Page 78

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Ophiuchus Season Came for All of Us

EMILIA

F or a moment that expanded into an eternity, we just stared at each other. Jedidiah moved protectively in front of Nyx, who looked flash-frozen. My knees trembled as I studied her. She was so thin . Her skin wasn’t as bronze as usual, but it was still glowing with her living tattoos. She wore an oversized Metallica t-shirt and sleep shorts. Her makeup-free eyes were glued to me, huge and dark, swimming with a mosaic of emotions.

She was looking at me like I was a stranger. Like she was trying to figure out who I was.

I nearly went to close the space between us but Jedidiah growled and held his hand out in warning. “Don’t fucking move.”

“Nyx…” Faye whispered, her voice thick with a sob. “Oh my Goddess. It’s you. It’s really you .”

The way she and Jed were glaring at us didn’t feel right.

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. I could only leer at my sister, taking in every single detail obsessively.

She finally pried her eyes off me, scathing them over our friends. They snagged on Venus and her lips curved down in a grimace.

Faye charged forward with her arms splayed. “If you and Emilia aren’t going to hug then I’m going to be the first!”

“I SAID DON’T MOVE!” Jedidiah erupted, shaking the corridor with his fury.

Faye stopped short, her wet eyes flying wide in hurt and confusion.

“It’s okay,” Nyx told him, putting her hand on his arm. “It’s them. I know it’s them.”

My brows furrowed together. Why wouldn’t we be us?

“How do you know?” he asked skeptically.

“Because if vampires were going to try and mimic my friends they’d know better than to glamour themselves as Venus St. Claire . No, that’s some authentic insanity right there. What the actual fuck?”

The laugh that tumbled out of me was sharp and involuntary. Despite everything, my sister was going to focus on the one detail that pissed her off.

Oh, how I’d missed her.

“Nyx,” I breathed.

Her dark eyes flicked back to me. They softened, and I thought I might collapse with relief. She was okay. In one piece. With Jedidiah after all.

“Little sister,” she murmured, looking me up and down. A smirk crept across her mouth, her dark eyes lining with tears that she sniffed back.“Nice fit.”

I crashed into her, enveloping her tiny frame with mine. She was bony and her hair was crazy and she was shorter than I remembered, and she took a minute to hug me back, but I didn’t care. I inhaled her smoky scent with a shuddering breath.

“You’re okay,” I whispered.

“I mean, if you looked up the definition of okay you probably wouldn’t get a picture of me, but yeah.”

I choked on a laugh that was half a sob.

“Your fucking hair ,” Nyx said, playing with the short edges. “And you got your first tats!”

I laughed again. “I know.”

We might have hugged for three days straight if Faye didn’t probe her way in. “My turn! Please!”

Nyx laughed, welcoming the affection, which was so bizarre for her. I reluctantly pulled away to let Faye hug her friend. My heart was warm and beating erratically as I watched them. Jedidiah hung back, his arms folded across his chest. He sported his usual scowl but I caught a glimpse of light in his eyes, too. Light he quickly blinked away when he caught me looking.

“Get in here, Natalia,” Faye ordered, opening up the hug for one more.

“Natalia,” Nyx rasped. “You’re awake.”

“No thanks to you, bestie,” Natalia quipped, but her tone was light. The three of them hugged and I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried.

“Seriously, though, why did you guys bring Venus?” Nyx demanded.

“Be nice,” Faye urged. “She’s on our side.”

The three of them pulled apart and I wanted to dive in to maul my sister some more, but I wasn’t going to push it. Physical touch had never been our love language. But I stayed close to her, hardly willing to take my eyes off her as if she might disappear in a poof of smoke.

“Oh, goodie, you brought the mortal boy, too.” Nyx’s sarcasm was playful. She tossed Michael a wry grin, and I could have sworn they shared a secret.

Venus stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Nyx, I—”

“If you’re looking for Solaris, he’s not here,” Nyx deadpanned, her glare ice-cold.

Venus bit her lip, glancing at me.

“Where did these crystals come from?” My sister’s tone went high-pitched with alarm. Her dark brows narrowed as she swept her gaze over them.

“We’ll explain everything,” I said. “Can we please go somewhere else? This hallway is giving me major creeps.”

Nyx and Jedidiah shared a glance. A silent exchange passed between them before she turned back to me. “Come on.”

My sister’s room was stunning . And warm.

The fire that roared under the mantle cast a golden glow through the room. A giant sword with an ornate black hilt was perched atop it. I gravitated toward it, my own eyes reflecting back at me in the silver blade. A lethal but stunning weapon, with edges that caught the flickering candlelight.

The fire attracted the girls, too. We huddled together on the rug right in front of it, warming up after our two-day trek up the snowy mountain.

Michael lingered awkwardly by the entrance to the terrace, absently chewing his lip ring as his eyes wandered.

Jedidiah and Nyx were having a hushed conversation. They stood next to the bed—the enormous bed with silky black blankets that were rumpled. I tried not to think of what they’d been doing before we arrived.

I watched them. The way he looked at her…I didn’t have a name for it. My tongue felt dry as I watched their interaction. I only caught a few words.

“… said we couldn’t trust …”

“… I know it’s …”

“… the ring is still …”

She got on her tip-toes, raising her voice to talk over him and he hung on her every word, despite not liking what she was saying. His towering frame loomed over her, insanely possessive. He looked like he was ready to take a bullet for her at any minute.

Her eyes flicked to me, catching me watching them.

My cheeks heated and I looked away. Their private conversation ended there.

“We have food,” Nyx said as she plopped down on the rug with us. “Jed, would you please—”

“The food is for us ,” he griped, shaking his head at her.

She rolled her eyes. “Jedidiah, do not be rude. We have guests.”

He grumbled something under his breath, but he didn’t dare object to my sister’s wishes. Ten minutes later he begrudgingly presented us with a cutting board lined with cured meats, aged cheeses, crackers, and olives. Nyx beamed at him and he gave her a grumpy look back, but his lips curved slightly at the edges. The girls and I ate ravenously.

Venus refrained, sitting with her hands in her lap, knowing she wasn’t welcome.

“Eat,” I told her.

“It’s fine,” she murmured. “I’m not hungry.”

“ Eat. ” I handed her a cracker stacked with goods.

Nyx glared at me. “Okay, will someone explain to me why Venus is here?”

“Because,” I rallied, my voice snappier than I’d intended. “She’s on our side, Nyx.”

“It’s true,” Faye chimed in. “As insane as it sounds.”

“Wow, thanks,” Venus said.

My sister’s face crumpled into a grimace. She looked past me, to Venus. “You’re here for Solaris.”

“Yes,” the redhead admitted. “But not in the way you think.”

I watched something dark and protective assemble in Nyx’s onyx eyes. “In what way, then?”

Suddenly, I didn’t think it was wise to tell her that Venus wanted to kill Solaris.

I flashed Venus a glance before I spoke for her. “She’s not here for Solaris. She’s here for me.”

“What?” my sister hissed.

Words got stuck in my throat. Nyx’s glare demanded an explanation. Venus was confused at my side, watching my face, waiting for me to go on.

“In our absence, crystal and ice were drawn together,” Natalia cut in, her tone wistful. Nyx turned to face her friend. “It’s okay, Nyx. You can trust her. She’s been there for your sister. Her intentions are pure.”

“No offense, but how would you know that? You were trapped in the shadows.”

Natalia tapped her temple.

Nyx sighed. “Whatever.”

But my sister’s ire was short-lived. Once we started talking and catching up, she was smiling and cracking dark jokes, unbothered by Venus’s presence. She filled us in on what she’d been up to—living a hidden nomadic life in the city. She demanded to know everything I’d been up to—what triggered my ‘baddie transformation’ as she so poetically put it. Admittedly, I gave her a cliff notes version. I almost started telling her about the vampires, but decided to bite my tongue. I liked the light in her eyes and didn’t want to summon any darkness. The heavy shit could wait. Something told me she was doing the same.

However, we did tell her about the shadow creature and how Michael had vanquished it and turned it into crystals.

“Yeah, the mountain is infested with shadows. They have never bothered us, though.” She glanced back at Jed and he sneered.

“Wow,” Faye scoffed. “So, you were friends with that thing?”

“No, no. They just sort of left us alone.”

“Lucky you,” I muttered.

“So, the mortal boy defeated it?” Nyx chuckled. “Honestly, I’m not surprised.”

“You’re not?” Michael asked, shocked. He was sitting in the armchair behind the rug, his staff resting at his feet.

Nyx shrugged, but she didn’t elaborate.

Jedidiah sat on the bed, watching his girl. He kept out of the conversation, listening but never offering anything.

It went like that for hours. We talked and talked and talked. About nothing and everything. Being reunited was like a high. But inevitably, we crashed. Faye was the first one asleep, then Natalia, and eventually Venus. We all lay huddled on the rug, Michael and Jed silently keeping watch. Until they too succumbed to the god of sleep.

Nyx and I were the last ones awake. We talked for another little while, our voices sluggish and hushed. It reminded me of when we used to camp out in the living room as kids. We’d sneak out of our rooms once Mother was sleeping and build a fort out of blankets. We’d stay up all night, and Nyx would tell me scary stories while holding the flashlight to her face, making her look shadowy and severe. It seemed like lifetimes ago. Perhaps it was.

My eyelids were heavy but I was afraid to surrender to sleep. What if I woke up and this was all a dream?

“Emilia? Are you asleep?” Nyx whispered.

“No.” It was half a word and half a yawn.

“Want to smoke?”

I snorted quietly. “What?”

“Come on.”

My limbs weighed a hundred pounds each and my eyelids begged me to close them but there was no way I was giving up the chance to hang out alone with my sister.

She grabbed a half-smoked blunt from the night table beside the bed and then beckoned me to follow her outside.

We sat on the ledge of the terrace, our legs dangling above the dark abyss. The moon looked insane from up here, like if I reached out, I could touch it.

Nyx summoned flame and lit the blunt, taking a long haul before she passed it to me. My heart sped up a little. I hadn’t smoked since that night in Michael’s tower. But I refused to be a pussy. I inhaled and then started coughing which made my sister laugh and it was the most enchanting sound I’d ever heard. I wished I could bottle it.

We smoked in silence until my eyes felt heavy and I was bizarrely aware of my own arms. Had they always felt like that? Swallowing was a bit of a chore and I kept having to bite back giggles at nothing.

Nyx stared at the moon, her eyes red and slanted. The shine in them tugged at my heart.

She sensed me staring at her and our gazes met. Hers was lined with silver, reflecting a sorrow so deep, it could drown sirens.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

She swallowed, her throat working hard to do so. A single tear escaped her lash line. “Do you ever remember…me hurting you? When we were little?”

“What? No, of course not. Why would you say that?”

She sniffed and looked back at the moon.

“Nyx?”

Her shrug was half-hearted. “I don’t know. I…dreamed about it. That I…burned you.”

My stomach hollowed out. Silver-robed women crowding around my bed flashed in my mind. I blinked the vision away, shaking my head.

I wasn’t going to entertain it. The truth was, I didn’t care. The past was the past and all I wanted was to be here, now. With her.

“You’re different,” I breathed.

Her eyes met mine again. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You’ve changed, too.”

She scoffed. “Ophiuchus season came for all of us, I guess.”

The way she kept searching the sky gave me an unsettled feeling in my chest. I cleared my throat. “Where is Solaris?”

She winced at his name. “I don’t know.”

“Natalia said…she said that he died.”

“He did.”

“Oh…”

“He regenerates,” she whispered, her onyx eyes gleaming. “One second, he was a pile of ash. The next, he was a man standing in the doorway looking at me like…” She trailed off and didn’t finish the thought.

Tears drenched her cheeks.

My heart knocked harshly as I watched my sister cry…for him .

“He died in my arms,” she rasped. “I know I shouldn’t care. I wish I didn’t. It’s just…the things I’ve seen…”

“Hey,” I murmured, daring to wrap my arm around her shoulders. Her bony little shoulders. Goddess, my poor sister . To my surprise, she didn’t reef away from me. She actually leaned into me, accepting my touch. “It’s okay. You can care about him. I’m not judging.”

“You’re not?” she snorted.

“No. But I am curious about your dynamic with…the two of them.” I screwed my eyes shut, fighting against the memories from that freaky dream.

She made a grim sound. “Don’t get me started. I don’t even know.”

“Solaris and Jed…do they get along?”

“Kind of. After attempting to murder each other a dozen times.”

I laughed. “But you and Jed…you guys seem…he seems…”

“He loves me,” she breathed, light bursting behind her eyes.

And the sky is blue. “Do you love him?”

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she answered. “How could I not? After everything…I would burn the world to the ground for him. That must be love, right?”

I didn’t know the answer to that but I nodded anyway. “Must be.”

She sighed.

“But you care about Solaris too.”

“It’s different,” she insisted, defensive. “I mean, I think it is. I don’t know, little sis. Shit’s complicated. Why would the Goddess send me two of them? They’re brothers, you know.” Her eyes met mine, shining gravely.

I shifted a little. “Er… Actually, I do know.”

Her face fell. “You do?”

I explained what happened the night we dream-walked before the Clash of Spirits. “So, yeah. I’ve known for a while.”

She stared at me incredulously. Then her features twisted and she tossed her hands up in exasperation. “Damn! Everyone knew but me!”

I shouldn’t have smiled, but I couldn’t help it. I missed her insatiable temper.

“What are you laughing at, missy?” she griped. “You’ve got quite the mess of your own! You and Venus. You and Michael. Messy, messy.”

My spine went ramrod straight, my cheeks suddenly inflamed. “Excuse me?”

Her turn to smile in my face. “Don’t be daft. It’s obvious.”

“What is?”

“You were fawning over Venus bloody St. Claire in there. ‘ Oh, she’s here for me! Eat, Venus, eat!’ Blah, blah! She stares at your lips when you talk. Michael notices it too.”

“I—you—we—”

My sister laughed. If it weren’t the best sound in the world, I would have been totally put off.

We sat in silence for a while. Stewing in our own shit. Together.

She was way off base about me and Venus. So what if her touch gave me goosebumps? She was ethereal and powerful and a freaking movie star. She probably made everyone feel that way.

“How…” Nyx glanced up at the moon as if it would give her strength. “How is Luna Academy?”

I, too, needed the moon’s inspiration to answer that question. “It’s decent. A little different.” I filled her in on our change in schedule and our new mysterious dining room. She was baffled to hear we had a new Fire Priestess. And when she asked about what people thought of her—I relayed the best version of the truth. That despite the media’s narrative, there was hope. The light that ignited in her eyes as I told her about the ‘we believe you’ note made my chest squeeze.

“And your dragon visited me,” I whispered.

Her eyes flared. “He did?”

I nodded. “He is incredible, Nyx.”

She gave me a smile that I couldn’t help but interpret as sad. “I know.”

Another truth started clawing its way up my throat. I’d wanted to hold back on the heavy shit, but my tongue manifested a mind of its own. I told her about Destiny. About the shadows. She listened intently, giving no visible reaction.

“We need you back,” I professed. “We need you and your fire.”

She snorted. “The last time I tried to help them they labeled me a fucking terrorist.”

“I know, but—”

“Nah. They don’t need me.” She whirled her body around and hopped down from the ledge. “I’m tired.”

Like hell she was.

Classic Nyx. Dipping out when shit got real.

“I killed a vampire.”

She stopped dead, turning slowly to face me once more. “What?”

I cocked a brow and patted the spot next to me.

She gave an aggravated sigh and obliged me. Once she was sitting next to me again, she waved her hand in a gesture that demanded I explain myself.

So, I did.

The look on her face was fucking priceless. “That did not happen.”

“I swear on the Goddess it did. I don’t know how their dark magic penetrated the wards, but this fucked up siren song summoned me outside the gates. They pummeled me and handcuffed me and stuffed me in the trunk of their car!”

Nyx’s eyes searched mine. “You’re serious?”

“Yes. Swear.”

“What did they look like?”

“A male and female. She was brunette and his hair was white with—”

“A black streak?”

My heart dropped. “Yes.”

Her chest rose and fell. “And you…you killed the female?”

I sighed and tilted my head back to bask my face in the moonlight. “Yes.”

Whatever reaction I thought I’d get from my sister, it wasn’t this. She sunk into silent contemplation. With her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, her brows knitted together, she said nothing. But her wheels were turning something fierce.

“What did they want from you?” she finally asked.

“They were bringing me to someone. I can’t remember the name. R-something…”

“Rashira,” she breathed.

“Yes, that’s it.”

She stared at me for a moment, her dark eyes welling with tears. She sniffed them back and wrapped her arms around me. Her heart thrashed against mine. Her affection stunned me—I could not remember the last time my sister initiated physical touch between us. Not since we were little.

And suddenly I was again. Little. Curled up in my big sister’s arms, finally feeling safe again for the first time in months.