Fury | Nyx Archeron

Chapter Twenty-Two

fuck you forever

🌩️      🦇      🗡️      🌲      ✨

The next two days took a toll on Tessa. It wasn't the blissful post-marriage period she'd have liked, but she knew that would be the case before she'd planned it, so she supposed she couldn't complain. She'd said goodbye to her husband with their customary farewell—her hand over his heart, wishing when she said 'see you' it would be much, much sooner.

She knew it was silly to be worried when the Suriel had confirmed he would come back, not to mention there wasn't anyone in Prythian more powerful than him, but these things didn't help to ease her anxiety. She still had nightmares that somehow she'd step on a beetle or something and it would change the course of time, booting her into a different future. She'd tried not to show her worry around Feyre, knowing that she was stressing too and had reverted to training excessively and spending time with the cousins.

She'd spent the day with Caden yesterday, ribbing him about the love life he insisted he didn't have. She was certain she'd seen him with a female on the eve of Starfall, though she supposed they might have just been a one night stand. He refuted any and all claims he was even interested in someone and told her they didn't all need to be blissfully mated by year's end. Tessa was sufficiently chastised and moved onto ribbing Callisto instead.

Between Nyx being gone and the note from the Hewn City though, she felt like she was on tenterhooks; waiting and waiting for something bad to happen. She could feel Nyx down the bond—his presence a steady thrum that reassured her everything was fine. She figured she could probably follow that string along and find herself within reach of his daemati powers, but she respected his need to concentrate on the task at hand and left him to it, only allowing the soothing feeling of her presence to resonate toward him.

Currently, Tessa was showing Callisto how to forge daggers—a diversion from their original task for the morning. Tessa was supposed to be working on a new set of siphons, but after seeing the work of art she had brought home from the Hewn City, Callisto had decided she needed to try her hand at creating something similar. It would take her years to perfect a craft like that but Tessa didn't bother to say so—she was nothing if not an enabler.

Things had been quiet in Windhaven since Nyx had kicked Devlon's ass six ways to Sunday and misted Leander. Not that she'd been up here all that much, her training with Finn having stalled for the time being with everything going on—anyway, it had been quiet—too quiet for Tessa's liking. She was convinced something would happen before they'd manage to quell the Illyrians' discontent.

Tessa usually liked being right. This time? Not so much.

The explosion was like a sonic boom. Loud enough and with enough force that they could hear it—feel it—from within her cottage miles away.

"What the fuck is that?" Callisto hissed, darting for the doorway. Tessa was only a step behind her, checking that her daggers were present in their holsters—one at her thigh and one in each boot. They tumbled out after each other, turning to peer past the tree line where smoke was rising above the pines.

Making a split second decision, Tessa threw herself into the air, two powerful wingbeats putting her at the same height as the treetops. What did she have to fear to continue hiding her ability to fly? She had people in her life now that would fight tooth and nail for her—that would never let anything happen to her wings.