✦ 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ✦

Fourteen

Nyx was an apparition of some sort. Too much of him was to Mala's identical liking. And his wings—oh his wings. The pure stupefaction that the fae here had wings was a welcomed surprise. Even if they made her just want to reach out and run her hand across the smooth muscled surface of one. Although she doubted now that the fae here, including the High Lord and Lady, knew who she was, would let her get relatively close to any Illyrian's wings to feel them. The slight possibility that Cassian or Nyx would let her was slim enough that she didn't bother speculating.

But back to Nyx. Nyx, whom she knew absolutely nothing about, but made her seem like the center of the universe at times—don't quote her on that. The thought of Nyx thinking anything of Mala of that sort seemed too good to be true. Well, maybe not too good to be true, but something unlikely. Her heart flapped with little wings in her chest, beating rapidly. How was Nyx, the puzzling Illyrian fae creature, able to make her sense a fleeting perception of unexploited adrenaline?

Never mind that, Mala needed to get her head back to making sense because it was more of the mire important tactical choice to be made. What had Nyx meant? Did he mean to keep up her fiery mind barriers? She could do that, if that's what he was really asking of her.

At least she hoped she could.

Nyx's muscles flexed beneath his clothes, and his wings were set behind him acting as a barrier so Mala couldn't see where they were going. Well, better to ask than to be surprised.

"Where are we going?" she examined him to search for any reaction of the sort.

It was only a beat before he answered, "We're going to see someone who may be able to help you with your little predicament."

Predicament was right, little was certainly not. But if he wanted to downplay it, fine. Mala would entertain his notion that her being stranded in a world completely different than he own was merely just a slight mishap that could easily be fixed.

Actually, it'd probably be better if she thought that way, so next time she properly thought about it she wouldn't retch from the stress of it all.

And no, she wouldn't retch, she just might have a simple nervous breakdown. She hadn't had one of them in quite some time and even though having one didn't seem ideal, she'd understand why her body would react that way. But enough of that, they had arrived.

The fae in the adjoining room had an intimidating aura. She sat tall in her seat, posture like a lean stick, unwilting and strong. From what the powerful aura came from, Mala couldn't tell. It appeared that the female had once known great power, but when Mala tried to see that power she found hardly anything. To come up with an explanation, she inferred that the female was unable to channel properly for whatever reason, but had become an amiable threat of wits and wisdom, which made it possible for her to put Mala in a type of defensive position.

"Amren, this is the Mala I was telling you about," Nyx introduced the fae to each other.

Amren's silver eyes locked onto Mala's, her penetrating gaze searching for secrets that had already recently beenu earthed. Unfortunately for her, Mala wasn't in the mood to be studied under such scrutiny, so instead of backing down she did the exact same.

Taking a step forward, Mala came closer to Amren, and to her surprise, the other fae averted her gaze. From what she had made thoughtful and careful calculations of earlier about the other female ricocheted inside her head. What Amren was doing now, backing down to Mala didn't fit the persona she had come up with, from all the former body language Amren had exhibited. What exactly had Amren, a supposedly formidable opponent seen in her?

A sort of knock pounded on the side of her head, but when she glanced to the side, she only saw Nyx staring at her neutrally. The knock came again, reverberating inside her head. With all but a glimmer of amusement glimpsed in Nyx's eyes, she effectively rose a blockade of blue falmes to her mental walls, shutting down anymore attempts.

Her eyes must have been alit with the flames as well, because as soon as she tried to put a word in, the male stopped her.

Mala was one second from strangling him, "You filthy—"

"Mala, dearest, let's not get so worked up now and have a nice chat without lighting anyone on fire. That sounds nice, doesn't it?" he hummed and took a seat, leaving Mala the only one standing.

She quickly seated herself in the closest furniture next to her. Which of course, was the loveseat Nyx was also occupying.

"Thank you," a smile graced his features, and she felt a brush of his wings against her backside, acting as a buffer between the two to stop her from flinging herself at him.

Amren cleared her throat, "I know Nyx has already given me all the information needed to investigate you being here, but I want you to relay what happened when you came through the portal."

Straight to the point she was, no pleasantries required for this type of chat, just a demand Mala was required to fulfill. And, well, what else was she supposed to do?

Mala, with Nyx beside her, who was looking at her with such an intense gaze she believed for a moment she might crumble under it, retold what had happened.

She communicated the suffocating feeling of the fire swallowing her whole, and the voices of her dearest friends fading into the background of it all. How it felt like she was falling for a millennial, with no stop in sight, and the pull that brought her here. She decided to say very little about that tug on herself, how it dragged her heart and all the little strings attached. If somehow, her soul hadn't been attached to her body, there would have been no way to stop it from leaving her behind. Before clearly speaking about it, she came to the conclusion that maybe she had a heart issue and that talking about it would make her seem like a lunatic. So deciding against telling Amren how she felt about it, she made an uncertain statement about how there was something lugging her here to this place.

"...so when I awoke, I came to find Cassian sittuated nearby, and once acquainted he took me to the Illyrian war camp, and I assume you know the rest," there was a slight bitterness in her tone because of the cause of not having to explain the rest; having been violated to such a degree, and opened like a new book waiting to be read and analyzed.

Amren's face had been a clouded sky of indefinite raining thunder masses, with her expression unchanging, as Mala spoke but the whole of what was being conveyed didn't give her much hope to being returned to her home.

With a quick bend of her finger, Amren motioned to Nyx and they both swiftly moved to the opposite end of the room before Mala could even blink.

Hushed whispers cascaded along the walls, although the words the two shared could not be deciphered or heard by Mala, even with her fae hearing abilities. It was as if they were adept and experienced in the art of sharing information with each other without informing another fae who desperately needed the information as well. How ironic.

Nyx shook his head at whatever Amren had told him, and his face was grim as she attempted to convince him of something. Her convincing must have been shitty, as well as what she was claiming, or Nyx just must have been a a difficult fae to persuade.

His voice rose an octave, "Amren no, it doesn't make sense, mates are rare, and for her to have one in another world?! Absolutely not, it doesn't make sense how the portal would appear just when she needed it!"

Mala definitely heard that, but with a sharp glare from Nyx, she kept her thoughts to herself as his voice became hushed once again and his arguing with Amren continued on.

He might have been right of course. Thinking it over now, it must have been a lot to process for someone. To reflect on the idea that the only reason Mala might have been transported here was because of a mate. How absurdly preposterous the notion was.

Or maybe not...

~i hate writers block </3