Chapter 49 Devora
Devora
We soared above the clouds, the tips of forests and villages barely visible in the gaps.
Nox’s scales were like armor beneath my fingertips.
Cool to the touch and hard as steel, deadly in their own right.
Every inch of his dragon form radiated strength and power.
It hummed through my veins with each flap of his wing, each dip of his massive neck.
It took all my focus to not fall off his back as the four of us raced back to the Keep. The adrenaline from the fight and seeing him again was wearing off, replaced with constant, bone-deep pain.
Every time I swallowed, I could feel the collar Scarven had put around my neck.
It had some sort of spell on it that snuffed out my shadow magic, leaving me hollow.
And the serum he’d forced into my system was still surging through me.
Every breath hurt, every movement ached, and every beat of my heart made my vision blur at the edges.
I couldn’t believe they came for me. They should’ve stayed back. It was such an obvious trap—they had to have known that. And if any of them had died because of me…
I couldn’t handle any more guilt.
I pushed the thought away, forcing my muscles to grip Nox as tightly as my weakened form could. I thought he was growling when a rumble vibrated down his massive body, but then I saw lightning streak through the clouds beside us. More thunder sounded. It was so close, I could feel it in my teeth.
The tower of the Keep finally came into view. Exhaustion swept over me until a sharp pain erupted from the wound in my neck. I cried out as my vision wavered and a voice echoed inside my mind.
“I wonder how long that spirit of yours will last after I’m through with you.”
Phantom spasms burst around my wrists and neck. I could smell the strong scent of wine that always lingered on Scarven’s breath when he kissed me. I squeezed my eyes shut, my muscles too tired but crying at the same time.
I was weightless and floating, one foot in my memories and one in the uneasy darkness.
And then I was freefalling.
A bellowing roar broke through the fog right as a hand yanked my arm.
I sucked in a breath and nearly screamed. I was suspended in midair, with nothing but Tessa’s tight grip keeping me from falling to my death. She slowly pulled me onto Nox’s back.
“You alright?” she called out above the wind.
I nodded and clung to Nox’s scales, panting from exertion. A dampness filled the air, heavy and suffocating despite the cold winter night, and then the skies opened to release a deluge of rain. It pelted us like daggers, instantly drenching our clothes.
Nox nose-dived for the perimeter of the mansion, landing more gracefully than I thought possible of his enormous body. I slid (very ungracefully) from his back. My knees buckled as a shock of pain radiated from my poisoned knife wounds.
The instant Tessa and Kieran were on solid ground, Nox shifted.
He fell to the mud and cupped the back of my neck.
My head pounded and my teeth chattered, which was strange, considering the wound felt like a hot brand coursing up my ribs.
Nox’s face wavered before me as my eyelids fluttered shut, but I forced myself to focus.
I licked my lips and swallowed. “Get them…off,” I croaked. I clawed weakly at the collar around my neck.
His nostrils flared. In the blink of an eye, he shifted his hand to talons and sliced through the black metal at my throat and hands, then tossed them to the side.
The instant they were gone, the nausea began to subside. My body slackened in his hold. The pain was still there, but without the cuffs, it was like I could breathe again.
Nox pushed back the rain-slicked hair from my face. Without realizing what I was doing, I nestled my cheek against his hand. Fates, I had missed him. The frenzy in my chest settled when he was around.
“We need to get both of them to Silas,” Tessa called through the rain. She supported Kieran with an arm around his waist, his hand still clutched over the wound in his abdomen.
I shook my head, and the movement sent a dull throb across my temple. “Just sleep. I just need to…to sleep. Please, Nox,” I whimpered.
He nodded and gathered me in his arms. “Sleep, darling. I’ve got you.”
Faint noises filtered in. Shuffling feet, whispered voices, something hard clattering against a wooden surface.
It sounded like chains rattling on stone.
“Now we’ll see how my brother’s plaything looks strung up on my wall and screaming my name.”
My shadows flickered at the edges of my mind, but a cold wave pushed them away. Scarven was everywhere—his fingers digging into my back, his needles scraping my skin. My panic rose, but the heavy blackness kept me tied down, like weights dragging me under.
A different voice broke through the fog. “Her heartbeat is steadier, Nox. Her body is fighting the infection. She’s strong, this one.”
And then I heard him.
“You have no idea how strong.”
Warmth brushed my hand. My muscles relaxed, and I faded once more.
The backs of my eyelids glowed red, as if sunlight were shining down on them. Something soft rested on my legs. I moved my fingers, expecting them to be frozen in that liminal space, but to my surprise, smooth sheets shifted beneath my touch.
I slowly pried my eyes open. Golden rays of a sunset crossed over the blanket covering my legs.
I no longer smelled the sour wine on Scarven’s lips, but a different sweet, smoky scent that calmed my senses.
I turned to bury my cheek deeper into the pillow, breathing it in, and a small whimper escaped me.
There was movement on the other side of the bed. I snapped my head to the sound, wincing at the sharp motion.
“It’s okay; it’s just me,” Nox said, voice soft. He moved his chair as close to me as he could. His hand twitched toward mine, but he kept it on the edge of the bed.
“Where am I?” I croaked.
“My chambers. I wanted to be here when you woke up.”
Tenderness bloomed in my chest. I took in the bedside table next to him, with a glass of water and several wooden figurines shaped like animals. When I squinted, I saw the outline of my glasses. He seemed to read my thoughts, swiftly reaching over and handing them to me.
I pushed them up the bridge of my nose. “How long was I out?”
“Almost a day. How do you feel?”
“Like I’m sick of constantly being the one to pass out.” I groaned when I took a deep breath and felt a pinch in my side. Looking under the blanket, I saw a bandage going from the side of my breast to my hip. Further down, my thigh was encased in thick gauze.
“You were exhausted, Devora. You needed to rest.”
I sighed and reached up to scratch the injection site on my neck. When I lifted my hand, shadows twirled around my finger. I smiled faintly.
Hello there, I whispered to them. They grew with each breath, curling over my hand. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything hurt us again, I promise.
They squeezed my fingers in a soft embrace.
I smiled wider and shut my eyes, the overwhelming relief at having my magic back making a tear track down one cheek.
Something that, a month and a half ago, I didn’t even know how to control.
Something I didn’t even care about, and now couldn’t imagine being without.
“What’s wrong?” Nox asked urgently. “Why are you crying?”
Another tear slipped out. “My magic’s back. I thought after what he did, and that collar—I thought it was gone for good.”
Nox flexed his hand a few inches from mine on the edge of the bed. He kept his distance, not letting our fingers touch. “What happened to you, Devora?” he finally asked. “One moment you were writing about how he took you to the Hollow, and the next…”
“He showed up in my room.” I paused as the memory of Scarven taking off his belt and pinning me to the bed flashed before my eyes. “I hid the parchment under my pillow, but he was…he was on the bed when you sent your last message. He felt it burn and got suspicious.”
Nox went lethally still. His other hand gripped the armrest of the chair, and something splintered. The end of it cracked off and fell to the floor as a hint of his silver claws glinted.
Growling, he asked, “Devora, did he—”
“No, no, he—he tried, but your message—it stopped him.” I looked down into my lap and took a breath.
My pulse raced with residual fear. “He knew I was working with you. He said they found my cloak that night at the stables. He’d just been toying with us the whole time.
He pricked me with something that made my shadows go crazy.
It proved I was lying, and that’s when he took me to the cells.
” I glanced back at Nox. “How did you know where to find me, anyway?”
“Silas took something of yours—your sweater—and cast a spell that let us see a vision of you. I saw—” He cut himself off, his nostrils flaring.
“I saw you hanging from chains. I saw this.” Moving forward, he raised a finger to the puncture wound on my neck, but like before, he didn’t touch me.
I could feel the heat coming from every inch of his skin, those navy eyes alight with fire.
“I saw you wake up when he got there. I saw him grab you.” Nox’s eyes traced a path over my throat, the top of my collarbone, and to the other side of my neck where Scarven had gripped me.
His gaze was as searing as any touch, and when he pulled away to sit back in the chair, he left a chill hovering over me.
“He kept you in the same cell I was in,” he said. My mouth fell open. “There were marks carved into the stone on the wall beside you. Marks I left there over a decade ago.”
It felt like someone had punched me. “Nox, I—”
“He was using you to send me a message. He hurt you because of me.” He swiped a hand down the scruff at his chin. For the first time, I registered how tired he was. Purple circles gathered beneath his weary eyes. His tan skin was duller than usual, and his lips curved down at the edges.
I furrowed my brow. “If you knew it was a trap, why did you come?”
His eyes found mine again. Those broad shoulders shifted as he slowly leaned forward.
My heart pounded the closer he got. But not from fear. The man before me, this dragon, dripped power and strength. He could level an entire village with a single breath. He was a force of nature, a predator, a danger.
But with him, I felt safer than I ever had.
“Why did I come?” he repeated with a murmur. “For the last ten days, I’ve been unable to sleep. I can’t get you out of my head, Devora. I know what that man does to the people in his possession, and the thought of him hurting you, of him—” He stopped, his jaw clenching as he exhaled sharply.
His eyes locked onto the bruise on my cheek, and his gaze darkened. “I will tear him apart for what he did to you,” he said, voice deathly quiet.
He lifted his thumb and hovered above the mark. His entire arm shook with barely controlled rage. He’d been careful not to touch me this whole time, almost as if he was afraid of what would happen if he did. That I would crack down the middle like his armrest.
Maybe I would.
I reached for his outstretched wrist, needing something to ground me, right as he moved back to his seat.
A rock sank in my chest. I looked away before he saw the rejection on my face. He said he couldn’t get me out of his head, and yet he kept his distance when he finally had me back.
He thought I was breakable. Damaged. And he was right.
“Do you know what I did these last ten days?” I whispered, gingerly touching the bandage at my neck so I didn’t have to look at him.
“I—I thought about you. I thought about the Order and what this all means to me. I thought about getting through this mission so I could come home. Every time I was scared, I remembered the other people he’d hurt.
Every time he touched me, I—I wished—” My heart beat in my ears as the feel of Scarven’s body on top of mine came back to the forefront. Pressure built in the backs of my eyes.
“But now I just want it all to go away. I want someone to take it away.”
I turned my neck so my hair covered part of my face, shielding me from him. I wasn’t used to this—to having someone watch when I fell apart. Unexpected emotion clogged my throat as a single tear trailed down my cheek.
“Devora,” Nox whispered slowly. Before I knew what was happening, the bed dipped. His large body settled in next to me, and he carefully laid my head on his chest. I flinched for a split second before realizing where I was, and then wrapped my arms around his midsection.
“Is this alright?” He hesitated with his hand across my lower back.
I nodded and buried my head in his chest. When he pressed his lips to the top of my head, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. I let them flow out of me, all my fear, my helplessness, my distress. My anger and determination. My pain and silence.
He held me through it all, pulling me even further into his arms like he wanted to mold my body to his. “I’m so sorry, my darling,” he kept murmuring, brushing soft kisses along my temple. “I’m so sorry.”
Only when my head pounded and my eyes swelled did the tears subside, leaving me with shaky breaths as I clung to him.
My muscles relaxed, releasing tension for the first time in weeks.
The safety and warmth of being tucked into his side made the darkness weighing on my mind a little lighter, and as his fingers ran down the length of my spine, I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.