57. Rae
RAE
I padded down the echoey hallway with my two faithful companions for the past five days—Odin and Bandit.
The white Arctic fox was, in fact, my familiar, according to, well…
everyone. While she was the sweetest and most mischievous little buddy—one I’d aptly named because she’d taken to stealing personal items from everyone—I hadn’t noticed that she’d helped my magic at all.
As if to make my point, Bandit raced ahead of me, launching herself against the wall in a parkour move that ended up with her on Odin’s back. The wolf-dog snarled, and Bandit hopped off him, snapping at his heels.
“Play nice, you two,” I said quietly as I rolled my head from side to side.
Everything hurt. From the tips of my toes to the ends of my hair. I hadn’t given up on my vow when the smoke had cleared from the demon attack. I was pushing myself as hard as I could to get stronger.
Kian was teaching me hand-to-hand combat. Olympia and Kyrie were doing their best on the magic front. Izzy was keeping her distance, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d tried apologizing, but she’d huffed and said, “Try again when you’re actually sorry.”
My shoulders slumped remembering it. Everyone else had been focused on the demons.
Nyx was often holed up in his office with his second-in-command, who I’d learned was called Rayne.
After learning the demons had attacked Firelight as well, Rhys and Pax were in constant communication with Ayden.
They also disappeared at regular intervals, saying they were going scouting.
But even when they were here, Rhys avoided me like the plague.
So much for my thank-you.
Soft voices sounded down the hall, and light spilled from a cracked door. I should’ve been in bed, but sleep didn’t come easily for me these days. When I did manage a few hours, it was riddled with nightmares of the masked demon and the dragon-like creatures I’d learned were called Levia.
The name was far too pretty for the creature in my opinion, but they were apparently air sisters to the sea monsters called Leviathan. I shivered just thinking about the two types of beasts.
My footsteps slowed as the voices grew louder.
Nyx.
“I still think it’s a little too convenient that the Luminary Prince showed up here, and a day later, we’re being attacked by demons.”
“It’s possible,” Rayne agreed in his deep, gravelly voice. “But it would be pretty callous to sacrifice an elder in their society just for a chance to off some of the Nocturnae Kings.”
“I think Calloway would sacrifice his own mother if it ended up with Rae back in his possession.”
Another shiver raced through me—this time, for an entirely different reason.
Trust.
I had no idea who I could count on these days. Or what the people around me wanted. The only ones I’d really let my guard down with, even a little, were Kian, Kyrie, and Olympia. But even there, I felt myself pulling back a bit and going inward.
“We’ll continue searching,” Rayne assured Nyx. “We’ll find out how they knew she was here. But it could’ve been a coincidence.”
Nyx scoffed. “Nothing Wraith does is a coincidence.”
Silence reigned for one beat, then two.
“It’s not polite to eavesdrop, Little Doe.” Nyx’s voice was full of derision, and I couldn’t help but wince.
“I heard my name,” I lied as I stepped toward the slightly open door.
Nyx leaned against his desk, his shirtsleeves rolled up to reveal scarred, muscular forearms. “You should be sleeping.”
“I’m not five. I don’t have a bedtime,” I shot back.
Bandit chattered at my side as if to say, Yeah, what she said.
Nyx simply arched a brow. “Fine. Run yourself ragged, but if I catch you listening at my door again, there will be consequences.”
Why did his threat have my blood heating and my thighs pressing together?
What the hell is wrong with me? I gave myself a mental slap. “Show me those consequences, and I’ll send Bandit for your throat. Or better yet, your balls.”
Bandit bared her little teeth at Nyx as Rayne tried to cover his chuckle with a cough.
I gave them a finger wave and a sugary-sweet smile, then turned on my heel and stalked down the hallway.
It didn’t take me long to reach the library. This spot had been my home away from home for the last few days. I’d found it while looking for a hideaway that wasn’t the conservatory—too many confusing memories there.
The library was perfect. Its decor was darker than the rest of the castle’s lighter tones, and it was cozy, with a massive fireplace. It also had an entire section of history books. That was where I lost myself.
As I’d learned more about the different species of magical creatures and their lineages, additional memories had returned. Sometimes, it was tiny snippets. Other times, longer stretches.
Tonight was no different as I lowered myself into a chair at one of the long tables and pored over a book titled Nocturnae Origins. It told the story the guys had shared about the Luminaries creating the Nocturnae as a form of defense, but this book went into much more detail.
Heartbreaking detail.
It told stories of families ripped apart and children killed, all in the service of the Luminaries. I leaned forward, my slouchy top sliding off one shoulder as I read about the Nocturnae asking for help or at least resources to help fight the demons. The Luminaries gave them nothing.
“What did that book ever do to you?”
I let out a soft yelp, my hand flying to my chest as Bandit jumped up onto the table and bared her teeth at Rhys. He’d been so absent these past few days that his voice sounded foreign to my ears.
Usually, I would’ve sent some pithy quip his way for scaring me, but tonight?
I didn’t have it in me. Instead, my gaze fell back to the book in front of me as my hand dropped to Odin’s head to give him a scratch.
Or maybe I was looking for whatever comfort I could find as cruel questions swirled in my head.
One popped out without permission. “Are my people monsters?” My voice was quiet. Not weak but heavy with the weight of the inquiry.
Rhys sighed as he angled a hip onto the table, looking down at my text. “We’re all monsters, Soraya.”
He always used my formal name, even though he knew I hated it. As I looked up at him, I couldn’t help but wonder if he did it to distance himself from me.
“Why are you here?” I asked, suddenly feeling tired to the bone.
Rhys’s amber eyes glowed like sunlight hitting whiskey. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“I’m trying to learn about our people’s history.
And looking to see what it says about those with multiple mates.
If maybe some record was missed for an instance of someone with four.
” So far, there hadn’t been. And my lack of findings in that area had me more nervous than ever. But I wasn’t about to admit that.
“Not a bad idea.”
My brows rose as I took in the man next to me. “Was that a…compliment?”
A scowl instantly appeared on Rhys’s face. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed. “Gods, you love being a grumpy ass.”
“Maybe you just make me grumpy.”
“Oh, I know I do. Even saving your damned life annoyed you.”
Rhys’s face hardened to stone as he studied me, and the room went silent other than the crackling fire. “Why did you do that?”
“Save you?”
He nodded in two rough jerks.
“You’re an asshole, but you don’t deserve to die. Especially not while protecting me.”
“Promise me you’ll never do it again.”
Surprise widened my eyes. “I can’t.” Because while I was still learning about fated bonds, I knew that I would always want to protect him.
Rhys let out a growl of frustration. “So damned stubborn.”
“Hmm, sounds like someone else I know.”
His hand moved slowly, lifting but then halting just before my shoulder. As if he were at war with himself, his hand hovered there. I couldn’t breathe. Not until he decided.
His thumb descended to trace the newly puckered skin from where the fire had scorched my flesh. “You took this for me.”
A single strangled breath caught in my throat. “Not unlike you did for me once.”
Rhys’s eyes bled to gold then. “Petite étincelle.”
The nickname from all those years ago. The one that felt like a dream.
Neither of us moved for a moment, but the scents of leather and smoke wrapped around me like an embrace, tempting me forward. He’d saved me all those years ago. Even with hatred in his heart for the man I’d come from, he’d taken pain for me. Returning that gift was the least I could do.
Rhys’s head bent, and his mouth moved so close to mine I swore I could already feel it. I could taste him in the air between us, all smoky whiskey and heat.
Bandit let out a yip, making us startle apart. My head felt fuzzy and confused, but the rest of my body was on fire. For Rhys. Because while I may not have been able to make sense of it yet, I wanted him. Craved him more than my next breath.
Coldness slipped into Rhys’s features, so opposite to the heat coursing through me. He shoved off the table, his amber eyes losing their golden glow. “You might make me want to fuck you, Rae. But I’ll just hate you all the more for it. And I will never love you.”
And with that parting shot, he vanished.