Chapter 23
The next time Nyx woke, it was to much more comfortable surroundings.
Namely her bed and a distinct lack of anything pressing going on around her.
She stretched, feeling better than she had in months.
Tristen’s magic had pushed every single ache and pain out of her body, and part of her felt guilty for feeling so good.
She knew the feeling wouldn’t last. Neither would her solitude.
She was a little surprised Griff wasn’t waiting by the bedside for her to wake up, but she took advantage of her solitary state to jump in the shower, washing away dried sweat and what was probably Loclyn’s blood.
At least she could be relatively certain Loclyn probably hadn’t had any blood-borne diseases, and if he had, Tristen’s magic would have purged them.
After she’d showered and dressed, she walked back into her room to find not only Griff waiting for her, but Jevryn as well.
“You look like hell,” she told the latter.
The cuts on his face were still angry, and though his left eye was no longer swollen shut, it was still bruised and purple.
His eye color, at least, had returned to gray. “Why do you look like hell?”
“I have neither the time nor the inclination to regale you with the events that led to my current condition.”
She blinked. “You arguably have the time, but since you clearly don’t have the inclination, I’ll let it pass.” For now.
“I believe that response is enough to ascertain that you are recovered from nearly falling into death’s embrace.” His tone turned grave. “If you ever again find yourself losing consciousness in A-Queltr, you must leave.”
“You might have told me that when you taught me how to get there.”
Jevryn’s jaw clenched. “I did.”
“No, you told me not to let my physical body fall asleep while I was in there.”
“I had thought the correlation to unconsciousness would be obvious.”
“Why couldn’t you pull me out?”
“For me to do so, you must be awake. You lost consciousness before I could, and as you were losing it I had the barest of moments to follow you into your own sanctuary before the pathway closed. But understand that I could not see that path. No Salyrian can see another’s.
Any Salyrian can, however, sightlessly step onto another Salyrian’s path into A-Queltr if it is open, because we can sense at the end that which calls us all.
But once inside, there is no way out, unless the person whose path you have foolishly taken chooses to lead you back out.
“So I was forced to follow you in before you were lost, but it was your connection to A-Queltr. I could not navigate it. The only way out for me, at that point, was through you.”
It hit her, then, how close she’d come to dying. Not only that, but how close she’d come to taking her father with her. If she’d passed out and Jevryn had too…it would have been the end for both of them.
She dropped onto her bed and buried her face in her hands.
“What are you doing, na’tria?”
“Contemplating my own mortality,” she said into her hands. “And yours. You aren’t supposed to be able to die.”
“We are all able to die. Though I do admit, my brushes with death have become significantly more frequent since you came into my life.”
She lifted her head to glare at him, was reminded that he was covered in cuts and bruises, and ceased glaring. Since she was currently uncomfortable with the notion of him dying, she asked, “Why hasn’t Tristen fixed you?”
Jevryn sighed. “He has not ‘fixed me’ because I informed him that under no circumstances was he allowed to do so.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You are a very trusting creature, na’tria. I am not. Shamans see too much, when they heal. They must. And I am not inclined to allow them to.”
Nyx crossed her arms. “But you allowed him to on my behalf?”
“Would you have said ‘no’?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“On the contrary, it very much is the point. You have already allowed one Shaman to come to your aid. I did not feel you would take issue with a second. Especially considering it appears that intimacy is not an issue you have with him.”
Nyx blinked. Had he just…? Yes, yes he had. “Did he say something to you?” For fuck’s sake, couldn’t a woman have a one-night-stand without her father, of all people, being informed of it?
“No. You, however, just did.”
Had he just done the alien parental equivalent of “Do you have any idea how late you were out last night?” to get her to tell him? And how had he known to even ask? Did parents have some sort of preternatural ability to suspect when someone had slept with one of their children?
“I would advise you to be cautious, where he is concerned. Tristen Veld is not Seth Hawthorne.”
“You think I don’t know that?” she snapped. “Somehow, I thought you not being around for the first twenty-seven years of my life meant we could skip the part where you try to give me dating advice.”
“Nyx,” Griff said gently, but Nyx had no intention of apologizing. It wasn't hitting below the belt to bring up Jevryn’s literal absenteeism in her childhood when he tried to backseat parent her adulthood.
Annoyingly, he even seemed to agree with her, raising a hand to forestall Griff from saying anything further.
“I meant only that he is...unstable. A Shaman without the Congregation has no center. No moral tether. There is no accounting for what he will or will not do. A romantic entanglement with him would be unwise.”
Oh, for the love of— “There are so many things wrong with that lecture. You do realize that just because he's a Shaman, that doesn't mean he can’t find morality outside the Congregation, right? Shamans make up, what? One percent of the universe’s population? Everyone else manages to find their own definition of morality.” Jevryn was being as shortsighted as the coworker she’d once had who had said he couldn’t understand why people who didn’t believe in God weren’t out “raping and pillaging” all the time, because there wasn’t anything stopping them.
As if it was impossible to decide to be a good person on one’s own, and the only reason anyone managed it was through divine intervention.
“He isn’t out killing people indiscriminately.”
“No, but he did try to kill you. Twice, I believe. And Kaden once. And before you accuse me of interrogating your companions for information, he told me that. He was rather eager to get ahead of any potential misunderstandings, once he learned of our relationship.” Jevryn looked entirely too smug, having delivered that last statement.
Yes, we all know you’re a scary bastard. “His reaction was understandable given his history and circumstances.” Never in a million years would she admit to Jevryn that she’d also been annoyed by Tristen’s kill-first approach.
“We must remain in disagreement on that point, I fear. I believe you said there were multiple issues with my lecture?” He did not use air quotes on the last word.
If he was aware of the habit of air-quoting, he would likely find it gauche and distasteful.
But he nonetheless managed to put air quotes on the word “lecture” with nothing more than the skillful intonation of his voice.
“I am aflutter with anticipation to hear my remaining faults of logic.”
Nyx very much doubted Jevryn A-Morridahn had ever been “aflutter” with anything. And she couldn't remember what her other points had been now, save one clear distinction she wanted to make. “I’m not romantically involved with him. Not that it is any of your business, but it was a one-night stand.”
Jevryn looked to Griff. Griff shrugged. “One-night stand?” Jevryn asked.
Nyx pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes because she wanted to pinch the bridge of her nose, like Jevryn always did when she exasperated him.
Five more minutes of this and she was going to discover if muscle twitches beneath the left eye were genetic.
“A one-off,” she gritted out, drawing her hands away and opening her eyes to see he didn’t look any more enlightened. “You know? Casual sex? Promiscuity? A—”
He lifted his hand. “I believe I have the general meaning.”
“Wonderful.” Nyx beamed at him. “Are we finished discussing my sex life now, or did you want to have the safe sex conversation about fifteen years late?”
Jevryn’s brows drew together. “Were you—”
“Oh my god, no!”
“You weren’t safe? Oh dear, I—”
“I mean no, we are not talking about this.”
She realized there was a gleam in Jevryn’s eyes a second before he laughed.
Actually laughed. She was pretty sure there was a law of physics somewhere that said Jevryn A-Morridahn was incapable of laughter, because the metric ton of seriousness weighing him down at all times meant he couldn't draw enough air to laugh.
She stabbed her finger at Jevryn. “I’m so glad my emotional discomfort brings you joy. And you.” She pointed at Griff. “You didn't tell me he has a sense of humor.”
“It only makes the rarest of appearances,” Griff answered solemnly. “Had I known it was likely to do so today, I would of course have warned you.” His wings twitched.
And now he was fucking with her too. Unbelievable. “I need coffee if you two are going to be like this all morning.” She stalked out of her room, heading for the stairs.
“It is midnight, na’tria,” Jevryn called after her.
“Technically morning!” she yelled back. She descended the stairs, muttering under her breath about interfering fathers the whole time. But she was also smiling, and that? That felt good.
A glow came from the kitchen as she walked in.
Kaden stood in front of the refrigerator, staring at the contents in that way a person did when they had no idea if they actually wanted anything they were looking at.
And considering Kaliaris could give him the basic ingredients for pretty much anything, he must really have no idea what he wanted.
He closed the door, looking up as she walked in.
“Hey,” she said by way of greeting, moving past him to the espresso machine.
“Hey. How are you?”