I couldn’t make a wrong move.
Too much was at stake.
Everything.
13
~Zayn~
I stroked Vax’s scaled arm as I nuzzled against him on our bed.
Our insanely intoxicating, mouthwatering snake prince.
All armored up in the midst of his special healing sleep.
Still.
I didn’t like it.
I mean, I liked the scales aspect. They were sexy as fuck and really pretty too with the glittering veins the color of his magic woven through the metallic black in cobra patterning.
But him lying prone—so fucking still—unnerved me. It was kind of like a coma with the way it was coming off. He was cut off from us while in this state, not really here. And him being inactive and… passive… while he was like this… it wasn’t the Vax we’d come to know so fucking well. I wanted him back with us. Just like Win needed to be back with us really soon. I couldn’t take much more of this… all this separation.
And that had just been intensified over the last few days with Evira heading out to the Dracoryn Realm so much to help with the fallout and the cleanup after that hellish battle.
It was where she was right now. And where she’d be for the next few hours yet.
Kai had managed to write that spell to keep Ruxnoth out. Apparently, he’d worked on it with Gabriel Morgan who was also a member of Arcanum Order like Kai was. It had been erected over the Dracoryn Realm and would keep Ruxnoth out. But there was still worry that if Sanctus was cloaked in necromantic magic, it could be raised again. The spell would just keep Ruxnoth himself out. I mean, that was a major thing. That warped True Celestial… what he could do… it was beyond horrific.
Kai had given the spell to Ryker Morgan and he was in the process of meeting with other supernatural leaders—realms, kingdoms, Covens, to determine if they wanted the spell erected to protect their turfs as well.
I needed to convince Evira to take a break from all her back and forth soon. She was still even doing her work with Exalt through it all, and keeping up with her studies. Not to mention, helping Torvek with the massive reveal that’d happened right there on the battlefield. Apparently, it had been well-received because he’d saved everyone’s asses. But there was some dissent, some issues, and there was political fallout that Evira and Fanor—and Vorzyr—were helping him to navigate. Well, bolstering him—he was a hardass all on his own as it was.
Speaking of Vorzyr, he’d recovered within a few hours after his battle with Ruxnoth, and so had Ariana and Cornelius, although it had taken Ariana a couple of days to regain full power after that brutal siphoning.
The whole fucking thing had been brutal and beyond.
I snatched up Nuvri with my free hand that wasn’t busy stroking Vax’s arm.
I stroked the cute little bear’s head and ears as I placed him on my chest. My bare chest, as I was just lounging on top of the covers in my glittering jeans—one leg black, the other gold. Evira didn’t like Nuvri seeing anyone not fully clothed, but it was justmy chest, and she wasn’t here right now. Besides, maybe if she caught me, I’d get a delicious little punishment from it.
I chuckled to myself, then my gaze wandered around our bedroom.
It was absolutely packed to the brim with gifts.
All from the Basilisk people for Vax.
Over the last few days, so many had been received.
Evira and me had set them up around the bedroom so Vax would have something awesome to see when he first woke up. Like the get-well gift we’d made for him, the dahlia forged from my flame and her ice, that was hovering a couple of inches above his nightstand.
The sweet gifts they’d sent consisted of white-stone mini-sculptures and also black marble etchings of snakes, hearts, carnations, and even replicas of his crown and his jeweled daggers.
My gaze landed back on his nightstand, even though I’d been trying to avoid looking there too much.
Because of what was resting there beside the dahlia.
The amber gemstone from Win.
