I give them the short version—how I woke up changed in the forest, how I was taken in by Darius and his people, and how, over time, I came to realize Hawthorn Industries isn't just about solar panels and green tech.
I leave out the details. Not a word about the night with Kayden a year ago, or the engagement. But I give them enough to understand what I am, what I'm running from, and what might be chasing me.
They don't interrupt, but they're watching closely. Every microexpression, every twitch of a jaw or narrowing of eyes tells me they're listening. Processing. Weighing me. I don't know yet if that's good or dangerous.
I've learned the hard way that creatures like me don't survive long by being honest. The supernatural world is hostile to nymphs. I was taught to hide, lie, deceive, and fight.
But now I'm sitting in a room full of them: vampires, a banshee, a valkyrie, a coyote shifter. And I'm about to ask them for help. It goes against every instinct I have. Every rule I've livedby. But I've spent nights under this roof with two vampires and didn't lose a drop of blood, so maybe the rules are changing.
Or maybe they were never like what I was taught.
"There's a passage we found in an old book," I say, voice steady even if my heart isn't. "About a crystal called celestite. It supposedly can 'break a satyr's song.' Which we believe refers to a satyr's influence power. But it doesn't work alone. It needs extra magic to activate. Something spoken and old."
I hate how hard it is to ask. But itishard.
"If anyone here knows anything that could help me," I add, the last words slipping out rougher than intended, "I'd appreciate it."
Asher steps in beside me, calm and steady. "We don't know if it's witchcraft or another kind of magic. But if anything sounds familiar to you, please speak up."
Kayden's the first to talk, naturally. "Didn't you say your bloodline's got some old magic in it?" he asks, looking at Tomas.
Tomas nods, his expression unreadable. "Yes. My family has the shaman's gift. I was born with it. But when I turned…" He trails off, the weight of it pressing into the silence. "It left me. Whatever I had, it didn't survive the transition." After a moment, he adds, quietly, "I could reach out to my family, those still alive, but… they didn't exactly welcome me back. Not like this."
Shunned by his own blood. A soldier returned from war, carrying more than just trauma. A vampire, not just a man. And they turned their backs on him.
Before I can say anything, Astrid cuts in, sharp voice, all bluntness, no filter. "A nymph, huh?" she says, leaning back in her chair. "Thought you were all extinct." Her eyes rake over me. "Aren't you supposed to be naked?"
My eyes narrow.
"Seems like everyone's disappointed when I show up with my titsnotout," I shoot back before I can stop myself.
Kayden laughs, low and unbothered. Astrid lets out a scoff, but there's something amused in it.
"Well," she says, taking another swig from her bottle, "that at least explains the sex haze in this house. It's practically dripping off the walls."
I blink. "I—what?"
Kayden jumps in. "Since when canyoufeel sex? Aren't valkyries all about death and glory?"
"There's life. There's death," Astrid says with a shrug. "And sex is what lives in between."
Kayden nods slowly, grinning. "You know what? Can't argue with that."
"I met a nymph once," Eira says, her voice soft but clear, thankfully cutting through the awkwardness I had no interest in dragging out. "Years ago. But she was… different. Your energy is more volatile. Raw. I suppose that's because you weren't born one."
She tilts her head as she says it, pale hair sliding over one shoulder, her gaze quietly assessing.
"I think the kind of magic you're looking for is druidic," she adds. "They're the ones most attuned to nature-bound beings."
"Oh, perfect," Kayden mutters, standing to refill his drink. "I'm sure there's a druid directory in the Yellow Pages."
"You know we use the internet now, not stone tablets and telephone books, right?" Asher replies dryly, not even glancing up.
Kayden rolls his eyes. "Doesn't have the same dramatic ring, does it?"
Eira clears her throat, gently ending the bickering. "I actually do know a druid. She's an old friend of mine."
Asher perks up immediately. "Can we bring her here?"
