119: Phoenix's POV

It was hard to go back to work after Ada so thoroughly drained every drop of *anything* from my body. I’d nearly come again just watching how she fell apart at Darius’s command to her, her mind racing with thoughts about how she shouldn’t like to be called a ‘good girl’ so much. Personally, I thought it was amusing that both she and Nik had somehow unlocked praise kinks on the same day. Hell, I found it amusing she was able to unlock a new kink for Nik *at all*.

Regardless of our desire to remain pressed against each other for the rest of the day, we’d had to pull ourselves apart and get back to work. The last few weeks had been insanely busy and had sucked fucking fantastically. I was ready to give reports to my brothers and return their respective duties to them.

I wasn’t surprised when I walked back into the office after Ada, Darius, and I had finished *bathing* and found Nik sitting at his desk. He’d changed into one of his usual black suits, with no evidence of any injury present. If it weren’t for the dark circles beneath his eyes or the slight wince when he adjusted in his seat— not something Nik usually did, even when injured— I wouldn’t have been able to tell anything had even happened.

“Glad you could pull yourself away from Ada long enough to work today, brother,” Nik snapped, his black eyes matte.

His eyes were matte a lot more lately. Ever since we’d read the full prophecy. Which was fair. If I’d found out my mate was destined to kill me and there was no way to avoid it, I’d be in a shit mood too.

I grabbed a chair and swung it around so that I could sit in front of Nik, “Let’s remember who buried his cock in her first today,” I wagged my finger at him and clucked my tongue, “And that was immediately after waking from a three-week coma.”

Nik’s lips twitched up in the corner, but he stifled any smirk or smile that could have grown from it. He kept his expression flat, his shoulders rolled back. Nik wasn’t just tense. I’d only ever seen him this unrelaxed around our father or when his shadows brought him alarming news. Something was weighing on my older brother.

“What is it?” I leaned back in my chair, fighting against the hairs that wanted to rise on the back of my neck.

An unrestful Nik made me weary. My older brother was confident to a fault— though cocky wasn’t a good word for him. His confidence was warranted. I’d watched him take out entire armies of wolves without even blinking. He was a force to be reckoned with. His weariness was almost always a sign of impending doom.

“I couldn’t enter their minds,” he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face, “And my shadows were nearly useless. They weren’t answering me.”

“What?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

Nik shrugged, “I’ve been spending all of my afternoon running over that battle and what happened to me,” he narrowed his eyes, “Ada’s father might have been teleporting people, but there was another force on the field. Something directed specifically at me and not strong enough to take on Ada or Finn.”

“Did you just—” I started, but shook my head. Nik appreciated directness with serious topics. My humor wouldn’t gain me any favors with him. I rephrased, “Is Ada stronger than you?”

He nodded, “And not by a small amount. I’m worried that whatever force this was isn’t weaker than her, but was just unprepared,” Nik rolled his shoulders back again, and I realized I’d severely misread him.

My older brother wasn’t worried for himself at all. He was worried about what the implications of everything meant for our mate. Nik, our ruthless Shadow Wielder, had found his heart. And it was on the outside of his body. That was a danger to all of us if we couldn’t figure out how to prevent her from being in danger.

“We’ll figure it out, Nik,” I said softly, lacing my fingers together on my stomach, “We can all keep working with her, training her. She’s already so much stronger. Imagine where she could be by the next attack?”

Nik’s eyes met mine, and his lips turned into a frown. Worry had crept into his voice, “What if they hurt her, Phoenix? Is keeping our Kingdom worth her being hurt?”

Alarm bells were sounding in my mind. Nik was talking openly because it was only me in here. He wouldn’t dare say those words to Darius, who had so carelessly tossed our mate to the side to cling to the throne. There was something raw in Nik’s voice, something that set my nerves on edge. I shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on his.

“Giving over our thrones wouldn’t protect her, Nikolai,” my voice was firm, “They would kill us and then she’d be alone, left to the whims of her father.”

Nik swallowed and nodded, averting his gaze, “But what if we left?”

I leapt to my feet, leaning on his desk and nearly putting myself nose to nose with him, “You shove these thoughts from your head. I have never seen you let fear dictate your actions before,” I snapped, “You will not start now. She needs you to get your shit together. Don’t be one of those wolves that becomes a blithering idiot because he found his fated mate.”

“Nothing else matters as much as her,” he countered quickly, rising to his feet so he could meet me at my level, “I know you feel it too. Darius doesn’t, but you do. If fear needs to run—”

“Fear will ruin her!” I spat out, my voice echoing through the room, “It will ruin her, Nik. If you want to protect her, help make her strong enough to help herself,” I motioned at his body, “Collect yourself. The Midnight Prince is not a sniveling coward, so stop acting like one.”

My words hit home. It wasn’t his facial expression or a verbal response that had let me know that they’d made their mark. No, I was clued in when I lost control of my own body. One minute, I was standing face to face with him. Next, I was sat back in the chair, unable to do so much as breathe on my own. If that wasn’t enough, his expression surely was.

His usual cool indifference had returned. Nik cocked his head to the side, “You’ve made your point. Are you done?” He released his hold on my head and neck. I nodded, my mouth bone dry. “Good,” he straightened his suit jacket and took his seat, “Now, why don’t you fill me in on what I’ve missed, little brother?”