Chapter 23 Nox
Nox
Everett’s illusion bent the sunlight around us as we moved through the narrow alleys of east Tenebra. The eyes of citizens strolling the cobbled streets slid right past us. I trusted Everett’s magic, but my hand still hovered near the dagger sheathed at my waist the entire walk.
Every step closer to the cottage, the tighter my chest drew. I could face Scarven’s guards without blinking, but this? This had me sweating through my clothes.
I glanced down at my hand, double-checking the instructions scribbled on parchment. Kieran had found her long ago, in case I ever needed to reach her. But it had always been too risky, what with Scarven’s men keeping such close tabs.
Her home sat on the edge of the most eastern town, right up against the Mistwood Mountains. As bustling village life gave way to cold, rocky farmland, a distant cottage came into view.
“You ready for this?” Everett asked.
I swallowed, then gave a tight nod. “Just keep those illusions going. We can’t let anyone know I’m here.”
Whitewashed brick and a sagging roof greeted us.
Scents of dried thyme and rosemary drifted on the icy air, their bundles hanging from the windowsill.
The sight stirred something in my chest. She used to do that at our cottage, too.
Echoes of a voice humming lullabies while herbs roasted on fresh meat flooded my senses.
I ventured closer, taking in the modest-sized home and small vegetable garden in a patch out front. Not much could grow in Tenebra’s climate, but she’d always had a green thumb. I could see a fire crackling in the fireplace through the window, along with a single rickety chair at a wooden table.
I took a deep breath, then slowly released it as I mounted the step leading to the door. My knuckles hovered, shaking, before I finally knocked.
Silence permeated the air. Beside me, Everett twisted to look around the wide farmland, no doubt searching for signs of Scarven’s men. If I listened close enough, my Shifter hearing could pick up on several heartbeats nearby—maybe a quarter mile from the property.
They were always watching. But Everett gave me a confident nod. His illusions would keep our interaction hidden, for now.
Quiet footsteps padded across the floor, and then the door creaked open. Just a crack, enough for a single navy eye to poke through.
That eye widened like it had seen a ghost. “Nox?”
The sound of her voice undid me. I dropped my head, trying to breathe through the wave of emotions, but it was useless. The dam broke.
“Hi, Mama,” I rasped.
The door opened the rest of the way. Her arms closed around me, and I folded into them, sinking to my knees the way I had as a child, burying my face against her. She smelled of smoke and rosemary and baked bread.
Home.
“I thought—” Her voice cracked, words muffled against my hair. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
When I finally pulled back to gaze up at her, her hands cupped my face and traced the stubble of my jaw. “You grew a beard,” she whispered, half laugh, half sob.
She stood there, five years older than my memories, but unmistakably her. Blonde hair streaked with gray, worn lines around her mouth, navy eyes that resembled my own.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “I should’ve come sooner. I should’ve found a way—”
“Hush.” She pressed a finger to my lips and shook her head. “You’re here now. That’s enough.”
Everett lingered by the door, his head bowed to give us privacy. A surge of gratitude shot through me. We wouldn’t be able to do this without him.
Mother’s hand slipped down to grip mine, pulling me to my feet. “What of your sister?”
My chest squeezed. “Scarven still has her. I—I haven’t seen her since that day.”
The last time I saw either of them was the night Mother snapped and tried to break Vera out of her cells.
My mother was a raven Shifter, a small, cunning little thing, and she devised a plan to sneak into Scarven’s underground tunnel system and fly through the bars of my sister’s cage.
But she hadn’t been prepared for the wards.
They alerted Scarven of her presence, and he sent guards to capture her.
They were able to subdue her, but not before she pecked out several of their eyes.
It had taken everything in my power to convince Scarven not to execute her on the spot. Instead, he banished her.
The light in my mother’s eyes dimmed, but her grip on me tightened. “Not a minute goes by that I don’t think of you two. Are you safe? Are you well?”
“I’m…” I didn’t know how to answer that. Were any of us safe? Were any of us well?
“I’m fighting, Mama.”
A sad smile nudged at her lips. “Of course you are, my son. I never doubted it for a second.”
It was then that she seemed to notice Everett at the door. “This is Everett,” I gestured to him, “an Illusionist and close friend. You can trust him. Everett, this is my mother, Freya Duma.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Everett.” She gave him a warm smile and ushered him farther inside. “Come, come. Let me make some tea. I want to hear everything I’ve missed.”
The three of us sat around my mother’s cottage drinking peppermint tea, like something out of a storybook. It all felt so mundane. So casual. I missed this feeling, where I could finally breathe through the weights that crushed me and remember what it was like to be at peace.
If only for a moment.
I told her why we were here and about the Ashen Order, how I’d built upon our family’s seaside cottage and turned it into the fortress it was today.
Everett and I took turns recounting some of our rescue missions, the people we’d saved, the children who lived at the Keep.
I tried to keep it on the lighter side. Focusing on the growth we’d had and lives we’d given back, instead of all the horrific things I’d seen from the victims coming out of those cells.
Mother told us what she’d been doing the last five years as well. She spent many of the initial months in the mountains, trying to find a way to break through the border, but Scarven’s men were always there to stop her. Eventually, she settled into a new home, with one eye trained on Drakorum.
She had made friends, people she could trust and share her story with. She even had a booth at the village market selling recipes and spice mixtures—cooking had been a passion of hers for as long as I could remember.
But she was fighting too.
“There are a group of us here who have all had someone taken,” she explained, sipping her tea.
“Every once in a while, more people pop up missing. They suspect it’s the Shifters.
I’ve told them about Scarven’s past, about what he might be doing to those people.
Don’t worry, I know I have eyes on me.” She batted her hand in the air when I opened my mouth to warn her.
“I know how to be discreet, son. But these people are angry. They want to do something about it.”
I couldn’t stop my smirk. “My mama and her little rebel group with their tea and biscuits.”
She swatted my knee. “Everything can be solved with some tea and biscuits.”
My smile faded. How I wished that were true.
Everett set his cup down on the coffee table, and his hand gripped the edge. I looked over to see his jaw clench, and something in the air wavered like the flames of a candle.
We’d been here too long. He was straining to hold on to the amount of magic it took to maintain such a strong illusion.
My mother hadn’t missed it either. “You need to go, don’t you?”
“It’s fine,” Everett said through gritted teeth.
“No, it’s not. You need enough strength to get the two of you out of here without being seen.” Her tone was final, but her forehead pinched in sadness.
I wanted to argue, to stay in this cottage with my mother and let the world fall apart outside. But Scarven’s reach extended far, and I wouldn’t risk her safety again.
She seemed to read the war in my eyes. She always had been able to pick up on my emotions so easily. Her palms framed my cheeks one last time, firm and steady. “Go, my son. Do what you must. I’ll be here when you return.”
I swallowed hard, then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “We’re going to bring you home, Mama. I won’t fail you again.”
“Oh, Nox.” Tears swam in her navy gaze. “You have never failed me. It’s your father and I who failed you. We should have done more to protect you all those years ago.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to fix it.” I pressed a kiss to her palm still clutching my face. “I’m going to get Vera back too, I promise.”
Everett tugged at my arm. “It’s slipping, Nox. I can’t hold it for much longer.”
Mother released me. Walking to her front door and down those steps felt like someone digging a hook into my heart and dragging me. She grabbed my hand one last time as we turned our backs on the cottage.
“I love you, son,” she whispered.
“I love you, Mama.” The backs of my eyes burned, a lump forming in my throat.
“I’m sorry,” Everett said quietly as we slipped into the evening air. “I tried to keep it going as long as I could.”
“You were amazing, Everett. This time…it was a gift.” I cleared my throat. “I can never thank you enough. But I need to ask one more favor.” He glanced at me warily. “Go back to the training grounds and don’t tell anyone about this.”
“And where are you going?”
I sighed, steeling myself for what was to come. “Scarven has a job for me to do while I’m here.” I grabbed his forearm before turning away. “And…keep an eye on Devora. Make sure she’s safe. I’ll see you in a couple days.”