Miles away at the hot spring, the air hung heavy with heat and the scent of rising sulfur. Thick, dark smoke poured steadily from Cael's and Aeron's bodies, curling into the steam like oil through water.
Her voice, still not her own, cut clean through the haze.
"Aeron, incantation. The one you used to remove the black dagger from me."
Marra nodded once—sharp, purposeful. Her eyes unfocused slightly, shoulders drawn back. She wasn't just responding—she was channeling. Aeron was there. Moving through her. His magic, his memory, his spell.
Without hesitation, Nova jumped in. She stood waist-deep in the spring, her boots submerged, cloak clinging to her frame, eyes still glowing with that unnatural green fire.
The water flared the instant she touched it, the surface shimmering gold as her body submerged. Not gradually. Instantly. The hot spring responded to her like a living thing.
"Block the dark magic for me. Do not enter into the spring until I say," she ordered, voice even, eyes locking with Elle's.
Elle nodded, already glowing, her fists clenched at her sides.
Beneath the gold surface, threads of dark magic began to writhe—moving like veins under skin, snaking through the light.
A dome of green energy went around Nova. The dark magic beneath the water headed straight towards her, but collided with its dome instead. It vanished upon contact.
Elle's eyes burned brighter in response, flickering with the same green hue.
Nova raised her hands, and silver light poured from her palms—straight into Cael's chest.
The reaction was immediate.
Dark magic rose from the water, on top of the dark magic under the surface. Above it all, Marra stood firm, golden light pouring steadily from her hands as she chanted. The incantations came low and rhythmic, spilling from her lips with the weight of ancient knowledge. Each thread of gold hovered just inches above the spring's surface, and every time the dark magic made contact, it disintegrated into nothing. Ash without flame.
Nova raised her hand, expression unreadable, and flicked her wrist. A portal cracked open—not a full gate, but a narrow window, floating in the air like a mirror half the size of a door.
On the other side: Jax.
At first, he didn't notice. His head was turned, eyes sapphire bright, fury written in every line of his body.
Nova's eyes did not leave Cael.
"Is the dark magic contained on your grounds?" She asked, her voice still not her own. Cold.
Jax opened his mouth, but it wasn't his voice that answered.
"It's under control, but not gone. The Alpha will be able to take care of it alone."
At once, Nova flicked her hand again. The window stretched—taller, wider—until it became a full door. Jax felt the binding on his body lift, that strange tether finally vanished. He didn't hesitate. He pushed through the portal.
The moment he did, the portal snapped shut behind him—collapsed before Fin could fathom what was happening, sealing him out completely.
Jax jumped into the hot spring without hesitation. The water exploded with light as his body hit the surface. Gold flared. The spring itself seemed to breathe with energy, responding to his presence, his urgency.
He moved to Nova instantly, throwing a shield around her out of reflex. It shimmered, sapphire blue overlaid with green, catching light like glass. The spring glowed brighter in response.
"Nova!" He called moving quickly to her.
When he finally reached her, his hand stopped just inches from her skin.
Something stopped him. Not visibly. Not violently. But firmly. Like an invisible wall that didn't want to hurt him—just keep him out.
"Gamma, direct healing energy into Aeron while I tend to Cael," Nova said, her tone formal and commanding, each word precise. She didn't look at him—her attention remained fixed on the task before her.
Jax's body responded before his mind had the chance to catch up. Gold light surged from his palm, arcing cleanly into Aeron's chest. The energy pulsed fast and strong, as if his magic had been waiting—restrained until given purpose.
"Channel all available energy into stabilizing him. We are adequately shielded."
He opened his mouth, the instinct to protest already forming—but his body acted without waiting for permission. The sapphire shield he had placed around them flickered once, then dissipated into the air, abandoned.
In its place, the gold light from his hand intensified—doubling in both brightness and volume.
Another stream burst from his opposite hand, both feeding into Aeron's body like twin currents drawn to the same storm.
Even then, Jax's eyes didn't leave Nova. He watched her closely, expression strained, searching for something—anything—that would tell him she was still in there.
"We require your undivided concentration, Gamma," she said again, her voice sharper now, the edge of command unmistakable. "Without it, this will fail."
That was enough. His focus snapped to Aeron.
The four of them moved in perfect synchrony—like a single, living mechanism, each part executing its function with precision. Elle stood vigilant at the spring's edge, green eyes glowing as she scorched the dark magic writhing beneath the surface. Marra, expression blank with focus, stood above, casting incantations in a steady rhythm, golden threads of spellwork unraveling every tendril that rose. In the water, Nova's silver magic flowed steadily into Cael. Next to her Jax stood rooted, both hands glowing bright with gold as he poured everything he had into Aeron.
Minutes passed. None of them spoke. No one looked up. Their focus was absolute
Nova flicked her hand without looking away from Cael. A new portal shimmered into existence—this one appearing directly beside Fin. It was the size of a window and Fin didn't notice right away.
Her gaze remained fixed ahead as she spoke, voice unwavering. "Is it contained, Alpha?"
Fin's eyes flared white, his Alpha Aura still bleeding into the air around him. He had been furious before—but now, the fury was rage. But when he opened his mouth, the voice that came out was not his own.
"Contained," he said, calm and clipped. It rang with authority. Measured. The kind of voice that didn't ask—it declared.
The portal widened at once, no further command needed. She didn't invite him—she allowed him.
Fin didn't hesitate. He ran through.
What he saw on the other side froze him for only a second—the four of them moving in seamless coordination, the spring lit with magic like a forge.
"Nova!" He shouted, and leapt into the water, just as Jax had.
The moment his body hit the spring, the gold flared brighter, erupting into a blinding shimmer that danced across the surface.
He moved straight for her, arms reaching to grab her.
But just as his fingers came within an inch of her skin—he stopped.
He couldn't move closer. Something unseen held him at bay—unyielding yet strangely gentle, like a barrier designed not to punish, but to protect. A wall that did not yield to strength, only to purpose. One he was simply not permitted to cross.
His eyes flared white with frustration, and a gold shield erupted around her.
Finally, he thought, teeth clenched, it's listening to me.
"I require your assistance channeling healing energy into your Beta," Nova said, her voice distant, composed—formal in a way that felt entirely foreign.
Gold light surged from Fin's hand, lancing directly into Cael's chest with unrelenting force.
"Maximum output. We are adequately shielded," she added, echoing the same directive she had given to Jax.
Against his will, every ounce of energy he began to pour from him, rushing into Cael. The shield around Nova collapsed the moment his magic complied—as if it had only existed to ensure his submission. His eyes, however, never left her.
"Undivided focus, Alpha. His survival depends on it."
That was all she needed to say.
Fin's gaze snapped to Cael—his chosen brother, his fellow soldier, the one he had bled beside more times than he could count.
His focus locked. His body responded. And the golden aura surrounding him surged brighter, filling the spring with light.