Page 89 of Nyx
“You know him?” Ronan demands of Xeni, his fingers squeezing so tightly the monster’s breath comes in rattling gasps.
“He was the Guard Captain at Ljómur. Andon… that's your name, isn’t it?” Xeni crouches in front of him as Andon’s attention is finally pulled away from me. “How did you survive?”
Andon spits at Xeni, and Ronan squeezes him so hard his eyes bulge in their sockets. I’m convinced he might kill him right then, but before the Nu’vak passes out, Ronan’s hand slackens enough to allow Andon to suck in a desperate breath. Xeni’s face is contorted with a rage I’ve never seen on him, and he glances up at Ronan. They seem to have a silent conversation, because Ronan nods, and Xeni kneels to put his hands on Andon’s cheeks.
He leans closer, and Andon snarls as he tries to pull away, but Ronan’s grip doesn’t yield. Xeni’s hands land on Andon’s cheeks, and his voice becomes deeper and soothing in a way that rolls over my skin in a fog. “Tell me how you got away.”
“N-no,” Andon stutters, still baring his teeth, but he seems to calm as Xeni caresses his face. If it weren’t forthe hate in Xeni’s eyes, they would look like lovers in an intimate moment.
“Don’t fight me, Andon. You always loved winning… always wanted to come out on top. And now you have. No one else survived, but you did… you’re dying to share how you did it, aren’t you? You want to prove how smart you are, and I want to listen to everything you have to say.”
I stare, fascinated, as Andon clenches his teeth and snarls before his face slacks. His eyes meet Xeni’s and he says, “There… were two of us. M-maybe more. We hid under the bodies. Played dead.”
“The explosion didn’t kill you?” Xeni asks, and Andon shakes his head.
“Lost a… hand…” My eyes dart to where Ronan has his arms pinned behind him, finally noticing the bandage covering the rounded stump of his wrist. “Waited until they left.”
“That’s good,” Xeni purrs, stroking his thumbs over the round of Andon’s cheeks. I’ve never witnessed a Cavese use their powers. I heard rumors as a child about them, whispers of mind control that I barely remember. It’s terrifying to watch him pull answers from Andon, who clearly doesn’t want to share, and makes me thankful Xeni is on our side. “Who did you escape with, and where are they now?”
“Trunik… a… another guard. He’s dead. They killed him, and they took me.”
“Who took you?”
Andon’s eyes narrow for a minute, his lip pulling back as he fights the magic. “Fuck you,” he grits. “Traitor.”
Xeni smiles, but it’s a threatening thing as he edges closer until their lips nearly brush. “Tell me where you’ve been.”
“Pr-prisoner,” Andon stammers. “Escaped.”
“Wh… where?” Xeni demands, but his voice has gotten weaker and his hands have started to shake.
“Fuck you,” Andon repeats in a growl, more in control of himself, and Xeni pulls back as he collapses hard onto the ground, his head sagging between his knees as he pants.
“Sorry, I can’t… that’s all I’ve got.”
Ronan squeezes Andon's neck again, then travels higher to a pressure point on his jaw that makes him roar in fury. Ronan doesn’t budge, only leans closer as his voice drops ominously deep. “I’ve fought much scarier monsters than you,” Ronan purrs in his ear. “Right in this very place. Would you like to hear about what I did to them? If you’re very nice, I can show you their grave before I let you bleed out on top of it.”
My breath stutters again as I stare, because this side of Ronan is foreign. It’s not like I didn’t know he was dangerous. He has to be, to have killed the soldiers who were holding me, but with me, he’s always patient and kind. Even though he can get snippy and short-tempered with the others, he’s protective. Caring.
Right now, his eyes are black, and his fingernails are longer and pointed. He drags one along Andon’s cheek, and chuckles when beads of blood immediately pool. “You’ve hurt people I love,” Ronan continues, tracing Andon’s throat with those same razor-sharp claws. “Thrown them in cages… starved them. Maybe I should do the same toyou. There’s an empty cage in that tent over there, and you’d fill it so well.”
“No,” Reyes growls, and Ronan’s solid black eyes snap up to meet his. “No, we’re not going to cage him. As tempting as it is to torture him, we willnotgive him the chance to escape and hurt someone else.”
Andon whimpers as Ronan pierces his skin with a nail, examining the blood on his claw before wiping it over Andon’s lips. “We kill him, then?”
“Let him go, Ronan,” Reyes demands, and Ronan flashes his fangs in an animalistic snarl, but Reyes doesn’t back down. “This revenge isn’t yours. It’smine.Anyone who hurt Nyx is mine.”
Ronan drags Andon to his feet as he stands. He grips the Nu’vak’s chin and pushes his face towards the sky, exposing his throat and the pulse that thunders there. It would only take a swipe of Reyes’s dagger to end his life, but he shakes his head. Reyes steps closer, filled with vindictive fury. “No. Let him go. I want to give him a taste of freedom before I kill him. Let him fucking run.”
“What fucked up sort of shit is this?!” Andon demands as Ronan shoves him forward. He stumbles, but stays on his feet, and sneers at Reyes as he sizes him up. Arrogant, even surrounded and outnumbered. Reyes’s smile is taunting as he twirls his dagger, and I can read Andon’s thoughts as if they’re written across his face.
Small human, small weapon. Low threat.
But my mate is no delicate flower.
“You better run,” Reyes hisses, and Andon glances over his shoulder at Ronan as though he’s waiting for him to grab him again. Ronan’s brow hikes and he tips his headto tell him to go. Before anyone can change their mind, Andon runs. Reyes watches him for a beat, then twirls his dagger once more before he takes off after him.
Reyes
