Page 170 of The Crown of Nyx

It was givinginvasionin the absolute worst way.

His words replayed in my head as brought my magic to the surface.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, voice even. “You attack, I steal your power. Remember?”

I swallowed hard but let my magic play beneath my skin anyway. “How did you find it?” I asked. “You didn’t take enough of my magic to have it guide you here, Dante.”

His jaw ticked, the smile forced. “Interesting questions,” he replied. “But aren’t you at all curious about Adrian?”

“No,” I snapped. From the corner of my eye, I glanced at my mate. He looked shocked, horrified. He had his hand on his belt, right over the incomplete charm. He looked as though he wanted to use it, but couldn’t.

Turning back to Dante, I sucked in a breath and released it slowly, remaining calm. “How?”

This time, when he smiled, it wasn’t forced. A low laugh bubbled from his lips as he held the skull at his side. To anyone else, it would have looked like a normal human skull. Weathered by age, left to the elements, cracked along the top.

But to me, it was powerful. I felt it now that I was in its presence, could feel the ebb and flow of magic that was similar to mine—but not.

A shiver rolled down my spine as I took it in. Beneath the grime was markings, carvings that looked similar to the designs that appeared across my skin when my magic was at its most powerful.

“At first, I didn’t know what I’d found,” he said. “A party in the Luna Court. A goodfriend had suggested it. Showed me to some ruins out in the old TitaniaMountains. Said no one ever went out there. That the land was cursed during the war and blah blah blah.” He stalked towards a chest in the room, one I hadn’t noticed before. Chains, dark and foreboding, sat on the ground beside it.

“But what we found within waslife changing.” As he said that, he set the skull down within. It took all my power not to rush over there and grab it from him, but I was eerily aware that his presence wasn’t just physically in this room.

The space was barren except for us, the chest, chains, and the remnants of flowers. I hadn’t noticed them when walking in, but there were several different bushes, all with different coloured flowers. Silver, red, green, blue, pink, and purple; seven different types, all growing within, all emitting a soft glow. But the silver flowers were dying, their petals wilting before my eyes.

“First, we found a letter written by some peasant Fae from the Luna Court. It was dated to around the time Pandora became Queen.” The lid of the chest shut, and he turned to me with a smug smile. “She’d been fucking the High Queen’s brother. He was trying to assume the position of High King.”

I remembered Asael talking about him. How he’d been the one to find the skull in the first place.

But Asael had also claimed he’d found every possible reference to the power and destroyed it.

I needed to keep Dante talking, to keep him busy. I hoped he liked the sound of his own voice, because the more he spoke, the more I got an idea of what the hell to do.

“Don’t bother reaching for your mates,” he said, voice darkening. “I’ve got a good little charm mage in mygrasp, who is making certain the runes I’ve put on the walls are magnifying blocks to all your bonded mates.”

Damon?I thought, reaching through our marks to see if he could hear me. But there was radio silence from him. I glanced over my shoulder, only to find he hadn’t entered the cottage at all. He was outside.

The demon king sneered, but not at me. He slammed his fists against the walls either side of the old doorway. “You stupid bastard,” he growled. “Do you not think I won’t find a way to save her?”

Dante chuckled again. “You can try, but by then, it’ll be too late.”

My stomach sank, and I turned to him again. “Too late for what? If you were going to steal my powers, Dante, you would have done it by now.”

“That’s the funny thing about ancient magic.” He winked and waved a hand over the top of the chest. Silver light danced across the surface as a thousand runes activated. If I wanted the skull now, it would be useless unless I took the chest, too. And it could take days to unravel all of the charms he had in place. “It works on timelines. Like moon cycles.”

Just like the ferry,I thought. “And what moon cycle are you waiting for?”

“A full lunar eclipse. See, I always wondered why all this information was hidden in the Luna Court.” He crossed his arms, eyes boring into mine. “Take a guess.”

I rolled my own. “So, I guess that means you have to wait to steal my magic from me. Sucks to be you.”

“Does it though?” He uncrossed his arms. “I have you right where I want you. And did you know, Luna Court has a lunar eclipse almost every month?”

The sinking feeling in my stomach grew worse. “Do you have any idea what you will do to every single world if you go through with this?”

“Scared?” He grinned like a maniac and laughed. “You aren’t built to be Queen. If you were, you would have known you were never going to win. I’ve had Adrian in my grasp since he was a fuckingchild. I’ve had all of them within reach. My brother has been unknowingly feeding me information. Of course, he made it hard when he fucked you and completed the bond. But nothing a good visit couldn’t solve.”

“I never saw you,” Adrian muttered, appearing beside me. “I never saw you when I returned to Avalon. And I neverfeltyou…”

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