A desolate city is the type of place Zye expects to be taken to at this point. Any area that has a lot of people would be out of the question for something like this. It would only muddy things up considering he’s sure it’ll come to a fight.
It always does in the media he consumed.
Especially since he’s sure Orion is hunting him down like a bloodhound.
Not that it helps ease his worries or make him feel better.
He’s exhausted. Every part of his body aches and hurts. The stab wound isn’t healed, it’s just stopped bleeding. Otherwise, walking barefoot over broken pavement littered with all kinds of debris isn’t helping. He can feel the stabs and petite cuts linger on his skin.
Regardless, he follows her down the street. He glances at the sidewalk. He wishes he could be there instead if it wasn’t for the broken glass strewn across it at various points.
His gaze sweeps the dark area again and again. There’s little light aside from the moon creeping up to the pinnacle of the sky. Dark clouds are drifting across the horizon and dare to blot it out at one point. It has him stumbling now and then.
This isn’t who he is.
Obediently following like a good dog?
When has that ever worked for him?
It doesn’t matter if they aren’t cruel or are.
Vespera isn’t looking over at him. He’s half a step behind her— and then a whole one— and then two. She doesn’t seem to notice at first. Perhaps she’s too busy scanning for energy signatures whether they be Nether or who she’s meeting.
At the end of the street, they’re coming to a four-way stop. There are only signs, no remains of lights hang from above like what he’d expect from his world. The lack of light and abundance of debris, trash, and large objects embedded in the roads are pleasing.
They’re an opportunity he doesn’t want to waste.
What if stalling her for a few seconds makes a difference?
What if he could actually manage to lose her amid the destroyed buildings.
He has to do something.
Vespera sighs and stops walking. A step backward and she’s turning to him. “Are you ti—Ah!”
Zye shoves at her with all the strength he has left. It’s not enough to send her to the ground, only stumbling back. She manages to right herself as she trips over a piece of wooden cart that’s been shattered in every direction.
Meanwhile, Zye is sprinting off down the street to the right. From how she was walking he only assumes she would have taken him to the left. This is the only option he can think of.
Each wrong step has him biting the inside of his cheek to stifle the shout of pain. Having his hands bound behind him keeps him from steadying himself. Instead, he opts to run into the side of a street lamp to keep himself from falling over.
The pain radiating through his shoulder is nothing compared to the exhaustion he pushes through.
“Stop!”
He doesn’t. He passes by a large overturned cart and dashes into the alley between two shops.
It would work if the wall from one wasn’t blown out to cover his path. He could climb over it if his hands weren’t tied. Attempting to might leave him strewn across the debris with worse injuries than he has now.
“Dammit, I said stop!”
He yelps as she slams into the back of him. Staggering, he’s half expecting to fall face-first to the ground. Vespera fists the back of his shirt and yanks, using her weight to keep him from falling over.
It doesn’t quite work.
They both tumble until his hands are pinned beneath him on the ground. She sits next to him with scraped knees and irritation glowing on her face.
“Why would you even try to run?”
He turns his face in the other direction. “I don’t like you or anyone else making choices for me. Let me fuck up on my own, thank you.”
“You did already.” She seems to be frustrated with the fact he’s not meeting her eyes. It has her moving over till she’s leaning over him, one hand on the other side of him with the second pressing hard on his chest. “Why are you being a fool?”
“Could say the same to you.”
“Just stop running.”
“I won’t stop fighting, sorry. And you can stop squishing me. Mind helping me up?”
She flushes at that but doesn’t move. “How do I know you won’t run off again?”
“Because I’m tired. I gave it a shot and I messed it up.” Zye finally lets his eyes meet hers. “Come on, my arms are killing me.”
“Fine.”
Vespera is quick to straighten up and begin assisting him to sit up. Once he does, she moves behind him. A second later and the belt hits the ground.
Zye brings his arms in front of him and begins to rub his wrists. Flexing and stretching them, he looks at how dark the marks are against his skin. He glances at her. “I guess you think you can catch me even with my hands undone.”
“No. I trust you not to.”
“That’s rich,” he scoffs at her.
She ignores him and stands. Dusting her skirt off, she eyes him. “Are you not getting up? We don’t want to be late.”
“You don’t want to go either.”
Slowly, he rises as well. He can only assume he looks as bad as he feels. A sigh slips from his lips as he tries to sweep his hair back to the right and out of his eyes after the tumble.
Seeing as she’s ignored his comment, he tries again. “You must really like Celeste to put me through hell like this.”
“What— I don’t…What does that mean?”
“I doubt you’d do this otherwise, right?”
The smile he gives her is small. It’s insignificant and yet the warmth behind it is strange. It reminds her of him, someone she’s forced herself to push away. It’s a smile that’s terribly gentle, and kind, and shows someone that’s trying so hard to understand her.
“You’re not wrong, I guess. I can’t have my life repeat in my death. I don’t have the power to protect the people I want to and I can’t get any information on my own. I’m…useless to them.”
He gets it. Ilista is the power. Aster is the information. Orion keeps it all woven together without falling apart. In it all, she doesn’t see a place for herself.
No wonder she always came off a bit cold.
“Sure. Which is why you need these jerks to make a deal with you to get it done.” He tries to look back at the conflicted expression she gives him. “Whatever. I get it. I would have done the same thing back then. I’d have done anything to make my mom better. Or remember this jerk in my memories.”
Together, they begin to walk back to the building. At first, she reaches out and holds onto his arm to make sure he doesn’t run off.
“You lost your mother?”
“Yeah. Same thing that was gonna take me out, too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What about you?” The lack of response has him fumbling. “You don’t have to—”
“He was someone I loved very much. I couldn’t even get revenge for him.”
“And you think you can do it now with Celeste if it didn’t work back then? All it’s doing is hurting you for trying.”
Silence falls between them as they continue back to the crossroads. He sneaks glances at her, however, she keeps her head bowed. The long braid bobs behind her with each step. The hand on his arm loosens its grip.
If it were anyone else he’d expect them to reach for his hand instead.
Perhaps that’s why he tries. Something he’d never do unless it was a close friend.
He shrugs her hand off and she allows it. It’s when he cups his hands against hers that she stares up at him. The question is there, stuck in her throat yet lingering in her gaze.
“I can’t run off if you’re holding onto me, right?”
A good enough excuse.
He’s kind enough to not say or acknowledge the way her hand squeezes against his either.
To him, it’s like looking in a mirror. A mirror that ended up getting together with Daichi for the promise of something the man couldn’t give him. He knew it, too.
No different than Vespera. He’s sure she knows this won’t work. Who says these people she made a deal with have to play by the rules?
Not everyone is a good person.
At the four-way street, she guides him straight across. Two buildings down and she stops. She nods over to it and finally tugs her hand from his. She watches as he leans against the stone wall and slides down it. He’s just grateful there’s no glass or debris in the spot he finds.
She stands next to where he sits.
“I…I am sorry. I would have done it regardless of who they asked for. I was, well my original plan is to not even let them have you if I can help it. It depends on who comes and how many.”
“It’s fine, Vespera. I don’t care.”
The gentle touch to his head is almost missed. He tilts his head up to see her face. Brushed with moonlight, he can’t help but admit how beautiful her soft, round countenance is. At least, it would be if she didn’t look so damn sad.
“Relax. It’s fine, I mean it. In fact, if you told me about this I would have agreed to help you.”
“You…mean it?”
“It’s stupid and I would have told you it was. But, if you asked I probably would have said yes.”
“You’re an idiot,” she says with a half-hearted chuckle.
“So are you.”
“Zye? Can you link with me? Once they escort you away you can message and I’ll bring everyone to get you.”
He shakes his head and leans on his hand, away from her to get a better angle. “Nah, don’t bother. If I could do that I would have already called for Orion.”
Silence.
It’s almost painful.
“Hey, Ves?”
“V-Ves?”
“Won’t they know it’s you? What will they do if you go back?”
Vespera leans against the building once more. It’s the only way to avoid his gaze directly. Instead, she stares up into the dull light of the crescent moon. “They’ll probably cleanse me and send me on into the cycle.”
“So, this is a death wish you have?”
“Not until I get you back from them.”
He laughs at that and begins to shimmy a bit so he’s not flush up against the wall. At an angle, he can almost allow himself to relax and fall asleep.
“I don’t hate you. I’m pissed. But I don’t hate you and you don’t have to try and get my forgiveness by “rescuing” me.”
“Why? Why would you not be angry at me? Anyone else would be furious and trying to bite my head off!”
“I don’t know. Maybe I just know you’re all bark and no bite.”
“I am not.”
Zye closes his eyes. He’s just so tired. “Do me a favor and don’t make me regret being good and not running away again. Let me get some rest.”
“Sorry…I just…this is how I’ve always done things. No, I shouldn’t make excuses to you.”
“Vespera,” he says with an exasperated tone.
“S-sorry.”
“Just get as much information as you can from them, alright? And wake me up when we’re ready. It’ll be fine.”
Zye doesn’t believe a word that comes out of his own mouth. Then again, he’s not saying them for his sake. She’s in turmoil. No one has noticed and reached out. It’s causing her to spiral.
Except she doesn’t have a Kass to try and push back against her. Or a Shae to try and be there no matter what she says or does.
He feels the slight tingles of his shoulder trying to repair. It’s a dull chill that has him shifting his shoulder so she can have better access to it.
If it makes her feel better, she can knock herself out.
As for him, he lets sleep take hold since he doesn’t know what’s to come once this trade happens. The unknown is enough to have his stomach clenching and his chest aching.
He’d rather not think about it right now.
________________________
38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13q2tlpHD5
Nervous doesn’t begin to explain what Jace is feeling on his way to the meeting point. His first objective was to enter this world a short distance away. It gives him the chance to get ready should something go awry.
Steal his nerves.
Calm the anxiety.
Push down the anger that this is the plan, to begin with.
There’s no way he believes any of this will work. He knows nothing in life is this easy. Not to mention he’s well aware that getting Zye back won’t solve anything. In fact, it could very well make things more difficult.
Coming around the corner to a four-way street, Jace could swear his heart would stop if he had one. Against one building is the last person he expects, Vespera, and Zye.
He appears to be asleep with his hands in his lap and leaning to the side against Vespera’s leg. Her hand is atop his head and for some reason, Jace is a bit comforted by the fact.
“Move,” he instructs while walking closer.
The shock on her face is of no surprise. Nonetheless, she abides by the demand. Vespera is careful to nudge Zye up so that he won’t fall over before moving.
As he gets closer, she strides to the middle of the street. Vespera is almost to the other side by the time Jace kneels down next to Zye. He almost wants to heave a sigh of relief when Zye appears to be okay for the most part.
There’s a flurry of scratches and dirt. Most concerning is the wound in his shoulder that’s not bleeding, but it’s not healed shut either. His eyes fall onto the jewel swirling with color.
“What did you do?”
“Oh…He’s a fighter. Thankfully the tool is doing its job.”
“I see.”
“I made sure to keep him healed as best I could.”
Jace can’t help himself. He brushes his hand over Zye’s face. Any dirt left is swiftly wiped away. Jace will do anything to keep himself busy in appearance. All so he can justify taking in the appearance of the man he loves.
He’s so angry with himself.
He hates himself for falling in line with Hax’s whimsy.
Jace drags a thumb over Zye’s busted lip. How he wishes he could fix all of this with a snap of his fingers. He has so many regrets. One of them is not demanding access back to Noctis and to talk to someone— anyone.
One hand cups at Zye’s cheek while the other reaches behind his neck. It only takes a moment to channel some power into the metal connection. Just as Hax instructed, he does and it pops free. Jace catches the choker and swiftly pockets it.
The only problem is he can feel her eyes boring into his back. The question is expected.
“Do you have your end of the deal?”
Vespera watches him like a hawk. Not a single twitch goes unnoticed. Certainly, not the way he brushes his knuckles over Zye’s cheek. The pad of his thumb drags under a closed eye before he gives in. Her eyes follow how he stands and steps in front of him.
As if to shield Zye from her.
He doesn’t owe her an explanation.
Then again, he wouldn’t be Jace if he didn’t give her an inch.
“I don’t know what you were promised, but it’s not happening. The Dark Surge doesn’t care about your feelings. Their only goal is destruction, not salvation.”
“You…You lied to me?”
“I didn’t do anything. I’m not part of this nonsense. If you have a problem, go find who you made the deal with.”
Vespera is trying to calm down to stop the fury and desperation.
All she can think about is the possibility that she’s screwed. If Jace knows, then Orion and the others will. He could ruin her and there’s no way she’ll walk away from this. Were they actually working together all along? Orion never acted like it though…
Her eyes linger on the way his hand reaches back, brushing through the longer strands of Zye’s hair.
It’s strange to her.
It’s familiar to her, that kind of touch.
She stands her ground, digging her heels in. “Then why are you here?”
The fear has her summoning her sickles into her hands.
“You can’t— you can’t have him then! You aren’t allowed to touch him!”
Jace takes note of the erratic flickering in her gaze. They dodge from him to Zye, to all around. She’s waiting for the trap to lock around her. What she doesn’t realize is if she’d walk away, he would never say a word about this. Not until all of the “bad guys” are taken care of.
“I already told you,” he begins. Stepping aside and forward, he tries to put some distance between himself and Zye. The last thing he wants is for him to get caught in the crossfire. “I was only instructed to come get him.”
“Then you should be giving me what I’m owed. You’re not leaving unless you do. And you’re certainly not taking Zye!”
“I’m trying to tell you that the Dark Surge is who hurt you. Looking to them for help is pointless.”
The emotion on her face warns him that he won’t be getting through to her.
“Fine, get it out of your system. It doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”
“No. I…Why do you want him if you’re not with the Surge?”
The moment it takes him to think of how to reply is all it takes to lose his chance. It slips through his fingers like water he’s trying to grasp.
A flurry of energy appears at the crossroads. There, Orion walks out. He’s already calling for the strings around his fingers as Vespera turns to him. She goes to approach only for him to hold out his hand.
“Stop where you are. Both of you.”
“But Orion—”
“I knew we had a mole. I didn’t think it’d be someone so close to Celeste. I’m disappointed.”
“No! You have it all wrong! I’m only trying to help. I was getting information on—”
“Your way is the wrong way.”
Orion glares over at Jace who has managed to take several steps back toward Zye. He doesn’t hesitate and slings forth two strings that are as fast as bullets.
Not that Jace is ignorant of it.
It’s a warning shot.
It goes past him and digs into the wall next to where Zye is leaning. It barely misses him with two little holes dug into the wall. Once they’ve hit, the strings become slack and vanish.
“Watch where you shoot those,” he scolds Orion.
“I knew you’d be here. This is none of your business. Leave.”
Being around Zye has rubbed off on him. His tongue is loose and he can’t stop the words from coming out. He doesn’t care who hears anymore. He’s sick of walking on eggshells and dancing around the issues.
“Like hell. You’re keeping him from the truth and hurting him.” Jace curls his fingers into fists, he’s ready to go. “I said I’d protect him and I will. I know you rifled through his mind and saw it all. So you should know I won’t let go until you pry him from my cold, dead hands.”
Vespera glances between them.
She’s not stupid, she can put two and two together. Except it doesn’t add up with anything Orion has told them. Something is wrong.
“So the great Orion isn’t so pure either. You’re going to berate me when you’ve got deceit rolling off you, too. Maybe this was the right choice after all. Maybe we need to start walking our own path.”
Orion is exasperated. Dealing with these two was not in his plan. Not only that but Aster and Ilista aren’t here yet. He’s unsure if that’s a good or a bad thing at the moment.
“If your duty was as strong as your so-called devotion and love, maybe Celeste wouldn’t have been hurt. You got distracted.”
Vespera hardens at that. The anger is almost palpable around her as she surges forward. Her sickles swing through the air as she gets close to him. Strings catch them and parry her back, trying to keep the distance between them.
Infighting is the best distraction.
It allows Jace to turn and begin back to Zye. All he has to do is grab him and run. He squats down next to him and pats his cheek.
“Zye, please, wake up for me.” A desperation in his voice has it come out as a whine, a whispered beg that he wishes his lover would hear.
There’s a groan but nothing more.
Jace huffs and begins to lean him forward. Just as he does, more strings slam into the wall. They carve thin ravines into the brick.
He’s never seen Orion fight in all his years. He only knows the very basic points that Charmilla or Hax would mention. Now he’s wishing he had pried more information from Hax before coming here.
To his surprise, Vespera skids to a stop in the street between them and Orion. She doesn’t look back, only keeps her eyes forward to knock attacks to either side.
She knows Orion has a windup. He can’t throw these things around willy-nilly. If he lets go of them they lose all their power. If he keeps them laced around his fingers? Well, he has to manage them well not to tangle or hit something he doesn’t plan to.
“Why are you helping me?”
The simple question has her smiling.
She barely knows Jace. They’ve had a handful of meetings yet have never spoken. Still, she’s happy. For once, she’s doing what she thinks is right and isn’t taking signals from anyone else. And she’s not banking on someone doing it for her either.
“I told him it would be okay, so go.”
The only problem is that there are very few selfish bones in Jace’s body.
He can’t ignore the way the strings beat down on her until her arms and legs are littered with cuts. In particular, the swipe that’s coming in from her left.
Turning on his heel, Jace shoves away from the ground and sprints toward her. He wraps an arm around her waist and spins her away. Lifting a forearm, he channels all of his power into that one spot where the strings slam against him.
They don’t so much as scuff him.
Jace allows her to pry away from the close proximity. He glances down at her. “I’ll make space. You go in and when you do I’ll leave.”
She knows it’s probably a death wish to even go along with this. Raising her hand against Orion was a bad move from the start. Not that she has any regrets.
For the first time in a very long while, her heart is behind her actions without any waver.
Orion’s next attack has him taking a few steps forward. The large motion of his arms rising up, out, and then back in tells Jace all he needs to know.
Jace steadies himself as fire curls out around his hands and up his arms. The motion is a fluid snap of arms raising high and then coming back down.
Two waves of vertical fire create a path, so to speak, for Vespera. The strings hit the fire and try to cut through. Jace keeps them strong, repelling the weapon with everything he has.
Vespera dashes forward.
Suddenly, there’s no attack against his flames and Jace can barely redirect his attention fast enough. He realizes his mistake— didn’t calculate Orion moving forward for a reason.
The fire snuffs out as Jace swivels around. He dashes toward Zye with everything he has.
The toes of his boots bump against Zye’s feet as he skids to a stop. His hands, coated in fire, manage to grab the strings before they can pierce through Zye.
Meanwhile, Orion is releasing those to instead dodge Vespera. He ducks to the left, sidesteps around her, and elbows her in the side. The second she stumbles, he’s calling forth his strings.
He’s not merciful in the slightest nor is he holding back.
Orion cinches them tight around her body. The pressure he applies has them biting into her skin, but never cutting. He amplifies his power, not allowing it to fully show, only making sure it bears down on her.
Vespera’s knees buckle and her sickles drop to the ground. She’s panting as she tries to summon them back and stay conscious. The shield she struggles to project around her body flickers, unable to stay up to protect her.
From his other hand, he produces five more strings, one per finger, that wrap around her as well. Together, he’s able to use enough strength to sling her to the side before releasing them.
Her body tumbles and rolls. Slamming up against the side of the building, if she wasn’t down for the count, she is now.
Finally, he can turn his attention to Jace.
Orion watches the man slowly turn with blood dripping between his fingers. The anger in those silver eyes is an endless abyss. He knows exactly what Jace wants to say, how he’s surely feeling, and that he’ll be acting irrationally should Orion poke further.
It means he’ll make a mistake and Orion can win this fight before the others show up. Considering the whisper through his mind, Aster is on his way.
Mid-step, Orion stops.
He has to when a short, slender dagger is held at his throat.
The presence of energy behind him wasn’t concerning. He should have trained his senses hard to know where it was coming from. This is not Aster. It’s someone he wishes wouldn’t lean so close with lips hovering beside his ear.
“If you wouldn’t mind, do me a favor and keep your hands off of them.”
“The king finally moves across the board.” Orion gingerly moves Hax’s hand and he’s allowed. Turning to the side, he gazes into those golden eyes. “Leave before you humiliate yourself.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because your queen isn’t here to protect you. We both know you can’t beat me.”
Hax’s laughter echoes down the street and off the ruined buildings. He waves the dagger back and forth as if he’s amused. “Oh, you’re mistaken. Kerse has nothing to do with this.”
A portal down the street from Jace is opening. He nods toward it and Jace follows the line of sight.
“Do you mind, Jace?”
Silver eyes narrow into slits. Hax knows he’s pissed. He just hopes Jace obeys the order regardless. The portal is fluttering to life as Orion ignores him.
An error on his part.
Strings are slinging out to grab at Jace before Hax can blink.
He can’t have that.
Concentrating his power, Hax creates a swirl of purple energy beneath Orion’s feet. The strings are forced back to Orion as he’s sent through the ground only to appear from an identical energy some distance away. He lands on his feet despite the height he’s dropped from.
Orion glares over at him to which Hax can only smile.
“You never did win one of our chess games, Ori. What makes you think you can win this one?”
“Overconfident as always. If I recall, I won all of our sparring sessions.”
Drawing his strings around him, Hax watches as they shimmer like a spider’s web under the sun’s rays. He knows full well that Orion means business. The only thing he can do is begin to dodge as Orion sends them at him one after the other.
As their dance of evading each other begins, Jace is reaching for Zye. Like hell, he’s sticking around to fight while he needs to get Zye out of here.
At least, that’s the plan until he feels the presence exit the portal. He can’t throw up one of his own fast enough with Aster rushing him like a bull that only sees red.
Jace stands and meets him halfway, anything to get Aster as far away from Zye as he can. He just needs to knock Aster down enough to create an opening to escape.
Fire curls around his fists and up his arms. Never a worry to the fluff of his coat, only his enemy. It’s a flame-coated palm that catches Aster’s punch.
The latter immediately retreats, the heat scorching along the knuckles of his gloves. No words are exchanged between them as Aster reinforces his magic around his fists and dives back in.
Jace doesn’t dare let him get a hit in. He’s got too much to lose to go down or give Aster a single inch. With each punch, he dodges or knocks them away with ease. All the while he’s leaving burns across Aster’s outfit as he lands blow after blow to his stomach and arms.
The concentration has the one thing showing that Jace doesn’t care to use. The small horns are hidden beneath his hair and bandanna. A long sweeping tail, however, swishes behind his legs. The short dark fur ends in a tuft of yellow that resembles the fire he uses.
Aster growls as he’s knocked back, staring at the yellow flames coming off Jace’s skin. He knows he’s at a disadvantage. Not that it stops him from rushing back in with renewed vigor at the sight of Orion continuing to fight.
What he doesn’t expect is for Jace to duck beneath his first jab. The tail whips up and wraps around Aster’s wrist.
“What the hell?”
Two scalding palms press against Aster’s stomach as his tail forces Aster to keep the momentum. Up and over Jace, Aster lets out a shout as his back hits the ground.
Standing over him, Jace turns. He watches for the sign that Aster is trying to roll over and stand back up. All the while, his tail is whipping back and forth.
“Stay down.”
Aster spits blue blood on the ground between Jace’s feet as he stands. “Always knew you were a traitor.”
Jace doesn’t hold back, catching Aster in the gut with a force that has him staggering back. “Always knew all you could do was let Orion think for you.”
“Big talk for the guy trying to kidnap one of ours.”
“If you would just use your brain for one second.”
Aster yells as he rushes Jace once more. Over this tirade, Jace steps and lets Aster go running by. He knows he doesn’t have long and the precious shield keeping his blows from hitting direct skin will evaporate.
From the side, Hax slings his dagger at Orion. Dodging and knocking it aside, Orion retreats to put more distance between them. He can’t fight up close and Hax knows it.
Hax calls forth a well of space, no different than what they use to travel dimensions, for the dagger to sail into. It comes out from another next to him. Grabbing it, he gestures to the other fight.
“Seems my queen can beat yours without breaking a sweat.”
Orion knows Aster is getting backed into a corner. He’s always fought better with a partner. He wishes Aster would go back to training with Ilista more frequently. He’s slacking— getting sloppy.
And he won’t lose him.
Five strings manifest around his right hand, one for each finger, and he sends them out toward a vulnerable back.
Hax is running toward Orion as he yells, “Your fight is with me!”
Jace hears the alert and feels the power rushing toward him. Only two of the strings dig into his side as he attempts to dodge. He can already feel the blood dripping down into the waistband of his pants.
The power of a Celestial. It pierces through his guard with such ease. Nonetheless, he’s surprised to see how off-mark it was until he sees Aster’s face.
“Orion! No!”
Behind him, the other three strings never made it very far. Hax stands in front of Orion with a grimace on his face. Using his power and hurrying to stop it had him faltering, allowing three of the blows to rip into his shoulder.
Hax’s fingers tighten around the hilt of his dagger. The very thing he’s stabbed into Orion’s chest. The power vanishes from Orion’s hand as he reaches up to where his shirt is growing wet.
“Why…this far?”
“I can’t let you kill him. And it’s not like this will take you out anyway.”
Orion’s brows draw up, pinching together as the pain echoes through his body. No amount of his power can stop it. As the knife withdraws, Orion grabs onto Hax’s shirt. Blue smears over the front of him as Orion clings for dear life.
“You’re not one of them. Stop acting like you are.”
The dagger is gone. There’s only a gentle caress to Orion’s cheek left. “Ori, you never understood. Sorry old friend.”
Stepping back has Orion letting go so he can drop to his knees. He stares up at Hax with hands gripping the ground. It’s then that he sees Hax cough— loud, throaty, and painful. From where he kneels, just before he loses consciousness, he sees blood dripping between Hax’s fingers.
“Hax!” shouts Jace as he lands a punch to the side of Aster’s face.
It doesn’t deter the man at all. He ignores the bloodied nose. All he can think about is Orion on the ground. He shakes his head, “Get out of my damn way!”
Neither of them is close to Zye. Hax glances over at him with a pensive expression. Things are falling apart. There’s no way he has enough power to get through handling who is sailing in next. The portal some distance between Aster is most concerning.
It’s not a person that comes through first, but a spear cutting through the air.
At the last second, Jace steps aside and grabs the end of it. A half-spin and he’s sending it back the way it came.
Ilista dashes out of the portal and catches it. She’s racing to get to Aster with her voice firm and loud. “Not another step!”
Hax calls his power and sinks through the ground only to step up out of it next to Jace. He places his clean hand on Jace’s shoulder while wiping the other on his shirt. “We’re leaving. I don’t have time to fight a couple of riled-up dogs.”
Jace won’t let his anger show in any way other than the wall of fire he creates between them and the two Stars. He’s firm despite the visage of a portal being summoned in front of him.
“No, I can handle this. You get him and I’ll—”
“You’ll have to trust me on this one.”
“Hax—”
Jace doesn’t expect Hax to shove him. It catches him off guard to the point he stumbles through the portal at his heels. With Jace gone, the fire begins to die down as if it was never there, to begin with. Both Ilista and Aster are rushing at him until he steps into the portal as well.
Not caring that they’re gone, Aster darts for Orion. He scoops the shorter man up into his arms. He waits a moment, checking his vitals and the feeling of his power. As well as the wound in his chest.
“Ili! I’m taking him to Celeste, he’s not healing. I’ll come back for Vespera.”
“Go, hurry.”
Ilista walks to Vespera first. She’s breathing and fine, beaten up and knocked out, but fine. Assuming it’s safe to leave her be, Ilista hurries to Zye next. She crouches down while flicking her ponytail back over her shoulder.
“Zye, come on.”
She pats the side of his face and gives a light shake to his shoulder. Nothing seems to work. She concentrates and can tell that his energy signature is fine if anything— stable and healthy, just weak.
“Guess I’m doing this the hard way,” she grumbles to herself.
Dragging Zye up to his feet with her is hard regardless of how strong she is. It’s still dead weight that she lifts. She’s grateful when she hears a groan.
“Il…ista?”
“That’s me. Come on, try to stay stand for me.”
He’s talking, but not coherent. Only enough to follow her motions and let him lean against her as she opens a portal. Ilista is well aware that he’s not going to be healing or feeling better until she can get him into some blessed water. Not with Orion down and out for who knows long.
Ilista practically drags him to the portal and through it. He seems to come to now and then. It’s usually only enough to take a step or two. A reason why she wishes she had gone straight to her room instead.
Aster is the reason she didn’t.
The very reason that’s running towards her once he comes off the staircase. He slides to a stop and goes to grab for Zye, to help her. She shakes her head.
“Go, get Vespera.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I got this. How’s Orion?”
“Celeste says he’ll be fine but he’s not stable yet. So you need to get him in the water yesterday.”
Ilista shifts her grip and begins to move toward her room. “Got it. Make sure to treat yourself as well, idiot. Your face is a mess.”
Aster gives her a small smile.
For a second, she feels a lightness in her chest. As if they’re back to how things were in the beginning. Lighthearted banter that was ruined by how attached to Orion he’s gotten.
“Go before I make you carry him.”
Aster hurries off through a portal while Ilista continues. By the time she gets to her door, she wishes she had just picked his dumb ass up and carried him. Instead, she has her Mark open the door and let her in.
She’s not surprised that Xerxes is up and moving already. Celeste must have taken care of him quickly and given him a new set of clothes. It’s nothing special, it just screams that Celeste is the one that did it.
Hot pink sweatpants and a lime green shirt with a dancing bunny on the front.
Still, he’s adorable and she’s happy that he’s smiling when she comes in the door. The Mark vanishes the second it shuts the door. Xerxes, however, is moving toward her.
His eyes are wide and the smile vanishes the second he sees Zye. Xerxes is by her side in an instant. It’s not much, but the little help he can give to help her carry him to the cleansing chamber is appreciated. It’s all she can do to not let the panic show.
Through the doorway and to the edge, Ilista glances over at him. “Stay there,” is all she says.
Xerxes begrudgingly lets go and watches as Ilista walks him in. It’s a feat to get him in the water. Once she does, it’s effortless to sit on a higher step with Zye on one below her. It allows her to keep him between her legs and safe in case he doesn’t wake up soon.
While it’d be fine to let him float or sink— she doesn’t want to give him a panic attack to wake up like that.
Crouching down, Xerxes can’t deny how anxious he is. It is the man he thought was dead. He watches as Zye’s head lulls against her leg. Xerxes swallows hard past the lump in his throat, “Is he…okay?”
Ilista nods, “He’ll be fine.”
The words don’t match how she’s really feeling. She lifts the collar of his shirt a bit to peek down at the wound that isn’t healing. Nothing seems to be. All she can do is hope it’s because Orion needs the power.
Not that it should matter while he’s in the water.
“Jace?”
The soft mumble has Ilista startled and grabbing for his shoulders. “Zye, can you hear me?”
A tense moment passes before he tries to sit up. “Where…am I?”
The first thing that hits him is the exhaustion. The second is how cold he is. The worst part is how his vision swims as he tries to blink the fog away.
“Noctis. You’re safe.” She waits a moment before giving up. Weirdly, he’s cold to her touch. “Come on, let’s get you dried off and I’ll call for Celeste.”
Zye doesn’t argue with her. Not when his head feels like he’s been hit with a sledgehammer. Tongue like lead and muscles stiff as boards, he’s grateful for Ilista’s help.
Xerxes skitters to the side out of his line of sight as her Mark appears. She presses a hand to its chest before giving Zye her full attention.
“Do you mind if I help you?”
Slowly, he lifts his head and tries to stretch. Standing up straight unbelievably hurts until he remembers something.
“Where’s Vespera?”
The gentle smile on her face tells him everything. Nothing went right for her.
“She’ll probably be relieved of her duty. Aster already went and retrieved her.”
The confused stare he gives her encourages her to continue.
“She won’t be a Keeper or a Star. Nothing. Her soul gets cleansed and sent back into the cycle. That way, she can live again.”
Pushing away from her, Zye makes a break for the doorway. He knows it has to lead back to her main room. A trail of wet footprints and water is left in his wake.
“Zye, don’t move! You’re not healed.”
“Sorry, but no,” he calls over his shoulder as he jogs out of the room.
He steadily picks up speed. A mad dash to the door has him forgetting not to use his hurt arm to open it. He ignores the sharp sting through his shoulder as well as Ilista rushing after him.
“Zye!”
He doesn’t care. All he can think about is shoving away from the door frame. The fear in him only increases when he looks down the hall. He can see the staircase. He can see Vespera standing before Celeste in front of the mirror.
He pushes himself to go faster— to get to them, he struggles to move or not slip seeing as his clothes are sopping wet. The bare room allows their conversation to be heard all the way where he is.
“Please, Celeste, I did this to help you. I know…I know I was an idiot. We just…I was going to go back for him, I had a plan!”
Celeste shakes their head. “I don’t wish Rui, or whoever he truly is, any harm.”
“He hurt you! He almost killed you.”
“I forgave him and what he did. I’ve moved forward. You should do the same. I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much you were hurting over this, Ves.”
“I know what I did was wrong…”
Bare feet slap loudly against the floor as he stumbles to a stop in front of her. He wedges himself between them by pushing Vespera back. Reaching behind him, he keeps a hand on her arm. There’s no way he’s taking a chance that someone will whisk her away.
Vespera stares at his back and tries to move. Especially when she realizes the grip on her comes from the side she stabbed.
Celeste tilts their head ever-so-slightly. It causes the long pink bangs to shift, showing slivers of their eyes. “What are you doing?” they ask.
“You can’t do this. It’s wrong and you know it.”
“Zye, I know you haven’t been around long. However, these are the rules. She broke them and—”
“I could give a shit. She wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. It’s not like the rest of you follow the rules anyway.”
“Please, return to your room before you reopen your wounds.”
“Fuck that! You’re not even trying to listen!” He can feel Vespera tugging at him. It doesn’t stop him. “So she made a mistake, everyone does. Wouldn’t they have managed this even if she hadn’t done it? They already got to you once.”
Celeste crosses their arms over their chest.
“She did all of this because she’s scared of losing you, right?” He glances over his shoulder at Vespera and she gives a weak nod. “Haven’t you ever lost anyone? Felt regret that you couldn’t do more? That you’d do anything so it didn’t happen again?”
From the hallway, Ilista slows her pace toward them. She can’t believe anyone would talk to Celeste like that— they’ve never even raised their voice at them or Orion. Then again, they haven’t ever asked questions or were a part of the decision-making process.
“Or are you all just too sheltered to understand what it feels like to hurt? You all should have talked about what happened and maybe she wouldn’t have felt like this was the only way. You can’t give her death when I don’t blame her for it. I forgave her the second she did it and I’m the one she was hurting.”
“You…forgave her…”
The fact that he slings the same words at her that she gave Vespera hits hard. More so considering she has lost someone. The pain of not being able to stop it hits them every day that they let Orion spearhead the operation that followed.
“I believe…I’ve forgotten my job. As protectors of all souls, we are to ferry and nurture. Not to judge, but to help.”
“And?”
The glare in his eyes is a challenge. One that Celeste doesn’t back down from. They uncross their arms and gesture to Vespera.
“Perhaps you’re right. Vespera, I want to apologize more than anything. I know how much you care about me. While I do feel the same, I think we need to heal this relationship and ourselves. I can’t do that if you’re not here.”
“You…You mean it?”
Celeste smiles to them both. “We can be better than this. This is not all yours to take the blame for. While it was still wrong, regardless of what Zye believes, I have to give some repercussions.”
Zye is about to interject when Vespera speaks up.
“No, I understand. Please, I’ll do whatever it takes to fix what I broke.”
A slight shake of their head. “No, my dear. You didn’t break anything. Give yourself time to heal and find yourself. I’ll do the same and we can meet again in the future. For now, I’ll only revoke your status as Keeper.”
Realizing it’s working, Zye can feel the adrenaline sap from his bones. His knees wobble as he stands there. Vespera ends up grasping onto him instead of the other way around. He turns to her as she does.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I did. If you’re not around how can I get back at you for beating me up?”
“You’d still never beat me in a match.”
“We’ll see about that. Come visit?”
Vespera blinks away the tears that bead at the corners of her eyes. Her smile shows even in her glossy eyes as she reaches up for him. Gently, she tugs him down to her level. Zye does his best to remain steady as she cups her hand to his ear.
“There’s a name I need you to know. I’ll try to do what I can on the outside in the meantime. But there’s a man out there, Jace, find him if you can. But don’t tell Orion.”
“Vespera, are you ready? Zye needs to heal before he collapses.”
Celeste’s urging and Ilista getting closer has Zye flustered even more than hearing that name.
“I…how? I can’t—”
“Heal and I’ll be back. Give me some time. Just…try not to get into any more trouble, okay?”
Vespera gives a light shove. One that’s enough to have him staggering to the side right as Ilista comes to his side. With that settled, Celeste waves her hand toward the stairs.
“If you can, Ilista, take him up to my room. I’ll be up there shortly after I check on Orion.”
Ilista nudges Zye. “Do you think you can make it?”
“I’m not a baby, I’m fine.”
She rolls her eyes at that. Regardless of the bravado, she sticks close behind him as they begin up the stairs. Part of her is secretly happy that he didn’t seem to notice Xerxes. That’s one thing he can tackle later after she talks to the man first.
Zye hesitates before going into the room. As he does, he tries not to focus on much. The new area is so much to take in that he concedes to Ilista moving him toward the couch. On one of them, he sits down.
“I’ll be back to check on you, too.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
He watches her leave. Waits for her to leave before he sinks down against the couch. His head leans against the back as he lets his eyes drift shut. They feel so heavy. Not unlike the rest of his body.
A sigh dusts over his lips as he lets the comfort and sleep soak into him.
“Jace, huh?”
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