With a small flick of her hand, both Aeron's and Cael's bodies jerked forward, dragged across the bloodied ground like discarded weights.
They rolled through the open portal—one after the other—hitting the dirt with a hard, graceless thud before disappearing into the steam of the spring beyond. There was no delicacy. No ceremony. But it was clear, they were out of time.
Nova flicked her hand again.
And just like that, both bodies shifted, upright, floating on their backs in the water, breathing. Barely.
She stepped through the portal behind them. Her boots struck the stone with dull weight, steam curling around the soles. The cloak whipped once behind her, then settled.
Green magic now rippled around her with purpose—flowing over her limbs, her hands, her shoulders like armor made of smoke and fire. It didn't just glow. It moved.
More dark magic still came for her but she flicked it away towards Jax and FIn's spheres where it dissolved.
Then she spoke. And it was not her voice. It was deeper. Commanding. A sound that landed like a blade against stone—cutting, final. Every head turned. Every breath caught.
Nova hadn't uttered a sound since the poisoning. Not a whisper. Not even a scream.
Now her words rang out like a verdict.
"Alpha and Gamma," Nova commanded, her voice low and absolute, echoing with a weight that didn't belong to her.
"Stay here and continue removing the dark magic from your grounds. Aeron and Elle, follow me."
Marra nodded without hesitation—sharp, clipped—as if she were Aeron.
Nova flicked her wrist once more. Green magic unfurled from her fingers and circled both Jax and Fin's shields. It didn't just surround them—it walled them in, forming a smooth, humming barrier that sealed tight like they were children being locked inside. Contained.
Another flick, and the golden orbs surrounding Elle and Marra burst instantly—popped like fragile bubbles.
In their place, green orbs bloomed around them, humming with the same unnatural energy.
They moved without hesitation, cutting toward the portal as if every second mattered.
Elle turned just long enough to shoot a glare over her shoulder, directly at Fin.
Her eyes were still glowing green. But her face said everything else.
It was anger. It was defiance, frustration, bitterness. It was a warning. They were both moving fast, not out of panic, but because they knew exactly how this could end. Fin could command them—stop them—if he used his Alpha Aura. And he would. Just like he did when the camp was attacked. He'd force their compliance with a word, and their bodies would obey.
Not today.
Elle's expression made it clear, they weren't giving him the chance. Fin blinked, stunned. He hadn't moved. Couldn't move.
Why had Nova called him Alpha? How was she even speaking? How was she walking around like she hadn't been nearly dead? Why were her eyes filled with green light and not the usual flicker of silver?
And why in the gods' name were Elle's eyes exactly the same?
Fin's body moved before his mind caught up, instincts launching him forward. He didn't think, he just reacted—because whatever Nova was now, it wasn't her. Not completely. Something was speaking through her like a borrowed vessel. He had to stop her.
But the green wall she'd woven around him held firm. It didn't just resist him—it refused him.
He shoved against it, muscles straining, his jaw clenched, teeth grinding.
"Nova, wait! Don't touch them!" Jax shouted, his voice cutting sharp through the air. Steady. Commanding.
"Stop, Nova!" Fin roared, pouring power into the words, releasing his Alpha Aura in a burst that would've dropped anyone to their knees. It hit the air like a wave, a force laced with instinct and authority, the kind of command that made your spine straighten whether you wanted it to or not.
His eyes flared white, blazing with intensity. She didn't even blink. The green wall didn't tremble.
Nothing shifted.
His Alpha Aura rolled out and collapsed uselessly against the barrier she'd made—like a thrown stone swallowed by the sea. Jax's eyes flared next, sapphire bright, trying to reinforce the command, back it up with his own Alpha aura.
Still—no reaction. Nova didn't stop. Didn't look back. She was completely untouchable.
Jax was the first to break through the hold—whatever that invisible restraint had been, it cracked under the pressure of his will. He surged forward, just in time for the portal to snap shut in front of him with a final, echoing hiss.
"Fuck!" he roared, slamming a fist into the air where it had been, his voice raw with fury.
The green magic faded.
Their shields snapped back into place without effort, wrapping around them instinctively, defending against the black magic still curling at the edges of the clearing. Their bodies resumed glowing. The involuntary process of purifying the corrupted ground continued without pause.
"How long is this going to take?" Fin snapped, pacing inside the shimmering field, voice edged with mounting frustration.
Jax didn't answer at first.
"One of us could run after them," he finally muttered, eyes still on the spot where the portal had vanished.
Fin nodded grimly.
They both tried to move and both failed.
Whatever Nova had done to them, it still held. The green wall might have faded, but the command remained. Invisible, quiet, absolute. Their limbs wouldn't respond. Not outside the perimeter she'd drawn.
"How is she doing that?" Fin roared, shoving against the magic like it would buckle to his rage. He released his Alpha Aura again, white light flooding his eyes. The air cracked around him with pressure.
Jax joined him, his sapphire aura flaring to match, the field trembling slightly from the dual command.
Nothing.
They were still trapped.
Locked inside glowing spheres, forced to keep cleansing the ground like oversized toddlers stuck in magical time-out—frustrated, flaring, and entirely powerless to stop what was happening.
A short distance away, Elias turned, catching the rising storm behind them. The assistants looked down, startled, then scrambled to obey—kicking off boots and sandals in the grass before darting back toward the castle.
The golden bubbles surrounding them held until the last one crossed the threshold—then winked out, one by one.