The shriek of the Aviteth made her wince.
Fire.
She shut her eyes tight, trying to block it out and grab onto that wall in her mind she'd used before.
Again, the Ulfram howled, and Nyssa began to shut down at the agony of the wolf's cry… the memory of the Wyverdraki's screaming.
Nadir's arms wrapped back around her just as her knees gave out, and they both fell to the sand. He held her through it, arms so tight while she faltered that it reminded her of the serpent. But it helped her feel secure in a moment of chaotic drowning. A blanket of steady strength to quiet the anxiety of what she saw behind her eyes.
The Noctuans' cries quieted after a few minutes. Her heart returned to her chest, breath beginning to even, and Nadir's lips pressed to her shoulder.
"Do you want to go back?" he asked her.
Nyssa forced herself to look in the direction of the Forest again. "No," she finally determined. "I need to hear her."
Nadir stood and took her hands, bringing them both up to their feet again.
"When you hear them... What do you see?" he asked.
For a second, Nyssa looked past his arm into the darkness, contemplating whether to admit what he'd asked or to keep it quiet, go back to the shack, and close herself away once more. But Nadir squeezed her hands, and the words came from within before she could stop them.
"It's not so muchjustwhen I hear them as it is every time I close my eyes," she said softly. "Fire," she admitted. "Draven falling. Every time the Ulfram howls, I hear the Rhamocour when she was on the tower with him, watching him dive out of that window. She... She wasscreaming." She winced at the memory, staring into a trance as he stepped away and grabbed their sticks from the ground. He placed one in her hands then and gave her a nod.
"The alpha Ulfram was always his favorite," Nadir told her as he stepped back.
Nyssa set her feet just as Nadir did.
"She used to walk the edge of the river when he would boat with me to the mountains during the Deads—“ Nadir pushed, and Nyssa blocked “—always watching him. Scared me senseless the first time she did it."
"I don't think I realized how close you two were," she said, pushing back.
Their sticks hit twice, and Nyssa ducked as he swung over her.
"He was my greatest friend."
The declaration of his words made her pause, and she realized then how much he had lost without ever getting to say goodbye.
"I'm so sorry, Nadir."
Nadir twirled the stick once and rubbed the back of his neck. "I knew who he was," he said, still staring at the ground. "Not that it made hearing what had happened any easier, but..."
He pushed forward again, swinging at her shins this time, and Nyssa had to jump to keep from having her legs wiped out.
"I'm glad he finally found her."
Nyssa paused again. "What do you mean?"
"Draven was sure love didn't exist for someone like him. He was certain he would be sentenced to nothing more than unrequited lovers his entire life, not that he had any problem with his...Festivities—“
His brow raised when he said it, and Nyssa almost smiled.
"Yeah," she uttered. "Heard about those. And heard them, actually."
Nadir scoffed and went at Nyssa again. "He was sure Duarb had stretched the curse of the Infinari to mean love would be as rare as his own kind—Infinari-marked Venari persons."
"I'm not sure I follow."
She blocked him over her head, coming down and pushing him into the water. Nadir stumbled and looked impressed.
