A Court of Death and Retribution

chapter 39

Everyone went still.

They all stared at me with shock written all over their faces. If they were smart, they'd kill me now before the Dark Mother could use me.

She claims to have control over my dark magic, and I believe her. She's a goddess after all, so why wouldn't she be able to control her creations?

Finally, Rhysand cleared his throat. "Assemble the Valkyries and the Illyrians we can trust." he nodded to Cassian, Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie. "Get the Darkbringers." He looked to Mor, who nodded in return.

Lucien came back outside at some point, all of us in too much shock to notice. "I'll winnow to Vassa and Jurian. We'll collect as many humans willing to fight."

Rhysand gave him a curt nod, then everyone dispersed except for Nyx and I. My skin prickled with fear, but Nyx lifted my head to meet his eyes. His reassuring gaze made me feel the smallest bit of security, but I couldn't shake the awful feeling forming in my gut.

"I'll stand by you every step of the way. We'll do this together, okay?" Nyx placed a kiss to my forehead.

"Together." I whispered back, then kissed his lips gently.

He kissed me back with all of the love he had for me. I felt it rattle down the bond—pure and strong. He had me, and I had him. Together we'd take down the Dark Mother. Together we'd fight the witches and the Death Gods.

When we separated, he took my hand and winnowed us to the wards before the House of Wind, then carried me as we flew into the house. We met Adira, Maeve, and Cal in the armory.

Silently we all gathered the weapons we would need for battle. I found it odd that they were all still dressed in regular clothes, but they slipped on their own pairs of black gloves, each adorned with colorful gems. Adira's was red, Maeve's was blue, and Cal's was green. I had seen my father periodically wear gloves of a similar fashion, but I never asked what they meant in fear that he'd hurt me for asking.

Nyx turned to me, then snapped his fingers. I looked down in shock to see that he had changed me out of my sweater and pants so that I now wore Illyrian armor. Black feather-like scales rested on my shoulders and faded down the rest of my body. The material was easy to move in and tight to my skin. After snapping his fingers again, he wore the same armor, tailored to his body perfectly.

Nyx sighed deeply, then walked over to me, strapping my weapons to my body and making sure they were secure. His eyes shifted to look at my neck, and with his gentle fingers he took my onyx necklace and tucked it into my armor. I gave him a grim smile as he kissed my forehead, then we turned to Adira, Maeve, and Cal.

"Save your dark magic until you have to use it. It tires you out too quickly." Maeve said to me as she strapped a dagger to her thigh.

I nodded at her, then Adira spoke. "Siphon from us. You're an expert by now, so don't hesitate okay?"

I gave Adira a small nod.

Cal forced a smile on his face. "Let's go kill some witches."

Everyone gave him a smile in return, and all at once, they tapped the gems on their right hand. I stared wide-eyed at them as Illyrian armor formed around their bodies in a ripple of black waves. My jaw dropped as I noticed more gems on their armor.

Adira and Maeve wore six gems each of their respective colors while Cal wore five.

"It helps them control their power." Nyx said when he noticed my awe.

"Without them, our power would go untamed." Maeve said with a smirk.

"They're called siphons, actually." Cal said with a small chuckle, drawing the same interesting coincidence that I had.