26

IVY

WE spent the rest of the week getting the children into a basic routine, one that wouldn’t be completely overturned when I went to the academy. But my mind was preoccupied by thoughts of Ry, and the first lesson I’d had with the Queen.

Breaking the news to the kids that I would have to stay at the academy five days a week nearly broke them. I’d promised not to leave them again, and I was tearing that promise apart again and again. It’d taken nearly three full nights of them sleeping over in that giant bed of mine to get them more comfortable with what was going to happen.

But at least half the team would always stay behind. It sucked knowing two of my mates would be away from me, and my magic hated it, but at the end of the day, I only felt comfortable knowing the kids would be safe under the watchful gaze of my mates. It also meant open communication between me and the children at all times. If I couldn’t be with them physically, I would be there mentally.

Up to a certain degree, anyway.

I had two more lessons with Greer going over our history as the Daughter of Nyx. Despite my anxiety, I was fascinated with the stories she told. And I’d finally been able to meet her other mates.

With help from Sir Theon and Sir Leith, I was also able to get the girls into some basic classes about the world. They wouldn’t be able to start at the palace school just yet, but there were tutors they could meet to start catching them up on the basics. My sisters were pretty academically inclined in the human world; Eloise hid her smarts behind her looks, but she’d always done well with science when she was younger. And Ginny and Maisie were simply enamoured by the world around them, so they had no trouble with it.

And while they were distracted with tutors, the Queen’s mates started their hunt for Andrew. I wouldn’t say anything to the girls until there was news on him, and there was no way he’d be allowed near any of them for a while. But if I could find him, then maybe I could get some answers.

I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face. Exhaustion tightened my shoulders, as did the stress of the last week. But the kids were in a routine, Thea had something other than babysitting to do, and I...

I had to pack.

At least it’s only the essentials , I thought as I pressed my lips into a firm line. The trunk on my bed said otherwise. All it had in it was the uniforms. And a couple of pairs of boots and sneakers I’d found hiding on a shoe rack in the back of my closet.

A knock at the door drew me out of my stare off with the trunk. The rest of the team were off doing things ‘necessary for my safety’; Maeve and Elias were at a meeting finalising the new bodyguards for the kids, Adrian had tried to coerce me into a brunch with his mother, which I’d declined because of the timeline for the academy, and Rowan had stuck around to keep an eye on me.

Opening the door, I barely suppressed a smile. Standing on the other side was Rowan, as I’d suspected, but he wasn’t alone.

Shame and embarrassment burned across his features as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

I glanced warily at him, then at his mother. “Hi.”

The older woman smiled wickedly. “Hello, dear. I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to have a bit of a chat.”

~

The Seer— Sable, I was told to call her —had the uncanny ability to guess what anyone was thinking, or so she claimed.

She held a mug of coffee between her hands and observed me with her brows scrunched, like she was trying to get a read on me. Or maybe she was doing exactly that. Wasn’t that something Rowan said he’d be able to do once he’d honed his power?

The idea that she could take one look at me and know everything about me sent a shiver down my spine.

“You’re still uncomfortable around most magic. It makes sense,” Sable said, her features softening as she shrugged. “But you’ll have to learn to mask that when you arrive at the academy in a few days. I’m sure my son and Adrian have told you plenty about that place?”

“Yeah,” I replied slowly, lifting my own mug of coffee to my lips. “They mentioned something about it being...brutal.”

“It can be a bloodbath to those unsuspecting,” Seer Sable said, nodding. Like it was totally normal to admit an academy full of students could end up a bloodbath. And not in the metaphorical sense, either, I suspected. “But I’m sure, with the presence of your mates, you’ll be fine. Unfortunately, you won’t have the protection of being Daughter of Nyx there.”

I swallowed thickly, glancing at Rowan. He watched me, his lips turned up into a reassuring smile. Ugh. If we’d been alone, I would have finally talked to him. I knew now, in my bones, we had to be mates. And he needed to know that I felt that. I wanted that.

But of course, he had to bring his mother. “So, what does that mean, exactly?” I steepled my hands around my mug to keep them fromplaying with my clothes, glancing down at the liquid within.

“Means you’ll be a student like everyone else. No fancy title. Just a girl transferring from one of the other academies in the other realm. So, you’ll get a bit of a pass when it comes to things you don’t know.” She brought the mug to her lips and slurped the beverage, before sighing. “One of the best things to come from humans.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I sipped my own. “I can agree with that.”

As much as I needed to get used to my role as the Daughter of Nyx, I liked having anonymity more. Knowing I would get to be like everyone else settled some of my anxiety.

Sable set her mug down and pressed her hands together. “You already know the basics of your purpose. The academy is going to teach you the skills you need to rule. But it is going to be so much more than that, Ivy.”

I shivered, tightening my hold on the mug. “What do you mean?”

Across from me, Rowan frowned, and he too, tightened his grip on his cup. “Mother…”

“Hush,” she snapped, without looking at him. “The academy will be hard, and it will test you. But no Queen before you will say the path to earning their crown was easy. Greer had to fight for it. Just as Pandora did. And now, you will, too. Only your battle will be far greater.”

What she didn’t say was I had enemies they hadn’t. A force determined to steal my crown—my power.

Otto’s warning replayed in my head, and I quickly pushed it aside.

“Do you know anything about him?” I asked.

Rowan’s jaw tightened, but Sable sighed. “You might have mentioned the presence of a mind witch. That makes it tricky.”

I winced. “Sorry. I forgot about that.”

She waved a dismissive hand and shook her head. “Fine. Fine. But he knows what he is doing. I’ve read the cards. Looked into the future. Asked Nyx myself. All that has been said is: trust.”

My stomach twisted, but I couldn’t bring myself to respond.

Sable’s gaze softened, and she rose. “My time here is over. Walk me to the door, kids.”

Rowan huffed, and the tension dissipated as we rose from the dining table. He slid an arm around my back as we walked to the door. Tingles of electricity, far more potent than before, ran over my skin. Glancing up at him, I found him smiling, his cheeks pink, as well as the tips of his ears.

Seer Sable span around. “One last thing before I go!”

I pressed my lips into a line to stop myself from smiling at the shift in Rowan’s expression.

Seer Sable took my hands and pulled me out of Rowan’s embrace. Her fingers were cold yet soft, and they wrapped tightly around mine. “The academy is where it will all fall into place,” she said. Her eyes glossed over, and it almost looked like she wasn’t quite present anymore. “You’ll find answers and you’ll find allies. They are most important. You will need them. But you will also meet darkness. And you will be forced to face your truth.”

My blood ran cold, and a shiver prickled my flesh as she released my hands. Her eyes cleared, and almost like it didn’t happen, she smiled.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask what she meant, not as she patted Rowan’s cheek and whispered something about catching up, and certainly not as she made her way out of the suite. Her warning settled like a brick in my stomach.

It wasn’t until the door shut behind her and the magical locks pinged that I finally drew in a deep breath. “She’s...”

“A menace,” Rowan muttered. He appeared in front of me, framing me with his towering, lithe body. Long finger stroked my cheeks as he ran his eyes over me. “I’m sorry about her. About cornering you like that.”

My smile felt stiff as I cleared my throat. “It’s fine. Honestly, having a conversation with her kind of...helped. I mean, she gave it to me straight, didn’t beat around the bushes, and made it so much easier to understand, I guess. I just don’t know how you two are related.”

Mirth filled his hazel eyes, and he shook his head. “I wonder the same thing, sometimes.”

“But the last thing she said...” Another shiver, this time raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “She didn’t mean that in a joking way, did she? That was completely genuine?”

Rowan’s lips twisted. “Yeah,” he replied, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, “it was. That wasn’t just a vision—it was a warning.”

~

The rest of the afternoon was filled with tense silence. I wanted so badly to fill it with something else, but I found myself in front of the trunk again, this time accompanied by Rowan.

“I could fit Maisie in this thing,” I muttered, throwing the last of the plaid skirts on top of the few comfortable sets of clothes I’d found hidden in the closet, “even Ginny if I tried hard enough.”

From where he was sprawled across the bed, Rowan snorted. “You wouldn’t want to take them there, trust me.”

I looked up from the contents and raised a brow. “Because it’s brutal?”

“No, because everyone there is horny twenty-four seven. People are finding their mates for the first time. And there are a few sex demons who like to spread the love. Common room orgies are pretty normal.”

I couldn’t tell if I was intrigued or horrified. “What?”

Rowan met my stare, his smile roguish, and laughed. “Are you surprised? Sex is different here. More...open. But once you find your mate—or mates—it becomes more personal. Still, there are some who like to get it on while others are around. Usually, it’s a weekend thing. But don’t worry, they’ll let you know. It’s more fun for them if the people watching actually want to experience it.”

My cheeks warmed at the explanation, but not because of what he was saying.

I’d felt that way when I’d been with Elias while Maeve and Adrian had been there to witness it. There had been something almost...empowering about experiencing a moment of pure lust. And the idea of having all my mates there...

I sucked in a sharp breath. Blocking my thoughts was hard. I had three mates, all scattered around the palace, and the last thing I wanted was to distract them with those...thoughts.Fantasies, really.

I shook my head and started re-folding the clothes in the trunk. I wasn’t sure how to respond—or if there was an appropriate way to continue a conversation about how horny the common rooms supposedly were.

“I’ve rendered you speechless,” Rowan said. “It was bound to happen.”

I huffed, trying not to laugh, as the weird tension lifted. Glancing up at him, I replied, “How do they not get jealous? Or worse?”

Rowan sat up and shrugged. “Same way we don’t, I suppose. Although, I did promise Adrian that you and I would be ravenous for one another once you realised the bond.” His eyes darkened, and I felt that same pulse of electricity I recognised was part of my mate bonds. My magic reacting to a potential mate. Reaching and testing whether they were worthy.

My skin warmed as his eyes ran the length of my body. Heat flared in the pit of my stomach, coiling around the pulsating desire building within me.

“Ro—”

“Do you feel that?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He leapt from the bed and joined me at the foot of it, almost crushing me into the edge. “Am I wrong to think there might be a chance?”

I shook my head slowly as Rowan melded his body into mine. Each hard ridge of muscle in his chest and abdomen pressed against me. His heart pounded, and the length of his member hardened against my stomach. And nothing about it felt wrong.

It never had.

Everything with Rowan had always felt right.

“Ivy...” He lifted his hand and brought it to my cheek. Electricity sparked from the touch, rolling down my spine. I gasped as he cupped my other cheek. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I first ran into you on that street corner, and fuck, I won’t waste any more time.”

Before I could respond, Rowan brought his lips to mine in a slow, almost hesitant kiss. He tasted like coffee and sweet cakes, and when he swiped his tongue against the seam of my lips, I accepted him fully. Explosions set off behind my eyes as he deepened the kiss. I clutched his shirt to hold myself up, to keep myself together, but my magic was roaring beneath my skin, entirely awake and begging for more.

Mate. Mine. Claim.

I broke the kiss with a sharp breath, the meaning of those words hitting me full force. All the hope I’d had exploded in my chest, shattering all the uncertainty I’d had about Rowan.

His eyes were just as wide, an almost feral glint entering them. “I knew it,” he breathed as he brushed his thumb over my cheek. “I was scared we wouldn’t but...fuck.” He lowered his head until our foreheads touched. “Thank the fucking Goddess.”

Before I could respond, three threads of my bonds brightened. Is everything alright? Do you need Elias and I to return? Maeve asked, her worry flooding me.

Angel. What’s going on? Elias growled, and I caught a flash of his own unease.

Adrian came next, and it was fear that came down his end of the bond. Ivy? Your magic flared. Where are you? Are you okay?

My eyes widened. “Shit.” It was too bad we couldn’t have a telepathic group chat. Because sending each person a thought explaining what happened took way too much time, Rowan’s frustration grew. But I promised to explain everything once they returned, telling them I was okay before closing the bonds.

“I don’t think I like having to be checked on like that,” Rowan said, his hands roaming my body; they trailed down my arms, leaving sparks of electricity in their wake, to my hips, then up to trace the line of my bra. “How long do we have before they come back?”

I shivered. “Probably not very long. They seemed eager to wrap up what they were doing,” I grumbled, cupping his cheeks. “Are you okay?”

His eyes flashed to mine, and he blew out a breath. “Adrian will have a field day with this.”

I cocked my head and moved in closer. “With what?”

Cheeks burning, Rowan bowed his head. “I’ve never slept with anyone before.”

My sweet, flirty, sexy mage was a virgin? It took all my power to keep that thought tucked firmly inside my own mind. If Adrian didn’t know this, then it was definitely not my place to tell anyone else. Not when Rowan was trusting it with me.

Swallowing, I cupped his cheek and offered him a smile. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Rowan’s eyes widened, and he snorted. “All I did was admit I’m a virgin, Ivy. Nothing profound.”

“But you told me . Not Adrian, who is your best friend.”

“I told you because you’re my mate. The only one that matters. My Goddess incarnate. And you have to be aware that I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing otherwise.”

“No idea?” I clarified. “You’ve done nothing?”

“Call me an old school romantic, but I wanted to wait for my mate,” he whispered. “And now, I can say that you’ll own everything. Every part of me will be yours.”

My eyes burned with the threat of tears, and I had to suck in a cooling breath to stop myself from breaking apart. I wasn’t even sure what it was about his statement that absolutely tore through me. Was it his devotion? His trust? His decision to wait for his mate? There was something old-school romantic about it, and it made me wonder why .

But I could wait for those answers. Instead, I brought my lips to his and teased his mouth, taking the next few moments slowly. Our first time wouldn’t be rushed, nor would it be while everyone was hanging around wondering what the hell was going on. And it wouldn’t be in a common room at the academy.

Breaking the kiss, I met his heated stare. “Soon, we will complete the bond.”

Rowan nodded as he released a shaky breath. “We will. No matter what.”