Lightning cracked across the sky, quickly followed by a loud rumble of thunder. I glanced out the windows at the darkness covering the landscape. “Fine,” I murmured, taking a step back. “Just give me the potion so I can take it.”
As soon as the words left my lips, the sky lit up again with another flash. I could almost feel it at my fingertips; the rush of electricity, the prickle of power. The hairs along my arms rose as I listened to the thunder following that flash of light.
Power licked at my insides, close yet out of reach. Mine yet not.
My fingers went to the collar, brushing the cold metal lightly. It still felt the same; cold, heavy, too tight. The weight it bore on my shoulders was too familiar now. But for the first time since it went on,it felt loose.
I let my hand fall from the collar, fear crashing into me as I stepped away from the glass doors. Lightning lit the sky, cutting through the heavy, thick clouds, the strike dancing across the darkness before bidding its farewell with another crash of thunder. This one was loud enough to make the chandelier above my head rattle.
“Hey,” Adrian said, voice low. “Come on.”
I frowned, glancing over my shoulder at him. He had a couple of grocery bags in his hands as well as what looked like a potion bottle, a hesitant smile on his lips.
My chest tightened with an unfamiliar emotion, but I nodded, starting for the doors leading into the kitchen.
I held them open for Adrian, who smiled a little warmer at me as we entered. As soon as they closed, the noise from the other room dimmed, leaving me and Adrian in our own little pocket of quiet.
My mage went to the centre island and dropped the bags on the counter. Slowly, I made my way towards him, taking him in as I did; the dark circles around his eyes and the shallowness of his cheeks, the slight tremble in his hands as he unpacked food I’d forced myself not to think about while in the compound—including a huge block of chocolate.
And yet, it was easy to ignore the grumble of my stomach, the tightening hunger, as I realised there was something deeply wrong with my mate.
He barely looked up as I came to stand across from him. “Adrian?” I asked quietly.
He stiffened, eyes darting to mine. They were so full of sadness, full of fear and anger, that it nearly took my breath away.
“Yeah, Sweetheart?” he said, putting down a jar.
“What happened?” I searched his stare for anything, not for the first time wishing I could read his emotions, understand what he was trying to hide from me.
Adrian shook his head, a shaky breath leaving his parted lips. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Clearly not,” I replied, moving around the island,stopping at his side despite him refusing to look at me. “Something happened while I was gone?—”
“You weren’t gone, Ivy,” he snapped, eyes finding mine. They glistened with tears, filled with frustration and anger. “You were kidnapped. You were stolen by mybrother,and I let it happen. I couldn’t fight for you, and I watched him take you away. I failed you and our bond, and now…” His gaze drifted to my stomach, and he shook his head. “I was too weak to stop him before. But I won’t ever let anything happen to you again.”
Emotion thickened my throat, tears burning my eyes as I glanced down at his shaky hands. “I never blamed you, Adrian.”
My mate set the potion bottle in front of me; inside the clear glass, which was no bigger than my hand, was a murky green liquid that looked sickening.
“You should have,” he said, voice low, eyeing the bottle. “It’s because of me you were taken. It’s because of me that Dante was always one step ahead of us. He had full access to mymind, Ivy. You were never safe with me.”
64
Orion
“Ifeel her. She’s close now,” I said, glancing over at the Seer, who sipped her tea quietly. “But why am I not awake?”
It was becoming entirely too frustrating being trapped in my own body. I vaguely heard little things around me, like I was coming back to physical awareness, and yet I was still lost.
“You know why,” the Seer replied, waving a flippant hand. “Poor thing is probably so overwhelmed right now.”
I gritted my teeth and leaned back. “And is it true? Is she pregnant?”
The Seer glanced at Nyx, who refused to join us at the table. It seemed almost impossible, having the Goddess here, but I was her only link back to Ivy. The only thing Dante couldn’t successfully cut off.
“Yes,” Nyx said after a long moment, voice even. “She is.”
I looked back at the Seer, who dropped her stare to the table, a pink flush highlighting her cheeks. “And you knew,” I accused.
