Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 20: The Different Land

Nyx felt strangely weightless. Like he might float away at the slightest nudge. 

He blinked a few times against the light blinding him, pleased to realize it was sunlight. It was a dream. It had to be. I'll go downstairs and tell Amren about it, maybe. 

As his delirious thoughts raced through his brain, a blonde woman entered his line of sight. She leaned over him, her golden braid falling to tickle his face. She wore a skin-tight shirt of black cotton, a slim, silver armored corselet, and a scowl on her otherwise pleasant features. It was only when he saw her forest-green eyes that his brain had a blink of remembrance. 

"Hey, Delilah," He mumbled. Then his eyes rolled into his head, and he vanished into the dark. 

-------------------------------------

"Hey. Bat boy. Wake up." Nyx scrunched his eyes together and batted away the hand currently slapping his cheek. 

"Stop that," He grunted, sitting up. Instantly, a wave of dizziness overtook him. He forced open his eyes, his arms going to wrap around his stomach as nausea and pain spun his vision. 

"Idiot," A female voice hissed. "Lay back down before you knock yourself out again, fool." 

Nyx blinked blearily, trying to focus his vision on the dark-haired woman before him. "Who are you?" 

"Currently, I'm the one fixing your sorry ass," The woman replied, a wry smirk on her dark lips. She reached out a hand and pushed his shoulder, causing him to collapse back to the ground. Nyx grunted at the sharp pain in his shoulder. 

"Well, you're doing a terrible job," He muttered, closing his eyes. The woman laughed and resumed tying a bandage around his right forearm.  

"You have a sprained shoulder, two broken ribs, a rather large cut on your arm, what might be a concussion, and a million other things that are bruised or bleeding," She said, her voice somewhat guarded. "Actually, you're lucky I'm helping you at all, World-walker." 

Nyx's eyes shot open. "World-what??" He shot up, ignoring the pain that blurred his vision. "What do you mean, World-walker?" 

The woman's piercing gold eyes didn't so much as blink. "You're honestly going to tell me you don't know you opened a Wyrdgate?" 

Nyx's mind refused to understand her words. "I- Wyrdgate? What??" 

The woman's dark brows drew together, and she laid a hand on his shoulder, a bit more gentle this time as she eased him back down. "Okay, I believe you. I've never seen a male look so bewildered." 

"I have," Came another female voice from Nyx's left. He turned his head and saw the blonde woman he'd mistaken for Delilah. Now that he was fully awake, he could see she looked nothing like his friend. She was much tanner, her hair a darker gold, her long limbs more muscled. 

The woman jutted her chin towards the silver-haired boy standing next to her. "Reave looked positively baffled when we found him." 

"He has wings!" The boy, Reave, protested as if he was unable to help himself. "His bone structure alone must be-" 

"Alright, we get it, big brain," The dark-haired woman interrupted. "He's interesting. But he's also injured." She turned back to him. "And confused, I'd bet." 

"Please stop talking about me as if I'm not present," Nyx grumbled. He glanced around the small campsite they were sitting at. In front of him stretched a vast, emerald green forest, as far as he could see. The sun beat down on him, bright and heavy, telling him it was late in the morning. He twisted and saw mountains looming into the sky. "Where am I?"