Page 119 of Draekora
Niyx laughed bitterly. “No, it wouldn’t. It would only make an already bad situation worse. And believe me, the situation isalreadymuch worse than you could possibly imagine.” He reached for her, tilting her head back up to meet his. “Do you know what nightmare has haunted me all these years?” At her quick shake, he said, “The vision of the future I saw through your eyes. That terrifies me, kitten, because I know—Iknow—we’re so close to seeing that future come to pass. Everything rests on you.”
Alex hated hearing his words, hated the pressure of them.
“I didn’t understand it years ago,” Niyx said. “Even after you left, I didn’t understand why you, one mortal amongst so many, claimed to be the only person with a chance of defeating him. It didn’t make sense to me, not even with yourvaelianaand your connection to A’enara. Why not Roka? Zain? Kyia? Stars, even me? I mean no offence, but despite the blood running in your veins, you’re not a Meyarin, Aeylia. All the training in the world won’t change that. So why wouldyouhave to bear the burden of conquering Aven?”
Alex opened her mouth to respond with her wholehearted agreement, but he continued before she could get a word out.
“But I understand now. I may have been trapped in here over the years, but I know more than you could possibly imagine.” He broke eye contact, glancing unfocused over her shoulder. “Aven is powerful beyond measure, even beyond what Roka might believe. I won’t lie to you, kitten. I wish I didn’t have to say this, but I’m not sure… I’m not sure you can overcome him.”
Alex gulped back her fear, hating the knowledge that he wouldn’t have said something like that if he didn’t mean it.
“But I also know that if you can’t, then no one can,” Niyx continued softly, meeting her eyes again. “What Aven has done over the years, the number of beings he’s Claimed—it’s turned him into something else. Something that no man or woman, mortal or immortal, should ever become.” His gaze unfocused again as he added, “I’ve heard rumours… Horrible, unspeakable rumours of what he’s capable of now. If they’re true, there’s no one in this world who can possibly stand against him—no one but you.”
“But why, Niyx?” Alex whispered. “Why only me?”
“Because of your gift,Alexandra Jennings,” he said, using her real name for the first time and showing he really did know a lot more than he should, given his imprisonment. “The strength of your will is what you can count on to protect you from him; hopefully, to protect usallfrom him. Human, Meyarin, Draekoran; the life forces flowing within you make up a volatile cocktail, Aeylia. Even as a mortal, you managed to break free of his Claim from sheer willpower. Imagine how much stronger that gift of yours is now, supplemented by not one, but two immortal bonds. On its own, no matter the circumstances, your will reigns supreme over his.”
Before he could say more—or she could respond—a soft beeping noise echoed from an object nestled in the raggedy blanket on Niyx’s pallet. His eyes travelled to it as he listened, and when the beeps ended his jaw was clenched, the rest of his body stiff with the hard lines of tension.
He turned back to Alex and his features softened.
“I said I’m not sure if you can defeat him, Aeylia,” Niyx whispered. “But by the stars, I’m going to do everything I can to help you try.”
She frowned at the look of apology on his face, not understanding, but then as quick as a flash he reached forward and pinched his fingers into her neck, causing her to cry out in startled pain as a nerve zinged from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Without any say in the matter, she collapsed into his arms as if paralysed.
“Believe it or not, I’m doing this to protect you,” he murmured, carrying her over until she rested across his pallet where he then proceeded to begin mummifying her by wrapping her almost obsessively tightly within his blanket.
What the hell, Niyx?Alex screamed at him when she couldn’t force the words past her stiffened lips.
“The effects aren’t permanent,” he said, ignoring her question. “And since you’re not technically wounded and your nerves are just… having a time-out, thankfully this is one of those other loopholes where I’m not stuck feeling the effects with you.”
NIYX!
“That beeping noise you heard?” he said, pulling a small, circular disc out from near her head. “It was a message. Like everyone else in this city, Aven’s followers have always believed me to be loyal to the cause of theGarseth, and this”—he flicked the disc with a finger—“is how they’ve remained in contact with me over the years. What I just heard is something I need to respond to at once, and since you’ve so very kindly decided to liberate me, I’m so very kindly going to make sure you stay safe and warm while I do what must be done.”
What did the message say, Niyx?Alex demanded.What must be done?
“You know, I’m still very sore, which means you must be feeling much worse,” Niyx said contemplatively. “I think it’s best if you rest until the paralysis wears off.”
Realising instantly what he meant, Alex’s eyes widened and she yelled,No! Don’t you dare—
But before she could finish screaming her thought, he reached out to touch her neck again, and with another shooting blaze of nerves, Alex’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and in an instant she was asleep.
Thirty-Seven
When Alex woke again, the first thingshe realised was that she was no longer inTaevarg. The second was that she had no ideawhereshe was. What she did know was that she wasn’t alone.
Sitting beside her makeshift bed inside what looked to be a Myrox-canvassed tent was Zain. His shoulders were slumped, his head was cradled in his hands—everything about his posture caused Alex’s pulse to throb in her ears as she pushed herself into a seated position, absently noting that her stomach was no longer tender at all.
The moment she moved, his head jerked up, the relief on his otherwise strained features clear as day.
“It’s good to see you awake, little human,” he said quietly, his tone rough. “When you didn’t stir for so long, we feared it might be the same as…”
His voice trailed off, becoming so hoarse with emotion that Alex knew something must be very,verywrong.
“Zain, where am I?” she asked, looking around the sparse tent and then down at her body, finding her ruined dress had been replaced with what appeared to be an exact replica of the winter clothing she’d been wearing when she’d left through theabrassathe first time. “What happened? How did I get here?”
“You were out on thevarrungard,” he answered, looking down at his hands. “We were taking turns checking in on you to make sure you were travelling well when a roar sounded out over the forest. Aven”—he spat the name, his expression fierce—“discovered a way to pull an ancient draekon long departed from this world through a Void in space; a draekon who Aes Daega—a wise woman known to us—says you saved from entrapment, an action that resulted in the two of you bonding before it left this world once more.”
