Page 116 of Mantle

It was what we desperately needed right now too.

23

~Ariana~

I closed the door quietly behind me as I stepped into Kai and Nyx’s shared dorm room, expecting to find Nyx deep in meditation, asleep, or doing something relaxing like reading.

Not reading Kai’s extremely heavy spellbooks or grimoires, but a few books that Vorzyr and I had procured for him from our personal collections.

Vorzyr’s were about tales of great dragon adventures, something he’d taken to reading since the traumatic experience he’d had with what we were now terming hisfauxfamily. He was trying to separate his draconic identity from them and House Titanus and seeking to see it in a positive light again.

And my books were all about mystical adventures of warrior princesses across the fictionalized worlds—go figure.

But Nyx wasn’t there, although some books were laid out on his unkempt bed. The messy bed aesthetic wasn’t a normal thing for him. That was usually Kai’s way when he was in obsessive mode.

Nyx had a break between classes right now, and for every one of those, every time we weren’t in class with him, one of us would come by to check in on him.

Ever since he’d started remembering his harrowing time in that Chimera Circle lab—especially after forcing it, triggering a cascade of brutal memories—we’d been keeping closer tabs on him. Not to mention, he was holding Ketheron in a dreamscape as well. And although Ketheron was still immersed in slumber, it was taxing, regardless, and it took a mass amount of mental fortitude.

As my concern began to mount all too rapidly, a groan from the closed ensuite bathroom door drew my attention.

Thank goodness.

He was still here.

I’d been worried about him heading to a Ruminat hut again, even though we’d advised against it. Kai had done more than justadvise against it.He’d been furious and really freaked out that Nyx had endangered himself by using that to force his memories forth.

I made my way over to the bathroom door and rapped softly, something not that easy to pull off with my Celestial strength when I was in any sort of emotional state—especially when I was worried about my boys.

“I’m fine. I can feel your worry like a tidal wave coming at me,” Nyx’s voice sounded from within.

“You’re sure?”

“Come in, Halo.”

I turned the knob and pushed open the door.

And there he was, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, hunched over, his elbows digging into the knees of his leather pants.

He was shirtless, droplets of water all over his face and dripping down onto his chest.

Seeing me looking, he explained, “A few splashes of ice-cold water to the face that went a little awry.” He gestured at it all over his chest as I’d noticed, and even dripping from his vibrant-blue hair, some droplets cascading down one of his horns as well.

“You were trying to refresh yourself? Or were you, perhaps, trying to snap yourself out of something?”

He gazed at me for a moment, emotion flickering in his eyes. Pain and vulnerability. He was skilled at recognizing it in others, but I could see right now that he was struggling to allow himself to feel his own because of what it was connected to—his horrifying trauma of being experimented on by those sick bastards of Chimera Circle.

“It was the latter. I had another memory flash.”

“I see.” I snatched a hand towel off the rail to my right, then went to him, intending to wipe away the water.

“It’s okay,” he said, grasping the towel before I could. “I’m gonna take a shower. I just… needed a minute.”

Our fingers brushed as I went to take the towel away with him not wanting it, and my gut twisted as he shuddered from the contact.

“Nyx?” I uttered carefully.

He grimaced and rose to his feet, then pulled the shower curtain aside and turned the water on. His back to me, he stilled and fisted his right hand in the monochrome curtain.

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