Chapter 16 Luciana
LUCIANA
“Bring him to my room. I’ll keep an eye on him and Lennox.” Declan nodded before slipping off Nico’s back, holding Nol in his arms.
It had been a slow trip back to the inn, we moved as fast as we could with two unconscious bodies through the dense forest in the snow.
Luka had refused to let anyone else carry Lennox. He remained silent, his gaze haunted as we made our way back to the small inn.
The way he had slaughtered those guards—I had never seen such brutality from him. If Lennox didn’t wake up herself—I feared not only for Luka, but for all of us.
No one had talked much on our way back—no one knew what to say after I revealed to them what had been done to Lennox. We had only focused on getting her back.
We hadn’t discussed what would happen if she didn’t come back herself.
If she now hated vampires—if she hated Luka—if she didn’t remember who he was to her—we’d all be fucked.
I led Declan to my room, pulling open the curtains to let the glow of the moon illuminate the room as the harpy set Nol on the bed.
“How long do you think he’ll be out for?”
I tucked a curl behind my ear. “It’s hard to know, the spell works differently on everyone.”
When I knocked out Luka, he’d stayed down for two days. Sometimes the spell kept the person down for minutes, other times hours.
“Maybe I can try and wake him.” I placed my hands on Nol’s shoulders, feeling the bone prodding through his skin.
He was so fucking thin.
I closed my eyes and pushed out with my magic.
Wakey, wakey, Nol, I whispered into his mind.
Nol jerked under my hold. His eyes flying open, his dark gaze searching mine. “Where am I?”
He bolted upright, pushing out of my hold as he looked around. “What did you do?”
“You’re safe.” I placed a hand on his arm. “I got you out.”
His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his throat bobbed. “Lennox.” He looked around the room, his shoulders going tense as his gaze landed on the massive harpy. “Where’s Lennox?”
“We got her out too.” His breathing settled slightly. “We went back in after I got you out, she’s safe.”
“She’s safe.” He wrung his hands in his lap. “Where are we?”
“We’re at an inn, in a small city outside Verbial, in the Twilight Court.” He continued to pull at his fingers. “You’re free, Nol.”
“I’m free,” he repeated.
I wrapped my arms around him. “You’re free.”
He froze in my arms, his back stiff, but after a moment he wrapped his arms around me. “I’m free,” he muttered into the crook of my neck. “I’m free.”
A sob broke loose from his throat.
I held him to me, his body heaving as his tears soaked into my shirt. I rubbed a hand over his back as he continued to mutter, I’m free, I’m free. Over and over again until, finally, his tears stopped.
I continued to hold him, longer than I’d ever held anyone, but I persisted. I didn’t know how to comfort others, but it was Nol, and he needed me right now.
“Thank you,” he muttered before releasing me. He wiped his remaining tears with the front of his shirt, his face red and blotchy.
I hated crying. It made me uncomfortable. I rubbed my hands on my legs, turning to find Declan still lingered in the corner. For fucks sake.
“I wanted to make sure everything was good here.” His voice was gravelly. He might have been more uncomfortable than I was with this whole crying thing.
“I don’t think any of us have been good for a good long while.” I flicked my gaze to Nol.
“Do you want to meet the others responsible for your release?”
Nol dipped his chin. “Is Kara here?”
Declan pushed himself off the wall. “I sent word to her we were back.” The harpy held out a massive hand. “Declan Hale.”
“Nol Adair.” The two shook hands, Nol’s gaze fixed on Declan’s massive wings.
“He’s not normal,” I explained.
“I prefer one of a kind.” He met Nol’s gaze. “I was born with them.”
Nol nodded. “Okay, good to know. I was beginning to wonder how much had changed since I had been in captivity.”
“Lucy?” The skin at the base of my neck tingled as Nico peered into the room.
“You’re awake!” A wide smile broke out on the wolf as he made his way to Nol. He had changed his clothes since we had arrived back. The blood and smoke had been washed from his face, and his hair was pulled half up and away from his face.
“It’s good to see you alive and conscious.” Nol let out a huff as Nico threw his arms around him. Nico’s massive form practically swallowed Nol’s thin frame as he enveloped him in a hug. Nico took a step back, his arms grabbing onto Nol’s shoulders as he assessed him.
“I’m Nico, Lennox is my best friend. I’m sure she told you about me.”
Nol’s lips formed a thin line. “He’s always like this,” I assured him as I rolled my eyes.
Nico shook his head as he slung an arm over Nol’s shoulder. “Luciana told me how close you two were, I’m hoping you can help me get into her good graces. I’ve been trying for months and failing miserably.”
I scoffed. “More like trying to get into my bed.”
Nico let out a howling laugh. “You said it, not me Lucy.” He winked, his icy eyes dancing with mischief.
Nol looked curiously between the two of us, like he was trying to work out a puzzle. “And how could you forget the night we spent together last month?” Nico abandoned Nol and slung his arm over my shoulder, planting a kiss on my cheek.
“We slept,” I clarified, wiping off his kiss with the back of my hand.
Nico waggled his eyebrows. “This time.”
“What took you lot so long?” Kara rounded the corner into the room. “I’ve been waiting for ages.” Her entire body went still as her gaze found her brother.
“Nol?” she breathed.
“Kara.”
Kara brought a trembling hand to her mouth, but it did nothing to stifle her sob as she ran to her brother. She threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.
“How is this possible? How are you alive?”
Nol filled her in on his story. Her tears continued to fall as she clung to her brother.
“Wait, where’s Lennox?” she asked finally, looking around the room. “Oh wait, Luka’s missing too, never mind.” She waved a hand. “Everything went according to plan? With the exception of finding Nol?”
Fuck. “No one told her?”
Kara’s gaze narrowed. “Told me what.”
We all shared a look, none of us wanting to break the news to Kara. Her brows drew together.
“Where is my sister?” Her voice was low.
“Luka went to go lay her down,” Declan answered for all of us.
Nol stepped closer to Kara’s side. “What did she do to her? How bad is it this time?”
My chest collapsed. This time.
“Adreona had a witch try and alter Lennox’s memories of Luka,” Declan finished.
Kara paled.
“Keziq?” Nol asked quietly.
“I don’t know.”
Nol collapsed into one of the chairs by the window, burying his head in his hands.
“Where is she?”
“Luka’s room.”
Kara took off running, her bare feet slapping on the floor as we took off after her. “Kara wait.” She didn’t stop. “Kara!”
She took the steps two at a time, until she reached the top, turning the corner and bolting down the hallway to Luka’s room.
I struggled to keep up with her as she threw the door open without a second thought, her pace slowing as she made her way to the bed where her sister lay. Her eyes still closed.
Lennox was still unconscious.
Luka sat in a chair beside the bed, holding Lennox’s hand in his.
“We won’t know anything until she wakes up.”
The bed dipped as Kara crawled in next to her sister, lying on her side, curling into Lennox. She rested her head on the pillow next to her, taking her free hand in hers.
Kara and Lennox were the closest things I had to sisters, but I knew it was nothing compared to the relationship Kara and Lennox shared. Luka might be Lennox’s mate, but Kara was her sister, her best friend.
Wherever one went, the other followed. It had always been that way—as long as I could remember.
Luka might have captured Lennox’s heart, but Kara and Lennox were each other’s hearts.
“Keziq’s magic is strong, she’s Adreona’s witch.” Nol came to stand at my side. “She says it’s an outlawed form of magic she practices.”
“Ichor magic,” I mussed. “What else do you know of her?”
“Nothing really, except her magic is strong, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
“But she’s going to be okay?” Kara brought Lennox’s hand to her chest, placing it over her heart. “Right?”
No one said anything.