A Court of Thrones and Thieves (ACOTAR FANFIC)

Chapter 17

~~~~~NYX~~~~~~

Nyx could say without a doubt that seeing his mate interact with his family was the happiest he'd ever been. 

She dripped in beauty and sensual grace. Every movement she made felt like the whisper of a lover, effortlessly lust-inducing. 

Her inner circle, the people she clearly saw as family, joked about being referred to as an investment by her. The crack in his heart mended immediately when he heard it. 

She called him an investment. 

The day they first spoke in that cave in Hybern, she told him he was an investment nothing more. 

Was she hinting at something? 

Did she desire him as fiercely as he craved her? 

Oh, how he wished he could crawl into her mind and read her thoughts, but he refrained. He refused to break her trust, no matter how desperate he was. 

She had ensnared his every sense from the moment he first looked into her eyes, but what was he to her?

He couldn't read her. 

She called herself a monster, yet saved people like a saint. She hid behind excuses and cold exteriors but what lie underneath? 

"Why do you call yourselves crows?" Feyre asked. 

Loki's eyes softened, a look that Nyx wanted to see every day of his life as she explained, "Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don't forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for. They take anything shiny and protect their own. What better way to describe a group of destitute thriving bastards?"

The conversation continued but Nyx's thoughts drifted back to his mate's words earlier and he couldn't find it in himself to agree with her. 

No, Loki Brekker was not a monster. 

Nyx could see her as a leader, a desperate girl who fought to survive, but a monster? 

She was beautiful and secretly kind in a way no stranger would be able to recognize. She was selfish in the way she cared for her own beyond all else. She would burn the world and dance in the ashes to protect her people. Perfect for a High Lady. 

His mind was pulled back to the present by the light rasp of his mate's voice, "Don't act so almighty, High Lord. My shadow singer would best yours any day. As would my brute, my weapons expert, and any of my crows really." 

He smiled at the unfiltered arrogance in her aloof tone. Rhysand straightened, the smirk of a challenge growing on his face. 

"Is that so? Very well, tomorrow morning. My inner circle against your circle. Leaders will choose who their competitor is each round." Rhysand's hubris did not make him fail to see her ingenious plan to evaluate their strengths and how much of a threat his court posed. 

But it went the other way as well. 

The crows smirked and looked at their boss, slightly horrified to see the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Scheming face," Inej murmured.

Jesper nodded. "Definitely."

A coy smile played on Loki's dark red lips, "Very well, High Lord. Though I warn you I don't do anything without benefit. We will make it bet. The leader with the most wins owes the other any favor. Any favor to be cashed in at any time."