Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 906: Out Of Time ()

Neveah reclined on the bed, her head propped up by her hand. "So, these souls from the shadow tower...attached themselves to you?"

Xenon nodded once, eyes betraying his guilt.

"And these souls were left behind from the failed experiments of the Dark Lord’s necromancer?"

He nodded again, looking even more guilty.

"Which means, they’re residues of dark magic?"

Xenon winced. "In more ways than one."

Neveah shook her head slowly, "And you knew about this?" Her gaze shifted to Jian who had only just returned from the council gathering.

He stripped off his outer robe, climbing into the bed beside her. "I was... reasonably informed."

Of course he was. They practically shared a mind and had for decades. There was only so much Xenon could keep from Jian.

"So you’re what? Half a sorcerer?" She asked, allowing Jian pull her closer into his arms.

His hands snaked around her and he laid his head down on her thigh with a tired exhale.

She could sense his exhaustion, so she lifted a hand, stroking his hair in slow, soothing motions.

He hummed in quiet approval, snuggling closer. She couldn’t help but think, he was like a child seeking warmth sometimes.

"I wouldn’t call myself that..." Xenon trailed off, uncertainly. "Well, I’m not entirely sure, to be honest."

"It’ll only last for as long as it takes to fulfill the three wishes the spectres vowed as the terms of the bond." Jian explained it better, "With aiding us in the forlorn realm, one is already down. He’ll be back to himself at the end of it all."

"I see..." Neveah murmured thoughtfully, "So it’s like your own personal genie, but you can’t just wish up anything? Like obliterating the forlorn or giving Beoruh a chronic illness?"

Jian snorted. "They’re souls, Veah. Not the Creator. They’ll offer the aid when he faces a difficult situation they are capable of resolving."

"So Beoruh lives another day. How quaint." She murmured in visible disappointment.

"You’re not... displeased?" Xenon asked, still standing some distance away like he was on trial for being tainted by dark magic.

Neveah shrugged. "I think I’m more stuck on the fact that I’m the only one who didn’t know."

"I mean, I knew something happened in the shadow tower that you were keeping from me. You’ve been... different since you returned. But I didn’t think it was something of this... magnitude."

Xenon exhaled a breath of relief, walking over to sit on the other side of the bed. "Forgive me, love. Jian was gone then, I didn’t want you to be worried for me too... and afterwards, it was one eruption after the other, literally."

"And I was worried... you’d hate me."

Neveah shook her head in disbelief. "You forget I met you as a wild dragon, and still fell for you."

Xenon chuckled quietly, "Still don’t know what you were thinking."

She threw him a glare, "I was no saint, myself. If you had been a sorcerer, I don’t think the result would be any different. I might have just ended up on the opposite side of this fight."

"You would still have made the right choice. You always do." Xenon murmured, shaking his head. "Your heart has always been true, Veah. From the first moment I saw you sobbing in that forest in wolf territory... I knew it."

"You don’t give yourself as much credit as you deserve."

Jian nodded slowly. "Dane Hunts came to see us, before we left the Eclipse Domain."

Neveah was surprised at that, "He did?"

She didn’t think any of the wolf shifters dared cross paths with the dragon lords, not to mention seeking them out himself.

"Brave bastard." Xenon chuckled, "Looked Jian in the eyes and warned him to take care of you or he would bring war. He doesn’t even know the way here. It was amusing."

Neveah’s heart warmed. The Eclipse Hunt wolves had always been extremely protective of her, even before she’d done anything to deserve it.

"He told us then... that you didn’t have to return to the Palace all that time ago. You didn’t have to agree to be sold to us... the Eclipse Hunt was prepared to fight to the death for you, and offer you the throne. Why did you turn them down?"

She exhaled slowly, her chest tightening, "Colleen had just birthed her children after so many disappointments. A war at the time...it just wasn’t fair."

"There." Xenon reached a hand out to tap her nose, "That’s who you are, Neveah."

She sighed heavily, "He must have been really worried... that he braved a visit when everyone else could barely breathe around you two."

"He considers you a daughter." Jian murmured, nodding, "And so I vowed to him as I have to Kaideon that you are in good hands, now and always."

She smiled, leaning down, her lips brushed his forehead gently. "Thank you, Jian. It means a lot to me."

He hummed, smiling up at her.

Neveah turned to Xenon, "I still don’t like it. What if the spectres cause you harm? Or there’s some danger we don’t know about? We should have Everon take a look."

"And that still doesn’t justify you replacing me for Garron’s test." She pointed out, "We don’t have a full grasp of Demevirld and the arcane, true. But we have even less understanding of this..."

"She’s right, Xenon." Jian agreed, "I don’t want either of you considering Garron’s test till he’s certain it’s safe. Keeping the witch rune away from Beoruh is already enough."

"We might not have much time to decide..." Xenon trailed off as an urgent knock from the door interrupted his words.

He exchanged a look with Jian, just as the door swung open and Imagor and Cassian strode in.

"My Liege, the scouts just reported sighting a considerable army of Forlorn. From all indications, they are headed for Keep Skies." Cassian reported in a single breath.

Jian sat up, grabbing his coat again. "Details." He demanded.

"Their coordinated march implies they are being led by someone with reasonable knowledge of the terrain. A few human settlements in their path have been...wiped out." He trailed off.

Neveah winced. It had barely been a few hours and they’d already suffered an unknown number of casualties. Innocent commoners who had no business being caught up in this.

She could feel the cold chill of Jian’s rage rapidly spreading.

Imagor continued, "There will be many more before the day runs out... it’s two dragon fortresses and two tributary settlements along the way."

"We believe they plan to run them over and keep marching at full force. Dusk castle, Fort Inferno and Fort Scabbard have dispatched their units to cut them off. They await your orders."

Neveah’s heart constricted in reluctance she was quick to suppress. They’d barely gotten a moment of reprieve, but it had come.

This war had begun.