Chapter 81 Nox
Nox
Silence filled the air, heavy and churning with both oncoming dark magic and the magnitude of Arowyn’s statement. The others exchanged uneasy looks as they shifted back and forth on their feet.
But I wasn’t scared. In fact, I was calm. Resolute. Because I knew not a single one of the people I loved would be harmed today.
I realized with glaring clarity that this was my purpose all along. How many years had I spent talking about a better future? About ending the injustice and violence caused by my brother? How many times had I claimed everything I did was for those I loved?
I wouldn’t accept a future in which I lived while someone else sacrificed their life for me.
I pointed to the Alchemist Milo had trained on activating the charm in the fire quartz. “You still have the quartz?” The young man nodded. “Good. Do the spell and give it to me. Everyone else, your roles are the same—get to safety and stay as far from the property as possible.”
Rose blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “Why does it sound like you’re about to play the hero, Nox?”
“I’m not playing anything.” I took the fire quartz and a piece of flint, rubbing the rough, warm stone with my thumb. “I’m protecting my own.”
An uproar broke out. So many voices blended together that I couldn’t pick them apart.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Nox, you’re not going down there.”
“Wait just a moment and let us figure out a different plan—”
“You’re such an idiot. Do you really think we’d be okay with this?”
I shook my head and took a few steps back, needing to clear my mind. “This isn’t a debate.” I forced an air of cold finality into my voice. “I vowed to lead you through this, and that’s what I’m doing. The longer we stay here, the longer this curse has time to spread. You need to go.”
Kieran stepped forward. “You expect us to stand by and act like we don’t care? You are not simply our leader, Nox. You’re our friend. Our brother.”
I balled my hands into fists at my sides. “And would you not do the same for me?”
“In a heartbeat!” he exclaimed, glaring back at me.
“Then what’s the difference? Why is it so wrong for me to do this, if any of the rest of you would take my place? Why should I let one of you go instead?”
Kieran swallowed hard, nostrils flaring as his jaw clenched. But he remained silent.
“Nox, please,” my sister said, and heat flared at my back. When I turned to meet her gaze, her eyes sparked with flames. “Let me go. I’m strong. If you tell me what to do, maybe I have a better chance of—”
“Absolutely not.” I was shaking my head before she even finished her sentence.
“You’re finally free, Vera. You of all people deserve to start over.
To live the life you never got to have.” I gripped her hands, so small in my own.
Just like when she was younger. “What kind of brother would I be if I sent you off to die?”
She squeezed my fingers. “I just got you back,” she whispered. “Please don’t go.”
My lips tilted up into a sad smile. “If not me, then who?”
Her eyes flitted behind me to the people she’d never met, but who had risked everything to come save her and countless others. Then her gaze strayed to Everett at her side, who had been silently attached to her hip since the moment she came back to herself.
I knew what she was thinking. There was no right way to condemn someone to their death. No way to offer someone else in my place.
Vera threw her arms around my neck and pulled me close, infusing me with her warmth.
I closed my eyes and rested my chin on her shoulder.
Her freedom was the most important thing.
She would get to live. She would get to dream and wish and love whoever she wanted.
That was the only ending I could’ve asked for.
At least I’d done one thing right.
“Go get Mama,” I whispered. “She’s waiting for you in Tenebra. Everett knows the way.” I kissed her cheek before backing away and taking a deep breath.
My dragon half recoiled in disgust when something dark flooded my nostrils. My magic was slow and tired, no longer a vibrant pulse. All around us, dark wisps of black and red filtered through the air in a fog, licking at our skin like it wanted to taste us.
“It’s coming from the west,” Arowyn said, squinting toward the end of the property where the entrance to the Hollow lay. “The spell is spreading faster.”
It was a gradual suffocation. An infection working its way through our systems, pushing and pulling at our powers.
“We’re out of time,” I said curtly. “You know your orders.”
Leo took Rose by the arm, but she paused and reached out to me. “There has to be another way,” she murmured, her green eyes holding so much sadness. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned with Alchemy, there’s always another way.”
“Maybe so. But we don’t have time to sit around and find it.” I took both of her hands in mine. “Be good to each other, viper.”
Rose nodded once, a little furrow appearing in her brow as she took her hand away and wiped her nose.
Urgency was beginning to pick up in the courtyard, with the threat of the dark magic closing in.
Rose, Leo, and Chaz gathered the wounded as Thecae made his shadow cages float toward the edge of the property.
Every few seconds, his shadows would flicker out and then come back, as if growing weaker and weaker.
I could barely feel my dragon anymore. I couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.
But as I turned toward the Hollow, another hand fell to the small of my back. It was a touch I’d know anywhere, and the only one I couldn’t bear to face.
“You said you wouldn’t leave me.”
Devora’s voice was quiet, but hard as stone. I slowly turned, keeping my gaze at her shoulder, unable to meet her eyes. To see the betrayal I was sure marred her beautiful features.
“Devora, darling, I—”
“Don’t you ‘darling’ me,” she snapped. “You weren’t even going to say goodbye.”
I licked my lips. “You know I don’t have another choice.”
She scoffed. “Well, I’m selfish, Nox. You may be willing to sacrifice yourself, but I’m not.”
“This is the only way, Devora.”
“Then think of something else.” She stepped closer, forcing her face into my line of sight. I closed my eyes and turned my neck. “You vowed to lead everyone through this, but what about the promises you made to me? What about us? What about our tomorrow?”
Each word was a blow to the chest, but I stayed silent, unmoving. There was nothing I could say. She was right. I should’ve never made promises to her I wasn’t sure I could keep.
I could smell her anger, but more than that, I could smell her desperation, even as my Shifter magic struggled to maintain itself.
Her voice cracked as she said, “Do I mean so little to you that you won’t even look at me?”
My eyes snapped to hers, to those blue-green pools that shattered my resolve, begging me to kneel and plea for her forgiveness. The pull between us tugged me closer until my fingers found the nape of her neck. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to hers, breaths ragged and racing.
“I can’t look at you, Devora. If I do, I’ll choose you. Every time. Even if it means the rest of the world turns to ash.”
“Then choose me,” she whispered, voice hitching. She bunched the top of my leathers in her fist. “Choose yourself. You don’t have to go.”
I gently kissed her forehead. “I love you so much, Devora. You brought sun and light and hope into my cold world, and that’s all I could’ve ever asked for.” A tear tracked down her cheek. The backs of my eyes burned when she trembled in my arms. “And I’m so sorry, my darling.”
I looked over her shoulder and met Kieran’s hardened stare, giving him a single nod. As I let Devora go and backed away, she tried to snag my arm, but Kieran stepped forward and held her back.
She screamed my name. The sound was so gutting, I had to turn away to force myself not to run into her arms.
Each step was like swimming against the tide. The dark magic was pungent and biting, strong enough now that I knew it wouldn’t be long before my powers stopped working completely.
My feet and my heart begged me to turn around. The sound of Devora fighting against Kieran squeezed the breath from my lungs.
This is for her. This is for all of them.
I could see the stables, where the black magic vibrated and twisted more fiercely than ever. The prisoners had been evacuated from the tree line, as well as all the wounded and the remaining mutated Veridians. I would give them a couple more minutes to get clear of the blast.
Maybe I could survive, a hopeful part of me thought. There was a fifteen-second delay on the explosion. If I set the fire quartz close enough to the edge, there was a small chance I could beat the blast.
Without your magic? another voice asked. Without your speed?
It didn’t matter. I would try. For Devora and for myself.
When a couple minutes passed and I could no longer see or hear our group beyond the property line, I took the flint and fire quartz from my pocket.
Almost as if it could sense I was about to cross the border into the dark magic’s hold, my dragon gave one final twitch inside my chest, urging me to stop.
I ignored it and took a step.
There was a small rush of wind at my back, and suddenly, a hand was on my arm.
I spun to find Kieran and Arowyn. “What are you—”
Kieran grabbed the flint and fire quartz from me. “You have fulfilled your duty a thousand times over. Let someone else take care of things this time, brother.”
Alarm blared through me. I realized too late what was happening.
“Kieran, don’t you dare—”
“Through flame and ash.” He tipped his head at Arowyn and sprinted off toward the Hollow.
I was still yelling his name when Arowyn squeezed my arm and the world vanished.