“Stop,” another said, this voice much closer, strained with fear. “Ivy?”
I blinked my eyes open and saw what appeared to be a stone wall. I frowned, but that quickly vanished when Rowan appeared. Relief flooded me when I saw him; redmussed hair that appeared longer than the last time I saw him, falling in messy waves over his forehead and curling around his ears. There was a pink flush to his cheeks as he met my stare.
I couldn’t form the words to express how damned relieved I was to see him.
But it wasn’t just Rowan who was there. I glanced up and found myself staring into the red eyes of my vampire mate, her lips parting as she sighed. She appeared more tired than she ever had, stress lining her once smooth face.
“Oh, thank the Goddess,” she murmured, dropping her forehead to mine. “You’re awake.”
I made a sound in the back of my throat, the words I wanted to say trapped on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t recognise anything around us. Not the smell of the ocean or the flowers that tickled each breath I drew in. And not the arch of dark stone we stood under.
“We’re on Orion’s island,” Blythe said, appearing in front of me. “Follow the path, it’ll take you to the main house.”
My breath caught, heart pounding harder as I met her sad eyes and was forced to remember the one thing I wished had been a nightmare.
The witch tore her eyes from mine and moved past Rowan, walking out of sight.
“It’s alright,” Rowan said, brushing his fingers against my ankle. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Again, I wanted to say something. To at least speak, but I couldn’t. Not as we left the dark stone arch and stepped onto a path overgrown with wildflowers.
A storm raged above us, turning the sky a deep shade of grey, growing even more tumultuous the longer I stared. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky, somehow making the clouds look even darker. Rain fell in sheets, though not along the path.
Somehow, Orion had known to protect it with a ward.
Emotion thickened my throat as Rowan moved ahead of Maeve, soon followed by a familiar creature no longer in his shifted form.
Seeing Xerxes as a man again made my stomach flutter. His earrings were on full display as he passed, a relieved smile curling his lips. Shifted, he was in gear almost like what Rowan wore, but it was the gear he’d been wearing at the compound issued by Dante.
Just the thought of that male had my stomach souring. Even thinking about the compound had fear racing down my spine.
But we were nowhere near there. We were on Orion’sisland.
The island he’d found for me. With the house he’d been rebuilding as a home for us.
The path was narrow, making everyone walk single file. I couldn’t tear my eyes off the landscape ahead of us, though I knew if I turned my head, I would find the others walking behind Maeve. Elias, Adrian, Damon, Hawk, and hopefully, Thor. I had no idea what’d happened between us getting from the island in Faery to here, but I was partially glad I hadn’t needed to witness any of it.
I somehow felt better after that sleep, even though the nightmare still played in the back of my mind. I’d needed it, and a small part of me felt restored. Like I could think clearer now.
The narrow path wound through trees lining either side of it. I couldn’t see much ahead, though there were witch lights hanging in the branches guiding us through the darkness. It had an almost gothic feel, especially with the thunder playing in the distance and the occasional strike of lightning that illuminated the way.
A curve appeared ahead, leading us to what looked like a shed. We didn’t stop to check it, though curiosity flared within me. It did give us a small break in the trees to see what lay beyond, and what I saw made my heart race.
More trees and a beach with only the horizon beyond. We had to be on one of the outer islands, furthest away from the mainland. The ocean disappeared as we continued up thewinding path. There was a gentle incline, like we were walking up a hill of some sort.
“How could he have hidden all of this?” I asked quietly, not expecting much of an answer.
“Glamours and wards,” Maeve replied just as softly. “And with Blythe’s help, some mind tricks to keep enemies away.”
A shiver rolled down my spine. For the first time since waking, I finally looked over her shoulder to check on the others.
Walking directly behind Maeve was Elias, and just the sight of him had my stomach clenching with worry. By now, they had to know.Hehad to know. There was no glamour or spell hiding my pregnancy now.
Elias met my stare, a gentle smile curving his lips. To my surprise, he was carrying Hawk over his shoulder, the male unconscious. Before I could even ask, Elias shook his head.
“Power overload,” he explained. “Don’t worry, Angel. He’s fine.”
My throat tightened with emotion, tears once again rising to the surface. This time, I didn’t stop them from falling. Goddess above, was I ever going to stop crying? I felt like that was all I’d done since escaping Dante, but each tear felt like another step away from him and what he’d done. But I couldn’t. Not with the pressure around my neck.
