Nova and Jax stepped into her and Fin's room. Fin wasn't there—which, for a heartbeat, made her chest tighten. She closed the portal behind them and, before she could think twice, pulled Jax into a hug.
Something in her just reacted—to everything they'd just gone through, to the way he ran after her without hesitation, to how he'd held her steady when her voice was gone.
"I'm glad you came with me, Jax," she whispered.
He hugged her back immediately, arms winding around her like the instinct had been waiting for the chance. He bent his head and kissed the top of her hair.
"I'll always be there for you, Nova," he whispered.
They held each other a second too long. Nova knew it but she didn't let go right away. Jax would have continued holding her if she hadn't stepped back first.
He lingered just long enough to press a kiss to her forehead—soft, familiar, dangerous—before giving her a small smile.
"Fin and Elias will be up soon."
Nova nodded, pulse a little unsteady.
When he left, she let out a long breath. The room was quiet again. Safe. Hers.
Alejandro's medicine had done wonders—she felt clearer, steadier—but exhaustion tugged at her limbs. And she still needed to get through the four books on runes waiting in Fin's study.
She had some flashes in her memory—Aeron and Cael lying on their backs in a hot spring, gold water around them. She knew they'd needed healing because of the black rain. But outside of that single image, she remembered nothing. She wasn't even sure if she'd dreamed it… or if she'd actually been awake during any of it.
Her limbs felt heavy. She didn't bother removing her cloak or boots. She just lowered herself onto the bed, curled on her side, and let her eyes fall shut.
Sleep took her instantly.
_______________________
Nova woke to muffled voices drifting from somewhere down the hall. It was dark outside—deep night, not dusk—and her cloak and boots were gone. Someone had tucked her beneath the covers. She had no idea how long she'd been lying there.
Alejandro's porcelain jar sat on the bedside table like it had been waiting for her.
She pushed herself upright with a small wince. She needed more of that medicine—gods, she wanted to lay in a bath. But more than anything, she wanted Fin.
She rose, slipping into a silk robe and tying it around her waist, sliding into soft slippers as she headed for the door of the bathing chamber to draw a hot bath. She barely made it three steps when the door flew open.
Fin burst in.
"Nova…" he breathed, voice cracking on her name.
He crossed the room in two long strides and pulled her into his arms, kissing every inch of her face—her forehead, her cheeks, the corner of her mouth—as if assuring himself she was real and standing. His hands framed her jaw, trembling just slightly, like he'd been holding himself together solely for this moment.
She hugged him back just as fiercely, arms locking around his neck with aching love. She'd missed him today when she was in Redmoon, even if it'd only been for a few hours.
She tried to speak, but a cough tore through her.
"Hang on, baby." Fin murmured, already scooping her effortlessly into his arms.
He grabbed Alejandro's jar with one hand, held her securely with the other, and carried her to the couch. He sat and settled her in his lap, her legs draped over his, keeping her tucked against his chest like he refused to let her drift even an inch away.
She rested her head on his shoulder, breathing him in. His scent of the forest and rain settled her nerves in a way nothing else ever could. The last time she'd truly seen him had been at the trial… the execution… and the memory tried to claw its way up her throat.
She swallowed hard, forcing it down. Forcing down the heaviness of being poisoned and the sadness and anxiety that hit her in waves every time she woke.
Not now.
She focused on the warmth of him, the solid strength of his arms around her, and tried—just for a moment—to ignore the storm.
Elias came in a few minutes later. Nova tried to sit up—tried to get off Fin's lap—but he didn't so much as budge. His arms stayed locked around her, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.
Elias huffed. "Of course," he muttered. "Should've known."
"Nova… it is you, right? Nova?" Elias asked, stepping closer.
She blinked at him, confused.
"You have absolutely no idea what I'm referring to… do you?" he pressed.
She didn't answer—just stared, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn't.
Elias sighed and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "And you're still burning up."
She opened her mouth to speak, but another fit of coughing cut her off. Fin's arms tightened around her instantly.
"You told me to make you this," Elias said briskly, already rifling through his satchel. "Oh, and apparently the High Healer of Redmoon sent you back with this as well? Wonderful. Clearly I don't know how to do my job."
He started muttering under his breath as he mixed ingredients in a small bowl, not even bothering to wait for Nova's confirmation that, yes, she needed it.
Nova watched him, brow faintly raised. He was definitely irritated… though she couldn't tell if it was because she was sitting on Fin's lap like a claimed treasure, or if something else had happened while she was asleep.
He didn't say anything when he handed it to her. She drank it in one swoop, and immediately it started working. The low pain in her chest went away. Her limbs stopped hurting. Her head stopped pounding.
Fin exhaled slowly, relief hitting him so hard his shoulders dropped. He felt it through the matebond—something that had been twisted and aching in her finally eased. The pain was how he'd known she was awake, and now the pain was gone.
Elias, meanwhile, was rambling like a man on the verge of losing all professional composure.
"Every couple I treat these days just sits in each other's laps like it's a gods-given chair," he muttered under his breath, shaking a vial hard enough that it sloshed. "No sense of personal space. None."
He stepped forward, pressed the back of his hand to Nova's forehead, and froze.
"Your fever is gone."
He said it like an accusation.
Then, in a completely different tone—far too casual—he added, "Next time you go to Redmoon, bring more of this back."
"I will," Nova rasped, her voice hoarse but finally audible.
Elias's jaw dropped. Actually dropped.
"Oh my… you can speak on it too? Excellent. Lovely. Perfect." He threw his hands up. "The Redmoon healer cures you faster than anything I've brewed in my entire career. Wonderful. Delightful."
Nova honestly couldn't tell if he was pleased or personally offended. Probably both.
Fin held her there for a second longer after Elias had left. There was so much to be said… but he didn't know where to begin. He swooped her up and took her into their bathing chamber. Nova hadn't realized that an omega already prepared a steaming bath while Elias was checking her. She looked at Fin who grinned.
"Thank you." She whispered, kissing his cheek.
"I'll always take care of you." He whispered, kissing her. He gently undressed her and she as expected, blushed, but let him. That blush, as always, undid him.
"We're back to being shy again." He said, shaking his head and kissing her on the forehead. He picked her up and gently laid her in the bath.
All of her aching muscles stopped. He got in behind her pulling her to his chest. What came next with a deep breath of her scent and relief. The amount of relief he felt holding her again, where she was conscious, and taking a bath with her which was her favorite thing - his too - was unfathomable.
Her hands rested on his and she felt relief too, shutting her eyes. He kept kissing her everywhere: her temple, head, ear, shoulder, neck. Every few seconds.
"I hear you woke up and made a portal to Redmoon." Fin said in a more serious voice than he meant. He wanted to understand what happened.
She swallowed, opening her eyes and looked at him, unsure if he was upset with her.
Fin felt her tense through their matebond. He deserved that. But he was going to show her that was not going to happen again. He was going to lighten the mood.
"Jax said he didn't have time to put on shoes." He added with a grin, kissing her forehead.
"I didn't realize he had followed me." Nova said truthfully.
"He eventually figured that out and mindlinked you when you found a hidden passage." Fin said, still grinning, and shook his head.
"I think Elias is offended by their healer treating you." He added laughing.
Nova grinned, tension easing.
"What other couples was he muttering about?" Nova asked.
Fin actually laughed out loud and ran his hand through his hair.
"Nova… " He said, not sure where to begin. "Do you remember healing Cael and Aeron?"
"Were they in a hot spring I stood in?" she asked.
"Yes." He replied flatly.
"I remember the image of them laying there, but nothing else. What happened?" She asked.
Fin kissed the side of her cheek. "Marra had a dream, but it was happening in real time. Aeron could see her. She saw Cael collapse in the black rain, not through the portal yet and woke up. Jax used rope to pull him through and they were both in not great shape."
He saw her worried look, "They're both almost fully recovered now."
"Elle was very upset. The magic was dark, and none of us could touch it. Then out of nowhere, a silver goddess named Nova ran into the scene at alpha speed in a blur." He said laughing, which made her laugh too.
"You made a giant portal to a hot spring, and healed them." He said.
"I'm glad they're alright." She whispered, feeling confused by the lack of memory.
"Thing thing is Nova, we all thought it was you. But this Nova whipped us all into shape. You had everyone pouring magic into them. Elle's magic countered the dark magic. And you kept making these tiny portals to Elias ordering him to make tonics. He tried to voice disagreement a few times on ingredients, but did what you said anyways. You were right. His ego is a little bruised from that." Fin said laughing.
"I don't remember any of that." Nova whispered, wondering if she should apologize to him. "Was I mean to him?"
"It wasn't you… it was the Moon Goddess herself Nova. Or so we think. That's what she implied."
"Oh… that was not what I expected." Nova said, not sure how to process the information.
Fin laughed again. "She went around the room and roasted all of us when she was done."
He left out the fact that actually, all the roasting had happened to him and Jax.
"I am glad to have my Nova back." He added.
She giggled.
"Your dream… what happened? Xeon has been dying to know." He said smiling. That was partially true, but he had also been dying to know. Xeon commented.
Xeon: Of course you blame it on me.
Fin ignored him.
Nova swallowed, "It felt so real… I thought it was happening in real life. I used magic in the dream to shield and it worked."
Fin nodded, and waited for her to continue. She was not getting out of this that easily.
"There was a coup," Nova said softly. "But I wasn't seeing it from my own eyes. I was inside Rex's. He didn't know I was there, but I could see everything."
Fin went still.
"Commander Ashen entered the throne room. Rex thought he'd come to check on his father, but he had a dark mage with him. And then another captain walked in… someone who'd trained Rex since he was a boy. Someone he trusted. Family." Her voice thinned. "He came at Rex from behind with a blade laced in dark magic. My magic reacted before I did. It blasted them back. Rex didn't even understand what the blade was, and I had no way to warn him."
She paused, breath unsteady. "I woke up. And I made a portal."
Fin didn't speak. He waited. He knew she wasn't finished.
"With portals," Nova continued, "you can only open them to places you've already been. You need an anchor. Mine went straight to Rex's room — the place I'd woken up in the dream. He saved my life from Starfang. I think… it was my turn to return the favor. I don't know why else that dream would happen. I've never had anything like that before."
Fin nodded once, sharp and thoughtful.
"So you couldn't communicate with him?" he asked quietly.
"No," Nova said. "That was the hardest part. I couldn't warn him."
He didn't show it, but in his mind, he was thanking the gods. He wanted Nova to talk to him in his dreams. Not Rex's. Xeon agreed.
Xeon: We are the jealous type, I'll admit it.
"So Jax tells me you found a shortcut through the Redmoon Palace. Was that in your dream?" Fin asked.
Nova swallowed. "No." She said softly.
"I felt you. The sensation you get when you usually are about to do something amazing. The sensation you get when you shoot arrows. Do you know what I'm referring to?" He asked.
"Yes… I get that a lot but never can remember what I'm trying to." She answered.
"I got that sensation too… before I touched my sword and the night of your coronation." He said. She looked at him curiously wondering if he'd had it for anything else. She was about to ask, but he asked another question before she could.
"I heard you identified seven soldiers in an army of ten thousand. And the twenty in the throne room. Did they all run into the throne room in your dream?" Fin asked.
"No." She whispered.
"Does this mean I get to learn something wonderful my mate did before anyone else realizes?" Fin asked, kissing her cheek, his arms locking her against him.
"I don't know how wonderful it is…" she whispered.
"I bet it is." His lips brushed her ear, playful, warm. "And even if it's not… you did it. So to me it will be."
He nibbled lightly at her ear. Gods, he loved her. He pushed that feeling through the matebond, deliberate and bright, making sure she felt every ounce of it.
She jolted, not expecting the surge. But warmth followed immediately, spreading through her chest, easing tension she hadn't realized she held. It made her relax. Made her feel at home. Made her worries loosen their grip.
"You are so good at that," Nova whispered, kissing his shoulder. "What would I do without you?"
She shook her head with a soft, warm smile.
The compliment hit him hard. Fin's heart swelled and melted in the same breath.
"How did you identify them, Nova?" he murmured. "Your Alpha commands it." His voice dropped to a whisper against her ear.
"The commander and captain were unmasked. The others…I got their scents. But I didn't get them all."
Fin laughed again, dragging a hand through his hair, still trying to process it.
"Nova… Jax said there were ten thousand warriors in that field, and you ran through them at Alpha speed. You identified seven out of ten thousand scents." He shook his head, laughing again, unable to hide the awe. "Gods, I wish I could have seen that. My mate is amazing."
He kissed her, and her face flushed red.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He helped her wash her hair, and she helped him, both quiet, both worn down to the bone. When they finished, he dried her hair with a gentleness he didn't show anyone else. Then he brushed it for her, slow, careful, as if she were something precious. She looked at him with those soft, adoring eyes, and his heart simply melted.
An omega arrived with food for Fin — crackers, cheese, bread, simple things meant for someone recovering from poison. Nova still wasn't hungry, same as last time, but she managed a few crackers.
Fin knew she had heard Helga. He knew she was aware of the miscarriage. But it didn't feel right to bring it up. He didn't want to sadden her. She already had enough resting on her shoulders.
He fetched a new pair of silk shorts and a matching camisole, with a silk robe to go with it. He'd ordered clothes for her several times now — every time something reminded him of her, every time he thought she deserved softness.
She looked at him with grateful eyes when he helped her dress. "I love these," she said, unable to stop grinning at how perfectly they fit her.
They sat by the fire afterward, her tucked into his side, his lips brushing her temple or cheek every so often, unable to help himself.
"You didn't answer my question," Nova murmured.
"What was your question?"
"Who were the other couples Elias was referring to? Cael and Elle, I'm assuming. Who was the other?"
Fin exhaled, slow. He'd forgotten Jax in that moment. Forgotten that it was his story to tell. Forgotten that Nova would eventually ask.
He hadn't decided whether to tell her now, or with Jax, or to let Jax speak for himself.
He breathed out again.
"It's not my story to tell," Fin said quietly. "Sorry, Nova. I'll have him fill you in tomorrow."
Her eyes flared silver. He could feel her wanting to know more but he wasn't going to open that can of worms.
He kissed her to break her mind off of it. Sparks jolting through their lips. She started to pull away to ask him more but his lips found her mark on her neck. He sucked it and felt her reaction through the matebond.
She moaned. He wasn't planning on doing anything with her for a few days until she'd recovered fully. But the second that happened, he was done for.
His hand found her breast and his thumb circled her nipple. She moaned again, now straddling him. He smelled her arousal… and that was it.
Still sucking her mark, he ripped her silk shorts in half before she noticed. He pulled his pants down just enough again at alpha speed. His large cock pressing against her tight pussy. And he entered her, unable to wait.
His body was on fire, his need for her too great. She gasped as he entered her, his size stretching her in a way that was painful. But Fin was already thrusting into her, his hips moving in a wild, desperate rhythm.
"You're so tight…" Fin said through gritted teeth. Trying to be gentle, continuing to thrust up into her, unable to stop.
He ripped her robe in half.
"Wait no!" Nova gasped, genuinely upset because she just realized her shorts were ripped and her robe was now too. He sucked her mark.
She didn't even notice him ripping through her tank because his mouth found her nipple. The upset from her ruined clothes faded under the onslaught of sensation—his cock hitting her deeply in that spot that forced her to betray her protests.
Nova moaned, her body responding to his. She pushed back against him, meeting his thrusts with her own. Their bodies moved together, a perfect harmony of desire and need. Fin's hands roamed over her body, squeezing her breasts, pinching her nipples, his touch rough and demanding. Nova loved it. She loved the way he took control, the way he made her feel.
Their first orgasm came quickly, their bodies responding to one another in a way that was almost instinctive. Fin groaned as he came, his cock pulsing inside her. But he didn't stop. He couldn't.
He continued to pump into her, his body already building towards another release. Nova followed him over the edge, eyes flashing silver as her own orgasm ripped through her, her pussy clenching around his cock.
He flipped her onto her back without pulling out, pinning her beneath his weight. His hips continued thrusting into her. His hands captured her wrists, slamming them above her head. Fin pounded into her harder, his hips snapping forward with brutal precision, the head of his cock battering her cervix.
"You're mine." he said, his free hand roaming down to smack her ass cheek, the sting making her pussy spasm around him.
"Just like that." Fin whispered, his tone dominant.
He pinched her nipple with his free hand and she started to cum all on his cock. He groaned and started cumming, pushing his seed into her.
He kept going. His gaze intense and possessive as he held Nova's eyes.
A groan escaped his lips again, feeling her tighten and he immediately started to cum again. She felt his ecstasy through their matebond and her eyes flashed silver.
He pressed a thumb against her clit, rubbing in slow, deliberate circles that matched his thrusts, building the tension until she was trembling beneath him.
His pace quickened slightly, hips grinding against hers in a rhythm designed to push her higher, his breath hot against her skin.
"Cum for me, baby. Let go and soak my cock"
He captured her mouth in another kiss. Possessive.
The words and sensations tipped her over the edge, her body responding eagerly to his command. Nova's pussy clenched around him in rhythmic pulses, waves of bliss rolling through her as she cried out against his lips, her climax crashing over her in shuddering release, pulling him deeper into the shared ecstasy.
They continued like this, their bodies moving together in a wild, passionate dance. They came again and again, their orgasms rippling through them, their bodies responding to one another.
Finally, after what felt like hours, they collapsed together, their bodies spent and satisfied. Fin rolled onto his back, pulling Nova with him. She snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest. They lay like this for a while, their bodies still connected, their hearts beating in sync.
Nova smiled.
"I love you, Fin." She whispered and then added, "You're mine." Feeling possessive over him. Something she hadn't let herself feel since the day she marked him.
Fin's heart swelled with love.
He looked down at her, love for her evident in his eyes.
"I love you so much, baby. More than anything." he said, his voice rough with emotion.