Work Text:
Sometimes, Nyx thought the empire took particular delight in tormenting him. Or, conversely, in tormenting Drautos. Why else would they keep putting him in positions where he had to disobey orders?
They were evacuating a village on the fringe of Lucis, so small it didn’t have a name and everyone knew everyone else’s business. Even Nyx’s hometown had been bigger than this. Nevertheless, the empire wanted it, like they wanted everything under the sun. And they would have it, in one piece or in ruins.
By the look of things, it would be the latter. Buildings were burning, and the Glaives that weren’t busy fighting imperial troops were hurrying families toward the escape route they were guarding.
They wouldn’t be able to hold it forever. But Nyx was determined to stretch out their time as long as possible. It had already gone long into the night, the moon rising above them.
Gaze sweeping the main road of the town, he saw Luche taking down an MT, Yura battling ten others on his own a little ways down. Trying to beat my record, Nyx thought with a grin, starting toward him—but Pelna was already backing him up.
Nearby, Libertus, Luca, and Adamaris were directing refugees away from the battle. “Toward the woman in the white coat,” Adamaris was telling a woman, pushing her forward. “She’s a medic, and she can help your son.”
Seeing an MT break through the line, Nyx darted forward to meet it, ducking under the battle axe it swung. Grabbing it by the arm, he pulled hard, sending it off balance as he stabbed. Behind him, he heard the woman protesting something to Adamaris. “Please! I have to go back!”
That doesn’t sound good. Gritting his teeth as the MT took a swing at his face, seemingly unfazed by the knife in its chest, Nyx sent a burst of lightning from the hand grasping its arm. It let out a noise that almost sounded like a scream, and another knife slash sent it dropping to the ground.
Scrambling back, Nyx caught his breath, twisting around to look at Adamaris. But she was gone, the woman being steered onward by Crowe. Catching her arm, Nyx said, “Where’s Mar?”
Crowe’s expression tightened just enough that Nyx knew he wasn’t gonna like it. “She went back. There’s a missing kid.”
“It’s my sister.” The boy clinging to the woman’s hand spoke, voice holding the particular shake of someone trying desperately to be brave.
He knew that voice all too well. Knew the fear hiding behind it. “Which house?” he asked, and Crowe pointed.
It was already on fire, and Nyx bit back a curse. “We’ll be back with her in a minute,” he told the boy, knowing he shouldn’t say it. There were no guarantees in war.
“Nyx—”
Ignoring Crowe, Nyx took off, gaze locking on the familiar bright gold hair, already darkened by ashes. As he ran, he saw her duck into the building, pulling up her cowl as cursory protection from the heat and smoke. That won’t be enough.
Drautos’s voice was in his earpiece, commanding a retreat to protect what ground they could. He could see the fire consuming the building had done its damage, the wood creaking ominously as he grew closer. There was a very good chance he was about to be trapped.
But Adamaris is in there.
The shouts of warning behind him weren’t nearly as loud as the sound of the wood finally giving out. Closing the distance, he dove, sliding feet first as the door frame shattered, dropping toward him.
He barely made it inside before the entrance was blocked, wood and stone crashing down behind him so close he could feel the dust sweeping over him. But that sensation was gone in the next breath.
Then, all he felt was the fire. Heat swelling around him to an unbearable degree, flame licking at the edges of his coat as Nyx scrambled to his feet.
The building was large, and already giving way beneath the fire. Spars and rubble and burning shapes that Nyx didn’t recognize littered the space. Smoke billowed aggressively, stinging his eyes and shrouding what he could see through the heat and flames.
Where is she?
“Mar?” he shouted, moving forward, one arm lifting to protect him from the heat. “Donal!” No response, but the roar of flame.
That didn’t stop him. He kept walking, stumbling over the remnants of a table. It looked like he was in a library, shelves burning readily, books exhaling the last of their pages throughout the room. But still no sign of her.
“DONAL!” His voice rose, trying to cut through the roar of the flames. “Adamaris! Call out!”
And finally, there was a muffled sound. “Nyx?”
If it hadn’t been so blasted hot, he would have wept. Instead, he moved toward the sound, ignoring the fire around him. And then, suddenly, she was there, crouching next to a shelf, arms around a small shape.
Dropping to his knees, Nyx caught hold of her shoulder. There was no reason to, none beyond the relief of feeling her breathing under his hand. “You good?” he demanded, raising his voice over the flame.
She gripped his arm in return, eyes bright and holding his. “You shouldn’t be here!”
Nyx could have laughed. “What, you think I’m gonna let you face this alone?” Not a chance. Nodding at the kid she was holding close, he said, “Is that—”
“His sister.” Adamaris pulled back, just enough for Nyx to see dark hair and frightened eyes—
He blinked, hard, trying to rid himself of the ghosts that even flames couldn’t kill. Not Selena. Too young, wrong eyes. Wrong time and place. He knew that, but Adamaris’s hand on his arm still felt like an anchor all of a sudden.
Breathe. It wasn’t easy, especially in the smoke. “We need to move!”
The briefest of nods, and then they were both on their feet. Adamaris lifted the girl—who could hardly have been older than ten—in her arms, and Nyx took the lead.
They moved forward with steady determination, but there was no ignoring the fire around them. The heat was oppressive, the smoke heavy about them. Every breath stung, and every path was blocked. But Nyx knew they couldn’t stop.
There was a creak off to the side, then a crack. Nyx spun around in time to see one of the shelves plummet toward Adamaris in a shower of sparks. She lunged away, twisting to shield the girl she was holding, but the corner of the shelf clipped her, and she stumbled.
“Hey!” Nyx darted to her, hand grasping her shoulder. “You okay?” He received a tight nod in response, but he could see the pain on her face, and in the coughs she was letting out. They’d both been in here far too long.
Pulling her close, he slipped an arm around her, and she wearily leaned against him as they kept moving.
The library’s main room was large, mainly populated with shelves and chairs. All were aflame, and too much rubble blocked the way to any of the nearest windows. But in the back, after some searching, Nyx found a door.
With some struggle, he got it open, and they staggered into a small break room. Still hot and full of smoke, but blessedly free of flame, for however long. Adamaris collapsed to the ground as Nyx shoved the door closed behind them, unable to stifle a cough any longer. It hurt. Everything did, actually, but he pulled in an aching breath before turning to look at Adamaris and the little girl.
The little girl was curled up against one of the chairs, eyes wide. Her arms were a patchy mix of red burns and pale skin marred with ash, and Nyx repressed a wince in sympathy. “Hey,” he said, kneeling next to her, voice rough from the smoke. “You hang in there, okay? Keep being brave, and we’ll be out in no time.”
She gave a jerky nod, eyes bright with tears, and Nyx glanced at Adamaris. She’d pulled herself into a sitting position, and her gaze said she knew exactly how unsure he was about that promise.
But Nyx didn’t give up easily. He never had.
There was one window in the room. Tiny, the glass still unshattered, but it was there. Moving to it, Nyx drew a knife, and slammed the hilt against the glass. A spiderweb of cracks spread out from it, thin and barely there.
Too strong. He hit it again, and again, the hilt rebounding with each strike. The cracks grew, but the heat grew faster. He knew if he looked back, he would see smoke billowing under the crack of the door, flames licking closer and closer.
“COME ON!” The shout burst free as he hit the glass again, but still it did not shatter. He nearly swung a fist at the window, for all the good it would have done, but a coughing fit behind him drew his attention.
It was Adamaris, trying to get to her feet. Nyx could tell, just by her stance, that the falling shelf had hurt her more than she’d let on at first. And the smoke was taking its toll.
Moving to her side, he drew her back down, crouching next to her. “Hey. Don’t move, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“Is the other option that much better?” Her voice was scratchy, and she met his eyes with a look that said she knew what was about to happen.
They were trapped.
No. This can’t be it. Shaking his head, Nyx said, “I’m getting us out of here. All of us.” He glanced at the little girl, who was watching them with wide eyes, and then back at Adamaris. We can’t give in. For her.
She understood him in an instant, like she always did. Mouth settling into a line, she nodded. “Okay. But we need a better plan.”
“No kidding.” Taking a breath and choking on a cough, Nyx winced. It wouldn’t be long before the smoke got to them, and there would be no way out then. No point-warping your way out of this one, hero.
He went still. Unless…
“I know that look.” Adamaris’s voice lifted a little, flecks of hope clinging to it. And that alone made Nyx more sure than he had been.
“I have a plan,” he told her. “It’s crazy.”
“Perfect.”
Grinning at her response, Nyx said, “You got enough left for a burst of magic?”
“Only just.” But her mouth formed a fierce line. “What do you need?”
“Frost.” Her eyes widened in understanding, and Nyx turned to the little girl. “What’s your name?”
Eying him with some wariness, the girl said, “Elea.”
“Okay, Elea. I need you to go and see if there’s any water in the fridge over there. We’re going out the front, and it’s gonna be quick, but it could be hot.” He could see the doubt in her eyes, and told her, “Trust me.”
Nodding, Elea hopped to her feet and raced to the fridge. Nyx watched her go, mind flooding with far too many variables of what could go wrong. She could die. Maris could die. We could all die, really.
But I can’t let that stop me from trying.
A hand caught the corner of his jaw, pulling him back to look into Adamaris’s eyes. Slightly teary from the smoke, steely and determined, they held him to the ground. The one thing that always kept him in place.
“This will work,” she said, like she’d read his mind.
Nyx didn’t have a response. Instead, he leaned in, letting his forehead press against hers, willing the words that wouldn’t come to settle into her mind. Her hand cupped the back of his neck, and he reached up to slip an arm around her, feeling the next breath she took.
Don’t let it be the last.
And then Elea was back with an armload of water bottles, and it was time to move. Opening them, Nyx dumped a few over his head, directing them to do the same. “Better than nothing against the heat,” he said, drawing his knife again. But this time, he headed for the door.
“What are we doing?” Elea asked, voice shaky.
“You’re hanging onto Nyx,” Adamaris told her. “I’m going to stifle as much of the fire as I can in one big spell. The ice won’t hold forever, but it’ll do enough to give us a gap.”
“And I’m our way out,” Nyx said, shooting Elea a grin that he didn’t really feel. Her hesitant return smile made it feel truer, though. “Hang on tight to the back of my coat, and move when I do. Got it?”
She nodded, eyes serious and troubled. “What if—”
Touching her shoulder, Adamaris said, “No what ifs. This is the part where we act, because waiting isn’t going to keep us safer.” Elea nodded, and Adamaris looked at Nyx in silent questioning.
Squaring his shoulders, Nyx said, “Say the word.”
She took a deep breath, hand curling into a fist. Nyx could see the frost shimmering to life around her fingers a heartbeat before she said, “Go.”
No sooner had the word left her mouth that Nyx kicked the door open. Like it had just been waiting for an opportunity, the fire roared forward, hungrily clawing at the edges of the room. Red and black and orange blurred before Nyx’s eyes.
And then Adamaris was moving, leaping into the flames. Dropping to one knee, she slammed her fist to the ground, and frost burst outward in a gleaming explosion. Nyx felt the chill sweep over his face, and heard Elea gasp.
The flames dulled. Many of them went out, but the frost was already melting, and the fire was too large. It would win out in the end.
Adamaris wobbled, and Nyx knew it was seconds before she collapsed. His gaze swept the half frozen, half fiery room, trying to look for the way out that had to be there. Come on. Come on, come on—
There. A flash of light. Not flames, but moonlight, pure and cool, beaming through a half shattered window. That’s it.
He only had a second to act. So he did. Charging forward, thanking his lucky stars that Elea listened and moved with him, Nyx ran for Adamaris as she began to fall. Threw his knife toward the moonlight, and in the same moment, dove and tackled her.
His arms wrapped around her just as the knife disappeared. And then, in a burst of sparks, so did they.
But only for a moment. In the next breath they were crashing to the ground in the grass, and there were shouts all around them. Someone was pulling him to his feet, and Nyx, coughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, realized it was Libertus.
“Are you crazy?” he shouted.
Nyx couldn’t help it. He started laughing.
Seconds later, others were there. Delilah, their medic, was kneeling next to Adamaris, and the little girl’s mother and brother were pulling Elea into a hug. The brother gave Nyx a grateful look, eyes going to Adamaris a second later.
“Is she okay?” he asked, and Nyx paused in drinking the water bottle Libertus had shoved at him to hear Delilah’s answer.
The medic gave the boy a smile much softer than the look she reserved for most Glaives. “Of course. Donal is one of our toughest. Just burnt out and, well, literally burned.”
“Too soon,” Adamaris mumbled, and Nyx’s joints weakened in relief.
Silently, he reached out, pressing a hand against her shoulder. Her hand slipped up to find his, and he said, “I think I like it better when I’m the one who nearly dies.”
“You would.” There was wry humor in her voice, and Nyx wasn’t sure whether to laugh with her or weep in sheer relief that she was okay.
But then Luche was there, ordering them to get moving because they were supposed to be retreating, and the moment was gone. Nyx let Libertus help him up, but when Delilah started to call for a stretcher, he stopped her.
“I got her,” he said, and something in his face must have convinced her, because she didn’t argue. Kneeling next to Adamaris, Nyx eased an arm around her, and she leaned her head into his shoulder silently as he slipped the other arm under her knees and lifted her.
Every burn, bruise, and aching muscle protested. But feeling her breathing against him made it more than worth it.