by C. R. Jane
This exclusive short story takes place during a period in Fern's Flight (book three of Fern's Trilogy in the Sisters of Hex series) where Lissandra fights to save Nostra.
This is for 18+ readers.
1 - Magic in my Veins
A war is coming.
A war that will obliterate my clan, my friends, the people of Ever Vale and the man I love.
The man I love…
Nostra.
And he is dying.
Hour by hour I must watch the light leave his eyes, watch his skin turn grey and his body weaken with every breath, all because he refuses to Entwine with me. Because he refuses to replace the magic he sacrificed with my own.
He's my soulmate, a rarity amongst witches, even more so given I am a descendant of Clan Lux; a people cursed, just like the four remaining clans of Ever Vale.
Cursed by his sister, Queen Adrielle.
She wants my magic, a magic that is beginning to reveal itself. A magic that can save Nostra, if only he'd let me help him. But he refuses because of her, because the moment we make love and seal our bond, my magic will be fully released, and she will come for me. She will kill me, just like all the other witches, absorbing my power as her own.
She's already killing Nostra. Her actions had forced him to make the ultimate sacrifice. His magic had ripped a portal between Ever Vale and Earth, saving us all from his sister's wrath and giving him a death sentence.
But I refuse to let her win. I refuse to let her take another person I love. I'm an orphan because of her.
My parents had once belonged to a joyful people who worshiped Goddess Solaria, just the same as the other members of Clan Lux. That changed the day she made them into the creatures they are now, creatures that roam the night, that feed on blood to survive.
A thousand years ago, she made them into monsters… and they weren't the only ones.
Clan Vitae, the Life Bringers, the people who brought life into the world, are now cursed to take it; they are the Angels of Death.
Clan Terra, the farmers gifted with a natural talent to grow bountiful crops, now trapped beneath the Forbidden Forest, the roots and soil their prison; they are the fae.
Clan Spiritus, once a peaceful people gifted with the ability to speak to all wildlife, now turned into violent wolves ruled by the instinct to maim and kill; they are the wolf shifters.
And finally, Clan Aequalis, the fair-minded people, gifted with the ability to resolve any difficulty, now cursed with selfishness and greed. Only three survived; they are the demi-gods.
For a thousand years we have all lived under her rule, and for most of that time so too did my parents. They took blood to survive, hiding in the shadows of the castle during the day, only venturing to escape the suffocating confines at night. Every month they would partake in the bloodletting, feeding on the innocent slaves that lived in the flatlands outside of the castle walls. My parents hated every moment of their lives, only finding joy when I was born twenty years ago.
A child of the cursed is rare; a cursed child with the magic of a witch even more so, placing a target on my head.
In her pursuit for ultimate power, Queen Adrielle had murdered every single witch and my parents knew that I would be next the moment my powers came to fruition.
They'd tried to get me to safety.
I was nine when she murdered them too.
That memory is forever etched in my mind. I will never forget their screams as the sun they once worshipped stripped the flesh from their bones and reduced them to ash. Sometimes I can still feel the black dust of their death coating my skin. Those days, more than any other, I wish for revenge. I wish for Queen Adrielle's death. I wish to end the suffering of my clan, of all the clans in Ever Vale, as well as the human slaves born only to serve her every whim.
And we will get our revenge.
But today I wish for something else. Today, I wish to save the life of the man I love, and I have less than twelve hours to make that happen.
Twelve hours and four spells are what lies between him living or dying.
2 - The First Spell
Nostra sits on the bed with his back to me and his head in his hands. He's shaking violently now, unable to control the physical reaction to losing all his magic.
Stepping into his room, I close the door softly and lean back against the warm wood. For a brief moment I press my eyes shut and draw in a calming breath. Seeing him so ill and knowing that he remains this way to protect me, hurts my heart.
All I have left are my spells and if they don't work, I have twelve hours to persuade him to make love to me. I mean, even then, even if we do Entwine, there's still a danger that it won't work, and I'll lose him anyway. But I'm willing to try anything.
"They've left?" he asks, still refusing to look at me, but no longer holding his head in his hands. Instead, he holds himself rigid, the muscles in his shoulders bunching beneath the material of his shirt.
"Yes," I say. "A few minutes ago."
Only a few hours before, we helped Fern defeat Abanthe; a Dark Knight of Clan Lux turned into a demon by his sister's magic.
Fern lost her mother today.
More death. More pain and anguish. I feel it wash over me, a never ending surge of grief. It doesn't matter that she wasn't my mother, every unnecessary death is heart-wrenching. I feel every single one.
All of it because of Queen Adrielle.
Now Fern and her Angels of Death fly back to the Shadowlands, promising to return with an army of angels ready to fight against the Queen's demon soldiers. I let out a long sigh, scraping a hand over my long chestnut hair.
We ask too much of them, I know that. Most will die, perhaps we all will. Queen Adrielle will use her dark magic to make the demons even less human, even more removed from the people they once were. Her speciality is removing every last piece of humanity from a person until there is no hope or joy, no love, just darkness. She builds an army to reflect the twisted evil she's become.
We all fight every day not to be like her.
"Good, we need that army. My sister won't stop until she's got what she wants."
"I know that, Nostra," I say, pushing off from the door and approaching the bed.
"Where are the others?" he asks, still intent on looking out of the window.
"Accacia is with Rhain barricading the windows and doors of the North and East wing, whilst Ezra and Devin secure the South and West. If the demons breach the wards I've put up, it may buy us some time."
Nostra doesn't respond, he simply nods his head, side-eying me as I settle on the bed beside him. Even now, even when he's so sick, I still feel the familiar electricity that hums between us. Our magic and our souls drawn to each other like magnets. I felt it the very first time we met, I felt the pull of it right in my heart. That feeling has only strengthened every moment in his presence.
"You've followed all my instructions?" he asks me.
"The spell holds firm… for now, at least," I respond, reaching out and placing my hand over his. It feels cool beneath my touch. I will my warmth into his skin as if my touch alone will prevent his death, and if we Entwine I'm hoping that it will.
"Lissa, please…" he says.
"My touch pains you that much?" I ask, softly.
"You know it isn't that."
"Why do you fight it so? I know you want me."
He twists his body to face me, the lilac of his eyes lacklustre now. Purple circles sit beneath his eyes making his skin seem greyer still. His high cheekbones and strong jaw sharper than before. My heart aches at the sickness I see consuming him.
"The moment we Entwine, she will come for you. She will ki
ll you, just like all the rest."
"You think we'll survive this fight? You think we're strong enough to fight her army of demons. We might die anyway, Nostra. Then all of this," I say, lifting my hand to rest on his cheek, "is for nothing."
He stands abruptly, wobbling on his feet. A groan of frustration and anger releases from his full lips. I watch as he moves away from me towards the window. He rests his palm on the cold glass and peers out into the night. For a few minutes he just stares out into the darkness, his breath misting up the pane. There's something so definite about the way he holds himself. As though he's already accepted his fate, as though I'm already too late.
"Nostra…" I murmur, unable to find the words I need to get him to listen to me. Why can't I find the words to explain how much he means to me, how much I love him.
Because it wouldn't be enough.
That thought alone brings frustrated tears to my eyes. I blink them back. There's no time for self-pity. Hadn't I said as much to Fern not hours before? This isn't just about us as a couple. It's not even just about saving Nostra, this is about saving the people of Ever Vale. This is about putting an end to the sickness that threads through our home and to take out his sister once and for all.
Perhaps I've been going about this all wrong. Pleading with him to Entwine with me to save his life, isn't going to work. He's a selfless person, he doesn't care about himself, he cares about everyonebar himself. It's about time I set him straight on a few things. I stand, balling my hands into fists, then in one step am beside him.
Pulling at his arm, I force him to face me, and am greeted with a heavy scowl. The sandy shade of his eyebrows lowers over his face, shadowing his features with anger, mixed in with a little surprise. Until this moment my touch has always been gentle, as though dealing with a baby lamb. This time it's different. There'll be no more coaxing.
"Number one, stop looking at me like that. I'm all you've got right now and whether you like it or not, I won't give up on you. Number two, as much as I suspect you're a talented lover, this isn't about the sex. This isn't even about us anymore. This is about you being a part of this battle. We can't fight your sister without you. Refusing to Entwine with me isn't just hurting you, it's hurting every single person you swore to save one day when you helped hide those five babies on Earth and spelled those rings so that one day they could be found. Have you forgotten the role you play in all this? Because I haven't." I let out a steady breath as he considers me a moment.
"Of course I haven't forgotten," he grinds out, angry now.
Good, anger is better than apathy. I test that anger further.
"Then stop being so fucking selfish, Entwine with me. Get your damn magic back and help us take out your sister!" My voice rises with every word, punctuating the tenseness between us. My heart is galloping in my chest at the words I've thrown at him. They may cut him, but they make me bleed too.
He flinches, something flashing in his eyes, and in less than a heartbeat Nostra has stepped into my space, backing me up against the wall.
"I'm saving your goddamn life!" he snarls, his lilac eyes turning purple.
Before, I had always seen flames within them, his magic rippling just beneath the surface. That's gone now. All I see is the cold hard flash of his anger. His warm breath huffs against my face as he breathes deeply through his nose. I'm not sure whether he wants to kiss me or throttle me or do both. Either way he refuses to act. Instead, he holds his body rigid with tension and suppressed desire. There's no doubt he wants me. I know it, and so does he.
This is a stand-off that neither one of us are going to win. At least, not right now.
Nostra remains glaring at me. Daring me to move, daring me to what? Kiss him? Cry? Scream at him until he sees sense? I've done all those things, and none have worked.
Instead, I raise my hands to his chest and push him back gently, stepping out from between him and the wall.
"You keep telling yourself that, Nostra. In the meantime, I will find a way to help you."
He lets out a steady stream of incomprehensible expletives.
I simply stare at him and smile. "Lock the door, we have a spell to cast."
Half an hour later Nostra is sitting in the middle of the room with his arms and legs crossed. Around him, a circle of salt glistens in the strange artificial light that neither of us have quite gotten used to yet. The only light that lit the halls of Queen Adrielle's castle back in Ever Vale either came from flames or from magic. Accacia had explained that this light is powered by something called electricity. When she had tried to describe what that is, I was even more confused and came to the conclusion that it was just another form of magic and left it at that.
"You remember the incantation?" Nostra asks, calmer now that I'm not accusing him of being selfish. He flashes me a look of concern, but I wave it away with a flick of my hand and settle before him just outside the ring of salt.
"I remember," I say, mimicking his position so that I am an exact reflection of him.
"You must relax your body and free your thoughts. Let the words of the incantation wash over you," he says, studying my face.
"I know how to cast a spell, Nostra," I reply, feeling my cheeks flush under his scrutiny.
"Good, then you should start." He nods tightly.
I give him one last lingering gaze, trying not to focus on how sick he looks, then close my eyes and begin the incantation. A coldness spreads over my skin. It's not unpleasant, more like the feeling when you get out of a warm bath and the heat leaves you suddenly. There's a kind of prickling sensation as my skin adjusts to the change in heat levels as the magic growing within me responds to the spell. This magic that I hold now has nothing to do with Nostra and everything to do with the coven I belong too, with the five missing clan daughters. A magic Queen Adrielle may come after anyway.
"Concentrate, Lissa," I hear Nostra say.
"I'm trying," I respond, feeling the magic slip away.
"The magic you share with your coven is new and vulnerable. You can't afford to lose control of it."
My eyes snap open as the magic puffs out from my fingers, little wisps dispersing, colouring the tips of my fingers grey. "I know that. I've only just learnt how to ward this mansion. It's taking most of my energy to do so. Worrying about you isn't helping."
"Then stop worrying. It won't change anything. I've agreed for you to try these spells to see if it will bring my magic back, but that's it. Nothing more," he says, daring me to object. That same muscle feathers in his jaw as he waits for another biting response.
"You do realise how ridiculous this is. I'm gaining magic daily from the coven, from my bond with the missing clan daughters. Surely, Queen Adrielle will sense that and come for me anyway? There is no logic to your argument, Nostra. What difference would it make if we Entwine?"
"A huge one. The magic you share with the clan daughters is different, not so powerful…"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," I interrupt, scowling at his assumption. I already feel different. Stronger. I'm almost certain that once all the sisters are located and our coven is complete we will have enough power to overthrow Queen Adrielle.
"Trust me, it isn't. If we were to Entwine, Queen Adrielle will have you marked. You'll be like a beacon and she'll find a way to get here, to hurt you."
"She already has. The demons are coming, Nostra."
"For the others, for me. Not for you. You're her prize."
"But if you're killed, then we can't Entwine. I won't gain that magic. I'll be worthless, and dead anyway…" I let that fact hang in the air between us, hoping it will make Nostra see sense. He stares at me, those beautiful eyes so haunted. For one hopef
ul minute I think he's going to change his mind.
"I won't do it," he says eventually.
"Fine," I snap, closing my eyes once more.
I push all thoughts out of my head, concentrating instead on the words Nostra had taught me a few hours before. It takes a good while to let everything go. I'm acutely aware of the tension between us, the frustration and the fear. But I need to show him that I'm willing to do everything to save him and once I've tried everything then perhaps he will finally relent. It's all I have.
Once my mind is clear, the words of the incantation form in my mind. Grey smoke twirls into letters, words forming, and it frustrates me to see it.
You see, every witch has a colour specific to them when producing magic. Mine is grey, Queen Adrielle's black, and Nostra's violet. This is his spell, and strictly speaking should form a lilac smoke… but nothing we've tried has changed my grey to his lilac. We both know why that is, but we fruitlessly continue nonetheless. My eyes flick from the grey smoke forming to his eyes, I see the reflection of it colour his irises a strange shade.
"Lissa… please," Nostra whispers, understanding it's fruitless too but wanting me to continue anyway.
Pushing my doubts aside, I close my eyes and funnel all my concentration into the spell. Perhaps this time it will work? As soon as I feel the same coldness creep over my skin and the palms of my hands begin to tingle once more, I say the incantation.
Magic lost, magic found,
In the air, and all around.
Salted tears, hollow husks,
Starlit night and rising dusk.
Thumping pulse, flowing blood,
Bleeding sorrows and joyful love.
With my heart and with my soul,
I share my magic, make him whole.
As the last word falls from my lips a sudden surge of magic bursts forth from my palms and I am yanked forward with the power of it. My eyes snap open just as the magic hits Nostra in the middle of his chest. I see it explode like an atom bomb, shredding the shirt from his back.
