adrian’s brows furrowed. I felt his apprehension through the bond. His distrust. But I could also tell Ry wasn’t lying. Nothing, not even the brief impressions I could access outside the blocks he had in place, made me wary.

I released a breath, clutching the items of clothing to my chest. Rising from the edge of the bed, I grabbed Ry’s arm before he could take a step back. “Thank you,” I said, offering him a half smile.

The male tensed, but he gave me a nod before moving out of my way. I let my hand drop and tried to ignore the small pang of disappointment. Even my magic couldn’t help but feel the widening gap between us. And it had been pretty proholding him accountable.

It didn’t matter. At least, not right now. Priority one was getting to the Old World and stopping Dante.

With one final look back at the others, I made my way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me with a sigh. There likely wasn’t enough time to shower, so I pulled Elias’s shirt off and set it on the sink while I dressed in my own clothes again. As much as I loved wearing his stuff and enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped in his scent, I also appreciated being in something that belonged to me. My own clothes brought me comfort. There was no guesswork with something that had been made specifically for me.

The only thing I didn’t bring with me were the boots, but once my thick socks were on, and I felt more normal and less porcelain-doll like, I checked myself in the mirror. I hadn’t even noticed the slight changes within myself, let alone on the outside. My hair felt thicker, longer. Had I just not noticed it growing back in Avalon? I quickly tied it back with a frown, but it was my eyes that gave the most away.

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