Helga was convulsing now, the veins in her arms blackening as shadow-magic crawled through her.
"Stay behind me." Aeron ordered them. They all stepped back.
Aeron extended both hands, muttering an incantation in an ancient tongue. Runes floated to the surface of his palms.
Magic rippled out—gold against deep shadow—but the moment it touched Helga, it rebounded violently, slamming into the cell bars and exploding in shards of dark force.
He staggered back.
"Move!" he ordered. But it was too late as the dark magic was already headed towards them.
Nova didn't flinch. Instead she stepped forward, light already coiling around her fingertips. Lifting her hand—and an orb of shimmering light expanded around them like a cocoon.
The shadows slammed into it like waves against glass.
"I can shield," she repeated, steadying herself. "But I can't purify it. How do I do that?"
Aeron looked at her, stunned. "I don't know if you can, Nova."
Fin's eyes were locked on her. She held firm. The silver hue of her magic crackled at the edges of the shield.
Nova's voice was calm, composed. "Then we need to contain it. Regroup. Give me options."
Once again, Fin was impressed with her. She never ceased to amaze him.
Fin watched as Helga thrashed behind the barrier. He asked, "How long can you hold this shield?"
"Long enough." Nova said not breaking focus or showing any strain.
"I can open a portal," Aeron said. "We can get you three to safety. I'll stay behind and close it before it follows you through—"
Nova shook her head. "If we all leave, the rest of the prisoners, the guards—they'll be exposed. That's not an option."
"Can we make the magic leave instead?" Jax asked. "Force it out through a portal?"
"Possibly. If all four of us step through and it doesn't go after anyone else in the prison or try to come back in. The odds are—"
"Forget the odds," Nova cut in. "Hypothetically, how would someone with infinite power contain this?"
Aeron hesitated. "Only the caster who created the magic can recall it. That, or someone who shares a bond with it. Otherwise, all magic fades in time… unless there's a sustaining source."
Jax had been quiet up until now, his fists clenched. Something inside him burned. Not in anger—something deeper. Ancient. Remembered.
He looked down at his hands, glowing faintly with gold light. His eyes glowed sapphire.
Nova turned to him, eyes wide. "Jax?"
"We've done this before," he said, but it didn't sound like him.
Fin's wolf spoke in his mind.
Xeon: He's protecting her. But that should be you.
Fin didn't respond. He already felt that.
Jax put his palm forward creating an unbreakable shield of gold. In his other hand he had blue sapphire fire.
"Drop your shield, I will take over."
Nova dropped her shield and Jax stepped in front of her to protect her.
His sapphire fire left his palm, going straight through the shield. Upon touch, it incinerated all the black magic in the room.
Helga screamed again—but this time, her scream sounded human.
The blackness shuddered. Crackled. And then, slowly, began to unravel from her skin.
A blue sapphire orb hung above Helga pulling the black magic out until it was all gone.
Jax's eyes were still sapphire. Bright with no pupil and he looked into Nova's eyes.
"I will always protect you." He said, but it didn't sound like him.
The shadows screamed one final time, then vanished into dust.
He dropped down his shield.
Helga collapsed. Aeron knelt beside her, checking her pulse, muttering another incantation.
"She's alive," he said. "And whatever was inside her… it's gone."
The silence that followed was heavy.
"You saved her and us." Nova looked at Jax in awe and gave him a kiss on the lips blushing, like they hadn't had sex one hundred times the day before. He grinned and pulled her into his arms.
He felt the pride and admiration she had for him through the matebond. It made his heart swell and a warmth grew inside of him.
Fin felt it too. His heart sank and he swallowed a lump forming in the back of his throat.
Nova shouldn't have been in this prison. She should be in his own arms, and he should be the one who protected her. Yet here they were.
He didn't want to cause her more pain or hurt his oldest friend. So he suffered in silence.
Aeron rose muttering to himself. "The amount of PDA… no shame anymore… youth of today."
They turned back to Helga. For now, the threat was over. They still needed to get answers out of her.
______________________
Helga remained unconscious in the northern dungeon, still under medical watch. No answers yet. No progress. The magic that attacked the prison left everyone on edge.
Aeron requested Jax and Nova both do training with him a few times a week.
It had been a few days since the incident, and Nova had begun shadowing Jax officially. Elle, now fully recovered, did the same with Cael.
Immediately Nova and Elle were reminded just how impressive their mates were. Both High Generals, second to only Fin, the Master Commander.
Luckily, the Council of Elders hadn't convened yet. Nova had heard things. She was in no rush.
Today's meeting was a high-level strategy session in the war room, attended by every upper ranked member — Colonels, Captains, Majors, and Lieutenants.
This included Captain Hunter Ryker, who, unlike the other times she'd interacted with him, was very quiet. His focus was on the map on the table. That also included Silas Cormaire, demoted to Second Lieutenant. His focus also was on the map on the table.
Fin stood at the head of the war table, arms folded.
"Our scouts confirmed movement near the Frostedge Range," Fin said. "Three separate sightings. Coordinated. This wasn't a scouting run. They're regrouping."
Major Brawle stepped forward. "Then we rotate our border posts every twenty-four hours. Keep them sharp, no long shifts. Sector 3 has the numbers—we send half."
"That's a significant manpower shift," Cael noted. "Our internal defenses would be thin."
Jax nodded. "Still... if they breach the border, it won't matter how fortified we are inside."
"Copy," Major Sparrow added. "If they're Bloodridge loyalists, they're testing our outer edges."
The room murmured in agreement. Nova remained still. Something flickered across her face—barely there. A subtle crease in her brow that quickly vanished.
Fin's gaze shifted. "Nova?"
She straightened. "Yes, Alpha?"
"You made a face," Fin said, casually leaning against the table. "What is it?"
"Oh, apologies." She tried to wave it off.
He didn't move. "Speak."
The entire room turned toward her. She swallowed. "It's only my third day here… so please take this with a grain of salt."
The room chuckled lightly, tension breaking.
"But…" she continued, "if we're rotating troops every twenty-four hours—and the enemy knows that, then they don't have to attack. They just wait. Let us wear ourselves out."
Silence.
"I know that worked during the early Hallowbrook skirmishes," she added. "But Frostedge isn't an open field. It's tight terrain, full of choke points. That's more ideal for tactical ambush instead of brute force. Why not set traps? Funnel them in. Use a smaller specialized unit rather than stretch an entire sector thin."
Fin arched a brow. "Quality over quantity."
Major Sparrow rubbed his jaw. "She's got a point. Frostedge isn't suited for wide rotation."
"It's always the quiet ones." Major Brawle said with a flicker of a grin.
The officers and captains murmured in agreement.
Fin looked around the table. "We'll test her strategy at Pass Four. Adjust accordingly. Good instincts."