7. Elzora
7
ELZORA
“ O nce they’re done looking around at all the fighting, can we go somewhere else?” I ask, still looking into Vexus’s bright eyes.
He grins. “Where do you want to see?”
“The real library?”
He laughs and tugs me into his arms, leaning down to press a kiss to my lips. I smile into his embrace, letting our magicae explore the other.
“Really?” It’s a teasing tone, and I freeze as I recognise the sound. I pull away from Vex as the room almost seems to darken , and I turn around to see a familiar man standing just outside of the room.
His voice is one I’ve heard before—in Vexus’s mind and in a vision. His bright blonde hair is the same shade as mine, and his bright blue eyes are like looking into my own.
He’s tall, broad-shouldered, and has an almost wary look on his face as he regards me. Like Ciar, dark magicae runs through his veins, and he’s powerful.
So very powerful.
“You,” I whisper, my eyes widening, as Vexus freezes at my back. “Spyte.”
“Spyte?” the man asks, tilting his head as his lips quirk up into a familiar smile—one I see when I look in the mirror. “I didn’t think you’d…”
He feels familiar, his energy kind and warm . I step closer to him, and Vexus grabs my arm to stop me. I frown, wanting to be closer to this man, wanting to understand the feelings that are rushing in me.
“Now is not the time,” Vexus warns. “You know that she’s?—”
“Zoe,” Zohar roars, and my head turns his way, shocked at the bright blue eyes, and matching veins. “Get away from him!”
I watch as my water witch draws upon his magicae, his hands glowing a faint blue as he hurls water at Spyte. Jasper has no idea what’s going on, but he joins in anyway, vines rising from the ground, ready to secure Spyte in place. They’re working effortlessly as a team.
Unfortunately… I can’t let them hurt him.
“Stop it,” I demand, shaking off Vexus, as I move in front of Spyte to absorb the hits. Jasper pauses, his vines hovering above me but not advancing. I ignore the eyes that are on us because Zohar’s attack was already launched.
I draw on my own powers, but instead, I’m moved through the room in between blinks. I feel the familiar burn in my stomach as I adjust to the sensation, and Vexus stands in front of me.
“How did you do that?” I demand, as Spyte seems to bat away Zohar’s attack without even thinking about it.
“I’ll be right back,” Vex says instead, and he almost blinks over to where Zohar is ready to attack again . I don’t hear what he says, but my water witch collapses, and he turns to Jasper, who rapidly shakes his head.
“I’m not going to do anything, for fuck’s sake,” Jasper snarls when Vexus raises his hand.
“Come here, Elzora,” Spyte says. I frown, not sure what’s going on, my magicae building, but it’s almost warring. It’s like when my soul connections fight… but I know for a fact that Spyte is not one of my mates. “You are safe, Elzora, I swear it to you.”
I don’t know him to trust that.
So, why does every part of me genuinely trust ?
“It doesn’t mean anything when she doesn’t know you,” Jasper points out, and I give him a tenuous smile. My hands are shaking, but not in fear… more in anticipation.
“Everyone, get out,” Vexus shouts, and it takes a moment, but everyone who wasn’t paying us attention stops what they were doing so that they can leave the room.
Spyte apologises to each of them as they leave, reassuring them that everything is okay, and they can utilise one of the other training rooms. Vex doesn’t even care about the disruption, which feels accurate.
I don’t move, I don’t think I can.
My magicae seems to be rejoicing, but everything is unfamiliar. Everything feels wrong, and I don’t know what to do.
“Trust,” my grandma says, appearing at my right-hand side. “Trust in the magicae like you have been. Trust in your men like you always have.”
She steps forward and cups my cheek. It doesn’t feel like anything, but I imagine it does. “But more than that, Ellie, trust in yourself. You’re smart, you’re capable, and you know far more than you’ve realised.”
“But what if everything in me is warring?” I whisper, aware of the men watching me, waiting for me to make a decision. “What if the magicae and the men don’t agree?”
“Zohar’s fear might be warranted, but you can see more than he can when it comes to a person,” she says. “Pull your pants up, Ellie. Don’t be scared, my love.”
“Being scared is my entire personality,” I mutter, tears filling my eyes.
She laughs, cupping my cheek in her hand. I wish I could feel it properly. “You have anxiety, Ellie, but you’re not weak or cowardly. You are thriving, and you can’t even understand how proud of you I am.”
I shiver, and she leans forward to kiss my forehead before disappearing.
“Who were you talking to, Elzora?” Spyte asks, stepping forward with purpose. I feel his magicae assessing the room, searching for whoever it was, but I know it won’t work.
“My grandma,” I answer, and his eyes widen. “Margaret.”
“Don’t do this now,” Vexus says, giving his… boss a warning look. “I told you she wasn’t ready, that they weren’t ready.”
“I’m not sure who you are outside of your role as a leader here,” I interject, and both men turn to me, neither happy with my interruption. Jasper’s beaming at me, though, and that’s reassuring. “But I’ve seen you a few times, Spyte. I don’t know your real name, Vex has done a good job at keeping that from me, but I can see your soul.”
“And what do you see, Elzora?” he asks, and I’m surprised to see him take a step back .
I connect with the soul in front of me, analysing it the way my magicae is so desperate to do. There’s a connection between us, one that is so apparent as soon as we connect, and it’s hard.
His face is guarded, his eyes black, as he prepares to hide in the shadows of his darkness.
It seems he and I share the same self-confidence issues.
“Love,” I say softly. The word echoes around the room, and I watch as his lips part, agony crushing him. “So much love. You’re in pain, you’re damaged, you’re angry , but you’re a good man at the root of it all. You love me, you loved my mother, and more than that… you never killed them.”
He flinches, pain ricocheting through his soul, as his eyes meet mine. “You don’t fully understand what happened that night.”
I shrug because, honestly, that’s my entire life here. “You’re my uncle, aren’t you? The one everyone thinks killed my mum and dad?”
His jaw locks, and Vexus appears at my side, once more not actually portalling as he moves through the room. I don’t know how he’s doing it, but I want to know—I want to understand it.
“Not all is as it seems, little love,” Vex says, and I nod my head.
“I can see that.” I squeeze his hand, and he relaxes. “I know that I’m safe here, Vexus.”
He doesn’t seem to hear me. “I told him to wait, knowing that you’re already panicking, that your other mates have barely agreed to hear us out.”
“But it’s time,” Spyte says with a shrug.
“Look, I get that you’re all criminals and don’t really seem to care about anything other than Zoe, clearly,” Jasper says, lolling between the men. “But I’ve seen at least eight fugitives today, and even all of them wouldn’t be as big a catch as you. You’re at the top of the list, Anomus.”
Spyte… Anomus… my uncle .
Wow.
I quite like his name.
“You’re so precious,” Vex murmurs so softly.
“It’s good to be number one,” Anomus says with a shrug. “We’re not legal here by any means, but neither is the government run underneath Etonik. Times are changing, earth witch, and as one of my niece’s bonded, you need to get with the times or you’re going to be a liability to her life.”
I shouldn’t be impressed right now, should I? There’s got to be something mentally wrong with me that this kind of reassurance genuinely works?
“Seeing the rest of your bonded, little love, it’s clear that you respond to this kind of reassurance because they’re all mentally fucked.”
I giggle, and Anomus looks my way, before Jasper asks a scary question.
“If you didn’t kill her parents, then who did?”
“If I knew, they’d be dead,” Anomus says with such a deep vengeance I flinch.
“You loved my mum,” I say, and he nods once. “I don’t understand.”
Did… did my dad know?
Vexus chuckles and wraps his arm around my waist.
“She was my anima nexum, too, Elzora,” he says, and I frown, thinking this over. “I was the eldest, but the royal power source chose your dad to lead instead.”
“And that didn’t upset you?” I ask, eyeing Jasper from across the room. Zohar’s still unconscious at his feet, peacefully sleeping.
I should probably try and force him awake, but selfishly, I want to hear my uncle out and decide what to do from here without the preconceived notions that my anima nexum has.
“Not in the way you’d think,” he says with a shrug. “We’re?—”
A sudden pain stabs inside of me, and I let out a whimper. I grab at my stomach, as the pressure in my abdomen expands, the pain getting worse.
The little beam of light inside me pulses furiously, and I know that it’s Etrix who is hurt, that this agony I’m feeling is him .
“What the fuck is wrong with that prick now?” Jasper demands, rushing over to me, his eyes wide.
“What’s wrong, little love?” Vexus is just as urgent.
“Who is harmed?” Anomus’s voice is added to the mix as he strides over to me. I collapse to my knees, pain pouring through the bond, and a flash of Etrix’s blood-soaked form, pale and in agony, flashes in my mind.
“Get him awake now,” Anomus says, gesturing to Zohar. “Earth witch, call on the leader.”
“Don’t,” I gasp out, shaking my head. Jasper and Anomus both look at me in shock, neither seeming happy with my decision. “Etrix is alone. I need—” I clench my fists as Vexus releases his spell, and Zohar wakes up. His eyes dart around, and panic fills him as he spots me crouched on the floor.
“Open his soul to me,” I whisper, immediately moving to Etrix’s mind. He’s laid out on the floor, a wound in his chest, as he croaks something out. I can’t see where he is, it’s so dark, so empty.
But he’s alone, and he’s scared.
I pull back and look at Zohar, barely seeing his face because my eyes are full of tears.
“He’s hurt.”
“Who is hurt, Elzora?” Anomus is somehow both stern and so soft and gentle with me. His touch is warm and almost hesitant, as if he’s scared to touch me properly.
“Etrix. He’s…”
Dying.
I can’t say it out loud. I can’t make it real. I can’t let this be the future that happens.
Zohar’s eyes widen, and he jumps to his feet, knowing he can’t help me any longer.
“Can you open a portal to him?” Anomus asks, still clutching my shoulder, and I try to use it like a lifeline. He’s there , and I need an adult to take over and handle this right now. I nod my head, tears dripping down my cheeks as agony tears through me.
“Get ready water witch, you’re going on a rescue mission,” Anomus commands, squeezing my shoulder ever so gently before rising to his feet.
“I can’t leave Zoe alone,” Zohar says with a frown.
“Etrix will die without you,” I snap, the dam inside me breaking as I imagine my life without Etrix in it. I can’t do it—it would destroy me.
I pull on my magicae, using it to help me. It knows what I need and assists with blocking my connection to Etrix. I hate that this is necessary.
I’m unsteady on my feet as I rise to a stand, but Anomus and Vexus are there, offering hands and support. They make me feel strong—protected, cared for, but empowered.
“He needs help, Zo. He’s dying ,” I say, shaking my head as Jasper opens his mouth. To ask, protest, snark… I really don’t know. But I don’t care either.
Not when Etrix’s life is on the line.
“What happened to him, Elzora?” Anomus speaks in that firmly gentle voice, a striking dichotomy in itself.
“I don’t know. He’s alone. Eirik is mad, and Ciar’s feeling the same pain I am. He’s angry, dark, cold . Ryes…”
“Understood,” Anomus says, cutting my thoughts off before they can get worse. “Water witch, I’ll get a team to come with you. We retrieve Etrix at any cost.”
“Understood,” Zohar says with a nod.
“I can help, too,” Jasper says, eyeing up Vexus, and I like the fact that Jasper has taken on a… commanding role. “You do not leave her side.”
Vex doesn’t roll his eyes or snark like I expected. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
“Are you going to be able to manage what needs to be done?” I ask, giving Jasper a concerned look. I don’t know how much he’s done, compared to my other men, and I don’t want to risk him.
“I can help,” he reassures me, nodding firmly.
“We’ve got a team on their way,” Anomus says, eyeing me almost warily. “You’re not leaving the compound.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say softly, doing my best to now calm him down. “But it’s also not your place to tell me what I can and can’t do.”
My uncle… my uncle sighs. “You’re as stubborn as both your parents were, Elzora.”
I squirm, the weight of that likeness sitting weirdly with me. I can’t respond, not really. I didn’t know these people, sadly. They’re not someone I can relate to.
Even if sometimes I think about what it would be like if they were alive…
“Eirik’s angry, really angry,” I say, feeling it as an echo within me. “He’s alone.”
“How long does Etrix have?” Vexus asks, gently pressing his hand to my lower back. “Can you feel it?”
“The pain is getting worse,” I say, my teeth chattering as I let myself feel the weight of Etrix’s pain for a moment before cutting it off. “But he’s not going to die immediately.”
“That’s a very good sign,” Zohar says. “I don’t understand, though, why he hasn’t left wherever he is to get help.”
I don’t have the answers that we need, unfortunately.
“I’ve got three teams we can utilise,” Anomus says. “One for him, one for Ryes, and one for…” He trails off, looking at me, and I’m startled to see them all looking at me.
As if I’m the leader.
“That’s because you are, my little love,” Vex says as tactfully as he can.
I easily ignore the rush of anxiety, instead, focusing on Etrix’s pain. I can do this. I can.
“Can we have four teams, please?” I ask, turning to look at my uncle as I feel through my bonds.
They’re in four locations.
Mael and Ciar are both alone. They’re angry, furious, even, but they’re both unharmed as they handle whatever they’re doing.
Necos and Ryes are together, and whilst Ryes is in pain, he’s nowhere near as hurt as Etrix is. Necos is with him, and I have no doubt my time witch is doing what he can to keep Ryes from feeling the true weight of his injuries.
Maybe slowing time so Ryes can’t feel whatever has happened to him.
Etrix is alone, and so is Eirik. But unfortunately for Eirik—he’s at the castle, Etonik’s castle, and I refuse to send anyone to him.
“If you need four, they’re yours to take,” Anomus reassures me. “What’s your plan?”
“I need some way of them identifying themselves to my anima nexum without them being at risk,” I say, and I hear Zohar’s agreement. “We can’t get your people harmed whilst helping mine.”
The doors to the training room open, multiple people in black clothing entering. They’re powerful as a group, and I can’t identify the differences in them. They’re a unit.
Impressive.
“Trust your magicae, little love,” Vexus says, and I move without hesitating.
“Can I please take your hand?” I ask, coming to a stop in front of the first man that I reach.
He looks over my shoulder, far taller than I am, and confers with someone else. I just don’t know if it’s Vex he’s getting permission from or Anomus.
They must agree, though, because he nods, and I take his hand in mine.
He’s an earth witch, and very trusting, compared to my jaded Jasper.
“ Amicus ,” I whisper and grin as he gets a glow around him, a unique branding on his arm. It’s temporary and never hurt him like the mating brands did for my soul connections, but it’s clear to see for anyone looking.
I look at the group and murmur the word again, covering them all in the spell. It takes a second for each of them to appear the same.
“Well done, love,” Vex says with a nod.
“We’re on a rescue mission,” Anomus says, coming to my side whilst addressing his people. “I don’t know what you are walking into, and you are allowed to say no.”
I hold my breath, terrified someone might say no, but nobody moves.
“Team one are going to—” my uncle pauses and looks down at me.
“Team one are going to retrieve Etrix Farglory, a light witch, with Zohar and Jasper,” I say, standing taller. “The brand I gave you all should keep you safe, but if there is any dark witches on this squad—be careful. He’s dying, and his magicae might be a little… wary.”
“Etrix will recognise us, Princess,” the squad leader says, nodding his head. “We’ll bring back your light anima nexum .”
“Good,” I say, relieved. They’re all looking at me with respect, waiting for their orders.
It’s terrifying, but I don’t have the time to panic right now.
Vex squeezes my hand, and I know I’m not alone in this.
“Your goal is to bring Etrix home,” Anomus repeats, and he looks down at me. “Get the portal opened, Elzora.”
I look over at Zohar and Jasper. “Once he’s safe, come back with him. No matter what.”
“Ryes needs you,” Vexus says, reminding the water witch who was about to argue. They nod, and I open the portal, the group walking through it without hesitating.
My anxiety spikes, but I dutifully close it behind them, my heart pounding as I do.
“Team two,” Anomus says. “You’re going to the next location. As Elzora said, you will be recognised by her anima nexum as allies—as friends.”
“You’re going to Necos and Ryes,” I say softly. “Necos should also recognise you. Air and time.”
“So watch your thoughts,” Vex teases. The team doesn't even react.
I open another portal at Anomus’s prompting, and they go through without an argument.
“Hopefully they’re back before Zohar needs to join them,” I whisper, having heard fighting.
“Team three, you’re going to Ciar, a dark witch,” I say, as the heaviness sets in. I send them through, and the immediate relief from Ciar is something that soothes me.
“Final team, you’re heading to Mael. Fire witch,” I say.
“And an asshole,” Vexus adds.
I give him a dirty look as we open up the portal, and the final team heads off. I’m left with just Vexus, the one mate I am not bonded to, as the others are gone.
“I’m scared,” I whisper, but my truth echoes through the room.
“Oh, love, they’re more than capable,” Vex says before shrugging. “And, hey, if they die, it just means more of you for me.”
I gasp, giving him a betrayed look. “Don’t even joke about that.”
He brushes a kiss to my temple, silently murmuring his apologies.
I look over at Anomus. “I want to hear your story, I really do. And I want to hear it without the influence from anyone who already has ideas about who you are… but now is not the time.”
“I know, Elzora, trust me.” He’s confident in his tone, but I can feel the pain in his soul at waiting, even longer, for this. “We will talk, once your men are home.”
“What about Eirik?” Vex asks. “Why did nobody go to him?”
“Because where the others are fighting or doing whatever they’re doing… Eirik is at the castle facing Etonik,” I say as a tendril of fear snakes its way up my spine. “I won’t send any of your men into that when we have no idea what is going to come of it.”
“You’re going to make an amazing queen one day. Just like your mum.” I shiver under the weight of Anomus’s words, the adoration and even awe making me uncomfortable.
He barely knows me, and already, he has the same belief in me, in my abilities , as my men do.
How do they all look at me and see someone worthy ?
I don’t understand it. I don’t think I ever will.
“Let’s move this to the clinic,” Vexus says, analysing the pained expression on my face. “If they’re coming here, they’re likely going to need assistance in keeping the men calm. Eirik’s probably going to arrive thinking we’ve kidnapped you all.”
I nod my head, steeling back my shoulders.
My heart is heavy, my soul in pain, but I just need to trust that things are going to be okay.