I felt the others listening. Felt the truth of it settle into all of them. Thyros had not been born because the darkness won. He had been born because it hadn’t.
“I know where it is.” Dravok’s voice cut cleanly through the silence.
The Warden of Shadows stood near the viewport, one hand braced against the wall as darkness churned beyond the ship. The dim lighting carved hard lines across his face, sharpening the ancient weariness in his expression.
“The Harrowed One never truly left Earth Prime,” he said quietly. “Not completely. The fracture began there. The wound anchored itself there. It is the center of Nox Eternum.”
A chill moved through the room. I could almost see it in my mind now. The broken remains of the first Earth, suspended inside eternal darkness. The birthplace of humanity. The graveyard of the Elysians.
The throne of the Harrowed One.
Dravok pushed away from the viewport. “We’ll need to pass through the deepest instability currents of the Abyss to reach it.” His gaze flicked toward Zapharos. “The ship may not survive the approach.”
Zapharos merely nodded once. “Then we make it survive.”
No hesitation. No fear. Only purpose. For a moment none of us spoke. The enormity of what waited ahead settled heavily over the room. Not another battle.
Thebattle.
The end of a war that had begun millions of years ago.
Ella slowly exhaled. “Well. That’s not terrifying at all.”
Nadine reached for her hand automatically, squeezing it once. “You’re shaking.”
“So are you.”
“Yes, but scientifically.”
That earned the faintest smile from all of us.
Dravok straightened. “Alright. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Thyros' voice stopped all movement instantly. He rose slowly from his chair beside me.
The teasing arrogance had been replaced by something softer. More vulnerable than I had ever seen him. His gaze moved across the room. “Let’s give each other a few moments.”
Understanding flickered immediately between the others. Alone. Not because anyone believed we would fail. But because for the first time since finding one another, we all understood exactly how much there was to lose.
Ella stood first and reached for Zapharos’ hand. “I like this plan much better than immediate terrifying doom.”
Zapharos’ expression softened as he pulled her close.
Nadine gave Dravok a small, almost shy look before following him quietly from the room.
Within moments, only Thyros and I remained. Silence settled softly around us. The ship hummed gently beneath ourfeet as distant stars drifted past the viewport in streaks of pale light. For a long moment, neither of us moved. Then Thyros crossed the room toward me. Slowly. Like I was something precious. Something breakable.
His hand lifted to my face with almost unbearable tenderness. I leaned into the touch instinctively.
“You’re thinking too loudly again,” I murmured softly.
A faint smile touched his mouth. “I cannot help it around you.”
Emotion tightened painfully in my chest. The bond between us felt different now. Deeper. As though the universe itself had finally stopped resisting us. His thumb brushed beneath my eye. Only then did I realize tears had gathered there.
“Hey,” he whispered immediately, concern flooding the bond. “No.”
I laughed shakily. “That is a ridiculous response to crying.”
