Perhaps Zia was right—her magic was natural and she only needed to trust in it, because she didn’t doubt herself. The burning sensation from before announced its presence again, even if she felt more in control now.
Focusing on that single sensation, she pulled on Fire. Heat warmed her palms, guiding her how to use the Element. Dropping her sword, she raised her hands and demanded Fire to release, and flames instantly surrounded her hands, as loud gasps sounded behind her.
She remained focused on the fire rushing from her palms, a bit surprised it didn’t hurt. The flames pulsed light blue, heightened by orange swirling lines. But the moment the magic connected with Lazarus, purple flames erupted over his torso and spiraled around him.
Nexi blinked once, then all that remained of the terrible nightmare was a pile of ash at her feet. She blinked again, stunned how fast it all went down. Here, one second. Gone, the next. “It’s done. He’s dead.”
When silence at her back remained, she turned to face the others, greeted by astonished expressions. “What?”
“You killed him?” Haven exclaimed.
Nexi glanced at the ash on the ground—yes, very dead—then she turned to Haven again, feeling the shock rushing through her soul sister. “The problem with this is…?”
Zia’s eyes twinkled. “You killed him without touch.”
She shifted on her feet, feeling like a spotlight was beaming down on her head, and she shrugged. “I figured Tillie would’ve done something like that. It seemed only right to end his life with my magic instead of my sword.” She turned to Kyden, and even his eyes held a slight sparkle, causing her to gape. “For cripe’s sake, why are you all looking at me like that? Have I done something wrong?”
Kyden closed the distance, and pulled her against the hard planes of his body. “Not something wrong. It’s just–”
Zia butted in with a small smile. “Using fire defensively is an unusual gift to obtain from the Elements.” Talon and Finn stepped in next to her, and she added, “Those who do possess Fire train hard to control it and you didn’t seem to have a problem using yours.” Her head tilted, and Nexi didn’t overly enjoy Zia’s scrutiny. “What were you thinking of when you did that?”
“That you were right—it did feel natural.”
A soft cough drew her attention to the right. Her spirits soared even higher as she took in Valor’s smile as he approached with Briggs at this side. Without a single hesitation in her mind and so grateful she could barely breathe, she ran into his arms.
He tensed at first—clearly, the Patriarch didn’t offer many hugs— but then he softened and wrapped his arms around her, overwhelming her with his woodsy scent. “Thank you so much,” she whispered. “Without you, the wolves wouldn’t have told us anything…I’ll never forget it.”
Valor hugged her tight. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
Pushing out of his arms, she stared up into his warm eyes. Considering how she was introduced to werewolves, it surprised her where her thoughts took her, and even more what she was about to offer next. “Anytime you need my help, you only need to ask.”
His nod was slow, gracious. “I appreciate that, but I hope this is the end to your troubles.”
She snorted. “Me too…”
The world suddenly spun, cutting her off mid-sentence. Valor reached out for her, but Kyden caught her first, gathering her into his arms. She nuzzled her head against his bare, warm chest, as exhaustion quickly overtook her. Zia’s magic had clearly worn off.
Without a word to anyone else, Kyden headed toward the front yard, apparently to the portal Talon and Zia had traveled through to get into Carson City. Nexi scanned over her family home, suspecting this would be the last time she’d come here.
Eventually people would stop looking for her and a for sale sign would go up on the lawn. A new family would move in and her past would be a faint memory, nothing more. A life so different than the one she lived now, it would seem to have belonged to someone else.
Once they cleared the house and headed toward the front yard, Kyden grumbled something incoherent. His arms tensed around her, and she raised her head to meet a stern expression. “Now that this is over, you will answer my question.” He hesitated, and when she didn’t respond—since she hadn’t a clue what the question was—his eyebrow arched. “Why did you come here to fight Lazarus…alone?”
She sighed. “Oh, that’s a simple answer, really.” Pouring into her expression all the emotions that she had experienced when she had discovered Lazarus had taken him, she said, “I came because love you.”
He froze mid-step, pure warmth seeping into his features. “Álainn.”
That’s when her body decided enough was enough, and that handsome face blurred…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bright oranges and reds flashed before Nexi’s closed eyelids, all bringing forth a deep groan. For a woman who never fainted a day in her old life, she sure seemed to be fainting often in her new one.
That needed to stop any time now.
Pushing herself up to sitting, she noticed grass beneath her fingers. The sun shone down, warming her skin, and she covered her eyes, glancing up. Above her, were branches—ones she instantly recognized. She scrunched her nose, scanned the area ahead of her before she turned to the tree again.
Her willow stood proudly in front of her, of that she was sure. Only she wasn’t at her willow, exactly. She’d woken up in the Witches’ Meadow, not Carson City. Confusion wracked her mind, making her discombobulated state intensify.
“I brought it home for you.”
Nexi spun around on a gasp and discovered Zia behind her. She could only blink, totally baffled. “What?”
Zia angled her head back, gazing at the long leaves trailing down around her. “This willow was Tillie’s favorite tree when she was alive.” Looking at Nexi again, she smiled softly. “Your mother spent a lot of time here, especially after you were born.”
Nexi’s breath caught, her throat tightened, and tears welled in her eyes. “She did?”
Zia nodded, twirling a leaf in her finger. “When you were sent away, I wanted to give you a piece of her with you, so I placed the tree in the forest near your house. I had hoped the draw of magic would lead you to it.” Her eyes twinkled. “And I was glad to find out it did.”
Nexi swallowed the swell of thick emotion rising in her chest. “My connection to this tree is my mother?”
Zia inclined her head. “Was I right to have brought it home?”
Trailing her fingers along the leaves, Nexi was somehow not as surprised as she would have expected to learn that’s why she loved this tree. Her connection held so intensely, maybe deep down she always knew it had to be something like that. “Yes, perfectly right. I’ve come home. It’s only right my tree comes home, too.”
A long pause followed before Zia said on a sigh, “Losing Drake is a horrible tragedy. I’m so very sorry, Nexi.”
Nexi’s chin quivered, the tears now escaping down her cheeks before she brushed them away. “We’ve all lost him. Not only me.” She stared into Zia’s teary eyes. “It’s sad for everyone. Death always is.”
She didn’t even know how to sort through or process what had happened. Nor did she know how to start to deal with the loss of Drake, or the real reason her adoptive parents were murdered, or even how to understand how to live without any of them.
Regardless that she faced an uphill, emotional battle, one truth remained: her family was gone. Nothing would ever bring them back. It didn’t matter how hard she wished for a different end for them. This couldn’t be undone and wishing for something different was pointless.
Zia had stayed silent. Perhaps she’d been reading Nexi’s thoughts. Maybe she knew all of what she’d been reconciling in her mind. While Nexi, at the moment, wanted to embrace the silence at her willow, too many questions demanded answers.
Pushing away the pain lingering on the surface, she released the leaf from her fingers and asked Zia, “How did you find us?”
“Valor and Briggs.”
At the low, smooth voice, Nexi raised her hand across her brow to cover the sun, and she found perfection. Kyden leaned against a tree across the way and the sun shone down on his body, his tanned skin glistening. “Did you just get here?”
He shook his head. “I never left you.”
An unfamiliar intensity hummed off him, even from where she sat, almost as if the air seemed charged between them. She might’ve been surprised she hadn’t noticed him, but she cut herself a break considering how confusing everything had been when she had woken.
When Kyden didn’t move to approach her, she frowned. “Do you plan on staying over there?”
He hesitated, his gaze wracking over her, and when his eyes caught hers again, his jaw clenched. “For now, it’s best that I do.”
Before Nexi had a chance to ponder his distance, considering she craved his touch and nearness, Zia said, “Valor came to the Otherworld to help you, and we would’ve arrived sooner, but wolves attacked the Otherworld.”