by Alexis Davie
“I did,” she answered with a nod. “What was it?”
“I don’t know, but the last time I got that feeling, some serious shit went down,” Nyx answered grimly.
“What serious shit was that?” she asked.
Nyx looked at her with a frown and licked his lips. “Well, you know the Great Fire of London?”
“Yeah.”
“That was the last time.”
“Right,” she answered slowly. “My father told me about that. It was your older brother Pyre’s fault, right?”
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Nyx argued. “Clearly your father has a habit of changing stories so that it fits in with what he wants them to sound like.”
“You’re right. He does have a tendency to do that. I’ll be sure to tell him what an asshole he is for doing that,” she retorted.
Nyx narrowed his eyes at her, unsure whether she was being sarcastic, or whether she meant what she said. Perhaps it was a little bit of both, but Romi wanted to speak to her father about Nyx anyway—she just didn’t know how to approach it. Her father was sensitive about the topic of the Dragon Princes and she knew that he would explode at the first mention of Nyx’s name.
Romi also couldn’t help but wonder whether all the other Immortals felt the same way about the Dragon King and his four sons.
It was a bit prejudiced to assume the four Princes would follow in their father’s footsteps, as she clearly saw Nyx hated even being associated with his father’s lineage.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked. “About your brothers?”
“Is there something else you don’t know about us?” he asked cockily.
“Admittedly, I don’t know everything I thought I did. As you said, my father tends to change your stories to benefit him, make him look like the victim,” Romi muttered. “He’s been doing that ever since I could remember. Luckily I had enough common sense to not believe everything he told me.”
“Good for you,” he said with a genuine smile.
Romi nodded her head at him and a sly smile formed on her lips. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll make you a cup of special coffee, just the way you like it.”
“That sounds perfect,” Nyx said, “although I hope you’re not talking about real coffee.”
“Only if you play your cards right,” Romi winked at him.
“I’m a terrific card player, as a matter of fact.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second.”
Romi woke up as a ray of sunlight broke through the curtain and landed right on her face. The room was brighter than usual, and as Romi sat upright, she realized where she was. The space where Nyx had slept beside her was empty and his clothes weren’t lying on the ground any longer. She listened for a while, but it was quiet in the house. A brief shuffling noise was heard but then everything went silent again. Had he left?
Romi climbed out of bed and slipped on a pair of comfortable jeans and a black T-shirt before leaving her bedroom, and called out, “Nyx? You better be making some real coffee.”
Silence.
Romi ran her fingers through her hair and swept it over her left shoulder. “Nyx?”
She stepped out into the hallway, and a strange buzzing sound caught her attention. A green glow flowed from under the door where she kept her talismans and all her witchy stuff, as Nyx referred to them, and her heart dropped down onto the floor. Her grimoire was in there. She had moved it from the pedestal at the far end of the hallway last night while Nyx was in the shower and had placed it in the room where she thought Nyx would never go.
So much for that, she thought.
She opened the door slowly, and the glow faded almost instantly.
“Hey, what are you doing in here?” she asked nervously, trying to hide her panic.
Nyx turned around in the dark room, and much to Romi’s dismay, the grimoire was open in exactly the same place as it was before she slammed it shut last night.
“Is this true?” he asked quietly, pointing to Romi’s family tree. When she didn't answer, he asked again, “Is this true?” in an eerie tone which made Romi shiver.
She had never seen the dark side of Nyx before, but from what she heard, the dragons were vicious and ruthless when crossed. Maybe this was why everyone had such a misconception about the dragons. They were savages when they were angry, only because they had reason to be.
Nonetheless, the tales were only half right, telling only half the story. Those tales of dragons executing and torturing wolves and witches were because they were crossed, not because they wanted to establish dominance.
Or at least that was what Romi hoped.
Looking into Nyx’s dark eyes, however, she did not know what to think, or what the outcome of this day would be.
“Nyx, I can explain,” she said carefully.
“What is there to explain? You lied to me. You told me we did not have any secrets from one another.”
“We don’t. I did not even know about this until last night,” she told him.
“You knew last night, and you did not think to tell me?”
“I did not want to ruin a perfect night with you.”
Nyx eyed her bitterly and he shook his head. “I can’t believe this.”
“I swear I did not know, Nyx,” she said, her voice breaking. “My father did not tell me that, any of that. How was I supposed to know that I was related to Rhaena? And how was I supposed to tell you that I am related to the one person you despise more than anything or anyone in this entire world?”
Nyx pursed his lips, not answering her question.
“You weren’t even supposed to be in here in the first place.”
“Oh, now you’re accusing me of snooping?”
“I did not say that!”
“This is bullshit.”
Romi wished she could read his mind, know what he was thinking, but he shut himself off completely. Even the warmth and love she felt from him had vanished and was replaced by the cold and loneliness of her life before him.
“I have to go,” he muttered eventually and pushed past her.
“Wait, please. Don’t leave.” She grabbed his arm as he passed her, but he growled under his breath. She released his arm immediately and watched as he walked toward the front door. He did not say another word to her or even look at her before he stormed out and slammed the door behind him.
The sound echoed through the empty house and a tear ran down Romi’s cheek as his car sped away. Romi’s knees gave way under her and she slid down onto the ground, dropping her head into her hands. Her heart broke into a million sharp shards, and her emotions bled out in the form of tears streaming down her cheeks.
Every word she had said to Nyx was true. Yes, she was a descendant of Rhaena the Wicked, who had cursed him, his brothers, and his family, and caused the destruction of their home in Lunca. Yes, she was a powerful witch who had the ancient blood of Livia Ambrosias flowing through her veins. Yes, she had only known about it for a day. Yes, she was reluctant to tell Nyx, as there was no easy and respectful way to tell him something like that. Romi did not even know how to process it herself.
Romi understood why Nyx had acted the way he did—he was shocked and overwhelmed and angry, but he directed his anger to the wrong person. It was not her fault things had turned out this way. She did not even know about it until last night.
Maybe she should have told him, sure; maybe it was wrong to have kept it for herself, but she wanted to approach the situation with delicacy, as she knew exactly what Nyx’s feelings were regarding Rhaena.
She stood from the floor, dusted herself off, and took a deep breath. She wiped her tears and reached for her phone on the living room table. She needed to call her dad and find out why exactly he didn't tell her about this. Was it his ploy to make sure that Nyx would find out and never want to speak to her again? If that was the case, then her father did a damn good job.
Romi dialed her father’s number, and it only rang a few times before he a
nswered.
“Romiera. It’s so nice of you to call.”
Romi grimaced, but tried to stay calm. She did not want to get overly emotional over the phone; she wanted to say it to his face, while her anger boiled up inside her. She wanted him to see and feel how much this secret had hurt her, and that everything she had ever loved had been ripped away by his selfish need to control her life.
“Hey, Dad. Are you at home right now?”
“Not at the moment. Inges and I are heading out to the countryside. There might be more bears in the area.”
“When will you be home?”
Her father paused for a moment before asking, “Is everything okay, Romiera?”
“I need to talk to you about something. It’s really important.”
“Okay. We should be back by this evening. You can come around the house any time after six.”
“I’ll see you then,” she said, and without waiting for a reply, she disconnected the call.
She stared at the floor for a few seconds, immersed in sadness and despair. She called Nyx’s phone, but it was switched off.
He was mad and felt betrayed, and he didn't want to talk to her, which was fine. She understood that. She would probably feel the same as he did. She did, in fact. She was betrayed by her own father, who despised the idea of his daughter spending time with a Dragon Prince so much that he would purposely keep something a secret for her to find out like she did. Her father knew that something as big as that would shake her very foundation, especially after being Nyx’s True Mate.
Romi’s eyes widened. Did her father know everything already? Was he listening in on their conversations, her thoughts? Or was he aware of it from the very start, like Rhaena?
Could her father really be that evil?
A crack in the floorboards behind her caused her to whirl around, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Hello?” she called out foolishly.
She had seen enough movies to know it was never a good idea to follow a sound in an empty house, but luckily she was armed with her magic. She could take anyone out, of that she was entirely certain.
The floorboard cracked again and she glanced around her, taking slow steps as a ball of red and purple energy formed on her palm. “I’m warning you, whoever you are, now is not the time to fuck with me.”
A dark figure moved in the shadows and out of sheer frustration, Romi threw an orb of energy toward it. The energy orb crashed against the wall, briefly illuminating the figure’s face.
Her eyes widened in shock as an invisible current struck every cell in her body, causing her to drop to her knees. Her chest was tight and she struggled to breathe against the invisible force which now pressed her down onto the ground. Footsteps echoed through the house, and two boots appeared in her line of sight, but before she had the strength to look directly at her attacker, a sudden force hit the back of her head, and she was plunged into a deep pool of darkness.
7
Nyx was livid beyond all measure as he stomped around his living room, a very quiet and wide-eyed Raine sitting on the couch. Raine knew better than to say a single word, as Nyx was in a state which could lead to possible strangulation, if the wrong words were spoken.
Nyx’s eyes flashed violently as he tried to make sense of the information he had just received from Raine, but his mind couldn’t process it. It was too much of a nightmare.
“You’re sure?” Nyx eventually growled.
“I’m sure, Nyx. Henry Friar is the grandson of Rhaena,” Raine repeated.
Nyx had been under the impression that Rhaena had died without having any children, and that any family she did have left were killed in the massacre orchestrated by Nyx’s father and his underlings. Somehow, Rhaena had a son while she was exiled—with god knows who—a son who carried forth the blood of the powerful Ambrosias heritage, Duncan Friar, Romi’s grandfather.
His jaw clenched as he paced angrily around the living room, not sure what to do. He had left Romi’s house so abruptly, the news having shocked him to the core. Even more so when Raine confirmed what he had learned from Romi’s grimoire. Thoughts raced through his mind, scenarios played out before his eyes, and it grew too loud, too fast.
He growled suddenly, and the voices and images disappeared within an instant.
“You should go talk to her.”
“I have nothing to say to her. I’m too angry right now. I might just…” His voice trailed off as he realized the horrible things he was thinking. He could never do anything to harm Romi, regardless of how angry he was, and he was ashamed that he even thought those things.
Her words suddenly came to his mind. After he had told her about what his father did to her father and his coven, she told him it did not matter, and that she did not hate him because he didn’t do anything to her. That it wasn't his fault and that he wasn't to blame or be held accountable for the deeds of his father. What his father did to Romi’s coven didn't influence the way she felt about him; nothing would ever change the way she felt about him.
Nyx lowered his head in shame as he realized that this was exactly the same. Romi was the great-granddaughter of Rhaena the Wicked, who tore his family’s lives apart, cursed him and his brothers, and stole his mother’s Life Thread, which meant she would one day lose her immortality. It wasn’t Romi’s fault that she was related to Rhaena. In fact, she hadn’t even been aware of it.
But even if she was, it shouldn’t make any difference. Nyx loved her, she was his mate, and he was hers. Nothing mattered to him except her safety, and as she had told him, what mattered was that they would rescue one another, and always be there for each other.
The guilt rose up inside him and he turned to Raine. “I have to go talk to her.”
Raine arched his brow and gave Nyx an I-told-you-so expression, and before he could even open his mouth to retort, Nyx nodded. “I know. I know. You were right. I have no right to be angry with her about it. Sure, she didn’t tell me right away, but it’s not an easy thing to say. She knew how I felt about Rhaena and what she did, and she took my feelings into consideration the whole time. I was just too fucking stupid to see it.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Nyx, it happens to the best of us,” Raine assured him.
“I guess. We’re far from perfect.”
“Some more than others, myself included.” Raine stood from the couch and approached Nyx. “I have somewhere I need to be. Will you be okay on your own?”
“Yes,” Nyx answered and shook Raine’s hand. “Thanks for listening, Raine.”
“Anytime,” Raine said with a nod.
It had only been a minute after Raine had left when there was a pounding against his door. “Did you forget something?” Nyx asked as he opened the door, but his jaw dropped when he saw the middle-aged man standing in front of him. He knew exactly who he was from the photograph in Romi’s grimoire. “Hello, Henry.”
“Where is my daughter?” Henry growled as he forced his way inside Nyx’s apartment.
Nyx stepped aside and watched as Romi’s father stomped around the apartment, looking for Romi. “Come on in.”
Henry whirled around and glared at him. “Don’t look so smug, you son of a bitch. Where’s my daughter?”
“Romi’s not here.”
“If you’re lying to me, I swear I will rip your head off and spit on your corpse.”
“Whoa, that’s a bit graphic, even for you, sir.”
“Don’t call me sir! Where is my daughter?”
“She’s not here, okay?” Nyx answered and held his hands up in defense.
“I know who you are, and I know what you’re capable of. Your father is an evil man and by experience I know that the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree,” Henry said and pointed his finger at Nyx. “I know what your family did to my family, and I will not allow you to hurt my daughter.”
“Henry—”
“I am not done talking!”
The uneasy feelings of Nyx’s chil
dhood surfaced from deep down within himself. His own father had spoken to him even more harshly than Henry was, and it brought back so many unpleasant memories for him. He cowered slightly under Henry’s anger, but he straightened his shoulders and kept his composure. Nyx knew that his anger wasn't solely toward Nyx, but also toward his entire family. He was just the final nail in the coffin of hatred.
“I don’t approve of your relationship with my daughter. Not now, not ever. She deserves to be with someone who treats her with respect, and someone who didn’t cause her entire family to go up in flames, literally!”
“I understand your concern, Henry, but—”
“But nothing! You stay the hell away from my daughter! Do you understand me?” Henry bellowed, his eyes glowing angrily.
“I do,” Nyx answered, but bravely took a step forward. “Can I just say something?”
“What? What could you possibly say that would make this situation any better?”
“There isn’t anything I can say to make it better, but I can say that I am not my father. I wasn't responsible for the deaths of your family members, and if I could, I would go back and stop my father from doing what he did. He’s not perfect, none of us are, but we make do with what we have. We try to right the wrongs of our ancestors, as difficult as it may be. The blood spilled by their hands can never be washed off, and we’re doomed to walk in the shadow of our family’s mistakes,” Nyx explained.
“Even if we’re innocent?” Henry’s remark was laced with sarcasm.
“No one is truly innocent, Henry,” Nyx said impetuously. “But you don’t have to worry about Romi and me. I messed up and I don’t see how she is going to forgive me.”
Henry’s gaze softened slightly but he showed no sign of change in his posture or his expression. “That’s typical.”
“Maybe, or maybe I was just an idiot who didn't realize that I was upset about the same thing she forgave me for when we met,” Nyx pointed out.
“And what was that?”
“She knew what my father did; all the horror stories about him are true. He did things, nightmarish and inhumane things, things that give even me a deep feeling of disgust and hatred for him. Those people didn't deserve the fate they were given, but I can’t change what my father did. She told me that it didn’t matter to her what my father did, and that I wasn’t like him,” Nyx answered and took a deep breath as the sorrow filled him up from the inside. “When I found out that she is a descendant of Rhaena, the woman who cursed me and my brothers, and the reason why my mother is deteriorating faster and faster every day, I was blind with rage. I felt betrayed that she didn’t tell me about it, even though I know I would have freaked out regardless of when she told me. I accused her of being a liar and…”