7. Willow #2
As I continue giving Circe her much-needed scratches, I notice that the room is growing brighter. The source of the newfound light stems from the symbol on Circe’s chest—it’s glowing, pulsing with a powerful turquoise radiance that takes my breath away.
There’s a humming in my ears, a warmth surging in my veins, originating from my wildly beating heart. The air around us seems thicker than before, filled with a tangible kind of magic.
“What…?” My words get caught somewhere down my throat as I witness Circe’s jaws widening in slow motion.
Her eyes flare bright as she turns her head, muscles coiling as she prepares to sink her teeth into my hand.
At the last second, I rip my hand away, stumbling back into Nyx’s chest in my desperation to get away.
“Willow!” Nyx’s arms curl around my middle at the same time his large turquoise wings swoop in, covering my body and drowning me in darkness.
A powerful roar fills the room, pouring from Nyx’s throat with so much ferocity and rage, it makes the very ground quake. “You could have hurt her! How could you?”
In response, Circe lets out a sassy yowl. Though I can’t see anything, I’d bet that her eyes are squinted in annoyance, too. Cats, man...
“If you’re not going to be polite, then I can’t allow her to pet you. Those are the rules.”
Circe grumbles in feline annoyance, and I hear the swish of her tail against the floor as she stalks out of the room.
A few moments later, Nyx’s wings uncurl, and I blink rapidly to adjust to the change in brightness.
Nyx turns me around to face him, his sea-colored eyes scouring my face for any hint of discomfort. “Are you okay, lovely? Do you hurt?”
I shake my head, a small smile tipping my lips at the sight of this massive, scary creature looking so concerned. For me.
“I’m okay,” I say. “Just a little embarrassed.”
Nyx tilts his head, confused. “Embarrassed? What for?”
I shrug. “She probably tried to nip it because I did something she didn’t like or got tired of being petted. I can’t fault her for that. It’s just her nature. I just feel embarrassed and a little guilty that I may have caused her some discomfort.”
Nyx’s eyes twinkle with a strange emotion as he stares down at me. “You are truly a beautiful treasure, Willow. So sweet and kind, even when there is no need to be.”
He reaches down, cupping my cheek with his large clawed hand. My core heats, and everything inside me begs me to move closer, to follow that invisible, inexplicable tugging in my chest.
I blink, and remember where I am, and who this demon is. This isn’t a fairy tale; this is a nightmare. I need to focus on getting home, not losing myself in a fantasy.
Clearing my throat, I pull back from Nyx, ignoring the way my chest clenches in pain. “So, um… how about we continue with the tour?”
Nyx’s expression flashes with disappointment for a split second before his teasing smirk is back in place. “Of course. Why don’t I show you something with a little less teeth?”
Nyx waves a hand for me to follow, and he leads me down the tunnel we came from. He stops in front of one of the entryways with a tan-colored hide covering, gesturing to the symbol painted in red.
“This is my bedroom.” He turns to me with a wicked smirk. “It’s not quite as cozy as Rhune’s, but you are always welcome to my furs. You might find the change of scenery nice every now and then.”
I clear my throat, my face flaming and my core tightening. “What’s further down?”
Nyx chuckles under his breath, continuing down the long tunnel. He points out several unused rooms and spaces used for storage, until at last we come back to Rhune’s room. For the first time, I notice that there is a symbol on his hide covering, signifying the space as his.
“The symbols… do each of you have one?”
“We do,” Nyx says.
“Does it mean anything?”
“Possibly. I have yet to find something in this world that doesn’t hold some sort of deeper meaning. But if our symbols do mean something, we haven’t the faintest idea of what.”
“I see.” I pull my gaze away from the painted swirl. “Where to next?”
Nyx gestures for me to follow. Instead of continuing down the tunnel, he takes a left through one of the bare entryways. To my surprise, it leads into another endless tunnel, like the one we were just in.
This place must go on forever. It would be extremely easy to get lost if I ventured out on my own.
Unaware of my internal struggle, Nyx continues down the darkened passageway, turning his head every now and again to make sure I’m following.
“Dravik’s room is on your left. Past that is his brewing room.”
“His brewing room?”
“Uh-huh. He infuses the welwig sap with different ingredients and things. Makes it taste better, and heightens its properties. He’s gotten damn good at it over the years.”
“That’s pretty cool,” I say.
“Mhm. Watch your step. The ground slopes down up ahead.”
As we descend deeper into the earth, we pass by another hide-covered doorway, but Nyx doesn’t comment on it like he did with his and Rhune’s bedrooms.
They must belong to the last brother. It’s strange that he didn’t comment on it, though.
Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I focus on my footing, making sure I don’t trip on any of the ridges in the ice-rock.
After a few minutes, the air begins to warm and thicken. When I look up, I can see a faint blue light glowing from the end of the tunnel, but I can’t make out anything else.
We pass through the entryway, and it feels like the air is trying to choke me. The only other time I’ve experienced this is when I went to that spa with Kimberly for my bridal shower.
“This,” Nyx says. “Is where I like to spend my time.”
I gaze around the space in awe. Unlike the other rooms, the walls and ceiling of this space are made of dark black rock, so sleek it looks wet to the touch. Thick, gnarled roots weave in and out of the stone, casting the space in a calming blue hue.
At the center of the room is a large, shimmering pool set deep into the rock. Hot air rises from the surface of the water, colliding with the cooler air and producing thick billows of steam.
It’s like a natural five-star spa from home, only cooler.
“The water has magical properties.” Nyx’s eyes are trained on my profile, heating my skin. “That’s why it shimmers. I noticed that the water in your world does not do this, and I always found it strange.”
“The water where I come from doesn’t heal you, either,” I whisper. “This is so beautiful, Nyx.”
A purr rumbles in his chest, growing louder when I turn my head to meet his lust-filled gaze. “You are beautiful.”
My breath catches in my chest, fire pulsing through my veins at the way he’s looking at me. I find myself leaning in, drawn by that invisible chord filling my blood with fire that yearns for this strange being.
Nyx reaches out, his large palm curling around my neck, the tips of his claws digging into my skin. It isn’t painful at all—if anything, it makes the fire grow hotter, wakes the dark thing living inside me I’ve tried my entire life to ignore.
Want. I want him.
Terrified just how much I mean it, I pull away, dropping my eyes to the floor as I put some much-needed space between us.
“I, um… I think I’d like to go back to Rhune’s room, now. As soon as he gets back, I’ll have him take me back home.”
Nyx stares at me for a long beat, then nods, some of the light in his gorgeous eyes dying.
“Of course,” he says, the purr in his chest dying. “I’ll take you back.”
If only he could take me home…