By some grace of the moon goddess, Nova broke the surface—choking, gasping, dragging in air like she had been drowning for a lifetime. She swam with what little strength she had left, reaching the rocky shore she had entered from. Her fingers scraped stone, and she hauled herself out of the water, collapsing onto her hands and knees. Her body shook violently, from the frigid lake and the sheer brutal exertion that descent had taken out of her.
She coughed once—then again, harder—until blood splattered the stone beneath her. Thick. Dark. Too much. The magic she had used was already sinking claws into her body. She was at her limit. Her insides burned like someone had poured molten metal through her veins. Her head pounded so hard she saw white around the edges of her vision.
And in that moment came the sobering truth she had been refusing to look at directly.
She was getting worse.
Dramatically, relentlessly—worse.
She knew she was going to die; gods, she had been told as much so many times she had almost become numb to the words. But this… this made it real in a way nothing else had. The pain, the blood, the way her magic retaliated inside her—it settled into her bones like a quiet verdict.
Nova smiled to herself, soft and sad, as if acknowledging a truth she wished she didn't have to face.
Then another wave hit her. She pitched forward and threw up more blood, a violent heave that left her trembling. She collapsed back onto the rocky shore, sprawled on her back, staring up at the cavern ceiling and the false constellations carved above.
Her mind flickered somewhere between consciousness and the dark edges of unconsciousness. Everything felt distant, muted, slow. A heavy sleepiness dragged at her bones, the kind that felt dangerous. She wondered dimly if her body was going into shock but lacked even the strength to lift a hand to check.
Then she heard it—faint, muffled, but undeniable.
"Nova!"
Jax's voice. Sharp. Panicked. Too raw to disguise.
He reached her in a blur of alpha speed, dropping to his knees beside her. Her lips were blue. Her skin was cold as ice. His jaw clenched so tightly the muscle jumped.
He didn't ask. He didn't hesitate.
Jax unzipped the top of her training suit with swift, precise fingers and unzipped his combat-weave suit. He pulled her against his bare chest, wrapping his body fully around hers. The heat of him was immediate—scalding compared to her freezing skin—and then his magic reacted before he even consciously summoned it.
Gold light ignited across his torso, spilling outward until it surrounded her, cocooning her in warmth, in power, in something instinctive and unbearably protective. It was as though his body simply knew what to do.
Nova felt it instantly. Heat flooded through her limbs. Her insides stopped burning quite so violently. Her head—gods—her head finally, blessedly, eased.
Her face pressed into his chest naturally, without thought, her breath warm against his skin. She didn't have the strength to move or argue or pretend she didn't need him. His arms around her held firm as though the world itself had no right to take her.
Jax's jaw tightened further as his magic deepened its connection. And then—like a sudden crack in a dam—he felt everything. His magic mirrored her pain. His insides burned like a hot knife was slashing, the pain was worse, much worse, than a few weeks ago when she first started to throw up blood after her luna ceremony. He healed her after she survived quicksand and he thought that was bad. But this was exponentially worse.
"Thank you," she whispered, barely shaping the word.
Jax's throat tightened. There was so much he wanted to tell her. Gods, she needed to know. He didn't want to wait any longer. He couldn't. Not after feeling what was happening inside her. Not after realizing how bad it truly was.
"Nova… I—"
But before he could finish the sentence, she lurched away from him in a blur, staggering toward the cave wall. She braced her hands against the stone and threw up blood again—violent, wrenching, brutal—despite the healing he had just poured into her.
Jax was at her side instantly.
"Nova—"
She weakly tried to push him away, her hand trembling against his chest.
"I'm not going anywhere," Jax said, voice firm, breath harsh, refusing to budge an inch. He touched her shoulder, and gold flared again—bright, hot, instinctive—wrapping around her body in another surge of healing.
She shouldn't have needed healing again. Not this fast.
Nova straightened slowly, unsteady but upright, her breath ragged. The color had returned to her lips, faintly, but her eyes still held that glassy sheen of someone running on fumes.
She turned toward the lake with grim purpose and took a step.
Jax caught her arm before she could take another step.
"Nova—"
"I wasn't able to get the token we need at the bottom," she said quietly, swallowing hard, her voice still raw from blood and cold.
"I'll get it," Jax answered immediately, instinctively, though even as he said it he felt a sinking certainty coil in his gut. He already knew the temple wouldn't allow that. Nothing in this place had been generous or logical enough for that kind of mercy.
Nova shook her head once. "It will only release for me. The vision wasn't as clear this time… but I know that part for certain."
"Give yourself a minute," Jax said, more command than request. "I'll swim for us like last time. Just—breathe."
She nodded faintly, though he could see in her eyes she was only agreeing to keep him from worrying. She zipped her training suit on, mentally preparing herself. Jax zipped his as well, but focus was on her.
Before either of them could say another word, a sharp, violent pain ripped through her skull.
It was so sudden, so brutal, that Fin, Jax, and Rex all reacted at the same time, hands flying to their foreheads as a collective gasp tore from them. The matebond didn't whisper her pain—it recreated it. Fully. Viciously.
Nova's hand shot up to her forehead as well, but she didn't gasp. She flinched—barely—but no sound left her. She was getting far too familiar with those attacks.
Jax stared at her, heart hammering, alarm bells roaring through every instinct.