Page 83 of Happily Ever Bitten (Underworld Royals 2)

She came in to talk to me about Lucifer, Grigory explained softly into my mind.

A vibration beneath my back had him cursing.

“What the fuck is going on?” a deep voice demanded from nearby.

Adrik, my mind supplied. Why do I feel so loopy? Like I’m cemented in a dream?

You didn’t get enough sleep, Grigory replied. And you were going on about death.

I blinked once more, then gasped in a breath upon remembering the dark cloud covering Noxia Kingdom. An army of death, I breathed into his mind. Their souls were pure black, intoxicating and consuming. I could feel them through my connection to the realm, their auras vapid, just like the soldiers in Neptune.

My power was still evolving, just as Lucifer promised it would. I wanted to groan, but another vibration of the bed had me yelping instead.

Adrik and Valora were speaking quickly, their words floating in and out of my head. Something about being under attack—which, yeah, obviously that was the problem.

“You can’t kill them,” I heard Narissa interject.

Is everyone in your bedroom? I asked Grigory.

Yes. His fingers brushed my cheek. Just focus on trying to wiggle your toes. You’re almost there, Zay.

I wanted to ask him what the hell had happened to me but decided to work on being able to move first while the conversation continued to flow around me.

“Do you have a better solution?” Adrik demanded, referring to the soldiers and Narissa’s request not to kill them.

“Napia is controlling them,” she said. “If you can disassociate her from her power source, it’ll force her to release the hold she has over their minds.”

“What about your father?” Valora asked.

“He’s not the threat,” Narissa replied. “It’s my sister. The power has gone to her mind, blackening her soul and unleashing her inner monster. Take her down, and the army falls.”

“And your father can’t absorb the power to reinitiate the army?” Valora pressed.

“As far as I know, no, he can’t, but it would be wise for us to subdue him as well.”

By the time Narissa finished, my limbs were tingling again. The invisible net appeared to be slowly disappearing, granting me my freedom once more.

“And what’s happening to Zaya?” Adrik asked, his tone less commanding than before but still underlined in clear frustration.

“It’s Napia,” Narissa informed everyone. “This is what she does—she paralyzes. The attack on Zaya was pointed. I’m surprised she’s recovering. It must have something to do with your bond to her.” I couldn’t see her, but I suspected she was looking at Grigory for that last part.

“Our bond and her strength,” Grigory corrected. “The enchantment was powerful; I could see it like a dark shadow in her mind. I had no idea Napia could do that.”

“I warned you she’s been absorbing power,” Narissa replied, her voice tinged with sadness. “My guess is, she’s taken some from members of your kingdom as well. So we’ll need to be prepared for anything.”

“What we need to do is divide and conquer,” Adrik said as my hand curled into a fist.

I want Napia, I told Grigory.

Me, too, he agreed.

I fell in love with him a little more in that moment because he didn’t question my choice, didn’t bring up that she’d just handicapped me with a doozy of a spell, and he didn’t mention that I still couldn’t fully move or speak yet. In his mind, I saw the assurance that I’d be up and moving any minute now, ready to kick ass.

He really saw me as a warrior.

His warrior.

His lips ghosted across my temple, telling me he’d heard all that in my mind, but he was focused on informing Adrik that the two of us would be taking down Napia.

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