Chapter 7
Skully
“S.” MY NAME is called from the shadows next to the window, causing me to whirl in that direction. My hand flies up, ready to cast to defend my life. My heart is thundering in my chest.
“Geez, Az. I could have hurt you.”
Azriel steps farther into my room, arms up, guarded, even though there’s an amused smile on his lips. “Whoa. Guess I shouldn’t surprise you anymore.”
“Ya think? Until my magic is used to you, the best option would be no surprise attacks.” I glare at him with zero heat. I know he isn’t here to hurt me intentionally.
Azriel nods his head and moves across my room to sit on my bed. “I’m sorry I had to leave earlier. I take it things went well.”
My head nods. “Lore was right. The star I saw was my magic, and it’s back. Well, back to how it should be. Bonded to me, I mean.” I don’t tell him how my veins warm in response to how I’m talking about my magic, and it makes my heart feel full.
Azriel’s gaze lowers to the floor, and I watch as he swallows visibly before saying, “That’s good.”
“You don’t sound like it’s a good thing.” I laugh, but there’s zero emotion in it. “What’s going on, Az. Don’t lie to me, please.”
He sighs, and his hand moves to the back of his neck. “Loreli wants to talk about this with you, but honestly, I think it should come from me. Especially if you decide you don’t want anything to do with me again after this.”
I almost scoff out loud, but the naked vulnerability on his face stops me. He’s truly worried, which isn’t like him. I’m used to my carefree, humorous, and slightly full-of-himself best friend. I move to my bed and sit next to him, waiting. “I’d rather hear it from you, Az.”
He lets his hand lie next to his leg, right between us, palm up.
A smile ghosts over my lips, thinking about all the times he’s offered his silent support to me this way over the last year, anytime I’ve needed it.
My palm rests against him, and my fingers curl with his.
Azriel takes a deep breath, and when his violet gaze meets mine, I can feel the weight of his thoughts.
“There’s been chatter for hundreds of years about the Nexa.
She was once part of the paranormal world but revered because she transcends to the spiritual world as well.
It was rumored that she contains great magic, but she was feared because that magic could go either way.
Good or Evil. It depended on the husk she inhabited and the bond she would create with that husk.
Over the years, some have claimed they hold the Nexa, while others are sure she’s been spotted elsewhere, but there were never any solid leads.
There was once someone in the paranormal community who even claimed the Nexa had split itself into two.
The only way the Nexa can survive, though, is with a compatible husk. A specific host body.”
A wave of nausea rolls through me, and my skin feels clammy even after the shower I just took. Something in my consciousness niggles at me, but I can’t remember why or even what the answer is. “What do you mean by specific host?”
Azriel leans into me, his fingers squeeze mine in a firm grip. “The husk has to be female, and she has to be of four paranormal bloods. Reaper, witch, angel...”
“Fae?” I guess, trying to remember everything I’d learned about the paranormal types and species since regaining the first flickers of my magic. “Vampire? Werewolf?”
Azriel shakes his head no. His eyes meet mine, but flicker with uncertainty. “Demon.”
The air leaves my lungs, and I stare at him, unable to comprehend. “Demon?”
Azriel nods, and he bites his lower lip, watching, contemplating.
“Demons exist, and because of reapers, they are locked below the Haven. This, the world, where humans and the paranormal exist, is the Haven. Only reapers know where the Gates are. They protect their Gate and the hell hounds bring the demons to where true evil reigns, the Shades.”
My stomach tightens while the blood drains from my face.
A chill, an awareness I never had before, spreads up my spine and breaks out over my skin.
A rush of painful iciness followed by intense heat.
I jump from the bed, my legs needing the movement.
My mind wants to recall; it wants to remember because I know this.
I’ve heard this. I know I have. “I can’t remember. ”
Azriel stands slowly before approaching me with caution. His hands touch my shoulders first, hesitant, but when my magic doesn’t react, he gently pulls my body into his. “But this fable triggered something, didn’t it?”
I nod silently, my cheek rubbing against his chest. “Yes.”
He breathes out, and his arms tighten around me. “I think you were a husk for the Nexa that year. I don’t know how it happened or how you shed it, but I think it’s somehow related to your memory loss and your injury.”
“Are you telling me that’s what it was or hypothesizing?” I roll my eyes and pull from his grasp.
“Guessing. But if I had to wager, I’d bet my life.
You don’t know half your bloodline. Witch, yes, reaper, yes.
Loreli already acknowledged that your mom was missing half her genealogy, though, because her father is unknown.
Whatever happened to you that day was strong enough to take your mind and your magic. The Nexa could do that.”
“Okay, so it happened, but now it’s gone, so why do you look terrified?” My brow lifts, and I watch as his head dips.
“The chatter started up again. That blast that we heard was heard around the globe. Every paranormal and spiritual being felt it. Whatever it was, it was strong. Strong like the Nexa is rumored to be. Her presence will beat like a drum on land, a tidal wave of the sea. And all creators and creatures of the Haven, Heaven, and Shade will witness her greatness.”
“She sounds ominous,” I murmur while my fingers rub against my forehead. A sharp pain is starting to bloom.
“The Nexa can be evil or good. I’ve heard it depends on her husk. I’ve also heard the husk’s magic matters, but there is also a rumor that it largely depends on who hosts the mate bond compatible with the Nexa.”
“A what bond?” My voice pitches slightly, and Azriel’s lips quirk up.
“Come on, S. I know you’ve read a shifter romance. And you watched that vampire show. Mate bonds exist, although they are rarer for beings outside of shifters.”
“Ugh.” My hands run down my face. “This is too much. So what happens now?”
His massive shoulders shrug. “I have no idea yet. My superiors believe the Nexa returned in that blast. Some believe the Nexa never left but is continuously here. What no one knows is that right before that blast, your magic also crashed into you.”
“So maybe my magic was the blast and not the Nexa?” I asked, feeling even more confused now.
“That’s what I’m working to figure out. It’s being investigated, though. Your father’s family is investigating, some of my superiors are as well, and different factions of other paranormal beings,” he explains. My spine straightens, and my shoulders go stiff when he mentions my dad.
“Hey,” he says gently and gives me a side hug.
“Don’t worry right now. We have no idea yet, but Loreli and I both thought you should be prepared.
Your aunt and I don’t agree on much, but this is one thing we do agree on.
We also agreed to keep you aware of all possibilities so that you aren’t blindsided.
This way, we can prepare or defend if necessary.
If the Nexa is back, let’s hope she finds a new husk.
Maybe it will never even touch you. Or maybe there is no husk, and the spontaneity of your magic returning caused that blast.”
“Let’s hope so,” I mutter, suddenly feeling exhausted again. Reading me easily, Azriel shakes his head with a small laugh.
“Okay, S. Get some sleep.” He pushes me toward my bed.
“Will you stay for a little while?” I ask, catching his hand in mine. I can’t explain why, but I feel the need to keep him close tonight. His familiarity and knowing he’s my best friend make facing sleep easier for some reason.
“Of course.” He smiles gently and pulls my desk chair closer to my bed.
Once I’m under the covers, and Azriel turns the lights off, he starts to glow, a pale, warm light just enough to keep the shadows at bay. “Night, Az.”
“Night, S.” His voice is low, and my eyelids are already closing, ready for sleep to take me under.
Sunlight flicks under my curtains, and for one second, I’m suspended between sleep and consciousness.
Something woke me, but what? Peeling my eyes open, I notice my desk chair is exactly where it was when Ariel was here.
He stayed until I was asleep, because I don’t remember him leaving.
My aunt’s voice rises again, and it registers; that’s why I woke up.
Loreli is yelling at someone. I jump out of bed and grab my robe from my closet door, tying it quickly over my cami and shorts.
My feet hit the stairs, and there’s some more hushed yelling, but I’m already walking into the kitchen.
Loreli is standing at the island, her hands braced on the top, fingers clutching the edges.
Her favorite coffee mug is in front of her, but it doesn’t even look like it’s been drunk yet.
Her face is flushed, and her eyes are sparkling with anger.
My head twists, and my eyes widen when I see none other than my best friend sitting on a chair at the kitchen table across from her.
Unlike my aunt, he looks relaxed and calm in another pair of his board shorts and a loud, long-sleeved t-shirt.
His face is blank except for the slight lift to his lips.
“What’s happening?” I glance between the two of them.
“Nothing.”
“We should talk.”
They speak at the same time, and my brow rises. I clearly missed out on something while I was sleeping. “Do I need coffee for this?”