Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 746: A Thorn ()

"Imagor wants us to go after him." Neveah guessed. "Bring him back... bring them both back."

"It’s enemy territory now and Menarx is King’s guard. Chances are..." Dante began to say but Neveah cut him off.

"He won’t find it as easy to leave as it is to get in. I know what the chances are." Neveah murmured, sucking in a sharp breath. She exhaled slowly, in a futile attempt to calm her wolf’s agitation.

’We should have killed her when she asked us to hand Menarx over to her sister!’ Her wolf hissed.

’Keila wasn’t...we couldn’t have known she would betray dragon court.’ Neveah reasoned. ’She was just helping out her dying sister, we don’t kill without good reason.’

’We should have killed them both for future assurance!’ Her wolf hissed, a familiar savagery blended in her tone. ’She’ll get Menarx killed and they’ll drag us into it! I will not let them off twice!’

’Adrienne is a victim here too.’ Neveah reminded. ’There’s no evidence she’s involved with her sister.’

’Not yet...’ Neveah’s wolf scoffed. ’You would be a fool to trust a Fae...you forget she made life in the Keep hell for us...well, I remember it clearly. Birds of a feather should die together...’

A hum of appreciation from Demevirld echoed deep within Neveah’s mind, Neveah could practically sense his delight and excitement to glimpse a darkness in her, one that would never truly go away.

"And to think between the sisters, I always thought Lady Adrienne would be our undoing." Estelle grumbled her dissatisfaction. "Turns out Keila is the real deal."

Estelle’s words echoed the dissatisfaction of Neveah’s wolf. But who could have expected this turn of events?

’Tell that to Menarx, when he comes for our head after we’re done dealing out revenge.’ Neveah hissed back at her wolf. Those words restored the quiet like she thought they would.

"Dante, Elle...you take Verothrax to the nymph settlement. Get his magic stabilized and deliver him straight to Everon at the Dunes." Neveah decided. "Do not let him out of your sight for even a moment, not until the nymphs make certain he’s not a flying hazard."

As unstable as Verothrax’s magic was, no other dragon, mage or Fae had the abilities he did. He was the only one who could reverse the void he had brought down into this realm.

"Everon has everything set up in the Dunes. We need the void reversed... before the canyon spreads any further." Neveah continued.

Dante nodded in understanding and Neveah glanced back at Xenon again. "Leave immediately. Xenon and I...will go after Menarx. Bring him and his lady back."

Dante hesitated for a moment, exchanging a look with Estelle before they headed away and Neveah retreated into the room. Walking over to the bedside, she sat by Xenon and examined his body temperature again.

"It’s back to normal." Neveah murmured in relief. The situation at hand was urgent and Neveah tried shaking Xenon awake again. This time, Xenon responded, his eyes snapped open and jerked to Neveah in a flash, the entirety of his pupils were pitch black with not a speck of white in sight and Neveah’s brows furrowed in concern.

"It’s just me." She quickly assured Xenon, sensing his agitation. Xenon’s eyes narrowed in recognition and he nodded slowly, muttering a quiet apology as he sat up on the bed.

"How long did I sleep?" He asked, his eyes had returned to normal, the black taint receding. Neveah suppressed her concern at the phenomenon, she shrugged casually to indicate she could not tell exactly, she had also been asleep for the most part.

"I tried waking you repeatedly but you would not budge. And you were burning up." Neveah revealed. "What happened?"

"Jian... I ended up there." Xenon replied, running a hand through his hair. "There was a challenge, a rare beast from the black sea, Cassian got into trouble."

Neveah’s brows furrowed in concern, "He is unharmed?"

"Battered from what I could tell, but he will heal." Xenon assured. "They overcame the beast, but they had to battle at full strength, which means the Black Sea will be sending up stronger opponents in the challenges to follow... and if any is as strong as what they just faced, or stronger...no single dragon can face it alone."

Neveah’s heart sank at the news. "What does that mean for Jian?" She asked, though she could already guess.

"Knowing him, he won’t let anyone else into that circle." Xenon said grimly. "If Cassian was nearly overpowered, no other Dragon Lord stands a chance in the challenges to come... except him."

"He will be the sole challenger." Neveah murmured. "He won’t be able to keep that up for long. He is not immune to fatigue and exhaustion."

"Don’t I know it? And the challenges seem to be happening out of the usual timing, the beasts overtaking each other... like something has tampered with the battle rules." Xenon contemplated. "It will only get worse if the dimension locks down... the only way out is to complete the rune and escape the dimension before it collapses."

Neveah had tried not to think about it, but by Everon’s calculations from Asrig’s writings, the dragons in the realm of forlorn beasts did not have much time before the dimension locked down... whatever that implied.

It was a periodic occurrence that happened to ensure the beasts of the Black Sea would not escape using the weakened barriers during the challenges. Neveah knew they were running close to the time limit, but she had not let it shake her resolve, the best she could do was keep the stronghold together and provide whatever assistance Jian needed on this side.

"They are closer than ever. The last piece of the rune they have been searching for, they found it in the battle circle." Xenon quickly reassured Neveah. "Now, the mages need only recreate the rune and reverse the spell on Fort Blazed. Trust him...he will find his way back to us."

Neveah nodded slowly, sucking in a deep breath to banish her fears. "We have other problems." She revealed to Xenon. "I will let you in on details on the way, but I sent Estelle and Dante ahead and we need to track Menarx and go to him."

Xenon’s brows furrowed slightly but he nodded. "I can’t sense him at the moment, his mind is sealed off and I can’t reach it. I will need his general direction and once we are airborne, it will be easier to pinpoint a location."

"I’m not sure...but my guess is, Fae territory." Neveah replied. Xenon did not ask further, he was up on his feet and in a few moments, they were airborne, circling the Sea City at a low flight.

The vast Mer Seas loomed beyond it, waves crashing gently against the river banks. Xenon banked low, just enough to graze the surface of the Sea and a spray of salty sea water bathed Neveah’s hair and clothes. Neveah reached a hand down, dipping it into the Sea as Xenon sped across the surface, his wings cutting through the air sharply.

The water was cold to touch, and the scent of the Sea was calming. But to Neveah, it was an ominous reminder that the Mer’s had given a deadline on which they expected the return of their prince or they would not hesitate to flood as many cities that bordered their territory.

The Sea City was just one amongst dozens, and the burden of hundreds if not thousands of lives weighed heavily on Neveah’s shoulder, leaving her wondering why she had ever allowed herself those few moments of sleep in the first place, when every second counted.

Even before Imagor’s message had come, Neveah had already made her decision to go after Keila, she would not be expecting Neveah to enter Fae territory willingly when both species were openly at war, and if they got there in time, perhaps the Mer Prince could have a better fate than Lady Diandre had.

If not... Keila had started this, and it would have to end with her if there was no other choice. Neveah had hesitated the night before, only now assured with Jian’s endorsement.

"Dragon law has no tolerance for traitors..." Xenon had conveyed these words and Neveah understood the meaning.

However, Neveah had not intended for it to be like this. Now, Keila would be expecting them. She was no fool... the King’s guard would not leave Menarx in Fae territory alone.

The fierce wind at their altitude stung Neveah’s eyes and she squinted slightly, "Can you sense him yet?" She thought to Xenon.

"No... not yet." Xenon thought back. "It is difficult this close to the Sea. It interferes with my senses...we need to put it far behind us and then hope he hasn’t gone too far into Fae territory for the wards to mask our bond."

Neveah held on as Xenon flew beyond Sea City, heading back the way they had come. Though Neveah’s limbs were not as sore as they had been when they first landed for a rest, she found it regretful that the distance they had covered after many restless nights of flight was now being backtracked, Keila had the worst timing with her evil plots, she had become a thorn in Neveah’s side... literally.