A Court of Thrones and Thieves (ACOTAR FANFIC)

Chapter 31

~~~NYX~~~~

Loki Brekker was deteriorating faster than anticipated. The dark veins spread on her face in a marble-like fashion. For the moment her eyes still remained that steel grey that Nyx adored, but he would catch them flicker to black when she thought he wasn't looking. 

She had blocked the bond so that Nyx wouldn't feel whatever agony was being forced on her. She thought it mercy but Nyx saw it as a worse torture.  

He felt completely separated from her, there was a cold emptiness in his heart, a void left by the blocked bond. 

It was hell to watch her pretend she was perfectly fine. 

He would ask her time and time again to accept the bond and save herself from this torment. She would only respond, 'When you can ensure your life and safety, I will.'

The entirety of the Inner Circle worked to find something, anything that would allow for both of the mates to live. 

Nyx was terrified. 

Because he knew that if it came down to it, no one would pick Loki's life over his. 

Even the crows knew that Loki would rather be dead than live at the cost of his safety. His family would choose him every time, regardless of how he would feel afterward. 

In his opinion, Rhysand and Feyre could always have another heir. The world could never again have another Loki Brekker. 

She was fundamental. In his eyes, she was the center of the universe, a goddess in her own right. The world would be worse off if Loki Brekker was... dead. 

Cauldron, he despised that thought. 

He hated the idea of something happening to Loki and now it appears as if everyone else is resigned to watching her fade away into madness. It's as if they are holding their breath until the bargain forces Rhysand to kill her. 

Nyx hadn't slept, the threat to his mate hanging over his head like a sword on a string. 

Hours in the library continued to yield no results. 

He sat in the silence, then a sharp pain shot down the bond. It was so intense that even Loki's blockade couldn't completely stifle it from reaching him.

He was racing up to the house in seconds, it was the fastest he had ever gone. He slammed hard into the wall at a particularly sharp turn. Her door was locked but it didn't even register to Nyx as he pushed it open with such force that the handle exploded in his hands, the wood of the door splintering under his power and flying open. 

His eyes immediately locked onto her shaking form as she tried to hold back the screams. 

Blood poured from her nose and her onyx black eyes. Her skin was completely white and covered in a layer of sweat. She didn't even notice him come in as she gripped her chest, her fingernails digging harshly into the skin drawing even more blood. 

"MOM! DAD! GET MADJA NOW!!!" Nyx roared pulling Loki into his arms. 

As he lifted her off the ground an agonizing scream tore from her throat. He worried she might rip her vocal cords apart by the force of her cry. 

His ears rang, all he heard was her screams. Not the Inner circle rushing around him, not as Madja tried to pry Loki from his tight grip, only her pain and terror that she continued to block from him as much as she could. 

It took Azriel, Cassian, and Rhysand to finally get her away from him so that Madja could do her job. 

Nyx growled and lashed and roared, trying desperately to get back to his mate. The mate that was in pain because of him. 

The night came and the house quieted. Loki remained in a sleep induced by Madja. She had hoped that the symptoms would slow their progression if she was not awake. 

They were losing Loki and they were losing her fast.

Nyx remembered the stories, the stories from his aunt Nesta and Uncle Cassian of this house. It was alive and always brought them what they needed.

Nyx descended into the depths of the library, down down down. 

Into the dark void that once housed Loki's father Bryaxis. The air felt heavy, the darkness somehow felt darker here.  

He reached the bottom falling to his knees. Tears gathered in his eyes that refused to adjust to the darkness. 

"Please," Nyx sobbed. "Please help me. I know you helped my aunt Nesta in the past. I know that you are alive. M-My mate, Loki, she's hurting. She's... S-she's dying. She won't save herself because of me. I don't know what to do. I need her... I need her more than anything. Please, I'm begging you to help me save her." 

The air remained heavy.

The darkness remained unmoving.

The silence remained stifling. 

His body shook with sobs, quickly losing the last flame of hope that he held onto. His mate was dying and it was all his fault. He was one of the most powerful beings in Prythian, but he found himself utterly powerless to save his mate. 

He stood on shaking legs, prepared to walk back up the stairs and spend the remaining time he had with his mate. 

He would follow her anywhere, even to death. He knew that now. He knew that the moment Loki left this earthly plane, he too would follow. He would rather die than live in a world devoid of Loki Brekker. 

Her smart quips, the cold tone that hid her love for her family, the protective edge in her eyes that she always had.  He could not live without the feeling of her unarmoured hands gliding against his skin, a privilege that he alone had. 

She thought herself a monster, Nyx knew that. He had seen every memory she had. Loki was not a monster to Nyx, she was a survivor. A morally grey survivor who did a lot of bad, but did a lot of good too.

No, the world would be a lot more empty when Loki Brekker left it. 

Just as he turned to leave, Nyx heard the satisfying plop of a hardcover book hitting the ground behind him.

.