Chapter 41 Nox
Nox
Irolled onto my back and panted, staring up at the ceiling as my vision came back. The world was blurry and out of focus. Everything felt sore, every bone and muscle now brittle and tender. When the roaring of blood in my ears calmed, I could finally hear the voices.
“Nox, can you hear me?”
“Holy Fates. What just happened?”
“Here, drink this. Please, Nox.” Silas held the back of my neck and pressed a vial to my lips, and I struggled to swallow the contents. Warm liquid rushed down my throat. “Carnation, fleawort, and ginger—for pain relief and strengthening,” he said in his panicked voice.
My head fell back on the ground with a thud. I groaned and blinked several times, trying to orient myself when all I felt was numb.
“It—it took away my magic,” I finally rasped. My lips were dry, and my insides felt like they were about to break off.
And my dragon was gone.
I’d experienced magic suppression before.
Magic only existed within the borders of the Veridian Empire, so once you left the boundaries, it disappeared.
When I traveled to Mysthelm, it was as if someone had taken my magic and shoved it inside of a box, leaving a couple of holes to breathe so it didn’t suffocate but was entirely inaccessible.
But this fatesprig…
This didn’t just stuff my dragon half in a box. This annihilated it.
My breaths came out quick as I clutched my hair, panic overwhelming me.
What had I done?
It was gone, my magic was gone—I couldn’t feel it, not a single spark.
This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. I didn’t know how to live without my dragon half—the other part of me, my missing piece.
I staggered to my feet and shoved the chair out of my way, clawing at veins that had turned dark green. I crashed into the work table. I was blind, raging, unable to think straight as I lunged for any potion or herb Silas kept out.
“Nox, stop!” a distant voice said. Tessa, maybe. I didn’t care.
Fingers trembling, I dropped the first potion bottle I could find. It crashed to the table and shattered into a hundred pieces. I gripped the edge of the wood to fight off another wave of nausea.
“Nox, please, sit down—I can find something to help, if you’ll simply tell me what—” A hand landed on my arm as Silas spoke, and I wrenched myself free. The motion made me lose my balance. I fell to the floor and landed on my knees.
My shoulders sagged as my chest heaved. It was like I couldn’t get enough air. Like I couldn’t do anything to fill the void my magic had left.
It hurt. Everything hurt.
This was what Scarven had put countless innocent people through.
“Was that Nox I heard? What’s—” A familiar voice stopped itself at the entrance, but I didn’t bother to turn. Footsteps and voices drew nearer until Everett sank to the floor in front of me. Those green and gray eyes stared back, dark forehead scrunched in concern.
“You idiot,” he said quietly. “Did you take it? The fatesprig?”
I couldn’t move. All I could do was blink slowly in response.
“Did it make your veins turn a different color?” he prompted.
I swallowed, nails scraping down my throat. “Yes,” I croaked. “Green.”
“Was it like it killed your magic?”
I nodded, unable to say the words.
To my surprise, he looked relieved. “It’s not permanent,” he said. “Are you listening, Nox? Your magic will come back. The fatesprig just needs to get out of your system.”
It’s not permanent.
Your magic will come back.
I blinked several times, his words sinking in breath by breath. “How do you know?”
“I’ve been talking to some of the kids, helping them work through what happened in Scarven’s cells,” Everett explained.
“Several of them described an injection he gave them. It turned their veins green, and then it was the worst pain they’ve ever experienced.
They said it completely took their magic away. But after a day or two, it came back.”
Slowly, painstakingly slowly, the panic began to subside. It was just temporary. My dragon half wasn’t gone forever. It would come back.
My heart returned to its normal speed, no longer threatening to jump out of my throat. Even the pain dulled to a mere whisper of the excruciating fire it was before.
My back sagged into the side of the chair I’d overturned. I leaned my head against it and closed my eyes. “Don’t ever let me do that again,” I mumbled.
The entire room let out a collective breath. “I didn’t let you do it in the first place, you stubborn old man,” Tessa said, but her voice was still filled with concern. She pressed a hand to my forehead. “You’re burning up.”
I ignored her, my mind now latching on to something else. “He did this to them. He’s still doing it to whoever he has down there in his labs. To my sister. All of those people going through so much pain…” I shook my head. “We have to stop him.”
“We will,” Tessa said firmly. “But right now, you need to rest. It’s almost midnight, Nox. And you look exhausted.”
“No. Devora’s still out there with him. I told her I’d stay up for her nightly check-in. I have to make sure she’s safe.”
“Give me the parchment. I’ll monitor it, and I can come get you the second she sends something,” Tessa offered, holding out her hand.
I instinctively reached for the familiar wrinkled edges in my pocket. “I won’t be able to sleep. I can—” I cut myself off when my fingers met the paper.
It was hot.
I jerked my head down and snatched it from my pocket so fast, the room spun. She’d messaged me. I must not have felt it during the fatesprig episode. What if she needed me?
A breath left me when I saw what was on the paper.
There were no words. In fact, it was empty, save for two dark marks in the very center. They were small and slightly faded, nearly blending into the weathered parchment, but it had been enough to trigger the spell. And it definitely hadn’t been there before.
“Silas,” I held the paper out to him, “what is this? An ink blot?”
He adjusted his glasses and bent to take a closer look. “Any substance that touches the surface can be transmitted, not only ink or charcoal. Water, blood, sweat—”
“Tears,” I finished. “What if she’s been crying? Or bleeding?”
Blood roared in my ears, but for an entirely different reason than the fatesprig. Something was wrong.
I grabbed my piece of charcoal and hastily scribbled a message.
Are you alright?
I didn’t think I breathed for the entire minute it took her to respond.
We need to talk.
That same panic trickled back into my gut, spreading through my numb muscles and coating them in another layer of dread. Visions ran across my mind, each one more horrible than the last.
What happened? Are you safe? Did he hurt you?
I would rip every limb from his body, with my magic or not, if he harmed her. This was my fault. I’d pushed her to do this. I’d made her feel inadequate, useless, banishing her to that tower until she resorted to this to earn our trust.
This incredible, brave, beautiful woman who was hollowed out by those who simply wanted to use her as a means to an end—and now I was one of those people, and I hated myself. I hated—
“Nox,” Tessa said on a soft exhale, drawing my attention back to the parchment.
It’s not me. It’s your sister.