I stayed perfectly still as Nyx stepped forward until they stood directly in front of me. “Nyx is my friend, and I’m not going to give my friend a gift through the bars of a cell.”
Nyx watched as I opened the lid. I hadn’t realized it until later, but some type of preservation spell was laid into the silver. Carmilla’s heart rested within it, just as fresh as the day I’d torn it from her chest. The blue vanished from Nyx’s eyes until they were nothing but pools of darkness.
But they made no move to hurt me or their sister. Nyx stared at the heart for several seconds, and then, faster than I could track, they snatched it up and tore into it. My heart raced as they swallowed down the chunks while growling faintly.
Do not run, Talis warned.Their soul teeters on the edge of the abyss.
Soon, all traces of the heart were gone, and Nyx closed their eyes and tilted their head back, blood and gore smeared all over their face. I could hear Tamsen’s heart pounding as rapidly as my own, but like me, she stayed perfectly still. Waiting.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nyx’s head dipped down, and they opened their eyes once more. Obsidian eyes withrivers of blue looked at me, and my friend gave me a bloody smile. “You always did bring me the best gifts.”
Epilogue
Samara
“We’re not talking about it.”Rynn gave my hair a vicious tug and I yelped, then she glared at me through the mirror resting on the wall in front of me. Four months had passed, and we were back at House Devereux for the wedding and mating bond ceremony.
I hadn’t anticipated the amount of jitters that would flutter through me all morning. I mean, Roth and I were already mated, and I was eager to form the bond with Kieran. It had been incredibly challenging to hold back from doing it the past few months, but he had been adamant about wanting the whole ceremony thing.
Plus, Roth’s parents had been ecstatic over the idea. Apparently, the only thing that excited them more than wholesale slaughter was a wedding. Or in this case, a wedding followed by a mating bond ceremony. We’d all arrived yesterday and collapsed into the large bed of the guest suite that had been set up for us. It wasn’t easy to step away from our responsibilities, but we’d been working around the clock until the moment we’d left.
Surprisingly, I’d all slept until late morning. Although when I woke, Roth and Kieran were already gone, so I had a latebreakfast with Vail, Draven, and Alaric. After that, I’d been ushered into this small room.
I’d cackled when I’d walked in to see the weapons on one side and the dress hanging on the other. Clearly, this was just an extra weapons storage space that they had temporarily converted into my dressing room. It was close to where the main event was being held—which, in true Devereux fashion, was the sparring ring.
In their defense, it was the biggest open space within the walls, and many buildings overlooked it.
I’d expected some of the Devereux staff to come help me get ready, but to my surprise, it had been Rynn, Cali, and Nyx who’d walked in. My eyes had misted a little at the latter. Nyx was no longer confined to a dungeon cell, but they still kept their distance from most of the Moroi and really only interacted with me and my mates.
Except Vail. They no longer attacked him on sight, but Nyx had made it clear they had no interest in seeing him. It hurt Vail, but none of us knew how to mend that bridge other than to allow Nyx their space.
We’d set up a small cottage just outside the Sovereign House for them. The ward around it made it safe, but it still worried me that they were out there on their own most of the time.
Several rangers had volunteered to keep an eye on Nyx’s new home, not because they were wary of them but because, like me, they were concerned for them. Many of the rangers liked Nyx and wanted to keep them safe. Knowing that helped my stress quite a bit.
I’d invited Nyx to come today, but they’d given me a noncommittal response, so I’d assumed they weren’t coming. And while I’d hoped Rynn and Cali would make it, communication with them had been sparse since we’d all parted ways, and they hadn’t been able to fully commit either.
“Don’t make her cry again,” Cali snapped. “Her face will get wrecked.” She waved at my eye makeup from where she was perched on several boxes containing crossbows next to me.
Like Rynn, she also refused to talk about her situation. They’d both declared that today was all about me and only happy thoughts were allowed.
Any time I deviated from that, I got my hair pulled or my arm pinched.
I sank into the chair and scowled.
Smack!
“What the fuck, Rynn?” I rubbed the back of my head.
“No frowning!” she barked before staring at the messy braid situation. I’d say it was her fault for smacking me, but honestly, I think that might have improved it. “We might need to find someone to help.”
“Or you could just let me do it.” I started unraveling some of the braids, which were more knots than anything at this point. Fancy hairstyles were beyond me, but simple and elegant, I could do.
Nyx sighed before pushing off the wall where they’d been leaning since arriving. They hadn’t spoken much, but their posture had been relaxed, so I figured they were okay.
“Move,” they rasped and hip-checked Rynn out of the way before detangling my hair and sectioning parts of it off. Rynn happily went to sit by Cali, and the two of them started to idly chat about the events today. Mostly placing bets on how long it would take before some of the guests got caught fucking. Or a fight broke out. Or a fight that led to fucking started.
It was . . . nice.
