Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 43: The Actions

Gods, Estelle loved it when things finally made sense. 

Marzanna was behind it all. She'd come to murder Aelin and break the spell separating their two worlds. Having failed, she'd tried to kill Estelle using Danica. 

The only things she couldn't fit into the story were Nyx and Amandla. What did they have to do with this? 

Nyx answered that, much to her chagrin. 

"Remember what they said?" He asked her later, as they sat together in Estelle's room, mulling over the events of the day. "Blood of the Sworn. We are the blood of the people who swore the spell." 

"So?" Estelle asked, lounging in an armchair with one leg crossed over the other. She'd chosen the chair farthest from his, but still close enough that they could talk. So far, she hadn't been able to look at him for longer than a few seconds. Doing so made a strange, restless wind stir in her chest. He did not seem to suffer the same problem. She didn't think he'd taken his eyes off her since they'd entered the room. 

If someone had asked Estelle what she thought Nyx was thinking, she doubted she'd have been able to answer. She knew she was currently berating herself every time her mind strayed back to the last time they'd been alone together. Which was often, much to her own annoyance. But she didn't think Nyx was so shallow. 

"So, what have we learned about Blood Oaths and spells sworn by blood?" He asked, standing. She tensed as he walked closer, but he simply began to pace back and forth between them. Estelle drew her legs to her chin anyway, making as much space between them as she could. 

"Blood-sworn spells are extremely complicated, for one," Estelle replied. "The magic locking one's very blood to the spell is intricate, and requires exact wording to bind properly." 

"Exactly!" Nyx stopped a few feet from her, a grin splitting his face that made her own lips twitch upward. She chose to watch his nose instead after that. "What if, when our mothers cast the spell, they messed it up somehow. So that their blood, the blood in their veins, was unable to open doors--" 

"But the blood flowing through their children's veins was not," Estelle muttered, finally catching on. "Holy fucking hell, Nyx. You could have gone home all along!" 

To her surprise, Nyx shook his head. "Even if I'm correct, I can't leave now. I won't even try." 

Estelle tried to ignore the horrible relief those words sent through her. "Why not?" 

"Amandla." Estelle tried not to visibly deflate at that. Right. She was still possessed. "I can't take her home like this. I can't bring that danger back to my own world." 

"Ah. Right," Estelle cleared her throat and looked away from him to her fingers, finding even his nose intolerable at the moment. 

"Also..." Nyx seemed to hesitate at the next words. She could practically feel his eyes burning a hole into her face. She vaguely wondered if he was trying to read her mind again. "I know Marzanna has tried to kill your family before. I can't just leave you here-- you all here to fight her while I run back home." 

Estelle dared to raise her eyes and found that Nyx's gaze had finally turned elsewhere. He stared at the fire now, arms crossed and foot tapping against the floor. 

"I suppose I've always wanted an adventure," Nyx muttered, almost to himself. "And now that I've got one right in front of me, the opportunity to run isn't very enticing." 

"It's normally not," Estelle said, though she knew he hadn't really been talking to her. "Running is a coward's move. To stay and fight for what you love... that is what we are remembered for, in the end."