Page 76 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

The door swings open, causing both of us to jump.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you ladies. Hilda, what do you think of Lyra’s ankle?” Nyx asks, coming to kneel next to the couch.

“Oh, King Onyx, her ankle will be good as new by morning,” Hilda says, getting to her feet.

“Thank you, Hilda, and please just call me Onyx,” Nyx says, smiling at her.

She blushes and gathers her bag quickly. “I better be going. Eat your dinner before it gets cold. I brought an extra-large bowl for you, Onyx.” She places a hand on my shoulder as she walks by and whispers, “Be careful, dear.” Then she leaves.

Once we’re alone, I spin around to look at Nyx.

“Where have you been all day?” I say a little too loud. “I woke up to Hilda knocking on the door and realized it was practically dark out, and I was worried you weren’t back.”

“I’m sorry. I came back like I said I would, but you were sleeping, so I went and gathered some supplies for tomorrow. I knew Hilda was coming by, and I wanted to make sure you got the rest you needed. I didn’t mean to worry you . . . although you do look rather cute all frazzled and worried about my wellbeing,” Nyx says, moving to sit next to me.

“I’m not trying to look cute. Please don’t leave me alone again, not here,” I say. His face grows more concerned, but he nods in agreement.

“Let’s get some food in you, and we can talk about the plan for tomorrow,” Nyx says, getting to his feet.

“Wait, sit down. I need to talk to you about something,” I say, reaching for his hand.

“Now I’m really intrigued. What is it?” Nyx says, moving to sit back down next to me. I pull Chepi into my lap, petting him, trying to calm my nerves.

“When I was at the library the other day, and I ran into Colton,” I say. Nyx presses his lips into a hard line. I’m stalling, dragging out what needs to be said. My palms feel sticky, and I rub them on the blanket, clearing my throat.

“He gave me a journal. I don’t know why he had it or why he gave it to me, but it’s one of your father’s journals,” I say finally.

“Why are you just now telling me about this? Did you read it?” he asks, turning to face me fully now.

“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you before. There’s been a lot going on lately. Yes, I read it.” I swallow hard, feeling the tension radiating off him.

“Well, what did it say?”

“I have it here. I just finished reading it today while you were gone.” I reach into my pack and pull the journal out. I hand it to Nyx before continuing, “Go to the last two pages and read them.” I watch as he skims through the journal and slowly reads over the final pages. His eyebrows furrow.

“Well…” I wave my arms in front of me, waiting for him to say something.

“What do you want me to say, Lyra?”

“I want you to tell me what this means? What did your father tell you about me? Why did you keep this all a secret?” I can’t help raising my voice.

“I’ve never seen this journal before, Lyra. My father never told me anything about you, and I have no idea why Colton would give this to you other than to cause trouble between us.”

“How can I believe you? This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve withheld information from me,” I say, pushing my hair out of my face.

“Slow down, Princess. Here it says you’ll destroy me. I have no reason to lie about this. I should be the one afraid of you right now.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t want you keeping anymore secrets from me because you think you’re protecting me,” I say, getting to my feet.

“It’s funny you speak of secrets. I’m an open book. Ask me anything. You on the other hand always find a way to dodge my questions. You want to talk about keeping secrets, you need to look in the mirror.”

I swallow uncomfortably.

“Yeah, why don’t we get all the secrets out on the table?”

Nyx moves to stand right in front of me, and I can’t help the frustration building in my chest. He’s right. I am keeping secrets, but I don’t want to be called on it, and I just don’t believe him. How could he not know about Callum’s journal?

“Stop,” I say, looking up to meet his gaze.