Nyx
Lux's voice came from behind me, lighter than the tension now climbing my spine. I didn't look at him. I was caught in the clutches of a past I didn't live, unable to move.
Lux approached me cautiously.
His hand covered my eyes, then he picked me up and carried me away from the area. Even after we were far enough from the branches that they no longer affected me, Lux didn't put me down. He removed his hand just as Keir strode past us toward where we had just come from. A moment later, I heard the sound of a crate being closed. Keir came back around the corner, his usual sunny demeanor gone, and in its place was Director Ajei's stern demeanor.
He did not pull me out of Lux's stabilizing hold. He simply examined me. "Are you okay, dragonfly?" I could only shrug, unsure.
Keir glanced over his shoulder, looked at the group on the other side of the room, then back at me. "I will let them know that you shouldn't be exposed to those branches until the day of the ritual. Looking at you, you were almost triggered into a flare-up."
Keir kissed my forehead, ruffled my hair, then jogged over to the others. Lux silently carried me out of the workroom and back into the foyer. This time, I noticed the seating areas on both sides. Once I was settled, Lux produced a steaming mug of tea.
As I sipped it, I realized I hadn't tasted this one before. Lux sat beside me, quietly watching my every move. It was subtle, but I still recognized his scent of cold smoke and black cypress wrapping around me protectively. I hid my grateful smile in my mug.
"This tea blend is called Mendbone Mercy. It is a calming blend. Korran included a prototype in the tea blends he gifted you but Uncle Hael had improved it since then. In case you were wondering why it tasted different."
I didn't correct Lux's assumption, just sat back and let the tea work. After a few minutes, I was feeling better, and my curiosity started clawing at me again. "So what were those branches anyway?"
Taking the empty cup from my hands, he exchanged it for a small bowl of chocolate raspberry ice cream. I didn't hide my smile as I accepted it and took my first bite.
Lux is such a hypocrite. Just an hour ago, he was teasing our brothers about them spoiling me excessively. Yet who is this person carrying snacks and drinks for me in his pocket space? The tea might have been for me or Zen, but the ice cream was definitely meant for me since Zen doesn't like this flavor.
I didn't call him out on his hypocrisy, just enjoyed his affection. His expression was gentle when he responded to my question. "Those were eldergloom branches from the tree where…you arrived on Asari." The unsaid words settled heavily between us.
My fingers curled around the bowl. For one strange, breathless second, I expected my perception to tilt again. For another memory to slam into me. But instead, I remained numb and weightless. What unsettled me most was how scentless I was despite feeling so out of control. It's a good thing my ward is working, yet part of me ached for the grounding comfort of my own scent.
Abruptly, Keir plopped down on my other side. With his arrival came the scent of charcoal and patchouli. It merged with Lux's seamlessly. Now their care and concern cloaked me from head to toe. I felt distantly proud that I was getting better at discerning emotions and intentions through scent.
Apparently, when Keir noticed the tension on my face, he decided I needed physical contact too. He lazily slumped into my side and rested his head on my shoulder. Seeing his sunny disposition return eased something in me. I couldn't help smiling too when he smiled like that.
"Your situation is unique," he said carefully, "half of the ritual will follow a standard memory exchange structure. The other half of the ritual was divined after Aspen had a premonition the night of the trial dinner."
I dragged my gaze from my ice cream to look at Keir. "Divined how? A premonition of what?"
Keir folded his arms, getting even more comfortable against me. His warmth mixed with Lux's while the weight of him against me felt like a grounding blanket wrapped around my shoulders. "Aspen, Nimra, Uncle Cor, and Azrail did a divination ritual after Aspen's dream told him that the ritual plan would fail if they didn't change certain aspects."
"The universe sure does love to be dramatic." My response amused my brothers. "It really does," Lux agreed.
"Apparently, the branches are one of the items divined as needed to help 'connect what was with what is.'" The words rang through me like a bell. Connect what was with what is.
The image of the eldergloom branches resurfaced, and I tried to understand what context this phrase meant.
Grey and her past are the what was. She was the person who had climbed that tree, tied that knot, and made the sacrifice. The what is…has to be me.
The one who will fully assume her life.
The one who will restore all that had been tainted and corrupted by others.
The one who will achieve her dreams, goals, and destiny in her place.
Just as she will be doing the same in mine.
A shiver ran under my skin. Not a reaction to something physical. It was a shiver of recognition and inevitability. Lux, as if sensing the serious turn of my thoughts, nudged my shoulder with his.
"Hey." I looked up at him. "Don't stress or get anxious. The others are experts. They'll make sure the ritual succeeds."
I snorted softly. "How kind of you. Telling me not to worry or stress will certainly stop me from overthinking."
Lux shrugged with a smug smile. "Be grateful. I'm generous on holidays." Keir and I rolled our eyes. Lux knew I was still sensitive, so he instead picked on Keir in retaliation. Their bickering grounded me in something familiar, enough that I could breathe a little deeper.
The scent of the branches still lingered under everything else in my awareness, strange and distant. But with them being a whole room away, their call was muted enough that I could ignore it. One traumatic trip down memory lane was enough for one day.
Through the open door, I could hear Aspen's low voice asking Rhodri and Taen if they wanted to help him open one of the crates.
Their loud confirmation sent a shot of pure joy to my bruised soul. From the couch, I could see Nimra working with Aunt Zira to separate resonance inks by composition.
In the lab part of the workroom, Azrail was getting scolded by Korran for attempting to do some alchemy with volatile components while kids were present. When I leaned over to get a better look at Azrail's experiment, I thought I saw Korran spank Azrail.
Nope. I saw nothing. I will not entertain any curiosity about my parents' private affairs. When I glanced again, Korran had already shifted to calmly helping Azrail put everything away. Azrail's obedient behavior beside Korran almost made me abandon that vow immediately. The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
"Why do Korran and Nimra keep letting Azrail get away with his shenanigans with nothing more than a slap on the wrist?" Lux blinked, followed my gaze to our dads, then shifted his mischievous eyes back to me. "You saw what you saw. He got spanked on his ass and will likely get the rest of his punishment later." I tried to cover my ears, but Lux and Keir held my hands down. They chuckled as I struggled to block out Lux's words.
I let out a sigh of relief when Lux didn't continue talking. Anymore and I would have had to get violent. I did not need to be traumatized in that way, no matter how humorous I would find it later.
"The actual answer to your question is that Azrail is really good at being the right amount of charming and crazy at the same time. Nimra and Korran love his insanity, so he won't ever change."
"I'm not crazy," Azrail called from the room without looking at us. "I'm creatively ungovernable."
"That," Aspen snapped back, "is somehow worse than you being simply crazy."
Feeling mostly relaxed again, my curiosity surged back to life. I wanted to go look at more stuff. So, ignoring their protests, I returned to the workroom with Lux and Keir flanking me like two entirely different kinds of bodyguard.
"This one looks promising," Lux said, crouching beside a tray of crystal vials. "If I drink this, do you think I gain forbidden knowledge or just die beautifully?" Keir was reading the label card, then looked over at our older brother with an innocent smile.
"Try it. I'm sure Aspen could use you as a case study." Aspen, from three tables away, looked over at us, saw what Lux was considering consuming, then gave an almost identical innocent smile. "I am curious what effect diamond wolf spider venom would have on a mythic tier shifter. You wouldn't mind supporting my research, would you, brother?"
"See, you would be supporting Aspen's research. Bottoms up, big brother." Keir was opening a vial, looking ready to pour it down Lux's throat. In a blink, Lux was in the next row over, glaring and raising his fist at our brothers.
Obviously giving zero fucks about Lux's threat, they simultaneously told him to bring it on. I did not continue watching them. Instead, I turned my focus to studying the items on the tray in front of me.
Motes of changing light floated inside each vial. They began drifting toward my hovering hand.
"What are these?" I asked. "Aether motes," Aunt Zira answered, joining me in my study. "They'll help conduct the memory exchange through your physical body." I looked up. "How will they be used?"
Aunt Zira pulled me into her embrace for a spontaneous cuddle. I've become well accustomed to how touchy Omegas can be around people they love or they sense need comfort. I inhaled a lungful of her saltwater nectar and blue lotus scent, letting her soothe away the last of my lingering tension. She smoothed down my hair with a mother's touch.
"Let me explain how the ritual will proceed. During the ritual, we will, in simple terms, be catapulting your soul through the Astral to a common reality plane for you and Grey to do your exchange."
"The divination only revealed that the actual method of exchange will be handled by you and Grey. We just have to get you there and protect your vulnerable body until you come back."
This sounded like it was going to be a dangerous endeavor. At some point during this cuddle, I began to get drowsy.
"The vials of Aether motes will act as temporary memory drives for your physical body until your soul returns from the Astral and you can physically absorb the gained memories. You'll remain unconscious for however long your mind and soul need to fully integrate the memories."
"We estimate anywhere from one to two weeks of you being in a coma. It will depend on the quality and quantity of the memory exchange."
We rocked back and forth for another moment, letting the quiet settle around us. Soon, I felt completely refreshed and no longer considered cancelling my visit to Zen's house.
Without another word, Aunt Zira gave me one more hug, then went over to see what Uncle Hael and her children had gotten into that was slowly turning them blue with yellow spots. I suspect the equally blue and yellow-spotted laughing Azrail and Keir had something to do with their predicament.
By this time, the first round of inspections was finished. Several items had been separated for additional cleansing and recalibration. Notes were made. Safeguards were being discussed. Aspen, Nimra, Uncle Cor, and Korran had fallen into a more technical discussion near the center table, speaking low and fast enough that I only caught every third word.
No longer blue and yellow spotted, Keir excused himself to help one of the attendants move seven warded chests into the main ritual room. Lux wandered out to the refreshment tables in the foyer, declaring that if rituals demanded this much discussion, then booze and sandwiches should be legally mandatory.
I lovingly watched my family, who would soon be departing for their holiday public appearances, when the fragrance of resin, basil, and something ancient curled around me like an invitation.
From the shadows walked a softly smiling Azrail. He looked me over, then pulled me into his side. Every day, I grow more sensitive to the essence around me, so I didn't miss him poking and prodding my system for any issues.
Then to my shock, he straight up disregarded one of the core rules of essencecrafting. He directly injected his essence into my cores, and my cores were accepting it.
Outside of a ritual or a medical facility, another should not be able to inject their personal essence into another person. Also, the essence should need to be refined into neutral essence for the body to accept foreign essence.
Even as my parent, he should not be able to do what he is doing. Now I'm all for breaking the rules when necessary, but this shouldn't be possible. I looked up at him, shocked. His soft smile never changed.
"There are things demons can do that the other races can't do. As a demon-born, remember your existence allows you to bend the rules. That is what will truly make this ritual possible. This ritual has never been done before and would probably not even work unless they fit the exact parameters to even attempt it—someone like you." Azrail's golden eyes peered into mine, searching.
He didn't look like he found what he was searching for, but instead looked at me with a strange glint that made his eyes look reflective like a beast's. I could not look away. I now was the one searching his eyes. He knew something. It was important enough that I felt like I was on the edge of an epiphany.
His calloused hand held my chin as if he was worried I would look away. "Did you know your essence system is becoming very demon-like in structure? That will be a boon for your future ascensions, but especially for what you will have to do to achieve your goal in this ritual."
I was struggling to comprehend these nuggets of information when I felt a tug on my consciousness. I blinked and found myself looking at a vortex of light and darkness. Stars were born and dying in cycles. Constellations rotated in a rhythm that I couldn't describe, but I instinctively knew.
I felt whole and hollow for one clear moment. A part of myself I didn't recognize was unmuffled in that moment, and it resonated with the Constellations' rhythm.
I wanted to sing with exhilaration, but then the moment was over, the resonance was paused, and the memory of that moment was sealed.
I blinked. I couldn't see myself, but I knew where I was. Inside Azrail's essence system. It was vast and appeared endless. There was chaos, but there was also order. Everything was as balanced as the glimpse I saw of Nimra's system.
And he just said mine was becoming like his? I feel Nimra's is more like his than mine. I wonder what Korran's or the others look like.
Then, with a sigh, I was back in my body with Azrail looking at me, intrigued and elated. "I wasn't prepared for your visit, so I hope you will excuse the mess. Everything looked in order in there?" He spoke so softly that I almost couldn't hear him.
"Your system is … it leaves me speechless. I do not see how you could think my system is becoming anything like yours. If anyone's gives off the same impression as yours, it would be Nimra's."
This statement put a strange gleam in Azrail's eyes, then he blinked slowly. "Very perceptive, my little queen. Very perceptive indeed. Every week as I see you grow and heal, you make me believe in the impossible."
With watery eyes and a smile, he kissed my head reverently. I felt like he was saying more than what I was hearing, but I didn't yet have enough context to read between the lines.
"You might just be the answer to a prayer. Keep growing and ascending, little queen. Azrail will hold the line until you are ready."