Omega's Rebirth

"Was I to expect word from the citadel?" Jian asked Cassian as they headed through the camp to his tent.

"Not that I am aware of. Kirgan and Imagor alongside their squadrons have taken over citadel and keep defence respectively. We have heard word of Narx’s recovery also." Cassian replied.

Jian said nothing until he stepped into his tent where the delivered message was left on his desk.

The rolled up parchment lay in a small wooden chest with the lid open and Jian knew his Lord dragons had already examined the chest to be certain it was safe to be presented before him.

"In what manner was it delivered?" Jian asked with a raised brow as he glanced down at the rolled up parchment.

"Through a spell portal, My liege. They are not certain from what source..." Cassian reported, picking up the parchment before Jian could reach it.

"I have given orders to track the magic signature, it should not be any difficulty to find the mage who has done it if they were to belong to our academy of magic." Cassian assured.

"And if they were not..." Cassian added but left his words hanging, choosing to focus on the parchment instead.

Cassian unwound the ties of the parchment and rolled it open, taking a moment to read through the contents while Jian just watched in silence.

Jian noticed the change in Cassian’s countenance even before it reflected in his eyes or conformed his expression into a frown.

"What does it say?" Jian asked with a raised brow.

"The one called Omega by wolf kind is the Lady Neveah... Narx’s beloved, is it not?" Cassian asked in a tone thick with displeasure.

"And what of it?" Jian asked, taking the parchment as Cassian handed it to him.

Jian also read through the note and his gaze narrowed, a complicated look flashing across his mismatched orbs.

_____________

The familiarity of this darkness... the shadows that clouded Neveah’s mind, it was suffocating.

The darkness clawed at Neveah’s lungs, denying her of the slightest breath, sucking away her life force in a slow, taunting manner.

As though assuring Neveah that it would always be there, that one who had escaped death once only owed a debt of life... one that would be reclaimed, in time.

A quiet groan escaped Neveah as her eyes fluttered open, her hand shooting up to clutch her throat...or attempting to.

Neveah’s hand could only move so far before a searing pain spread across her wrist and Neveah’s disoriented gaze moved down to find a silver cuff securing her wrists to a long chain that was embedded into the wall.

’How... where am I?’ Neveah thought, panic bubbling up in her chest as the final dregs of unconsciousness faded away, leaving Neveah wide awake and conscious of her environment.

It took a moment but as Neveah’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the first thing that struck her was the thick, musty smell of damp earth that clogged the air,

There was a myriad of other smells, all the more pungent to Neveah’s sensitive sense of smell.

The smell was so thick, Neveah could hardly find a breath, but that in itself was the least of her worries.

The memories of what had lead up to this moment came rushing back to Neveah’s mind, particularly the last face she had seen... Davina.

’Why? What is this?’ Neveah wondered in utter confusion, unable to understand what was happening and why she was even here in the first place...or where she even was.

More importantly, Neveah could not understand why Davina would do such a thing to her, what exactly did Davina stand to gain from hurting her?

As Neveah thought over this, a dark rage churned within her mind, accompanied by self blame...how has she come to trust? One who did not trust could not be betrayed.

Here it was again, one whom she had least expected had been the one to harm her... perhaps this truly was all Neveah’s fate would allow, perhaps there was nothing more life could offer her.

’Veah...focus!’ Neveah’s wolf hissed in Neveah’s mind, effectively pulling Neveah from the trail of her dark thoughts.

Neveah shook her head quickly and spared another glance around her, pointedly overlooking the puddles of unknown substances on the floor.

’What is this place?’ Neveah wondered,

Somewhere in the dark room, Neveah caught the faint sound of dripping water and that damp stench just would not fade.

It seemed like there was hardly any air getting in, and Neveah realized wherever this was, it was underground.

Neveah tried again to move, but her limbs were heavy and unresponsive, and it drew Neveah’s attention once again to the silver cuffs chaining her down.

’Silver... Davina knows silver weakens my wolf...’ Neveah thought in melancholy.

Neveah’s eyes still scanned the room, there was not much to see but shadows and darkness.

The only light came from a small crack in the ceiling, but it did not appear to be natural lighting and it was not nearly enough to illuminate the entire space.

The walls of this strange place was made of rough-hewn stone, and the air was thick with the smell of decay and neglect.

Neveah focused her senses and just as she had anticipated, she could pick up traces of life.

A chill ran down her spine as she realized she was not alone. There were other prisoners, a tortured wail echoed through the silence at that very moment as though to affirm Neveah’s thoughts.

Neveah opened her mouth to scream out but her voice was caught in her throat as she decided again it.

It was hard to tell how she had come here or what she would face if she drew attention to the fact that she was awake and so Neveah quelled her wrath and stayed quiet.

Neveah moved farther into the darkness, as far as the chains would allow.

There she leaned against the wall and curled her knees up to her chest.

"What do we do now?" Neveah thought to her wolf, her voice weak and trembling.