Alex exhaled and nodded, grabbing another handful of berries while desperately wishing they were chocolate.
“For now, we need to get you back to the academy,” Niyx said. “You need to get warm and do something relaxing for a few hours, maybe take a nap if you think you can.” He swiped the berry pouch from her to steal some of the fruit. “Do you know how you’re getting to Graevale?”
Alex shrugged. “I’ve been with you since I found out about the fight. I presume Caspar Lennox will have heard by the time I get back, so he might offer to give me a ride. But…”
“But?”
“I’m guessing Jordan, Bear and Dix will want to come for moral support,” Alex said. “In which case, we’ll go through the Library.” Deliberately this time, rather than by accident like she’d done the other day.
“Careful with that,” Niyx warned. “Remember that the Shadow Walkers won’t be thrilled to have one human amongst them, let alone three more.”
Raising her chin, Alex said, “They can suck it up.”
Niyx laughed. “Dare you to say that to the elders.”
Alex cringed at the thought, her courage only going so far.
“Come on, my brave little lioness,” Niyx said affectionately, moving closer to activate the Valispath around them. “Let’s get you home.”
Soraya took off before they did in a burst of shadow and light. Every time Alex saw her do that, she was amazed anew by the wolf’s antithetical ability. She looked forward to when the puppy-not-puppy was grown enough to take her along for the ride—something Niyx believed would be any day now, since Soraya’s head currently reached above Alex’s stomach. A few more inches and she’d be considered a fully developed Shadow Wolf.
My baby’s growing up so fast, Alex thought with amusement as she and Niyx moved impossibly fast towards the academy.
As per normal, the Valispath began to slow as the Ezera Forest came to an end and the campus spread out before them. Their speed, while still swift, was now leisurely enough for them to see three early Saturday risers wandering the campus.
The first was Fletcher, who was walking from the food court to the Med Ward, presumably having just eaten his breakfast and now readying himself for a day of treating patients.
The second was Administrator Jarvis, who was sitting on a blanket by the lake with a steaming mug and book in hand.
The third Alex didn’t see until they were soaring over the archery fields, but there was no mistaking her Meyarin instructor getting in some early morning practice while no one was around to witness just how far she could shoot.
Watching her teacher, Alex realised she’d never told Niyx about Maggie leaving Meya to adopt the guise of ‘Aeylia’. She wondered if he’d known the female Meyarin back then, considering her brother was one of Aven’s early Garseth.
She opened her mouth to share what she’d learned as they moved swiftly overhead, too fast for a human to notice. But since Maggie was Meyarin, she looked up right as Niyx glanced down, and all Alex managed to say was, “Hey, did you know that—”, before the Valispath dissolved around them and both she and Niyx tumbled out of the sky.
Fortunately, they hadn’t been cruising too high and they also managed to fall onto a thick snowdrift, but Alex was still painfully winded and had to lay motionless on the ground as she fought to get her breath back.
“What the hell, Niyx?” she wheezed when she could finally draw air into her lungs. The only way they could have fallen was from an extreme lapse in his concentration, but she was shocked that with his experience such a thing had happened.
Turning her head, she realised she wasn’t the only one who was shocked—Niyx was wide-eyed on the ground beside her, and the white-faced Maggie stood above him…
… with an arrow drawn and pointed at his heart.
Niyx slowly raised his hands, showing he was unarmed. But the action didn’t cause Maggie to relax; she tensed even more, her aim unwavering.
Still slightly winded, the little air Alex had managed to inhale froze in her chest and she hurriedly said, “Maggie, it’s okay. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but he’s one of the good guys.”
If Maggie had been alienated from Meya for so many years and the only Meyarin she’d seen in that time was Aven, who she’d hidden from, then the first contact she would have had was when Zain arrived. As a teaching assistant to Karter, he would have crossed paths with the Archery instructor and likely caught her up on a number of things, including updating her on Meya’s history. But just how informed Maggie’s current knowledge was, Alex wasn’t sure—including whether or not she’d heard the lie about Niyx killing King Astophe.
“I can assure you, Alex, this filthy traitor is not one of the ‘good guys’,” Maggie hissed, her normally tanned skin paling further with every word.
Alex had never seen her instructor so on edge, so close to losing control.
Shifting into a position much easier to spring from at a moment’s notice, Alex said, “Maggie, please. Just listen to me. Niyx is—”
“I know exactly who he is,” Maggie cut in harshly. “And what he’s done.”
“No, you only think you do,” Alex said, edging slowly closer to her silent friend. “Why don’t you put the bow down and we can explain?”
Maggie didn’t move except to tighten her grip.
Do you want to maybe jump in here? Alex said to Niyx, but he didn’t respond. When she cast her gaze to him, he was still frozen in what appeared to be a paralysed state of shock.
“I don’t want to hear an explanation.” Maggie’s grey eyes were a blazing quicksilver. “He’s one of Aven’s most loyal Garseth and he has been for thousands of years. Nothing he says can be trusted, which means nothing you say can be trusted, since everything he’s ever told you would have been a lie.”
“Maggie, come on, please think,” Alex begged. “Aes Daega told you I was in the past”—at that, Niyx gave a surprised jolt—“and with Niyx being close to the royal family, I spent time with him back then. We became friends.” Of a sort, at least, since they’d certainly had a few hiccups along the way. “Then and now he’s been training me to fight against Aven.”
When Alex saw that her words weren’t getting through, she quietly but firmly added, “You’ve been living here all these years as a fake ‘Aeylia’ to protect me”—Niyx gave another jolt, this one much fiercer—“but you weren’t the only one who sacrificed their life for me. Niyx did the same, rotting away in Taevarg for a crime he never committed, just so he’d be in a position to act when the time came for him to do so.”
The bowstring was pulled tighter as Maggie spat, “You’re a fool if you believe that.”
“I thought you were dead.”
Five barely audible words had Alex frowning at Niyx in confusion. If anything, his shock had only increased during their short but intense conversation.
“They told me you were dead,” he whispered, still staring at Maggie like she was a ghost.
The silence lasted so long that Alex didn’t think Maggie was going to reply. But then she did.
“To them, I was,” Maggie said. “Just as you were to me. Just as you are to me.”
Niyx flinched at her harsh words, the hurt on his face scoring across Alex like the lash of a whip.
What’s happening here? Alex called out to him. How do you know each other?
Again, he didn’t respond.
“I wondered, you know,” Maggie said, her voice almost too low to hear. “Over the years, I wondered if there had been a mistake. I knew it was wishful thinking, but there were times when I hoped—” She stopped abruptly and looked away for a fraction of a second as if to gather herself. Her eyes were like shards of silvery ice when she turned back to him. “Then I heard you had escaped Taevarg and the first thing you did was kill our king, all in the name of that beast you call a friend. You disgust me.” She pulled in a ragged breath. “If I could have one wish, it would be that you had been killed all those years ago. Prison was to
o good for the likes of you.”
Seeing the raw pain on Niyx’s face, Alex refused to hear any more. She leapt between them, placing herself in the path of Maggie’s arrow, and hissed, “That’s enough, Maggie. You have no idea what you’re talking about. If you only knew—”
“Kitten, it’s okay,” Niyx said quietly from behind her. “Mayra has more reason than most to hate me.”
Alex stilled and turned back to look at him before repeating, “Mayra?”
Niyx’s eyes didn’t leave Maggie’s, but he did answer Alex, shocking the air out of her once again when he said, “Mayra Raedon. My sister.”
Twenty-Eight
“Your sister?” Alex all but shrieked, glancing between the two of them.
“I stopped being his sister long ago,” Maggie said, her voice hard. “I left Mayra Raedon behind and became Magdelina Llohilas right after my brother,”—she spat the word like a curse—“the person I loved most in the entire world, abandoned me to follow a tyrant.”
Her phrasing prompted a memory for Alex, words Maggie had spoken almost a fortnight ago: ‘The day Aven killed those humans and fled the city was the day my brother lost his life following the cause of that tyrant.’
Alex had presumed her brother had died. But she now realised Maggie had meant something else entirely. Niyx had lost his life—in the sense that he’d lost his freedom. But he hadn’t done it following Aven.
“Niyx was wrongly imprisoned,” Alex told Maggie firmly. “He never approved of anything Aven was doing back then, just as he doesn’t now. He wasn’t even there when the Garseth attacked the humans outside the palace—he was with me. His guilt was presumed based on his association with Aven, nothing more.”
“Then why did he plead guilty at his trial?” Maggie demanded, her cynicism clear. “Why not fight the charges?”
You had a trial? Alex asked him, not having known that. Why didn’t you prove your innocence?
This time, Niyx answered, offering just three quiet words. You know why.
Alex closed her eyes, realising he’d acted his part as the loyal follower in order to position himself for the future. All to help her. Oh, Niyx.
My only regret was leaving Mayra, but then our parents visited and told me there had been an accident. They said she was dead. I had no idea… His voice trailed off, but then he said, What did you mean about her being a fake you?
Alex quickly replayed the memory of Maggie sharing her story. I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell you sooner, she apologised, feeling awful. It never even crossed my mind.
You had no way of knowing, he returned quietly.
While their mental conversation had been swift, Alex knew it was bordering on weird that neither of them had spoken for the duration of it, let alone answered Maggie’s question. So Alex hurried to do so.
“He had his reasons, reasons I’ve already told you. To help fight against Aven, he gave up everything—including you. Though, if he was led to believe you were dead, then he didn’t realise what he was giving up and for how long.”
Maggie’s aim wobbled slightly, something that caused Alex’s breath to hitch since she was still positioned in front of Niyx.
“I don’t believe you.”
Tell her, Niyx, Alex begged him. She’s your sister. If anyone deserves the truth, it’s her.
“And even if I did,” Maggie went on, swallowing, “I still wouldn’t, because even I know everyone left in Meya is Claimed by Aven now. Whatever you might think about the Meyarin you’re protecting with your life, Alex, guilty or innocent, all that’s left is a shell of a being controlled by a sociopath.”
Alex shook her head. “Aven didn’t Claim Niyx.”
Maggie’s gaze slitted. “More lies.”
“He couldn’t,” Alex said, and in a whisper, she finished, “because I Claimed Niyx first.”
Maggie’s shock was so acute that she accidentally released the arrow. Alex’s Meyarin reflexes allowed her a split second to dive to the side, pushing Niyx down with her, but even then she was still clipped in the arm, the sharp arrowhead tearing through her coat and skimming her bicep.
She hissed at the sting of pain and Niyx was immediately pushing her off him and turning her around to frantically inspect her arm.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” she told him through clenched teeth, something he was now realising for himself, since the same injury appeared on his arm. His was much more noticeable since he wasn’t bundled up against the cold like Alex.
“Here,” he said, shoving the flask of laendra at her. She was relieved they hadn’t finished it earlier. Not that her injury was bad, but she was still bleeding all over the snow. Niyx was, too, and his wound wouldn’t heal without hers doing so first.
A couple of sips and a few seconds later and they were both as good as new.
… Until they turned to look at Maggie, who was swaying on the spot, her hand covering her mouth.
“You Claimed him?” the Archery instructor whispered, horrified.
“It’s a long story, but yes, I did,” Alex said, just as quietly, fully aware that she’d just admitted to carrying out a ritual forbidden to Meyarins on pain of death.
“I was attacked by a Sarnaph, May,” Niyx said, apparently deciding it was a story his sister needed to hear. “I was dying. Aeylia saved my life. And when she later tried to Release me, I wouldn’t accept the Release. She can’t control me anymore, but we’re still connected—as you just saw.”
He looked pointedly to the blood dribbling down his arm from the now-healed wound and continued, “Because of that connection, when Aven attempted to Claim me, he couldn’t. He thinks he did, which is the only reason I’m still able to remain at Meya and spy on him, but Aeylia’s original hold on me is keeping me safe, since her will is stronger than his.”
Maggie was breathing heavily as she looked between the two of them, her eyes welling with tears. “You’re not lying, are you?” she whispered. “About any of it?”
Niyx released a weighty exhale and whispered back, “No.”
“But—But the king…”
Niyx didn’t answer, but Alex wouldn’t allow him to lose what might be the only chance he had to earn back his sister’s trust, so she said, “That wasn’t Niyx, either, but he made Aven think it was to prove his loyalty. No one can know, Maggie. His life will be forfeited if Aven discovers the truth. Do you understand?”
Maggie didn’t respond verbally. She also didn’t nod or offer any other confirmation of secrecy. What she did was hiccup a sob and launch herself at her brother, burrowing deep into him while crying thousands of years’ worth of anguished tears onto his steady shoulders.
I’ll, um, leave you to it, Alex silently told Niyx, knowing they needed some privacy. Share anything you need to with her, including any of my secrets if you think she needs to hear them.
Niyx nodded over Maggie’s head, gratitude clear in his eyes.
Just remember that more people are going to start waking up soon, Alex warned him. You might want to take her somewhere else to catch up. But also don’t stay away from Meya for too long—she’ll understand the risk, especially now.
I won’t, Niyx promised softly. Now go and get some rest before your fight.
Alex’s stomach lurched with sudden nausea. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s over.
And we’ll celebrate your victory, he told her, again with that confident assurance. But then he added, Long-distance celebration, since I shouldn’t leave Meya again today.
Alex grinned and turned away from her friend and her teacher, amused by the idea of what a long-distance celebration might entail.
But as she trekked back to her dorm with the intention of following Niyx’s suggestion to get in a nap before heading to Graevale, Alex realised she didn’t care what that celebration was, just as long as there was cause for it.
Alex couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t breathe because her nerves were crushing her windpipe, restricting the airflow into he
r lungs.
She couldn’t breathe because there were purple flames all around her, cutting her off from the masses of Shadow Walkers jeering from all sides of the Obscuria; cutting her off from her anxious-looking friends, her uneasy wolf, the tense Caspar Lennox, the stoic Shirez Ganare and three smug elders.
She couldn’t breathe because she was standing in the middle of the fiery central hexagon of the six-sided star, staring into the dark, merciless eyes of her opponent.
“It’s not too late to back out, human,” Trell said in a surprisingly deep voice, casually spinning the weapon held between her hands—a long, black staff with thick, jagged blades on each end.
Despite Shirez’s early morning warning, the blood had still drained from Alex’s face upon first seeing Trell’s weapon, such was the lethality of the staff.
“The same goes for you,” Alex returned, somehow managing to keep her voice steady, along with her grip on A’enara. The flaming sword had caused quite the commotion amongst the Shadow Walkers when she’d first summoned it, but other than a slight widening of her eyes, Trell hadn’t otherwise reacted.
Alex was just thankful that she and the Shadow Walker were starting their fight face to face rather than with a surprise attack like last time. Trell didn’t seem fazed either way, since everything from her relaxed stance to her amused expression told Alex just how much of a joke the Shadow Walker seemed to think their match was.
Silence descended upon the enraged, catcalling crowd and Alex looked through the flames to see everyone’s attention focused on the balcony of elders. All three of the ancient Shadow Walkers were seated on their thrones and looking out over the assembled masses. In the next balcony over, Alex saw Jordan, D.C., Bear, Caspar Lennox and Shirez all watching together, with Soraya restlessly pacing beside them. The wolf was smart enough to understand when Alex had told her to stay, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it.
“The victor of the vatali targo, Trell Roven, has been challenged by the human, Alexandra Jennings,” Radek called loudly from the elder’s balcony, causing the crowd to hurl insults towards Alex in both the common tongue and their own until he raised his hand for quiet. “Trell Roven has accepted the challenge. We shall witness their battle and, regardless of the outcome,”—Alex could see he looked entertained by the very idea of Trell not winning—“continue with our celebrations to signify the end of the trials.”