Within seconds of their entry, Soraya appeared in a flash of furious lightning surrounded by a cloud of thunderous shadows. The wolf was growling and whimpering and beyond distressed that she hadn’t been able to reach Alex at Taevarg. But there was no time to comfort her with more than a steadying hand on her head, because their arrival woke Kyia and Zain, both of whom were stretched out on makeshift beds.
Given Alex’s bloodied appearance, her unannounced visit and, more importantly, her unwelcome companion, Alex wasn’t surprised when both Meyarins took one look at her and rushed at Niyx, weapons drawn.
“Stop!” Alex cried, launching herself in front of him with her hands held out to ward them off. Soraya jumped in front of Alex with a ferocious growl, offering a second layer of protection—a much more intimidating one, given the wolf’s size.
“Step aside, and call off your beast,” Zain ordered Alex. “I don’t know what you’re doing with this filthy Garseth, but—”
“Enough, Zain,” Alex said firmly. “We don’t have time for explanations right now, so you’re just going to have to trust me when I say Niyx is innocent of everything you think he’s guilty of, including killing the king,” she urged. “He’s been spying on Aven for me. He’s not Claimed and he’s not a Garseth. Everything else will have to wait for later, because Meya is moving on Graevale as we speak.”
Kyia’s eyes widened, but Zain’s just narrowed further in distrust.
“Listen to me!” Alex yelled, needing to get through to him. “Everything will make sense later, but until then, you have to believe me.”
“What do you need, Alex?”
It was Kyia who asked the question. Kyia who was in her right mind enough to see how serious Alex was. And at her words, Zain turned incredulous eyes to her before flicking a hateful but also considering glance towards Niyx. Slowly, he lowered his sword.
Alex, processing Kyia’s question, realised she didn’t have an answer. But Niyx didn’t hesitate.
“Alex was abducted by Gaiel last night and delivered to Aven. She spent the night hanging from Moxyreel in Taevarg, bleeding from multiple stab wounds after Aven had her tortured.”
Niyx at least had the presence of mind not to mention those wounds were from his hands, since both Zain and Kyia looked ready to murder someone after his blatant overshare.
“I’ve given her laendra and she’s healing, but she’s lost a lot of blood. Since she’s adamant about joining the fight in Graevale, if you have any haesondel, it might help keep her alive. She’ll also need clean clothes—Myrox-lined armour, preferably—as well as something light to eat.”
Alex spoke up to say, “I’ll be sick if I eat anything.”
Niyx’s eyes, which had been locked on Kyia and Zain the whole time he’d spoken, moved to Alex. “I’m not arguing about this with you, kitten. You need to get your strength back, as quickly as possible. That means food.”
That was all he said, and his tone didn’t allow for her to do anything but grumble, “Don’t blame me when I throw up all over you.”
Kyia and Zain watched their short interplay with incredulous expressions, before Niyx turned back to them and said, “We’ll also need weapons. Lots of them.”
Alex raised her eyebrows at that, since she had A’enara and Niyx never went anywhere without a cache of blades strapped to his person. But if he thought more arms were needed, then she wasn’t about to argue.
When Kyia and Zain remained unmoving, Niyx drawled, “We’re not in a rush or anything. Please, take all the time in the world.”
They jerked as if physically prodded and hurried into motion.
“You know, you could at least try to not be such a sarcastic ass,” Alex told him quietly as Kyia pulled clothing and weapons from a chest and Zain hunted through a collection of vials on the bench.
“What would be the fun in that?” Niyx returned, but despite his teasing response, his body was tense as he watched the two Meyarins hurry back to them.
“Drink this, little human,” Zain said, approaching warily due to Soraya being in a protective mood and not at all happy that her mistress wasn’t safely back in her dormitory.
“Settle,” Alex murmured to the wolf, with a comforting rub along her now chest-high head and along the sleek line of her neck. Instantly, Soraya relaxed, plonking her hindquarters on the ground but still monitoring the room with watchful alertness.
More relaxed now that the wolf was in check, Zain moved closer and handed over a vial of what could only be described as gravelly sludge.
“If that tastes half as good as it looks, I think I’ll pass,” Alex said, eyeing the dubious-looking liquid.
“Just drink it, Aeylia.”
Both Zain and Kyia froze, realising from the name Niyx had used that he must also know about Alex’s trip to the past. Unlike them, however, he remembered—not that they would ever guess as much, nor the reason why.
To keep them moving, Alex pushed aside her disgust and threw back the contents of the vial without further complaints… at least until she had to swallow the grainy muck.
Gasping against the sensation of lightning bolts zapping through her nerve endings, Alex doubled over and wheezed out, “What the hell did I just drink?”
Zain and Kyia were still frozen from Niyx’s revelation, so he was the one who answered, while prying the weapons from Kyia’s unmoving hands.
“Haesondel,” he said, adding the deadly arsenal to the rest of his collection. “Think of it like an instant shot of adrenaline. Only stronger.”
Holy heck, she was dying. Her body was zinging with electricity, enough that she was certain she was about to explode.
“Give it a second, kitten,” Niyx said, laying a comforting hand on her back. “You’ll thank us then.”
It took more than his promised second, but also less than a minute before Alex normalised enough to realise that she now felt incredible. Her energy levels were through the roof, not at all like she’d spent the night unconscious and bleeding out in a torture chamber.
“Whoa, that’s good stuff,” Alex said, doing her best to ignore the musty aftertaste.
“Yeah, but it comes with a nightmare of a hangover later,” Niyx warned. “Enjoy it while it lasts.”
He looked meaningfully at the still frozen Kyia and said, “Alex could use a hand with those clothes now.”
He’d used her real name this time—deliberately, Alex was sure.
“Soraya, stay,” Alex told her wolf, not quite trusting that Zain wouldn’t attack Niyx while Kyia helped her get changed. “Behave,” she ordered both Meyarins as she moved behind the curtain and began undressing.
It was strange getting changed with the sleeping Roka right there, but Alex felt the urgency of the situation pressing her to hurry, so she put aside her discomfort and accepted Kyia’s help to swiftly don her new outfit. Other than the light undershirt, the Myrox-lined, fighting-appropriate gear was worthy of any fully armed Zeltora, with the leather-like material unbelievably supple yet firm enough to offer an impressive level of protection.
Stepping back out from the curtain, Alex was relieved to find both males still alive, and she quickly returned to Niyx’s side.