27

IVY

I TOOK the first third of the potion with agrim smile and hope after putting the children to bed. Their night-time routines were as well-crafted as one of my infamous pancakes. So, the mess of the evening had led to another night of restless sleep cocooned between my mates.

Despite the presence of both men, the nightmares had intensified since the power surge, almost like my magic had been protecting me from the worst my mind could create. The warped figure lost its crown and head, the fleshy monster once again chased me through the forest, while twisted creatures sang for my downfall. Then I was transported back to my childhood home where I plunged a dagger into my mother’s chest, over and over again, until her blood coated my body like a second skin and until my throat was raw from screaming.

My hands shook at the memory of my nightmares. I brought the steaming mug of coffee to my lips and took a tentative sip. The scalding liquid barely made me flinch as it burned my tongue, my mind too wrapped up in last night and my conversation with Maeve the last night.

“You know, I’m worried about you,” Thea said, her voice a knife cutting through my thoughts.

I looked over at where she was curled up against the end of the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest and her feet tucked beneath her. She had her own mug of coffee wrapped in her hands, a blanket covering her lap, and a crease in her brow.

“I’m fine,” I replied automatically, taking another sip. “It’s the kids I’m worried about.”

Thea rolled her eyes. “I am capable of worrying about many things, and I am deeply troubled by your current predicament.”

I couldn’t help but frown, though I knew she was right. “What exactly are you worried about?”

She lifted a hand, curled it in a fist, before rising one finger. “Well, for starters, you have a man out there that you never told me about and are still hiding.”

“I can’t speak about him,” I replied, shaking my head. “The promise.”

She ignored that and lifted another finger. “Two: you have two fine-ass men at your beck and call, one of which you can bang whenever you want. The other keeps following you around like a lost puppy.”

I couldn’t help but stiffen as I turned towards her. “Adrian and I are taking our time. Trust me, I wish we could have completed the bond sooner. But now...” As much as I wanted Adrian, I wasn’t sure if I could abandon the girls. Not with Kerry’s death so fresh. “When Elias and I completed the bond, I needed to be with him all the time. I-I can’t do that to the kids, or to Adrian.”

Thea’s lips pursed, but that didn’t stop her from continuing. “That brings me to three: you know what it would mean if you did screw him, and yet you”re hesitating. It would be good for you, mentally, physically, and most importantly, magically. You could give the girls your full attention again if you did finish your bond with him.”

To open my mouth and defend myself would be to admit defeat. She was right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. “I hate you.”

“Four: you love me deeply, so much so that you’re trying to ‘protect me’ even though I am more than capable of handling your shit. I have been doing so for years. And you know what?” she asked, her gaze piercing. “Your guys are more than capable of handling you, too.”

I huffed, my stomach churning with the knowledge that she was right, yet I couldn’t help myself when it came to bottling it all up. “And number five?” I asked hesitantly, forcing myself to take another sip of the now cold coffee.

Thea hummed under her breath as she took a sip of her coffee. The final finger popped up with her fifth statement. “Number five—and I say this with all the love in my heart—you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Kerry. It was horrible and maybe preventable. But nobody would have guessed that would happen or that particular poison would be used. I’ve been listening in on that new team, and even they were surprised by what happened. It’s not an easy poison to get, and what we got our hands on during the attack was, like, more than even the Queen’s personal guard has.”

I felt the blood drain from my face as she spoke. My heart crashed in my ears, a dull ring drowning out her words. Bile rose in my throat, and it made me feel even worse about what happened. Had they used that poison specifically because of me? Had they intended on my family living at all?

Warm hands cupped mine as my mug was removed from my shaky hands. “You okay there, Ives?”

Not for the first time since being dragged into this mess of a situation, I was glad to have my best friend at my side, going through this with me. I glanced up to meet her stare when I noticed the subtle shift of her eyes from her green-blue colour to the molten gold I’d noticed before. It was gone in an instant, and as she pulled away and set my mug down on the coffee table, I watched her hands tremble.

“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching for her hand. Her skin was unusually warm. “Do you have a fever?”

Thea shook her head, but she entwined her fingers with mine. “Yeah, I’m fine. I feel normal.”

“Are you sure?” Guilt gnawed at me as I inched closer. “You know I’m here for you, too, right?”

She snorted, shifting slightly to rest her head on my shoulder. “I know.”

Gently, I rested my cheek on top of her head. “How are you feeling about being some mysterious supernatural creature?”

“Was kind of hoping I was some kind of demon,” she replied, her voice light despite the grip she had on my hand. “You know, so Mom would feel validated in saying I was kicked out of hell for being so annoying.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that because it was something her semi-religious mother had said more than once while we were growing up. To Thea, mostly, but she’d also said it to the two of us. “I think she’d be pleased knowing her only daughter isn’t a demon.”

“She might have had a heart attack if I was.” I gave her hand a light squeeze as she continued, “Do you think Mom and Dad know? That I’m not human? Do you think they’re human?”

I considered her questions carefully. Her parents were the most normal people I’d ever known. The best parents I’d ever known. Her Dad managed a bank and played golf every Sunday, while her Mom did volunteer work when she wasn’t busy at her nursing job. The only person I’d consider not normal would be her grandmother. And if anyone knew the truth, it would have been her.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “Your grandmother would have known.”

Thea hummed softly to herself, the sound reminiscent of an old lullaby her mother used to sing. There was something almost whimsical about it—even if Thea herself couldn’t stand the sound of her own voice when singing.

“I promise I’ll help you find out what you are,” I whispered.

“Too bad they don’t have an encyclopedia of supernatural creatures here,” she muttered, finally lifting her head from my shoulder, a smirk playing at her lips.

“Actually,” a voice interjected, the smell of woodsmoke and cinnamon tickling my nose as he came into view, “there is. It’s almost as old as Queen Greer, and you can find the original at the palace library. It details each species, their make-up and powers, and any other major detail the authors deemed important at the time.”

I glanced up at Hawk as he appeared in front of us, his arms crossed and the muscles of his biceps bulging. He wasn’t in his tactical gear today; instead, he was casually dressed in a tight-fitting black t-shirt and jeans. He winked in my direction, almost like what he’d done during the power surge hadn’t happened. Maybe it hadn’t, and I’d imagined everything. That would be better than whatever he was thinking about.

“Thanks for eavesdropping,” Thea muttered, pulling herself from my grasp and scooting back to her corner of the couch.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my own arms. “What do you want?”

Hawk raised a brow as he perched himself on the edge of the coffee table, too close to me for comfort. His gaze dropped to mine, though he took a moment to look me over. “Well, I was interested in learning how you were feeling, Your Highness. But it seems like I stumbled upon an even more interesting conversation.” An arrogant glint entered his black eyes as a smirk lifted his lips. “I will admit, despite my years travelling through the different realms of Nyx, I have yet to meet anyone like you, Miss Riley.”

Thea made a gagging sound as she reached for her mug of coffee, once again cupping it in her hands. “Miss Riley,” she muttered, shaking her head. She took a sip and then levelled him with a glare. “If you have nothing important to add to this conversation, then you aren’t needed here.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched the half-Fae male. There was an arrogance to him that sparked something within me, something I didn’t like at all. And as he sat there, that arrogance turned to irritation as he watched my best friend.

“You really have no idea what you are?” he asked quietly, his voice lethal. Black eyes that were narrowed on Thea swung to me. “And you believe her?”

I hated myself for ever thinking the man in front of me could ever be attractive. The urge to pour my coffee all over his stupid hair almost consumed me. The moments during the power surge seemed like a silly little dream now, a thing that had never happened. How could a man so irritatingly arrogant be soft and helpful? Maybe it was all an act, all some fa?ade he was putting on to, what? Earn my trust? If that was the case, then he failed miserably and was doing a terrible job at it.

“I think we’ve established that I don’t trust you, Hawk. I think I’ll stick to believing the people I love over someone I just met.”

Hawk’s eyes darkened a fraction, and I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed at me for not believing him, or if he just couldn’t take not being right.

“What is your issue?” I asked, unfolding myself from the couch. “Why is it so hard to believe that I trust my friends?”

“What makes you think I have an issue with that?” he replied, rising from the coffee table. He stepped up to me, invading my space, his scent overwhelming yet so intoxicating. “It is strange that you somehow become friends with an unidentifiable creature, and yet you see no issue with that.”

“Are you insinuating that, at ten years old, Thea somehow figured out I would one day become Queen of the goddamn supernatural world? And then decided to befriend me, and what? Kill me with cookies?” I poked a finger into his chest. Tingles raced down my arm from the contact, but I tried to ignore it as I forced him to step back. Anger swam through me, as did my magic. No way would I let this asshole hurt my friend. “This literally has nothing to do with you, Hawk. So, stay out of it.”

A throat cleared somewhere behind me, drawing me out of the angry haze I was in. I stumbled back a step and cast a quick glance over my shoulder to find one of Hawk’s team members standing there. The vampire, Zephyr, was tall and lanky, though I had no doubt he was stronger than he looked. His hair was darker than Hawk’s, like Maeve’s, though he had no streak of silver through his. He instead wore his cut to his shoulders in a similar style to his leader’s. His eyes were a striking shade of silver and dragged over me slowly in a way that made my skin crawl.

I gave him a once-over before turning back to Hawk. “Looks like you’re needed elsewhere.”

Something changed in his eyes as his gaze snapped to Zephyr. “Meeting in the basement. Now.” The command sent a shiver down my spine, and I stepped back from him. Dark eyes tracked me as I did, and something in my gut twisted as he smirked.

He said nothing and spun on his heel and stalked to the large door leading down to the underground garage. The vampire followed, keeping his head down as he passed the couch. I couldn’t help but watch as they entered the stairwell without another glance back and didn’t breathe until the door clicked shut behind them.

“What a fucking jerk-face,” Thea said, sighing as she slumped into the over-stuffed couch. “If I could punch him, I would.”

I swallowed thickly and joined her once more. “You could punch him. You were taught well.”

Thea snorted and sipped her coffee, watching me with narrowed, knowing eyes. “He gets under your skin, huh?”

I frowned, taking one of the throw blankets and setting it on my lap. “He’s arrogant.”

“He also took off after you when you had your magical meltdown and sat with you for ages while the others had to compose themselves.” Her twisted little lizard brain seemed to be in overdrive as she offered me a knowing glance before gulping down the rest of her coffee. “He wants you.”

“He does not,” I replied, gagging dramatically as she grinned. “He’s probably one of those guys who spends all of his free time in a gym and looks at size twenty-two girls and thinks ‘I can change her’.”

Thea shrugged, taking the other end of the blanket and draping it over her own legs. “Or he’s one of those gym bros who loves himself some extra weight. For lifting purposes.”

Shaking my head, I sank further into the soft white cushions and glared at my friend. “Not. Happening.”

“Fine.” Thea rolled her eyes as she set her now empty mug down on the coffee table and settled into the couch. “He’s also got a stick up his ass if he thinks I somehow know what I am and am using it to get buddy-buddy with the new Queen,” she added, a hint of insecurity in her tone. The off-handed comment would seem to be only that to the untrained eye, but I knew my best friend better than that.

“I don’t believe him,” I said quietly. “Like, at all. What he said was utter bullshit, and I need you to know that I would never suspect you of that kind of...betrayal. And when we get to Avalon, I’ll help you find out what you are. We’ll comb through that encyclopedia. We’ll find some expert or run tests or whatever needs to be done. But I will help you figure it all out.”

Thea blinked rapidly before turning away. If she thought I was bad about leaning on people, she was even worse. I could now see how badly this mystery was messing with her head. The knowledge that she wasn’t human, but no one could figure out where she belonged was eating at her. At least I knew where I fit, even if only one other person knew what it was like to be me. But Thea had none of that comfort, none of that built in support.

“I’ll be here for you, every step of the way,” I promised.

Finally, her gaze found mine again, and she offered me a tentative smile. “The rest of this world won’t know what hit them.”

No, they certainly wouldn’t.