Chapter 48 Nox
Nox
Ibarely recognized her.
It had only been five years, but gone was my near-sixteen-year-old little sister. In her place was a woman hardened by pain, by time, by whatever horrid things they had done to her.
Her legs were longer, but her frame was thin—too thin, the angles at her cheekbones too sharp and gaunt.
Dirty-blonde hair was pulled back with a strap of leather, intertwined with red streaks of dye I’d never seen before.
Her once golden eyes, bright and glowing from the power held within her small stature, were dark amber. Cold. Calculated.
But still, they had that defiant spark I’d always known.
The one she had when hiding from Scarven’s guards at six years old.
The one she had when she burned one of my claws off with a beam of light at twelve.
The one she had when she was fifteen, and they said we were no longer allowed to see one another.
“Vera,” I said on an exhale, stumbling to her. I closed the space between us and took in her bony elbows, the worn, cracked leather of her bodysuit, the black veins at her neck.
I whirled to face Scarven, my snarl echoing down the hall. “What have you done to—”
A strong hand clutched my neck, cutting off my air and turning my words into a choke. Slowly, Vera twisted me to face her once more, nails digging into my skin as she lifted me inch by inch.
“Vera—” I gasped. “It—it’s me—”
She simply cocked her head and stared at me.
“It’s—Nox,” I said, words garbled. “Your—brother.”
Something red glinted in her dark gold eyes. “I have no family.”
She thrust her elbow back and threw me forward. I soared past Kieran and Tessa and into the sidewall of the tunnel, my head bashing into the stone. Rocks crumbled around me as dust filled the air. A spike of pain shot down my spine, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself out of the rubble.
The air around her shimmered as she vanished from down the hall and reappeared before me in the blink of an eye.
“I’m your family, Vera,” I said, forehead pinched as I took a step toward her. She didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t seem to breathe. Simply held my stare with that empty look on her face. When I got close enough, I reached forward, slowly, slowly, to cup my hand around her sallow cheek.
There was a blur of shadow, and her fingers clasped mine, glowing bright yellow as she forced her light magic into my skin. The smell of burning flesh made my stomach clench, pain searing through me when I tried to jerk my arm away.
“Vera, let go,” I said through my teeth. “You don’t want to hurt me.”
“She doesn’t recognize you,” Scarven called out. “Beautiful, isn’t she? My masterpiece.”
I twisted my arm, but she was too strong. I could feel my Shifter healing kicking in, trying to fight against the slow burn of my skin.
“I’m your brother, Vera,” I tried again, voice labored. “It’s me. It’s Nox. Please, you have to let go.”
I didn’t want to hurt her. I couldn’t hurt her. This wasn’t the real Vera—she wasn’t in her right mind. But the smoke coming from my arm told me she wasn’t going to stop until she burned my hand straight off.
With a growl, I gripped her forearm with my other hand and carefully shifted my fingers into claws.
They sank into her skin enough to make her loosen her hold.
I quickly pulled away, my arm shaking as the fiery imprint of her hand branded itself deep into my flesh.
Muscle and tissue peeked out from the charred skin.
Within moments, it began to heal enough for me to flex my hand.
Vera narrowed her eyes and lunged at me, shadows at the ready. She swiped at my head while blades of shadow struck my torso, barely giving me time to dodge. I blocked her, but she shot another beam of light at my neck. It sliced the top of my collarbone like lightning.
When she moved to attack again, a large white animal burst from the side and knocked her to the ground.
“Kieran, don’t!” I cried out. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Kieran pinned Vera, his large stag form easily three times my sister’s weight. Vera struggled against him for a moment before baring her teeth. In an instant, she vanished.
Kieran shifted back into his human form right as Vera reappeared behind him, grabbed the dagger from his sheath, and plunged it into his stomach.
A roar tore from me, so violent, it shook the ground. I launched myself at my sister and heaved her away from my second, whipping around just in time to grab Kieran as he sank to his knees. His hands were wrapped around the handle of the dagger, his face pale and eyes wide.
This wasn’t happening. I couldn’t lose one of them. Dread rushed over me, sweeping down my spine and curling in my gut.
“We have to get him out of here,” Tessa said as she bolted to our side.
“Take—the sword out,” Kieran said with a gasp. “I’ll—heal.”
“Not if it’s too deep, Kieran. You’re not immortal,” Tessa argued.
Kieran ground his teeth together as he slowly pulled on the handle, his grunt muffled and nostrils flared wide. It came out of his stomach with a sickening squelch, and blood poured from the open wound.
“Nox!”
I whirled around to see Devora’s terrified face, right as Vera surged toward me again.
A spear made from lightning crackled in her grip.
She drove it at my chest, but with a growl, I wrapped both hands around the end before it broke my skin.
The light magic jolted through me with fervid force, sizzling over my flesh.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Vera,” I grunted out. “You’ve got to fight it. You’re stronger than this!”
The golden light reflected off her eyes, hard and merciless. Whoever this was…it wasn’t my sister.
“She’s not yours anymore,” Scarven said, his voice rich with satisfaction. “Her magic belongs to me.” I caught his eye over Vera’s shoulder, and he smirked back at me. “As does my new pet.”
He rattled the chain tied around Devora’s neck. She flinched, but her eyes held mine, those bright blue-green orbs shining with determination even in her suffering.
He could never beat the fight out of her. My fearless, obstinate, darling Devora.
I’m coming for you.
Resolve and rage flitted across my skin like sparks, making my vision go red. With a burst of Shifter strength, I gripped the lightning sword tighter and shoved it back at Vera. She lost her balance and stumbled as the sword disappeared.
“I’m sorry, Vera,” I said, then summoned my dragon fire and shot a steady stream of it at her feet. She jumped to get away and slammed into the sidewall, where I caged her in with a circle of fire.
It wouldn’t hold her off for long, but it was good enough. I broke into a sprint down the tunnel, aiming for Scarven and Devora.
“Behind you!” Kieran’s weakened voice sounded. A split second later, his dagger ripped through the air beside my head, still coated in his blood. I reached out mid-stride to snatch it.
Scarven grinned as I drew nearer, but right as I launched the blade at his chest, he took a step backward.
“Till we meet again, brother,” he said smoothly. “Unless your sister finishes the job.”
The air around him shimmered, and he vanished into a portal. I watched as the dagger clattered to the ground in the empty space where he’d been.
“Nox,” Devora breathed out, rising shakily to her feet.
I ran to her and crushed her to my chest. Her fingers clenched my back, tremors racking through her.
“I’m here,” I whispered into her hair. “You’re safe, darling.”
“I knew you’d come,” she murmured. The world around us faded as she looked up at me, those big eyes swallowing me whole.
I cupped her cheek, gently running my thumb over the tracks of her tears. “I told you once, I will always come for you.”
Something thrummed in my chest at her nearness, at finally having her back in my arms. I didn’t understand what she’d become to me until the thought of losing her made it feel like I couldn’t breathe.
It was dangerous. It went against everything I’d sworn to myself. Her ties to me had already gotten her almost killed.
But in that moment, I didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was safe.
Devora went rigid, and my heart dropped to my feet.
I twisted her behind me to shield her as my sister stalked toward us like a beast released from her cage.
A sword of lightning was gripped in her hand and one of shadows in the other.
Both dragged the ground as she bared her teeth.
Fire licked up her arms and legs, encasing her in an otherworldly glow.
But I knew that wasn’t my dragon fire.
It was hers.
Phoenix fire.
She let out a shriek that turned into a birdsong—high, resonant, and laced with magic. It cracked the stone walls, sending shards raining down.
I glanced at Tessa and Kieran behind her, who had risen to his feet, leaning heavily on Tessa for support. It would take longer for a wound like his to heal, even with his Shifter healing.
“You two, get out!” I shouted.
Tessa’s brow furrowed. “We’re not going without you!”
“We’ll be fine, just go!” I bellowed.
She glared at me, and I thought she was going to argue before she finally said, “You are not allowed to die on us, do you understand?”
I gave her a tight nod, watching as the two of them turned and limped their way as fast as they could back down the tunnel.
I faced my sister and took in her blazing tempest. I spent years dreaming of rescuing her. I couldn’t leave her down here now. Not again.
“Vera, please,” I begged, stepping toward her. “I came for you, too. Let me help you.” When I reached for her, she held her lightning sword up in warning, and the walls gave a shudder.
“I love you,” I said. “We can fight this together. I promise, I won’t let him win this time. Just come with me.”
She held my gaze, blonde hair whipping around her in the frenzy of her firestorm. Her lips parted, and with a voice that sounded more like the sister I knew and not this creature of Scarven’s machinations, she whispered, “I can never leave. This is who I am.”
Flames and rubble surrounded us, the tunnels shaking with the force of her power.
We were out of time.
But for a heartbeat, a single breath, Vera’s eyes flickered. Recognition, sorrow, and deep, endless pain.
And then she lashed out, lightning and shadows blurring the air.
I unleashed my dragon with a roar. Magic exploded from me as my wings ripped from my back, every limb elongating and thickening with muscle and scales.
My horns gouged the stone above us, sending more rock crumbling to the ground.
I grabbed Devora with my talons, snapped the chains at her wrists, and tucked her into my massive side.
With a single lunge, I burst through the ceiling in a flood of gravel and stone.
The night air greeted me like a cool kiss across my scales. The ground cracked and ruptured as I spread my wings and hovered above the tunnel, Devora gripped in my claws.
I spared one last look at the rubble. With a heavy weight sinking in my chest, I watched my sister disappear in a flash of phoenix fire.