Chapter 54

Nicholas

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Aiden and I shot out of bed as the door was struck, ripping us out of our deep sleep.

"Get your asses out here!" Keir opened the door. "Living room. Now!"

He sounded worried, and my stomach instantly sank to my feet as I could only think of our girl. If something had happened to her…

Aiden barely beat me out the door, both of us still wiggling our pants up and throwing our shirts over our heads.

Lilly was sitting on the couch; Mavis was next to her.

"What's going on?" my twin asked sleepily.

Lilly and her friend looked up at the same time, both sharing a similar troubled expression. Mavis's eyes were bloodshot and puffy, like she'd been crying for hours.

"What happened?" My heart was pounding in my chest.

Keir was pacing over by the bar, on his phone, barking at someone angrily. That was not a good sign.

"My mom never came home last night," Mavis said in a shaky voice, leaning into Lilly, who had her arms wrapped around her.

"Where is she? Have you tried calling her?" I asked, taking a seat on the other couch facing them.

She nodded. "I called her a million times. Keir said when they got back yesterday, she mentioned there were a few more things she wanted to check into. She didn't tell him what, though. She said the less he knew, the better." She pressed her lips together in an attempt to push back tears. "This is not like her. She always lets me know if she isn't coming home."

"I'm sure she's fine," Lilly offered.

Mavis nodded, but she didn't look like she believed it.

Aiden took the spot next to me as Keir walked over to us. "I knew I should have made her tell me where she was going. It's too dangerous right now." Our brother looked remorseful, no doubt blaming himself and thinking of the worst thing that could have happened to Ida.

"I'm so sorry for bothering all of you," Mavis apologized. "I know it's an important morning; I just didn't know who to go to."

"No, Mavis," Lilly assured her. "Don't apologize for being worried. Keir and I were awake already anyway. You are fine. I'm glad you came to us. We're family."

Mavis turned into Lilly, burying her face as she held her tightly.

"Don't be sorry," Aiden told her as well. "Ida is family. I'm glad you came to us."

"So, what do we do?" I asked my brothers.

"I called a few people who might know something, but no one has seen her." Keir let out a frustrated sigh, wiping his face with his hand. "Fuck!" He kicked an end table, sending it into the wall and splintering it into pieces.

"Keir, please," Lilly said calmly to him, gesturing to her friend clinging to her.

"I'm sorry," he said, immediately wincing at his harshness.

"She's probably fine," I said to the room. "Ida knew how important today was. She was just trying to help us out. Maybe she found something, or maybe she's still looking. Regardless, she'll be at the third trial today. She wouldn't miss that."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Ida had been our rock, always helping us whenever she could. She cooked for us, gave us updates about Mother, and even sent her messages from us, though Mother never returned them. Ida never betrayed us, not once, and over time, she earned our total trust. She was on our side, and she knew our father was a menace to Hell.

What if he found out she was helping us with the trials?

My brain was racked with thoughts of what he would do to her if he did actually find out. The horrible ways he would punish her and the way he would gloat about it to us—which was exactly why I didn't think he had her.

He would've definitely let us know, especially before Lilly's last trial. He knew that would throw her off her game. Something else must have happened, or maybe nothing at all.

We were overthinking this. Ida was more than capable of taking care of herself and always came through for us. We just had to wait for her to find us.

"You're right," Mavis said as she sat up and wiped the tears from her face. "She's probably going to find us at the arena today. I'm sure she's fine and I'm just worrying over nothing. This is a huge deal. She probably didn't want to risk coming home. Maybe she found something."

"Did you say arena?" Aiden asked the same question that had been floating on my tongue.

Lilly, Keir, and Mavis looked at us with grave expressions.

"I got the call this morning. That's why Lillian and I were already up." Keir paused before continuing. "He's making a spectacle of it. It'll be at the Mors Arena. He invited anyone and everyone to come watch the third trial."

"Of course he fucking did," Aiden grumbled.

"I swear to fucking…" I walked away, needing a minute to gather myself.

I stood at the windows, looking out over the city. I didn't usually get angry, but that changed when Lilly came around. I had more to worry about, more to lose, and our father was fucking with our lives in a way I couldn't ignore.

If anything happened to her…

I didn't doubt all three of us would rise against him if he hurt Lilly. He wouldn't walk out of that arena if something happened to her. He would be carried out… in several bloody pieces.

My hands clenched at my sides, and I had to roll my neck to alleviate the tension.

Two small arms circled me from behind. "Are you okay?"

I pulled her around to hold her to my chest, and she kept her arms around me. I nuzzled into the top of her head, breathing in her sweet, honey scent. I wanted to hold her like this forever and never let her go, especially today. There was still too much we didn't know. We had no idea what she would be walking into, what dangers awaited her.

That wasn't an option, though. We had to be strong for her, with her. No matter what the last trial was, we were walking out of there with our girl, possibly our demon girl. The thought of her being a full demon made me imagine all the vile things we could do together for eternity. She was sexy with mine and Aiden's powers, but the thought of her being able to have full access to her own set of abilities filled me with pure lust.

"Nicholas?" Her quiet voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"I'm okay, baby." I tried to lean in for a kiss, but she leaned back.

"It's okay to not be okay."

It was amazing. She was the one in danger, the one being put through hell, but I swear, she comforted us more than we did her. I admired her huge heart. It was one of my favorite things about her.

"I'm just worried, that's all."

She nodded and hugged me tight, resting her head on my chest. I squeezed her so hard, she grunted.

"It's going to be fine." She got up on her toes and kissed me. "Tonight, we are going to be home laughing about these stupid trials." She ran a finger down my chest as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "And celebrating, of course."

My chest vibrated with a deep chuckle, making her eyes sparkle. "I cannot wait for that part."

I started to lean in for another kiss, needing her lips as much as I needed air, but Keir cleared his throat, the room eerily silent and still as we all anticipated what was coming.

"It's time to go."