Page 52 of Silverproof Damsel

“She’s awake?” Rhys’ pitch had risen with the question. “Fucking start with that next time, Mikel. For fuck’s sake. No, I’ll be up shortly. Tell Cadmus and Arryn to go grab Xanth, Dagan, and Silas to head out with the letters I handed out to each of you.” Silence filled the air until he spoke once again. “Their destination will be revealed once they’ve placed distance between themselves and our enemies. Talia spelled each piece of vellum to reveal the reason for their travel. It also exposes which ally they’re to bring back, and, once handed to that person, the letter will reveal what I’ve included to ensure they come to the mansion once it’s handed to them.”

The crease in my forehead deepened as I considered what he’d said. It sounded rather complicated, but Talia was rather tangled in riddles. If I were being honest, most witches were rather convoluted in madness or bouts of it. They paid for their magic with their sanity, a price exacted by manipulating powers meant for another realm.

“No, I’ll be up to speak with her. Mikel, keep this between us. Until I discover Illeron’s intentions, I prefer him to believehis plan to sow discord succeeded. Once we’ve ended the more pressing threat, we will deal with him accordingly. Until then, keep him away from this wing of the mansion. I don’t relish the idea of ending his life, but I won’t vacillate if the choice is his life or hers.” I heard his footsteps on the marble floor, compelling me to enter the chamber and listen further.

Inside the bedroom, I moved to the bed, grabbing a blanket to cover up with. As the water turned on, I strained to hear more and inched closer to the bathroom. It wasn’t until I peeked my head through the doorway that I realized I’d been discovered.

I peeked inside, only to be yanked as Rhys planted me firmly between him and the wall. Rhys’ face darkened as cold, lethal hostility wafted from his pores.

“Learn anything from spying on my phone call?” he asked in a tone dripping with disdain.

Licking past my suddenly dry lips, I fought to form words through the panic swelling in my chest. “Is she okay, Rhys?” The whisper of sound trembled as it escaped through anxiety at his angry, threatening demeanor.

“Don’t worry your pretty head over your best friend, Love. Nyx will be fine once she’s fucked Acyn enough to heal from her wounds. Wounds she wouldn’t have received if you’d listened to me.”

Shaking my head, I noted his narrowing eyes as they thinned and tightened the skin around his brow line. “I was asking about Nyota.” I’d figured Nyx was healing under Acyn’s watchful eye. Whatever the pair shared, he genuinely cared about Nyx. “Is Nyota . . . okay?” A flash of regret slid over his face before he concealed all emotion.

“My sister isn’t your concern. I need to leave for a while. Go through the master bathroom and ensure I haven’t missed something you require for your stay here. I hate to see you suffer, as everyone close to you has recently been forced to endure.”

Rhys’ stare shifted to the side, making mine follow the same path. In the bedroom, the light exposed strands of dark, smoke-like tendrils that dissipated like mist the moment I laid my eyes on them.

“Take your hands off of me, Van Helsing,” I whispered as nausea burned against the back of my throat. My entire stomach roiled as he refused to release me.

“Fucking make me—” He didn’t have time to finish his taunt. Instead, horror spread over his face as I leaned forward, tossing my cookies onto his chest. “God damn it, Remington!”

I didn’t respond since I couldn’t. My stomach continually heaved violently. It forced Rhys to steer me toward the toilet, where he pulled my wild hair back as I continued emptying my stomach until I dry heaved.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I’dspentalittleover an hour throwing up before Rhys helped me bathe to clean us both. After he’d insisted on aiding me into a long, flowing white dress of the softest fabric I’d ever felt against my flesh, he’d moved me into what I suspected was supposed to be the living room.

It sat below the entryway, nestled between the pulsating magical walls. A large white sofa sat before a gurgling fountain, feeding the pool of water that flowed down quartz crystals into a narrow, manmade body of water.

Rhys ensured my comfort on the sofa before disappearing into the kitchen. The surrounding space pulsed with magic, causing the fine hairs on my arm to rise.

Inhaling the calming scent of lavender and lemongrass, I frowned as a heaviness settled in my middle. Lavender and lemongrass helped alleviate my first trimester morning sickness. Nyota must have informed Rhys. It felt like a betrayal.

I’d trusted Nyota to keep her word, making me the biggest idiot ever. Not that she’d spilled any of the big secrets, at least that I was aware of. We had made a pact. What happenedor what she saw in our house remained in our house. What happened at Rhys’ house also remained there. She’d broken it, though. It had to be Nyota because Nyx hadn’t been able to get close to me if I were sick. The one time she had, she ended up sharing the toilet with me as she’d spewed right beside me.

Smelling ginger and chicken wafting from the kitchen caused a rumbling in my belly. Curiosity forced my attention toward the soft glow behind the bar. Rhys had vanished through the door behind the bar, causing the desire to snoop to arise.

The sound of something clanking erupted right before a bevy of cussing sounded. A soft smile played over my mouth, growing as I listened to Rhys inside the kitchen. Did he even know how to cook? He must not be skilled, or there wouldn’t be colorful words drifting out of the kitchen to reach my ears.

Several explicit words later, Rhys appeared with a tray laden with food piled on it. With an uncertain glance, he placed it on a small coffee table.

“How’s your stomach, Love?” Genuine worry glittered in his eyes. It caused humor to grow and expand inside my chest. It threatened to ruin the moment, forcing me to smother it before it could.

“It’s only morning sickness. I’m uncertain why they call it that. It happens without warning pretty much throughout the day. Or it did. It’s eased up since entering the second trimester. It was horrid at the start.” Looking up from the tray, I discovered Rhys staring at me with an emotion I couldn’t name filtering over his face.

“I asked Nyota about you. She refused to supply me with any information. I was unaware that you’ve been ill during your time away from here.”

“Why would you want to know anything? You threw us away.”

“Something you don’t intend to let any of us forget,” he muttered.

I wanted to scoff at what he’d said. I also wanted to argue that I hadn’t been off on a posh luxury vacation. He’d kicked me out of his house and off his land. I’d not left because I’d wanted to do so.

The moment hung between us as I shrugged my shoulders. “Everything I read said nausea is completely normal during pregnancy. In the first three months, there are so many changes to the body, and then add in the highs and lows of the hormones. It’s a recipe for disaster. I was a colossal mess, but somehow, I made it through rather unscathed.”

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