Chapter 34 #2
“Go home, Viri,” Meera said gently, though her jade eyes seemed amused by Viri’s stunned reaction. “Get some rest. We’ll see to the kids and take care of things from here.”
“But—” Viri stopped herself, unsure why she was arguing when the very word “rest” had her suddenly swaying with exhaustion, her adrenaline swiftly dissolving now that the danger had passed.
“Don’t worry—we have plenty of questions for you,” Meera added, a dry note in her mental voice now, “but we also want to keep our jobs, and Sarielle has been anxious enough that we might very well lose them if we don’t let you have the rest of the night off.
” She jerked her chin toward the space in front of the dais, where Wynter was in the middle of what looked like a strained conversation with her mother, the firebird blazing steadily behind them despite the rest of the flames having been extinguished.
Viri was torn between wanting to huddle on the ground with Soren and Jessalyn, wanting to help Meera and Darik return the children to their families, wanting to go find Reeve, and wanting to be there for her best friend.
The latter won out, so she ducked down to say goodbye to Soren, whispering that everyone was meeting at Wyn’s lab later but they’d understand if he wasn’t willing to leave his sister.
He replied with a ragged “Thank you”—something she knew wasn’t in response to the information she’d shared, the depth of feeling in those two heartfelt words making her blink back tears.
With a quick kiss to his cheek, then Jessy’s, Viri stood again and started in Wynter’s direction, only to pause when Darik’s deep voice stopped her.
“Tomorrow morning, Solace,” the Nox captain reminded her—unnecessarily. “Come prepared for an interrogation. A long one.”
Viri barely managed to resist rolling her eyes—or sighing. She chose to ignore his stern face in favor of the pride Meera still wore, infusing false brightness into her tone as she replied, “Sounds fun. Can’t wait.”
Before Darik could say anything else—or change his mind and demand answers immediately—she turned and strode away, wobbling slightly as fatigue slammed into her with every step.
But her night wasn’t over yet, so she willed strength into her aching body and stifled the yawn that tried to break free as she headed toward the dais.
“Viri!” Wynter cried upon seeing her approach, running to meet her halfway and throwing her arms around her. “Thank the Elders you’re all right!”
“You were amazing tonight, Wyn,” Viri said as they drew apart. “I saw you and Jonas using your alchemy—”
A strangled sound left Wynter, and Viri broke off hastily, remembering the Reaper Lord saying that Sarielle had learned about her daughter experimenting with forbidden magic.
“How much trouble are you in?” she asked quietly.
“Never mind that,” Wynter said, though the waver in her voice suggested things were going to be uncomfortable when they all returned to their apartment. “Jonas and I learned something about the comets that you need to know. Not about Aurora—about Orion.”
Viri tensed at the reminder of the second comet. “You know when it’s arriving?”
“No, not yet. But we’re pretty sure we have some time.”
Relaxing again, Viri said, “Then anything else can wait until I’ve slept for about fifty hours. Give or take.”
“But you need to hear this,” Wynter said urgently. “It’s about the ellixen abyssus requirement. I had the translation wrong—”
“Viri, darling, I’ve been so worried,” Sarielle interrupted, arriving at their sides and drawing her into a trembling embrace. “I think I lost ten years off my life tonight alone.”
“You and me both,” Viri said, returning her guardian’s hug, feeling safe for the first time in days. She pulled back to ask, “You weren’t here during the fighting, were you?”
“Me? Elders, no. My hunter days are long behind me.” Sarielle shook her head firmly, her blue eyes shuttering slightly as they flicked toward her daughter. “I know my place, and it’s not in a battle against reapers.”
Wynter looked down at the ground, her cheeks flushing.
Sarielle didn’t reprimand her further—for now—only offered her hands to both of them. “Come. We can’t do any more here tonight. I need to get my girls home.”
“I’ll follow in a minute,” Viri said, glancing around for Reeve again, unwilling to leave without seeing for herself that he’d made it through the fight unscathed—and that he wasn’t on his way back to the Underlock. “There’s someone I need to talk to first.”
Sarielle looked like she was going to object, and Wynter looked like she was bursting to share what she and Jonas had learned about Orion, but Viri turned and walked away, deciding both could wait.
Her energy was fading quickly, and she needed to use what little remained to make sure Reeve left the cathedral without getting caught.
Only…she couldn’t find him anywhere, not even after walking the entire length of the vast hall.
She scanned the room again, noting plenty of familiar faces among her hunter colleagues and the Nox Custodia, some supervising the nullified reapers, some searching the debris for survivors, and some dragging bodies away—the last group making Viri’s stomach clench at just how many had fallen, Nox, hunters, and reapers alike.
Still, there was no Reeve. But an odd, affectionate tug inside her had her heading out the front doors, the sensation similar to what she’d felt when her magic had been drawn to him earlier that evening.
She followed it instinctively, stepping out into the cool, moonlit night and passing beyond the rusted iron gates, finally finding him leaning against a tree growing between a cluster of white graves, his midnight hair a perfectly tousled mess, his silver gaze watching her approach.
“What took you so long?” he asked, his eyes dancing as he repeated her own words from earlier.
She hid a smile. “I stopped for snacks.”
His lips twitched. “Very important.”
“So I hear.”
He pushed off the tree, his face turning serious. “You scared the hell out of me today. When you didn’t meet us, when I realized the Reaper Lord must have taken you—”
Viri stopped him by moving forward and wrapping her arms around him. “I’m all right,” she whispered. “You found me.”
“I’ll always find you,” he said hoarsely, pulling her closer. “Always.”
Her heart stuttered at his vow, then stuttered again when he pressed his lips to her temple, but he didn’t take it further, instead stepping back and eyeing her from head to toe.
“May I?” he asked, raising a hand.
She wasn’t sure what he meant but nodded anyway, only understanding when he placed his palm against her chest and his magic flowed into her, her aches and pains vanishing along with all her wounds.
Sending him a grateful look, she stretched her arm into a moonbeam, seeing nothing but smooth, healed flesh. “Neat trick.”
“It is, though it inconveniently only works on others.” Reeve indicated the shallow cuts that flecked his skin. “But speaking of neat tricks…” His tone shifted. “That was some seriously impressive magic you did earlier. Both the cathedral wards and protecting Jessalyn.”
Viri released a shaky breath. “I got lucky. I had no idea what I was doing.”
“Lucky or not, you saved her—and everyone else.”
“It was a group effort. If you and the others hadn’t been waiting outside, tonight would have had a very different outcome.”
“You can thank our friends for that,” Reeve said.
“Jonas and Wynter found some obscure reference to where an ancient Aurora sacrifice had taken place”—he gestured to the cathedral behind them—“and Soren, Sage, and Ardin figured out that there were wards silencing what was happening inside. Only, by the time we all arrived, those wards had been strengthened to prevent anyone from entering.” His eyes locked with hers.
“I heard your voice in my head when they came down, like you were whispering right into my ear. How did you do that?”
Viri shuffled her feet, reluctant to admit that her magic seemed to be attracted to him, of all things. He would never let her live that down. “You’re the mage. You tell me.”
He studied her as if sensing she wasn’t being entirely truthful, but thankfully, he let it go. “However it happened, you were incredible tonight.”
The sudden tenderness in his expression made her breath catch. “You weren’t half bad yourself.”
“Not half bad?” His mouth curled upward. “That’s high praise, coming from you. Next you’ll be saying—”
Whatever he thought she’d be saying, she never found out, because something over her shoulder caught his attention, and his eyes widened in alarm—and fear.
“No—wait—” he cried, throwing out an arm.
But it was too late, because a surge of ellixen slammed into Viri, and then—
Darkness.