"Nova, wake up, baby. I'm here!"
Fin's voice cracked with panic as he hurled himself over her. They were both drenched in sweat, the air thick around them. He felt her pain, her terror, alive and screaming through their bond.
She kept choking out broken pleas against his skin. Stop… please… stop… Begging whatever held her to let her go.
"It's just a vision. It's not real. I have you. It's okay," he said, voice shaking—but the words felt brittle even to his own ears.
Then Nova's eyes snapped open—and they were completely black. No pupils. Just endless darkness.
A cold wave of dread shot through Fin.
Xeon: I don't like this. I can't reach Seraphine. Get Aeron.
Fin mindlinked Aeron:
Fin: Aeron, I need you in my quarters now. There's something wrong with Nova.
Aeron: Moving up there now. What is wrong?
Fin: Her eyes are… black. She's screaming and asking something to stop.
Aeron: Is she attacking you?
Fin: No she's staying still. But she can't hear me.
Fin didn't wait. He pulled on pants with trembling fingers, slid Nova into a pair of skimpy silk shorts and a matching camisole lying on the dresser. She didn't move—her body slack, her brow furrowed as though locked onto some unseen horror.
Down the stairs, chaos erupted. Elle jolted awake, strapped by a nightmare, burst out of her room and ran toward the stairs. Cael reached out to catch her, but she broke free, already sprinting.
Jax was jolted from sleep too. The mindlink echoing in his mind. He heard Elle pounding up the stairs. He shot out of bed, heart pounding, to see Aeron and Cael already halfway up, moving fast.
Nova lay on the bed, her body motionless, skin damp with sweat. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, uneven breaths, and her silk cami clung to her like it had been soaked. Fin sat beside her, one hand gripping hers tightly, the other brushing hair from her clammy forehead.
Her eyes were still open—completely black, void of pupils. Unblinking. Unseeing.
"Come on, baby, come back to me," Fin whispered, voice cracking, trying not to panic. "You're okay. I've got you."
But she didn't move. She didn't blink.
Elle bursts into the room and Fin didn't look up. Jax, Cael, and Aeron entered in next, each taking in the scene.
Aeron expression grim as his eyes locked on hers. "What did she touch? Anything beside the book?
"Nothing." Fin answered without looking away. "To my knowledge. She was fine before touching that book."
Nova's body jerked suddenly. Not violently but enough for Fin to flinch. Her hand twitched in his, her lip trembled.
Then, softly—barely above a breath—she whispered:
"Tick… tick… tick…"
Fin's blood ran cold.
She twitched again.
Aeron stepped forward, his voice low. "She's still in the vision trapped. She touched something else. This isn't just a dream. She's there right now."
Fin's eyes darted to him. "Where is there?"
"I don't know." Aeron looked grim. "But wherever she is, something found her."
A sudden drop in temperature crept through the room. The torches dimmed slightly. Nova's body arched for a split second off the bed, then slammed back down. Her breathing hitched.
She began to speak again—faster, breathier.
"Do not trust the—"
Her body jerked, and the words cut off. Then, she sobbed and started to beg.
"Please stop! Stop it. Please stop! No more. Please…"
Fin wrapped both arms around her instinctively, pulling her into him. "It's not real—it's not real, I'm right here," he whispered into her hair, trying to anchor her with his touch.
She gasped like someone coming up from drowning.
Nova went limp in Fin's arms the second her breath left her lips. Her body was burning hot to the touch, soaked in sweat, her pulse racing—but her eyes had fluttered closed again.
Fin held her tightly. "She's burning up. Aeron, do something—please."
Aeron was already rolling up his sleeves and moving toward them, his expression hard with focus. "Lay her down flat. We're running out of time—something latched onto her."
Fin gently laid her back against the pillows. Aeron placed both hands a few inches above her chest, eyes glowing with a soft amber hue. His lips moved in low, ancient murmurs. The air around them shifted—thickened. A quiet hum built in the room, like the static before a lightning strike.
The torches in the hall corridor flickered violently as Aeron's hands began to glow. He began to pull darkness out of Nova.
Fin watched, wide-eyed. "What is that?"
Aeron responded with gritted teeth. "Dark prophetic tethering. It's trying to anchor her there. Something she touched was activated by the book. A trap perhaps from someone who knew she would be called to it."
Nova whimpered.
"She's fighting it," Aeron said, sweat forming on his brow. "Good girl—hold on. Just a little longer."
Nova started convulsing on the bed, Aeron surrounded by swirling darkness.
"Oh goddess…" Elle breathed.
"She'll be okay," Fin said tightly, not taking his eyes off Nova. "She has to be."
Aeron hissed a phrase in a tongue none of them knew—and with a bright flash of light.
"Jax … can you channel to me? I need more to pull her out." Aeron yelled. Jax stood frozen watching in horror. He took a step towards her as his eyes turned sapphire, no pupils.
He walked forward, eyes locked on her as if she were calling him.
Fin saw him coming and had chills run down his neck, instantly protective. Was he going to hurt her? His expression was unreadable, as if he didn't have enough to worry about. Was Jax affected too?
"Jax!" Fin yelled, but Jax then moved at inhuman speed - faster than an alpha - and grabbed Nova, pulling her off of Fin and into his arm on the floor holding her.
Cael stepped forward instinctively in front of Elle. Fin dove to the floor where Nova was, prepared to put himself in between them. Xeon growled in his mind, feeling rage.
But just as he came into contact with Nova he saw Jax's eyes. Sapphire. Not black.
"Jax?" Fin asked cautiously.
Aeron held up a hand, sensing something.
"I don't think he'll hurt her."
Jax held Nova in his arms, skin touching. Then he glowed gold, and the light on his skin shimmered with a faint aura—pure gold, pulsing.
Xeon realized what was happening and answered Fin's racing thoughts.
Xeon: His magic can pull her out. Her's can't.