Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 18: The Fall

Well, at least I'll die before Mother can kill me. 

Nyx nearly laughed at himself. Falling to his death from six hundred feet up, and his mind had the nerve to make a joke. He felt as if he were drunk, or watching this happen to someone else. Surely he couldn't be the one wrapped in a net, falling towards the dark woods below. 

It was as if someone slapped him. Mother above, what was he doing?! Nyx shook his head sharply and twisted, trying to shove the net off his wings so he could fly. He didn't dare look at the ground racing towards him, or think about the cold wind whipping straight through him.

Nyx kicked out his feet and shoved at the net, but it refused to budge. Nyx inhaled deeply through his nose, then out through his mouth, keeping himself calm. You can fix this.

Desperately, Nyx churned through his mind for ideas. For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was Azura talking to him about the Old World. 

"The Old World is what we call Erilea, the home of Queen Aelin Galathynius." 

Aelin Galathynius, the Queen of Terrasen, the World-Walker who'd probably saved Nyx's life along with his mother's. Why was he thinking about the Queen when he was about to slam into the ground at break-neck speed? 

He remembered the story his mother had told, of their trip through the Lock. How his father had slowed them with his dark power. 

And Nyx knew what to do. 

Nyx flipped himself over so he was facing the ground. His heart nearly stopped when he saw how little time he had left. He didn't hesitate. He released a loud yell and shot out his hands as far as he could, starry black magic blasting from his palms. 

Just as soon as Nyx had released the magic, he crashed into it, punching right through it. He did it again, and again, and again until finally, he was close enough to the ground that he curled himself into a ball. He crashed through a tree, ignoring the rough branches whipping at his clothes and skin, and hit the packed ground rolling. 

He rolled to a stop and flipped onto his back, panting hard. He could feel the sting of the cuts from the trees, definitely a bruised bone or two, but he was alive. Nyx allowed himself one moment to breathe. Then he rolled over, groaning at his aching body. 

Nyx raised himself up onto his hands and tried to stand up, but the net didn't extend that much. He settled for sitting with his knees bent and wrapped his hand around one of the links, calling his magic to his hands. 

While most of the power he possessed was that of his father, he had a bit of his mother in him too. Bright yellow flames flickered from his fingertips, melting through the net. He made quick work of it and burned himself a hole that he promptly pulled over his head and body, stepping out of it with ease. Only then did he look up to see his surroundings. 

He'd gone down somewhere southwest of Velaris, in the forests that grew between the coastline and the mountains. While not as dangerous as the Middle, these forests still held many faeries who'd love nothing more than to slit Nyx's throat. He needed to leave here before any of them found him. 

Nyx spread his wings and pushed off the ground, launching into the sky. Without warning, a sharp pain exploded in his shoulder, and his right wing spasmed, causing him to crash back to the ground with a loud yell. Nyx threw out his arms to catch himself and hissed as he slammed back into the dirt. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and spit some grass out of his mouth. "Shit." 

He rolled over and stood up, turning his head to try and inspect his shoulder. He raised his right wing, after a moment, tried to flap it. Instantly, he hissed in pain. His fingers dug into his palm as he dragged a breath into his lungs.