Lily, now knowing why her scarred shoulder ached, rubbed the knot that made her stomach churn. The idea she still had a piece of Yuric with her was sickening and she had no idea how they were going to get it out.
She needed to see a doctor but it was hard to find one with supernatural ties - her aunt was a nurse and didn't perform surgeries. Not to mention the fact she'd heal faster than they could cut. How would it leave her shoulder? Or was she going to live in Tyrill all her life?
As Lily threw her thoughts aside she finally realised Jack had been talking. "-makes no sense." Jack scoffed. "I mean, how did my Mama end up with Niall's number anyway? Is she going to leave me alone on my holiday at any point? I can't believe this."
"She's a psychic isn't she?" Lily asked before Jack's rant got out of control.
"Yeah but she's not omnipotent or whatever the word is."
"Omniscient?"
"That one." Jack flicked her hair out of her narrowed eyes. "Mama's abilities go with instinct or energy, you know? She wouldn't know the number of someone she hasn't met before. Mama does the classic, stereotypical witch thing of knowing herbal remedies, weird teas. She knows the antidotes to everything."
Lily frowned, not knowing whether that was completely true or not. Freida Slater came across as someone who had many facades. She could never get a read on Jack's mother; Lily only knew she always felt watched whenever in her home.
"How did she become the supernova?" Lily asked as Jack helped her climb up the bank to the road.
"Well, after my grandmother died, no one really stood up to Mama." Jack breathed a sigh of relief when her feet hit the tarmac and saw her car was still intact. "She was Andromeda's daughter, you know? Everyone was just trying to survive the new vampires running around. Mama used her remedies to help heal the wounds they made - the supernaturals gave her the title of Supernova because she held all the cards."
As Lily scrambled up the rest of the bank with her good arm, the hairs on the back of her neck rose just before he began to speak. She saw him, in her peripheral vision, slowly land on the road behind her and Jack.
"She sounds like the witches in Ireland." Niall chipped in and Jack jumped out of her skin.
"Jeez!" She squeaked, hissing when her wrists jolted. Her magic flared up and reformed the bracing again, instantly soothing the pain. "I'm gonna hook a bell on you or something! Stop doing that!"
Niall laughed, violet eyes dancing. Lily noticed his feet still hovered slightly above the road even though his eyes were their normal shade. "You guys took a long time walking up here."
"Yeah? Well not all of us freaking fly." Jack grabbed her chest to calm her racing heart. "Couldn't you have, I don't know, flown us here? Have you been watching us walk the entire time?!"
"Maybe." Niall's lips tugged up before he looked over to Lily. He frowned seeing the blur of her arm, noticing the sling for the first time. He floated over, a hand outstretched to make sure he didn't fly straight into her. "Is your arm in a sling?"
Lily grabbed his hand before it reached her paralysed arm, stilling at Niall's soft fingers curling around her own. "Yeah." Lily swallowed. "I, uh, injured it last week."
"Oh yeah, you injured it." Jack muttered under her breath. "Was totally your fault, of course."
Niall frowned at Jack's comments, blind to the pleading look Lily sent Jack. "Oh I'm sorry," he took his hand back, "how long until it's out of the sling?"
"Um." Lily scratched her head, flinching when the aching knot in her shoulder twisted. "I'm not sure. It's temporarily paralysed."
"Oh," Niall's eyes danced over her, never landing on her own - he couldn't see them this far away. "I hope you heal up soon."
"Thank you." Lily smiled and then realised Niall probably couldn't see her smiling. The awkwardness snapped in place when she realised they were all just standing by Jack's car.
"I'm fine too." Jack broke the tension. "I mean, my wrist are swollen but, you know, I'm great otherwise - shall we get in the car?"
Niall laughed and Lily grinned, thankful Jack was with her. She always seemed to know when Lily was stuck and got her out before her anxiety rolled in like a storm. "Yep, let's go." She whispered unintentionally. Lily blinked in surprise when Niall's hand brushed along the car until he found the door handle, opening the door for her.
"Oh, thank you." Lily flushed, hopping into the passenger seat. Niall gently shut the door behind her before he slid into the backseat. Jack raised an eyebrow at Lily, eyes alight in amusement as well as magic, the green wisps coiling around her hands as she turned the ignition.
"Are you guys excited to see Tyrill?" Niall beamed, hands on their headrests as Jack began driving, the car jolting as they rode over shards of bark from the tree Jack had exploded what felt like hours ago.
"We've never been." Lily said, speaking despite the static in her stomach. Was she still being awkward?
"I hope you like snow then - Tyrill's right by the ski slopes. Do you guys ski or snowboard?" Niall asked, practically bouncing in his seat.
"Oh no, not me." Jack said, wincing when she turned the wheel to follow the road, her wrists straining. She wished someone else was here to drive them to Niall's home town. "I'll fall flat on my face in seconds."
"That's fun, though! What about you Lily?"
Lily paused hearing Niall say her name, the slight accent sending goosebumps over her arms. "I, uh, I haven't skied or snowboarded before." She admitted, hiding behind her now dry hair.
"You're going to love it, I'll teach you both how to snowboard if you like?" He offered. Lily hesitated, smiling at the offer, but the smile faded when Niall spoke again. "When your arm is better, I should say, sorry."
"That's okay." Lily's foot started to bounce in the car after she tried to fidget with her fingers, forgetting her right hand was still numb to movement.
Jack waited for Lily to say more, and after she didn't she spoke up. "I don't fancy falling on my face for the world to see." She said. "Is there a place we can stay in Tyrill, by the way? A motel or something?"
"There's the Inn," Niall mused, "but I don't think there's any rooms free. You can stay in my house though?"
Jack raised an eyebrow, staring at him in the rear view mirror. "We've just met and now you want us to stay with you? How do I know you're not going to kill us while we sleep?"
Niall shrugged. "I'm just offering. My parents are in Ireland at the moment but my uncle won't mind you two staying if you two don't mind sharing a bed?"
Lily paused at the offer. "I don't mind?" She said, watching Jack's face. The witch was glaring at Niall but he couldn't see the disapproval in her eyes. "Jack?"
"I don't mind." She mumbled. Jack hated sharing a bed - she liked having her own pillows and blankets, and she wriggled viciously enough she'd accidentally kick Lily out during the night. "Who else is in the house besides you and your uncle?"
"My brother and my two sisters." Niall leaned back in his seat. "Take a right here by the way - they won't mind either. It'll be fun to have a full house of people again."
Lily wet her lips before speaking. "Do, um, how much will it cost?" She asked, turning her head slightly so she could see him blink in shock in the back seat.
"Oh! No it won't cost a thing, don't worry. Uncle Rodger will let anyone stay with him that's just been attacked by rogues - you'll be safest with us."
Jack snorted. "Your uncle's name is Rodger? As in, like roger that? Over and out?"
"Jack you can't make fun of someone's name." Lily frowned.
"I'm just teasing! It's cool, he seems like a cool guy." Jack adjusted the car onto the climbing road, gripping the wheel tightly when they reached the mountain winds. The car rocked under the strength of the gale but Niall waved their worry away, the gusts easing enough that the car stopped rocking.
"We're almost there!" Niall said, leaning forward in his seat again. "So, how long have you been running from the rogues?"
"Um, technically a day." Lily realised, remembering they'd only left Jack's house this morning before they were ambushed on the way to Widderin to find Haidan.
"Yeah we're not really any good at running from the rogues." Jack chuckled. "Are you sure there won't be any rogue trouble here?"
"Absolutely!" Niall was so confident he almost erased Lily's worry. Almost. "There's only three supernaturals up here, including me, and there hasn't been anyone besides humans in, like, six years or something."
Lily frowned at the time line, remembering she'd read something about six years at some point, but the memory was blurry. "Who else is in Tyrill?"
Niall hesitated and Jack immediately caught it. "Ooh, hiding things from us already, twinkle toes?" She teased. "Is one your girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Are they both?"
Niall blushed; his cheeks, ears, and neck reddening in embarrassment. "No," his voice wobbled, "but they're both kind of in hiding?"
"In hiding?" Lily asked but Niall didn't answer.
"It's a long story and I'm not really the guy to ask." Niall admitted before he pointed towards the road. "You'll want to take a left in...now?"
Jack slammed on the brakes, throwing them all forward before their seat belts snapped taut around them. Lily froze completely as the seat belt jolted her scarred shoulder and pushed against her chest. Another memory of squealing tyres drowned her senses.
"Dammit!" Jack cursed as she turned sharply left into the road Niall pointed out. "You need to point the directions out sooner!"
"Well I can't really see where the road is," Niall said. "I'm kinda guessing."
"What?!" Jack hissed. "And you say this now?! I could have got a GPS out ages ago!"
Lily tuned them out as she tried to calm herself down. She didn't like cars. She didn't like driving - she lost her parents and sisters in a car accident six years ago. Lily had survived on luck alone, or on some days she thought it was a lack of luck. She could feel her lungs leaden, the static anxiety rocketing through her body. She was about to hyperventilate, she knew it. Lily was going to have an anxiety attack in Jack's car, with Niall whom she'd just met, and they were going to see her sob and wheeze and shake. Lily could feel her eyes water already, her shoulder seizing and her throat locked up. Her hands began to shake.
"Lily?" Niall gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Air instantly rushed through her lungs, the heavy weight on her chest easing. The shakes were still there, both of her hands trembling, but Lily gasped as much air as she could. Lily glimpsed Niall's hand moving in her peripheral and instantly her window was down. Fresh air rushed through the car, kissing her cheeks and chest. It's cool touch soothed her - the mountain air was as sharp as ice against her pale skin but it was what she needed.
"Lily?" Niall asked again, swivelling so he was partially in her vision. Lily stayed looking at her hands but she glimpsed his eyes now swirling an almost translucent pink. He was using his abilities, or letting the nymph forward.
He was stopping her anxiety attack before it began.
She couldn't speak, not yet, so she nodded instead. Niall kept his reassuring hand on Lily's slung shoulder as he turned to Jack, who had been bickering the whole time.
"-goodness sake. Did you really roll down my windows?! How'd you do that?! This is my car Nymph, my rules, don't fiddle with my things!" Jack ranted, glaring at him, before realising that Lily was deathly pale and sweating. "What's wrong Lily?"
"You should see a junction at the end of the road," Niall ignored Jack's question. "Take a right, you'll drive through Tyrill. When you pass the pub on the left, take the next left, and follow the road all the way to the end. It goes to my house."
"Hang on, what's wrong with Lily?"
"And we're going to be silent for the rest of the trip." Niall's tone changed. Hardening, leaving no room for negotiation. Jack raised an eyebrow at the order and bristled. No one told her what to do - Niall wasn't her father - but the look in Lily's eyes told her to listen.
Lily was grateful the ride was silent. She didn't know what Tyrill looked like, she didn't look up from her lap. All she could hear was her rapid heartbeat in her ears. Nausea churned in her stomach like a whirlpool. But each time the heavy feeling of her lungs locking up and stopping her from breathing arose, the wind's touch rushed around her neck and over her cheeks, forcing air back in her lungs.
Niall's hand never left her shoulder for the entire car ride, only moving off when Jack pulled into a cobblestone driveway.
Lily didn't pay attention to Niall's words to Jack, only realising he asked her to wait at the front door with their bags when she heard her grumbling about orders while unloading the car boot.
Her door opened up and she finally moved, her legs shaking beneath her as she stood outside the car. Niall gently closed it behind her, his hand wavering a little as his skewed depth perception misjudged how far away she was, but his hand rested on her shoulder once again.
The cool breeze helped, being on solid ground and out of the car. She wasn't confined to the metal walls, reliant on tyres as transport. As soon as Lily was out the car, the static in her body eased enough that she could look Niall in the eye.
"Are you okay?" He asked gently, cocking his head to the side. Niall's eyes were back to their original violet.
Lily nodded. "I-I'm okay. Thank you for...helping and, you know, understanding."
Niall brought his hands to his sides. "My sister Annie has anxiety. Hers is bad, like really bad. I can only help ease the hyperventilating but I've seen her go through enough that I know how to help others, you know?"
Lily hesitated for a second. "I don't get them very often. It's...I, um...I don't like cars?" She tried to explain before Niall shook his head, his white hair falling in front of his face.
"You don't have to explain." Niall's smile was as soft as his touch had been. "Did you want to head inside? I can show you and Jack your room."
"Okay." Lily said as Niall floated away from the car and towards Jack, who was leaning against the front door watching the whole exchange, too far away to hear what was said.
Standing for a second longer at Jack's car, seeing Niall shrug off Jack's glare and enter the front door, Lily's chest warmed. The witch waited by the door for Lily to walk up the stairs, letting her walk in first. The setting sun filled the inside of Niall's home with an orange glow - the stair case immediately on the right going to the upper floor with a balustrade overlooking the foyer. There were pictures everywhere of Niall's family but the house was silent.
Niall's feet skidded across the shiny wooden floor of his home as he turned to look back at them. "This way!" He said cheerily and flew under the balustrade, turning down a corridor before the plush living room.
Jack raised an eyebrow at his home and nodded after a moment. "I approve. The plants are well kept here."
"You approve of what?" Lily whispered, her exhaustion catching up to her.
"Who was it that wanted men raining from the sky only a few hours ago?" Jack wiggled her eyebrows.
Lily couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks if she tried. "How was your chat with the movie-loving Haidan?" She quipped.
"Oh would you look at that it's time to find our room!" Jack looked at her bare wrist as Lily chuckled. "Stop laughing Lily!"
She stopped laughing but Lily was smiling the whole time as they went to their room. The scent of fresh flowers greeted them first. Niall was already inside and was just placing some new towels on the corner of the large bed before pulling the sheer curtains over to soften the blinding sunset filling the room. His white hair looked orange in the light but somehow his beaming smile was brighter still.
Jack and Niall both saw the exhaustion in Lily's eyes, and she didn't bother to hide it. They left the room, Niall offering Jack a tour of his home, and Lily immediately removed her shoes and dirty sling, lying down on the plush bed.
As soon as she lay down she realised that Niall had opened the window in the room. Lily quickly fell asleep to the wind kissing her cheeks, the sun warming her toes, and the smell of flowers wafting under her nose.