Nyx (Mate's Mark Book 3), page 27
“Is everything alright?” Ronan asks, and Nyx nods with another quiet sniff. “Why don’t we—”
“It did something,” Xeni blurts, and Ronan scowls at him. “While you were in there. When you were upset, just like before—”
“Xeni,” Ronan warns in a growl, but the Cavese ignores him.
“—on the day when Laurent hurt you. It’s your emotions, Nyx. They’re what’s making the difference.”
“We don’t know that!” Ronan shouts.
Xeni’s cheeks flush as he turns to face him, shouting right back. “Yes, we do!”
Nyx shuffles between his feet, staring at the rift, but it’s quiet and still. “But those times they brought me. I was upset then, too. Nothing.”
“But you weren’t mated,” Xeni says, softer this time. Nyx stares at him, lashes clumped with the dampness of his tears.
“That makes a difference?”
“There’s no way to be sure right now,” Xeni answers. “When we get back to the village, I’ll study the files that August and Elas stole again. There might be something there I—”
“What was that?” Ronan asks, holding up his hand to silence Xeni, who scowls at him with an exasperated scoff.
“Would you stop interrupting me? It’s—” He freezes, too, moments before a blue-skinned monster sprints from out of the treeline, headed straight towards us.
Nyx
Everything happens so fast, my eyes barely follow and my mind struggles to keep up. Reyes seizes my arm so hard it stings, throwing me behind him with more force than he’s ever shown me. Ronan moves faster than what should be possible, his purple skin turning into a blur as he grabs the Nu’vak and throws him to the ground. His complexion is deeper blue than Elas’s and his hair is cut short. He also isn’t nearly as big, because Ronan is taller by an inch or two and easily overpowers him.
Ronan straddles his back, one hand on his neck to pin him while the other holds his wrists. All three of his tails wrap around limbs, holding flailing legs in place. Xeni looks as if he’s seen a ghost—paler than usual, and still as a statue.
“You…” Xeni stammers, taking a step closer as Ronan’s hand slides to the front of the monster’s neck. It’s dual purpose, because it allows him to snap the Nu’vak’s head up to face Xeni, but also serves as a threat as Ronan’s fingers dig deep pits into his windpipe. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
The Nu’vak’s eyes move to mine, and my heart stops beating. It plummets through my body and lands at my feet, terrified and frozen in place. I must make a noise, because Reyes steps in front of me as the monster stares. Where Elas’s black eyes are deep and understanding, these are pits of endless hate.
“You know him?” Ronan demands of Xeni, his fingers squeezing so tightly the monster’s breath comes in rattling gasps.
“He was the Guard Captain at Ljómur. Andon… that's your name, isn’t it?” Xeni crouches in front of him as Andon’s attention is finally pulled away from me. “How did you survive?”
Andon spits at Xeni, and Ronan squeezes him so hard his eyes bulge in their sockets. I’m convinced he might kill him right then, but before the Nu’vak passes out, Ronan’s hand slackens enough to allow Andon to suck in a desperate breath. Xeni’s face is contorted with a rage I’ve never seen on him, and he glances up at Ronan. They seem to have a silent conversation, because Ronan nods, and Xeni kneels to put his hands on Andon’s cheeks.
He leans closer, and Andon snarls as he tries to pull away, but Ronan’s grip doesn’t yield. Xeni’s hands land on Andon’s cheeks, and his voice becomes deeper and soothing in a way that rolls over my skin in a fog. “Tell me how you got away.”
“N-no,” Andon stutters, still baring his teeth, but he seems to calm as Xeni caresses his face. If it weren’t for the hate in Xeni’s eyes, they would look like lovers in an intimate moment.
“Don’t fight me, Andon. You always loved winning… always wanted to come out on top. And now you have. No one else survived, but you did… you’re dying to share how you did it, aren’t you? You want to prove how smart you are, and I want to listen to everything you have to say.”
I stare, fascinated, as Andon clenches his teeth and snarls before his face slacks. His eyes meet Xeni’s and he says, “There… were two of us. M-maybe more. We hid under the bodies. Played dead.”
“The explosion didn’t kill you?” Xeni asks, and Andon shakes his head.
“Lost a… hand…” My eyes dart to where Ronan has his arms pinned behind him, finally noticing the bandage covering the rounded stump of his wrist. “Waited until they left.”
“That’s good,” Xeni purrs, stroking his thumbs over the round of Andon’s cheeks. I’ve never witnessed a Cavese use their powers. I heard rumors as a child about them, whispers of mind control that I barely remember. It’s terrifying to watch him pull answers from Andon, who clearly doesn’t want to share, and makes me thankful Xeni is on our side. “Who did you escape with, and where are they now?”
“Trunik… a… another guard. He’s dead. They killed him, and they took me.”
“Who took you?”
Andon’s eyes narrow for a minute, his lip pulling back as he fights the magic. “Fuck you,” he grits. “Traitor.”
Xeni smiles, but it’s a threatening thing as he edges closer until their lips nearly brush. “Tell me where you’ve been.”
“Pr-prisoner,” Andon stammers. “Escaped.”
“Wh… where?” Xeni demands, but his voice has gotten weaker and his hands have started to shake.
“Fuck you,” Andon repeats in a growl, more in control of himself, and Xeni pulls back as he collapses hard onto the ground, his head sagging between his knees as he pants.
“Sorry, I can’t… that’s all I’ve got.”
Ronan squeezes Andon's neck again, then travels higher to a pressure point on his jaw that makes him roar in fury. Ronan doesn’t budge, only leans closer as his voice drops ominously deep. “I’ve fought much scarier monsters than you,” Ronan purrs in his ear. “Right in this very place. Would you like to hear about what I did to them? If you’re very nice, I can show you their grave before I let you bleed out on top of it.”
My breath stutters again as I stare, because this side of Ronan is foreign. It’s not like I didn’t know he was dangerous. He has to be, to have killed the soldiers who were holding me, but with me, he’s always patient and kind. Even though he can get snippy and short-tempered with the others, he’s protective. Caring.
Right now, his eyes are black, and his fingernails are longer and pointed. He drags one along Andon’s cheek, and chuckles when beads of blood immediately pool. “You’ve hurt people I love,” Ronan continues, tracing Andon’s throat with those same razor-sharp claws. “Thrown them in cages… starved them. Maybe I should do the same to you. There’s an empty cage in that tent over there, and you’d fill it so well.”
“No,” Reyes growls, and Ronan’s solid black eyes snap up to meet his. “No, we’re not going to cage him. As tempting as it is to torture him, we will not give him the chance to escape and hurt someone else.”
Andon whimpers as Ronan pierces his skin with a nail, examining the blood on his claw before wiping it over Andon’s lips. “We kill him, then?”
“Let him go, Ronan,” Reyes demands, and Ronan flashes his fangs in an animalistic snarl, but Reyes doesn’t back down. “This revenge isn’t yours. It’s mine. Anyone who hurt Nyx is mine.”
Ronan drags Andon to his feet as he stands. He grips the Nu’vak’s chin and pushes his face towards the sky, exposing his throat and the pulse that thunders there. It would only take a swipe of Reyes’s dagger to end his life, but he shakes his head. Reyes steps closer, filled with vindictive fury. “No. Let him go. I want to give him a taste of freedom before I kill him. Let him fucking run.”
“What fucked up sort of shit is this?!” Andon demands as Ronan shoves him forward. He stumbles, but stays on his feet, and sneers at Reyes as he sizes him up. Arrogant, even surrounded and outnumbered. Reyes’s smile is taunting as he twirls his dagger, and I can read Andon’s thoughts as if they’re written across his face.
Small human, small weapon. Low threat.
But my mate is no delicate flower.
“You better run,” Reyes hisses, and Andon glances over his shoulder at Ronan as though he’s waiting for him to grab him again. Ronan’s brow hikes and he tips his head to tell him to go. Before anyone can change their mind, Andon runs. Reyes watches him for a beat, then twirls his dagger once more before he takes off after him.
Reyes
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I charge after the motherfucker who hurt Nyx. Letting him run probably wasn’t rational, but I wanted him to experience this. The thump of earth under his feet, and the wind against his face. That fucking taste of freedom before I take it away.
Retribution makes me singularly focused on Andon as he runs, but it doesn’t make me careless. The training I’ve had with Ronan and Elas means the motions come naturally, and I won’t do anything to risk hurting myself. Nyx wouldn’t survive it, so I do what I always do.
I scheme and play it smart.
After pacing this camp for the last day, I’m familiar with its layout. Andon darts past the rift and into the open field, but he doesn’t know what I do. The terrain is absolutely littered with holes and ditches, and they’re hidden by the bursts of tall, yellowing weeds. I smile, and get ready.
Only a few seconds into his mad sprint, he stumbles, and before he can right himself, I’m on him. I swing my weapon with a snarl, catching him in the shoulder with the tip of my blade. It’s no longer dull like it has been for training, but sharpened to a point that slices through his skin easily. The fabric of his shirt peels away to show me the rush of blood that pours down his back, and he roars as he regains his footing.
Any hint of smugness is gone as he looks over his shoulder at me, and the fear in his eyes makes this vengeance burn hot in my stomach. He turns forward and runs, putting a desperate burst of energy into his movements before he finds another hole. His leg bends unnaturally, and his knees hit the dirt with a thud before he twists to watch my advance.
“Please,” he begs, and I laugh, kicking his spine so he lands face-first on the dirt. Dust clouds around him as he chokes, and he wedges his hand underneath him in an attempt to push himself up. “You don’t understand,” he coughs.
“I understand plenty.”
“It was leadership… orders! I was just following orders! Have mercy.”
“Did you ever show him mercy?” I demand as I kick his shoulder and flip him to his back. His eyes dart to where Nyx stands with the others. “Don’t fucking look at him!” I bellow as I drop to shove my knee into his sternum. Breath leaves him in a wheeze as his wide, black eyes snap back to mine. “Did you show any of them any sort of mercy?”
“No,” he whispers.
“Ronan was right. I should put you in that cage,” I snarl. “Come to feed you once a week. Give you just enough to keep you holding on to your pathetic life. I should stretch it out for fucking years so you understand a fraction of what he suffered through.”
Andon jerks his body off the ground and tries to headbutt me, but Elas loves that move, too. I’ve learned the telltale signs of those flexing abs, and instead of my face, he meets my elbow. The splintering crunch of his nose makes me smile again.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Hanging on to that hope that someone might finally come for you? Weak men always fear death, and you’d fight so hard to hang on to your pathetic life. How long do you think it would take your mind to break?” I drag the tip of my dagger along his cheek and watch the slice form on his blue skin. The red contrasts beautifully as he flinches, beading to join the drip that’s oozing from his nostril. “How many months… years would it take for you to snap?”
“Please,” he begs again, but I click my tongue and shake my head.
“I could do it, you know. But you aren’t worth the effort.”
“Wh-what?” he stutters.
“You’re nothing but a nightmare, and I won’t let you haunt his dreams anymore.” With a single swipe of a steady hand, my aim is true. It’s unceremonious, far quicker than he deserves, and his eyes grow unnaturally wide as my blade moves across his neck. Crimson, nearly black blood flows freely, and I sit back in satisfaction to watch.
Andon opens his mouth to talk, to plead for his useless life once more, but all that comes out is a series of wet gurgles. His eyelids flutter, trying to stay open as I lean in closer to his ear.
“No one will remember you. You’ll be nothing but bleached bones lying forgotten in this field. Take that to your grave.” Life fades from his eyes until they’re empty glass marbles, and I sit back and wipe my blade clean on his shirt. I stand and walk towards the others without so much as a backward glance.
Nyx’s face is unreadable, and I hesitate as I get closer. My eyes shutter and my heart sinks as he stares, and I look down at myself to take in my condition. Blood streaks my dagger while a few droplets stain my clothes, and for a terrifying moment, I wonder if this is too much. If I took it too far and showed him too much of my anger, or worse… scared him.
“Sirrha?” I whisper, my voice shaking as my eyes lift back to his. I tuck my dagger into its sheath, trying to hide what he’s seen. If I hide it, I can pretend it isn’t there. Deny this anger that burns as hot as an iron inside me, and how it demands I scorch the earth to make his captors pay.
But Nyx doesn’t shy away from me. He runs towards me and trusts me to catch him as he flings himself into my arms. My hands are steady on his thighs as they wrap around my middle, and my laugh is a broken, relieved thing as he grabs my face and pulls me in for a kiss.
“Did I scare you?” I ask when we come up for air.
“No,” he says as he presses a fingertip against my lips. I kiss it, and he grins as he taps me with the next one, collecting kisses on all four of his fingers and his thumb. “No, you could never scare me, katsurrel. You protect me, always. He can’t hurt anyone now.”
“Reyes, get your weapon out,” Ronan suddenly warns, and the tone of his voice makes me immediately obey. I put Nyx on the ground and grab my dagger, tucking him behind me as I advance toward the others. “We aren’t alone.”
“Andon said he’d escaped with someone else,” Xeni murmurs.
“He also said they were dead,” I respond.
“Show yourselves,” Ronan bellows, and there’s such command in his voice it makes my spine snap straight. Footsteps beyond the trees make their way closer, and figures emerge into the sunlight. Two humans walk forward with their palms exposed, and I stand in front of Nyx to hide him from their sight.
“We mean you no harm,” the male says. He isn’t an imposing figure, barely taller than I am, but the lines in his warm tawny skin tell me he’s older. The woman beside him is in her twenties, and is small and feisty. Once-pale skin is now pink-tinged with either exertion or sunburn, and she has a head full of shockingly red hair. Both of them wear guns on their hips and swords on their backs. “We are pursuing a prisoner.”
“He’s dead,” Ronan says with an obvious threat behind it, “and if you don’t want to meet the same fate, you’ll turn around now.”
Xeni’s brows have furrowed, and when the woman’s gaze lands on him, her eyes narrow further. He jerks in surprise when she snarls, “It sure didn’t take you long to go running back, did it? I heard you helped in the escape, but here you are, buddying up with the military.”
Ronan stands taller, baring his teeth. “I stopped claiming allegiance to the military when they tried to take my mate from me.”
“You wear the uniform,” she challenges.
“So I should fight naked then?” he snaps back. “Come out for battle in fewer clothes so I don’t spook a few useless humans?”
“How do you know me?” Xeni asks, and for such a small thing, the woman is awfully fearless.
“Maybe you’d recognize me if I were still in my cell,” she spits, and understanding washes over his expression as his eye darts between them.
“You were prisoners… both of you.”
“Wonderful observation. You’re delightfully brilliant, aren’t you?”
The man beside her grabs her wrist. “Audra…” he warns, but she yanks her arm away.
“You are brave, human, I’ll give you that.” Ronan’s eyebrow ticks up with that perfect air of condescension, his weapon still readied. “Stupid, but brave.”
“If you were there, you saw what we sacrificed to free you,” Xeni says, though Audra only crosses her arms as she waits for more. “We wondered what had happened to everyone.”
She chews on her lip for a long stretch as she observes us. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Ronan counters, but Nyx tugs on my shirt and takes my hand, lacing our fingers together as he steps around me into view.
Both their eyes go wide at the sight of him standing beside me, and Audra’s mouth even drops open by a sliver. “Hi,” Nyx whispers.
“You were… you are…”
“My mate,” I interrupt sharply, cutting off whatever observation she might’ve been about to say. Prisoner or test subject… he’s none of those things anymore. “Nyx is my mate.” She stares again for a long time, eyes darting between the two of us before sweeping back over to Ronan and Xeni.
“Your escaped prisoner really is dead,” Ronan says to break the silence as he gestures at me. “Reyes slit his throat. You’re free to check the corpse if you don’t believe us. No doubt he’ll start stinking up the place soon enough. But you must think we’re idiots to believe the two of you were alone in pursuit of a Nu’vak… even one missing his sword hand. Who else is with you?”
“I am,” someone calls from the woods, and an enormous monster with pale green skin emerges from the shadows. He’s Ronan’s height and Elas’s build, with buzzed hair and two small, blunt horns projecting from his forehead.
