Chapter 66 Devora
Devora
Istood in the workshop, the buzz of magic and purpose thrumming through the room. It was as if lightning had struck the Keep in the last couple of days we were gone—everyone was at high speed, energy flowing, determination and vengeance reignited.
I crossed my arms tight against my chest and dug my fingers into the fabric of my sleeves, as if pressure alone could hold me together.
Every flicker of candlelight, every dark shadow, every twinge on my skin made me flinch. Even with the meetings and preparations to keep me distracted, my thoughts still strayed to the bond, that invisible tether linking me to Scarven.
I knew it wasn’t real, but I swore I could feel him.
He’d done this on purpose. He wanted to mess with me, to mess with Nox, and to keep me in constant fear of him.
I felt disgusted with my own skin. Each slight motion had me spiraling, wondering if he was doing something to hurt me.
Knowing that, at any single moment, he could control me through pain.
I was tired of being afraid.
I was afraid to be alone. I was afraid of fire. I was afraid Scarven could slit his own throat and his Shifter powers would heal him, whereas I’d be left bleeding out on the floor.
The burns had mostly healed now, thanks to Milo. I didn’t know if he still blamed me for what had happened, but all that mattered was that we were working together. The last thing we needed right now was for anyone in the Order to be divided.
Because this was our last stand. Our final play. I could tell by the undercurrent of anticipation through the entire Keep that everyone else felt it too. Something big was coming.
Whether it was our salvation or damnation, only the Fates could tell.
“...this cache was destroyed,” Nox was saying, his voice steady but tight with exhaustion. “The explosive charm worked like a…well, like a charm. But it’s not over. He has more shipments they’re planning on disseminating to the other provinces.”
He tossed a black dagger at Kieran, who caught it by the handle, then let out a grunt and narrowed his eyes.
Nox pointed at the fatesprig dagger. “I swiped it off the cargo. I hate to say it, but I was right. It has the same magic-dampening effect the fatesprig injection had. There were thousands of weapons just like it. Before, it was just us speculating. But now…”
Tessa swore under her breath when she took the blade from Kieran, then dropped it back on the table. Milo, who was scribbling in his Grimoire several feet away, eyed the dagger suspiciously.
Everett leaned against the wall to my left, arms crossed, eye patch gone and revealing a jagged scar across his left eye. “We can’t let him distribute this to the entire empire.”
“Way to state the obvious,” Tessa said, but it didn’t hold her usual sarcasm.
Kieran rapped his fingers on the table. He’d forgone his suit jacket this evening, but still wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his tan forearms. “How much time have we got, Nox?”
“I don’t know for sure. They’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
Kieran’s lips thinned into a look of grim determination. “Then we go for the kill. We destroy it all at the source.”
A weighted silence fell over the workshop.
Outside these doors were dozens of refugees, some still deep in recovery.
They represented a fraction of the people Scarven had hurt over the years.
A small portion of the ones he still kept locked away in his Hollow.
And an entire empire full of innocents who could be harmed by an army of fatesprig.
Nox cleared his throat. “This is the last chance we have to strike. We’ve been careful up to this point, only making a move when we thought he was looking the other way. But this is different.”
“We know the risks, Nox,” Tessa said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We always have.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” Kieran agreed. “We’re with you to the end.”
When the three of them looked at me in expectation, my chest squeezed. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get used to this—people turning to me, wanting me, including me.
“I don’t even know why you’re asking,” I said. “I was all in before you even let me leave that tower.”
Nox glanced over at Everett, still leaning against the wall. Everett lifted his chin. “You know I’ve made promises. I’m not giving up on the ones I care about who are still in there. As long as we get them out, I’m in.”
Nox nodded. “Of course. We’ll make sure we get every single prisoner out, as well as anyone who’s been working for him against their will. And then—”
“Then we blow it sky-high,” Tessa said, rubbing her hands together.
“It sounds like you don’t even need me to make a plan this time,” Kieran remarked.
Nox gave him a lazy smile. “I’ll always need you, Kieran.”
“What say you, oh mighty Alchemist?” Tessa asked Milo, propping her elbows on the table to face him.
“Someone’s got to stay behind,” Milo said. “I’ll keep a team of Alchemists here to ward the Keep. We can’t leave it unprotected.”
“Are you sure?” Nox asked.
“You know I don’t like fighting.” Milo smiled pensively, hints of the grief he still bore shining through. “Silas wasn’t a warrior either. He taught me protection is just as powerful as destruction. I’m where I’m meant to be.”
Tessa reached for his hand across the table. “He would be so, so proud of you.”
“We’ll need more people,” Kieran said. “If this it to be where we make our stand, we cannot do it alone.”
Nox nodded. “Already three steps ahead of you. Everett, evaluate who among the refugees is fit to fight, and we’ll give them the choice.
Tessa, get everyone outfitted with weapons and protection charms. Milo, we’ll need at least one strong fire quartz and an Alchemist who can activate it when we’re ready. ”
I shifted on my feet, my eyes glued to him taking charge and doling out instructions. I knew this was serious. I knew everything was at stake, and we were walking straight into the arms of the enemy.
But, Fates, if watching Nox in his element wasn’t the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
The faint shimmer in the air was the only warning before Arowyn popped into existence in the space next to me. I let out a yelp and jumped to the side.
“Well, it’s good to see you too,” she quipped, but I didn’t miss the way she reached for the table, her legs unsteady as she tried to get her balance.
When Nox looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she nodded. “It’s done.”
I barely had time to wonder what that little interaction was about before Nox squared his shoulders and said, “Good. Everyone knows their assignments. We leave in twenty-four hours.”
The room sobered even more at his words, if that was possible. Eyes wandered, exchanging glances mixed with trepidation and resolve. We were all in this together, and that bond we’d formed snapped stronger into place at the thought of what lay ahead of us.
Nox cleared his throat. “This is what we’ve worked for.
This is what we’ve survived for. Each and every one of us, in our own ways.
Scarven thinks he’s built a world he can rule through fear, and has tried to break us down bit by bit.
” His navy eyes met each of ours, and I felt my shadows stir in response.
“Maybe parts of us have broken. But we used every loss, every wound, every scar to forge something new. Something unbreakable. And you—”
He cut himself off. He swallowed hard, the emotion in his voice making my own throat clog.
After taking a breath, he continued, “Before the Order, I was heartbroken and lost, driven by ego and vengeance. But each of you came into my life and made me a far better man. When I need to be put in my place—” He motioned to Arowyn, who let out a soft laugh, and then he cast a look at Milo.
“Or when I need a reminder that goodness and innocence still exist in the world.”
Nox’s gaze settled on Everett. “As much as I wish you had never been through what I went through, you give me strength because of it. You give me joy,” he added, reaching out to squeeze Tessa’s arm.
She hastily wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“And loyalty—” He clapped a hand on Kieran’s shoulder.
Then he turned to me, eyes burning through to my soul. “And you give me peace.”
Taking in the room, he said, “Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you all to know that fighting with you has been the greatest honor of my life. And that’s something he can’t take from us.”
My heart swelled. I had to swallow the lump in my throat as I watched everyone’s spines straighten, their eyes brighten, their faces settle into steadfast resolution.
“Practice that speech in the mirror, did you, Nox?” Arowyn’s words broke the weighted tension, and a chorus of chuckles rang through the workshop.
“Through flame and ash,” Kieran said, nodding firmly at Nox.
“Preferably our flame and Scarven’s ashes,” Tessa added.
Everett snorted. “I could drink to that.”
I traced a circle on the mug of hot tea in my grip, staring at the sunrise out the window of Nox’s chambers.
His windowsill was large enough for me to curl up on with a warm blanket and a pillow propped at my back.
There was frost on the glass, and when I exhaled, puffs of hot air clouded the inside of the window.
For just this moment, I didn’t want to think about Scarven. I didn’t want to think about the bond, or the scar still marking my thigh, or my uncontrollable, violent shadows, or the fact that tonight…everything could change.
We might not come back from this.
Stop thinking about it, I chided myself. I focused on the faint pink-and-orange hue settling over the rocky shore, the blue-and-gray waves crashing onto the sand, the solitude of the morning before the storm hit.
Nox silently slipped up to the window. He squeezed my ankle, and I moved to give him space to sit. The golden sunrays highlighted the dark blond of his hair, making his tan skin glow as he fixed his gaze on the horizon.
I loved seeing him like this. Soft and muted, without all the hard, anxious lines and tense muscles.
I didn’t think many saw this side of him—they either got the ferocious dragon and rebel leader or the cocky, silver-tongued charmer.
And I loved all of it. All of him. But this version of him… this was mine.
I nudged his leg with my toe. “What’s on your mind?”
He hummed. “Just thinking about how it’ll feel to watch that mansion burn.”
“How romantic,” I said with a chuckle.
“What can I say?” He looked at me. “Listen, Devora, tonight will be dangerous, and—”
“If the rest of that sentence involves you asking me not to go, you can stop right there,” I said, quirking an eyebrow.
It was his turn to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I learned my lesson the last time. But I’m still allowed to be worried about you.
” He repositioned his legs and patted the spot in front of him.
I set my mug down and grabbed my blanket, crossing to sit between his legs.
My back was flush to his chest, and his chin rested on top of my head, his arms wrapping around me.
“How has your magic been?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It’s been fine. Normal. Nothing like the night of the fight. Maybe it was temporary.”
“We’ll just have to be careful tonight.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Hopefully, it won’t come down to fighting at all.”
I craned my neck to look at him. “You don’t believe that, or you wouldn’t be prepping over a dozen refugees for battle.”
He sighed. “We have to be ready for the worst.”
“Trust me, I get it.” I nestled back into his chest. “But have you thought about what happens if we win?” I asked, more quietly this time.
“Darling, I’ve dreamed about that every day for the last nineteen years.”
I turned so I could face him. I ran my fingers through his hair, marveling at its softness as his eyes fluttered closed.
“And what does the famous dragon Shifter dream of doing with his freedom?” I whispered.
“Seeing my mother and sister. Being a family again.” His shoulders relaxed slightly as he spoke.
“Not having to look over our shoulders at every turn. Traveling the world because I want to, not because I’m forced to.
” He let out a breath, slowly opening his eyes to meet my gaze.
“Waking up next to the woman I love without wondering if today is the day I lose her.”
I brushed my thumb across his cheek. “You will never lose me, Nox.”
He caught my thumb with his lips and kissed the pad. “Never is a long time, darling.”
“It’s not long enough,” I murmured. “Not with you. I want forever.”
The idea should’ve scared me. Being this vulnerable, placing my heart in someone else’s hands, trusting him so implicitly when I’d only ever been used and cast aside in the past.
But I wasn’t scared. I couldn’t imagine anyone I felt safer with.
He smiled, slow and aching, and he reached up to grasp my hands. “If we make it through this, then I promise you, Devora, darling…” He kissed the tips of my fingers. “Our forever will start tomorrow.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Closing the gap between us, I rested my forehead against his.
Tomorrow.