Chapter 16 #3
More monsters. Coming toward us.
I turn to Thorian, waiting for directive. He’s been through this before. Surely this is something the gods try every year. Bombarding the competitors with beasts as an opening nightmare.
But for the first time since meeting him, I see genuine panic on his face.
Thorian Valehart doesn’t know what to do.
And if he doesn’t know what to do, we’re both going to die.
Like on the cliff’s face, my sister’s smile flashes to my mind, and I remember that I will do whatever it takes to save her life. Thorian might slit my throat for this in a moment, but for now, I’m going to get us through this.
“What are you—?”
I’m not actually strong enough to move Thorian, but I think my shove is surprising enough to him that he actually stumbles, his back colliding with a tree. He blinks at me, his brows pulled together.
“Nyx—?”
“Get down!” I order, hissing through my teeth at him, tugging on his shirt, then pushing on his shoulders and throwing myself into his lap.
He blinks at me, bewildered, as I straddle him, press my chest to his, and tuck my face into his shoulder, trying to make us as tight a package as possible.
I’m not sure my magic will be strong enough to hide us for long, but I have to try. Thorian’s arms come up tentatively, then wrap around my back, tugging me in close, as though the purpose of this maneuver was to be near someone in our last moments alive.
It’s a sweet thought, but I’m not dying today.
Closing my eyes, I focus on the magic, summoning it up beneath my skin. It bubbles there, hot and alive, pressing outward as though eager to escape, the same way it always is. I guide it carefully, pushing it beyond my body and into the world around us.
In my mind, Thorian and I aren't here. We're somewhere safe. Somewhere warm. Not in this forest. Not surrounded by monsters.
The magic answers.
A faint shimmer appears in the air around us, so subtle I almost think I'm imagining it. Then it grows stronger. Light bends strangely, the colors of the forest warping and blurring at the edges. The shimmer spreads outward until it forms a translucent bubble around us, no larger than a small room.
The world beyond it becomes distorted. Uncertain. Wrong.
The charging monsters reach us a second later.
My heart leaps into my throat.
One beast barrels directly toward us before veering away at the last second, as though it can't quite decide where we are. Another slows, sniffing the air. A third passes so close I can hear its breathing, yet its gaze slides over us without recognition.
It's working. The realization nearly makes me collapse with relief.
I cling tighter to Thorian as the magic pours from me. The bubble shimmers with every pulse of power, the air inside it seeming thicker somehow. The world beyond wavers and bends. Sound arrives strangely, too loud one moment and distant the next.
It's disorienting.
Like standing between two places at once.
I know we're still here. I can feel the ground beneath me and Thorian's arms around me. I can hear the monsters moving through the forest.
Yet the magic makes it feel as though we've slipped half a step sideways from reality. Hidden. Untethered. Close enough to touch the world, but no longer fully a part of it.
Time passes, I have no idea how much, but the world seems to quiet. The monsters are nowhere to be seen, and I’m tired.
Slowly, the magic releases its hold on me.
The shimmering bubble around us flickers and dissolves, its distorted edges melting back into the forest. Sound returns first. The distant growls of monsters. The rustle of leaves in the wind. My own ragged breathing.
Then comes the weight of my body. My trembling hands. The ache behind my eyes.
I blink several times, struggling to reorient myself. The sensation lingers. The world feels oddly tilted, as though part of me is still trapped inside the illusion.
A steady hand brushes my shoulder.
"Nyx."
Thorian's voice.
The sound anchors me.
I draw a slow breath and finally realize I'm still sitting in his lap, tucked securely against his chest. One of his arms remains around my back, the other braced against the ground beside us. His grip has loosened now that the danger has passed, but he hasn't moved away.
Neither have I.
Awareness creeps through me all at once. The warmth of him. The steady rise and fall of his chest. The fact that his breath brushes my collarbone whenever he speaks.
I've never been held by a man like this before. But even as the thought occurs to me, I know that's not entirely why my pulse stumbles.
It's Thorian. The man who threw himself between me and monsters. The man who trusted me when I asked him to stay still and trust me. The man who is looking at me now as though making certain I'm truly alright.
We stare into each other’s eyes. His are like liquid gold right now, much lighter than his normal dark chocolate, and I wonder what that means.
Just sitting with him, it's the nicest feeling ever.
Then, Thorian shatters it by asking, his voice cold, “Nyx. What are you?”