by J. J. Dean
"Yeah. We're waiting while Spencer constructs my room, so Nix suggested a walk. Want to come with us?" I ask, finishing up lacing my shoe. I stand from the bed and make my way over to the small tower of snapbacks Spencer bought me, and pick a red one to match my chucks. I slide it onto my head, leaving my hair loose, and turn to Zayn who watches me intently.
"If you don't mind the extra company, I'd be happy to join you," he says, depositing the books on one of the shelves of his bookcase.
With a smile, I tell him, "Of course, I don't mind. I'm sure Nix won't either."
He nods, and we walk out to the living room. Nix's eyes flick to mine, and he gives me a toothy grin. His gaze drifts to Zayn briefly, and I see him nod slightly, grin still in place. He turns back to me, and says, "Alright, let's roll."
Just before we leave, I look over to Ezra, who's still sitting in the armchair with a face like thunder. There's a scowl on his face, and his lips are pressed in a tight line. Ignoring the look, I ask, "Do you want to come for a walk with us, Ezra?"
His head snaps up, and he turns to face me. His eyes are wide with surprise before they return back to their scowl. "No, but thank you for the offer. I have things to do."
And then he turns to face the TV again, slouching in his seat and turning the volume up. What's his deal? He was nice to me yesterday, and now it's as though I'm a nuisance to him. He's clearly brushing me off, but why?
Don't worry yourself over it. He'll be fine. He's just going through an internal struggle.
Zayn's voice is soothing, even in my head. Internal struggle? About what? Me staying, maybe? Or is it something unrelated? I frown, unsure why the idea of Ezra struggling at all has my stomach knotting uncomfortably. But before I can ask my questions, Nix is hustling me outside.
The moment I step past the door, a gentle wind drifts over me. The breeze is heavenly on my skin, the cool touch welcome on my face and arms. The sun is high in the sky, and the air is warm. It's a beautiful day, but I can't help feeling like it's tinged with worry. The fear of being caught and captured niggles at the back of my brain like a looming fog of darkness.
"You're safe, Novia. We won't let anything hurt you," Zayn says quietly from beside me.
I nod and take a deep breath. I can do this. I have the protection of a vampire and a shifter. They won't let anything happen to me.
A calloused hand slips into mine, and I startle. Nix squeezes my hand gently and tugs me along. He sets a course on a path I hadn't noticed on my previous adventure in the outdoors when I'd been overwhelmed and not in any mindset to be concerned for my well being. The path is gravelly and wide enough for all three of us to walk along side by side. Nix doesn't let go of my hand as we stroll along the trail bordered by trees.
We walk in comfortable silence for a little while, and I find myself relaxing the deeper into the forest we go. The air cools the further we walk, but it's still a pleasant feeling. Shadows dance between the trees, but the sun is still bright and vibrant, beaming rays breaking through the gaps in the trees.
Nix leads us to a small clearing, veering off the path we'd been walking on. Wildflowers are sprinkled throughout the long blades of grass, the sun brightening their already vivid colours. Nix tugs on my hand again, pulling me towards a tree with a trunk so large that if I were to wrap my arms around it, my hands wouldn't come close to touching.
I let go of Nix's hand and sit down with my back against the bark of the tree. Zayn sits next to me, his arm brushing mine. Nix sprawls on his side in front of me, propping his head up on his fist.
Leaning my head back against the tree bark, I release a contented sigh. "This was a good idea."
They both make a noise of agreement, and then it's silent again, only the leaves rustling in the breeze and the chirps of birds to be heard from all around us. It's so peaceful. If I close my eyes, it almost feels like I'm sitting beneath my favourite tree a mile into the woods from what was once my home.
Before I lose myself to those memories, I open my eyes and turn my head towards Zayn. "Isn't it funny how vampires are perceived as being unable to walk in daylight? Where did humans get that from? That vampires would combust in the sun?"
Zayn laughs heartily, his head dropping back with the force of it. It pulls a grin to my face, watching him carefree and relaxed.
"I'm not entirely sure when that tale came about, but like most myths and stories, they're all born from a grain of truth. The sun impairs a vampire's vision. Our sight is sensitive to the sun since we're able to see easily in the dark. That's why many vampires prefer night to day. Being in the sun only dampens the sharpness of my sight, but that's the only effect it has on vampires. I’m perfectly capable of walking in the sun without bursting into flames or glittering like a disco ball." He sends me a grin that I return.
"Yeah, don't ever just swing the curtains open around him. Last time I did that, he walked into a wall before he could see again. Turns out I’d blinded him for a few seconds, and his vision went white before dulling down enough to see," Nix laughs out.
"And your payback was worth the embarrassment of walking directly into that wall."
"What was the payback?" I ask, thoroughly intrigued by this story as though I'm discovering something precious and not playful banter between two friends.
Nix snorts and says, "He'd painted my face with makeup when I was asleep, but projected pictures in my head of my face as it is normally every time I looked in the mirror or a reflective surface, making me believe there was nothing out of the ordinary. Spent the day training with my face looking like a drag queen, and I didn't even know it until the end of the day."
I'm laughing so hard by the time Nix finishes talking that my ribs hurt and tears have formed in my eyes. I'd have paid great money to see Nix wearing makeup.
Suddenly, a vision of Nix truly dolled up, with eyeliner, eye shadow, and even contouring, pops into my head, and I completely lose it. Loud laughter pours from me, mixing with long, drawn out wheezes when I try to catch my breath.
"He showed you, didn't he?" he asks me before turning to Zayn without an answer from me. With amusement in his voice, he says, "You dick."
Zayn shrugs, but the grin remains on his face. Nix laughs before he falls onto his back, crossing his hands over his stomach while he basks in the sun.
We're sitting in a spot where the sun is directly beaming down on us, and I can feel my body growing energised. A fae trait I'm enjoying since my body no longer feels strung tighter than a bow string, and I feel like I could run a marathon without any trouble. If I concentrated enough on the feeling of the energy seeping into my skin, I could feel my powers replenishing until almost bursting. It's a wonderful feeling, given that this is the first time I've been at full strength in so long.
The energy is buzzing just underneath my skin, like an added layer that covers my entire body. I relish in the feeling, thankful to be under the sun again. When I can't absorb anymore, the buzzing settles, but I'm still able to feel my newly replenished energy source.
"Novia," Nix almost whispers. "You're glowing."
My eyes pop open, and, sure enough, there's a faint white glow emanating from my skin. My eyes widen before my mouth pulls up into a grin. A thin mist of tears film over my eyes, but no tears fall. The last time I glowed was when I was a child and my abilities began to surface. Unlike many races of Naturals, fae grow into their abilities. I was six when the ability to absorb energy came to me, and I glowed like a Christmas tree for a week before I learned to ration the amount of energy I took in. In my joy to finally draw in energy, I didn't think to ration.
"Yeah, that happens when I absorb until I'm full," I explain, albeit poorly since Nix looks at me with both confusion and wonder. I'm sure I look like a flashlight, but I don't have it in me to be embarrassed.
Nix looks at Zayn and then back at me. "What do you mean, absorb?"
Zayn answers for me. "She's a fae, Nix. fae can take in the energy from light. They can store and transfer the energ
y or use it to increase their abilities."
I nod and send a smile in Zayn's direction, catching him watching me with rapt attention. "It's been a while since I had this amount of energy to absorb. The glow will fade when I burn some of the energy."
Nix nods, and he looks a little impressed. Not sure why, given that I'm glowing like the back end of a firefly. "That's pretty neat.”
I'm grinning again, happiness filling my chest until I'm almost overflowing with it. I'm slowly beginning to feel like me again, and it feels good. Bittersweet, but something I'll never take for granted again now that I know what it's like to live as a shell of myself.
Chapter 14
Novia
We spend the next hour lounging in the sun, talking about nothing and everything all at once. I learn a lot about the vampire and shifter. Some things as small as their favourite places to visit or favourite food, and some things bigger like how they met and how they became as close as brothers.
"We met decades ago. My parents were killed by hunters when I turned sixteen, and two years later, my animals showed themselves. After that, I was discarded like trash and left to fend for myself. Zayn found us all and brought us together. Zayn found me first when the pack I'd been born into turned their backs on me when we found out I contained more animals than they thought I should have. I was shunned, disowned, then thrown out.
"I'd gone hunting one night, still learning how to live with my animals. I was still honing my senses, so I didn't catch the scent of the human when I was fishing in my bear form. The man shot me once in my shoulder and once in my stomach. I managed to run away far enough that the human didn't find me, but I left a trail of blood when I went back to the alcove I'd been living in. Zayn followed the scent and found me on death’s door, bleeding out of the stone floor. He gave me his blood, healed me, and offered me somewhere more secure to stay. He saved me. I've stayed with him since, growing as close as brothers."
He smiles at Zayn, who nods with a soft look on his face. I can sense their brotherly bond, the closeness between the two. That must have been a long time building.
"Eighty years, give or take a year or so," Zayn comments. "I'd been turned at twenty-five, clueless and bumbling through life. I stumbled upon a coven who'd welcomed me easily. I later found out that they were running a blood farm, luring humans into giving themselves over as blood sources to feed from. I didn't agree with the practice and left when I found out. I'd been alone for eight years before I found a wounded Nix in need of my help."
I'm hanging on to every word, reveling in all they have to tell me. My heart hurts for what they went through, but learning about how they came to be a group is fascinating to me. I feel like I can't possibly learn enough. I want to know everything.
Zayn continues with his story. "Nix and I found Ezra next. It had just been Phoenix and I for roughly four years before we stumbled upon the incubus. His story isn't a pleasant one, so I'll leave that to him to explain, should he decide to, but we took him in instantly, and he quickly became a brother to us. Spencer was the last to join us two years later."
Nix snorts. "He didn't exactly join us. It was more of a harassment into brotherhood."
I pull a face, and Nix laughs again.
"I suppose you could call it that," Zayn says, humour evident in his tone. "He was the most difficult to get close to. At every corner, he'd do his best to shove us away. I suppose, eventually, he simply gave up trying. He’d given it a good fight, but as soon as the resistance faded, he became one of us."
"Why did he push you away?" I question, enthralled with their past.
"That's a story for the mage to tell you himself, I'm afraid," Zayn answers with an apologetic look.
Before I can ask more questions or listen, Nix sits up and says, "We should probably head on back, check how Spencer is doing."
I nod and stand, brushing grass and dried dirt from my shorts. The guys pull themselves up a little more gracefully. As soon as Nix is standing, he takes a hold of my hand again. Zayn walks a little closer than before, so much so that his arm brushes against mine as we walk. We fill the silence with small talk on the way back to the house. The guys joke and playfully jab at one another while I stay silent, content to listen to the two bickering.
As soon as we reach the house, I actually take it in for the first time. It's a one-story house with white painted bricks. The windows are reasonably sized, with black painted shutters on the outside. It's modest, but it has a homely, lived in quality about it.
The three of us let ourselves into the house, Nix's hand still wrapped around mine.
"Want something to drink, Novia?" Nix asks, finally releasing my hand to walk towards the fridge.
"Uh, yeah. Please. I'm going to find Spencer, but I'll be back in a moment," I tell him. Zayn sits himself at the island counter, so I move towards the hallway and Spencer's room. I knock on the door but receive no answer. I knock again, but still nothing.
I move back from his door, and just as I'm about to turn and walk back the way I came, something catches my eye. The length of the hallway is longer, with an empty space where nothing used to be. I walk closer and find it's a newly-created stairwell next to Spencer's room. The stairs are wide enough to fit two people side by side and lead into an attic. I know they weren't there before because the house ends at Spencer and Nix's rooms.
I make my way up the stairs, and, as I reach the third from the top, my head pokes out over the floor to the attic. My breath catches when my eyes take in the room. The floor is wooden, a white distressed aesthetic to it. The walls have been insulated, plastered, and painted white. But what has my lungs stalling are the newly-created windows that sit on either side of a stunning set of French doors. The windows are curved, with small reading nooks beneath them. I spy a small balcony outside the French doors, and it leaves me breathless. The doors and windows shouldn't fit into an attic room, but somehow Spencer managed it. They suit the entire room perfectly.
There’s a large bed in the corner, placed at an angle so it faces the window. It's completely bare besides the beautifully intricate frame that I spy at the head and foot of the bed. There’s a door in the wall that the bed is next to, so I assume that’s the closet. A white distressed vertical piano sits just behind the banister to the stairs with a matching bench. The walls are lined with white shelves that host indoor house vines. There are more plants scattered around the room artistically, all in matching white pots. It's absolutely breathtaking. The room is spacious but has a homely feel to it. Although it’s brand new, it also feels like it was always here. Or, as though it was always meant to be here.
I move further up the stairs until I'm standing in the middle of the room, hand over mouth in astonishment. Spencer did an amazing job. Where is he? I need to thank him… profusely.
It's then I hear a faint groan from beside the bed, the side I can't see from where I'm standing. I walk closer to the bed and poke my head around enough to see the space between the bed and wall. On the floor, Spencer sits with his hat-covered head tilted back, eyes closed and perspiration covering his entire face.
"Spencer? Are you okay?" I ask as I move closer to him.
He groans again, and his eyes open slowly. He mumbles something, too quiet for me to hear, so I move closer until I'm kneeling on the floor in front of him. "What was that?"
"Over...Used...Too much..." he strains out.
Understanding dawns on me suddenly, and I curse before moving to sit directly beside him. Without asking, I lift his hand from where it lay limp on the floor and place it in my lap, clutching it tightly in both of mine.
His head lolls to the side, facing me with his gold eyes and sweat-covered features. "You're...glowing."
I give him a soft smile, and say, "Give it a second, and I won't glow anymore. Just rest."
His eyes close slowly, but his hand tightens in mine slightly. I rub my thumb across the back of his hand and then draw on the energy I'd gathered in the clearing. Slowly, I transfer
the energy to Spencer, watching both of our hands glow brighter as I offer him some of my stored power.
When I hear him inhale swiftly, my head jerks up to see him watching our hands attentively. His gaze bounces to mine, where they stay until I feel that the energy it took to make this room habitable has now been replenished.
"How do you feel now?" I ask, my voice only just above a whisper.
Spencer looks down at our joined hands and back up again. His widened eyes are filled with appreciation and something that looks a lot like awe. "A lot better. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Did you have much more to do?" I ask, worried he'll overwork himself again. How is it the mage isn't able to use so much power without exhausting himself? What was it Nix said, Spencer hasn't used a lot of power in a while? I don't understand how or why, but maybe Spencer will tell me himself.
"Not much else. Just had to take a break for a minute there," He sends me a sheepish smile.
"Why did you have to take a break at all? If you don't mind me asking, that is." I turn my body to face him, leaning my side on the wall. I keep his hand in mine, slowly siphoning small doses of energy to him. The smile falls, and I already feel guilty for asking. Wishing for the melancholic look on his face to disappear, I tell him, "You don't have to tell me. It's none of my business. I shouldn't have asked."
Instead, I lean my head against the wall and close my eyes, concentrating on the energy I'm offering him. The room is silent while we sit with our hands intertwined, but it's a comfortable silence where neither one of us feels the need to talk to fill the space.
Time drifts by, and the peace and quiet is almost enough to send me to sleep. So, when Spencer speaks up, I flinch and tighten my hands around his before relaxing again. "I try not to use too much power. I've seen what too much can do to someone, and I never want to become that person. Greedy, always looking for more power, never satisfied with what he has. Because of that, if I don't use my power regularly, it weakens. Kind of like a muscle. If you work out a lot, exercise, your muscles grow and strengthen. When you stop, they weaken and deteriorate."
