Dreiki woke up with an ache in his ribs, and a chill on his skin. He moved. His wrists were bound by iron manacles.

He didn’t know where he was. He’d been stripped of his clothes and put in a scratchy set of patchwork rags.

With a deep breath to calm his nerves he sat up and tried to get his bearings.

What did he know?

He wasn’t in Punuuk anymore. He was likely somewhere in Yvian. From how cold it was in this room he was definitely underground. It was dark, and the only light sources around were luminescent moss.

He felt a collar on his neck, fearing he already knew what it was. He tried to breathe fire from his mouth, but it fizzled out.

Magic nullification. Dreiki recalled reading about it. It was a tricky enchantment that only humans could infuse into items. It could be put on a collar and isolated to its wearer, or its runes could be etched into stone and its radius expanded over a specified area.

There was a threshold with magic nullification that varied depending on the enchantment’s potency. He could theoretically cast a spell powerful enough to overload it. Dreiki doubted he had the power to do that, though, even on the weakest enchantment.

Trying it would also come with the risk of injuring his soul. He didn’t rule it out completely, though. Dreiki had a spell in mind that might be able to break it in case he couldn’t think of less risky options.

He’d keep it in his back pocket for now.

He heard a sharp inhale off to his left, only now noticing a blonde haired girl curled up and weeping in the corner.

“Hello?”

The crying stopped.

Dreiki didn’t know what to say, but he was sure it was the girl from before, “Um. I’m sorry-”

“Shut up you bloody Noxa!”

It stung, “Right…”

It was Dreiki’s fault they were both here. If he had been more patient, he could’ve smuggled a lockpick. He’d worked his ass off day in and day out for the entire year, and yet he still couldn’t do a damn thing to help anyone.

He could understand the girl’s frustration with him, “Don’t worry, Ezo will come for us soon. He’s going to bring us some help.”

The girl looked up, “Ezo?”

“My bat drake.”

She huffed, “Don’t kid yourself, Noxa. It won’t find us.”

“I have a name, you know.”

“Do I care? Did I ask, Noxa?”

“We’ve only got each other right now, so I think it’s best we get along. I’m sorry about what happened, I really am.”

“If you hadn’t lobbed your fire at me like an idiot and siked your drake on me, I would’ve been able to escape in the fog! Your smoke told them exactly where I was.”

“I thought you were a poacher. I was trying to look out for myself too!”

“Just shut your mouth already, Noxa. I hope they kill you first so I at least have some peace before I die.”

Dreiki grit his teeth. She was testing his patience. Did she deserve to be mad at him? Absolutely. Did he deserve to get called a slur over and over again for his honest mistake? Not at all.

“Listen to me-”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Shut the fuck up in there before I break your god damned jaws!” It was Cowak

Dreiki fell silent. He mulled over what to say, or if he should even say anything. This was far from the day he’d envisioned when he read his mother’s letter.

He’d let his confidence become his killer. If he had just tried to run instead of fighting back, the two of them might’ve escaped the poachers.

But there was no use lamenting on his past mistakes when there were still things he might be able to do in the present.

What did he know about his enemies?

Whoever The Crow was, he was a wind magic user and a strong one at that. Dreiki needed to know where he was at all times in order to avoid them.

Whitik either possessed life magic or knew how to synthesize poison. It was hard to tell which one. Especially since life magic was so rare.

Dreiki surmised that neither Cowak nor Whitik were water users for the fact that they would’ve dispersed the fog with their own magic. It was possible he could root out Cowak as a fire magic user since he took damage from Dreiki’s blazing thorns.

Either Dreiki’s magic had become strong enough to break through an adult fire user’s natural resistance or he simply wasn’t a fire magic user.

What Dreiki did know, however, is that he was at least strong enough to break through an adult’s innate magic resistance. He could potentially kill them if he played his cards right.

Dreiki had reached the end of the assumptions he could make about them, but there was another source of information sitting right behind him. The only problem was whether or not she’d cooperate.

He rolled onto his belly, inchworming his way over to her, “What’s your name?” He whispered.

No answer.

“I’m Dreiki.”

“I’m not asking.”

“Good to meet you, Not Asking. Listen, I got us into this so it’s only right I get us out of it, but in order to do that I need some information. Starting with your name.”

“Why do you need to know my name?”

Dreiki sat up, “There’s power in names. My mother always told me you’ll work harder to rescue someone if you know their name. So please-”

“Lunaiel. My name is Lunaiel. Are you happy?”

That wasn’t a xiozian name. Not by any stretch. He looked closer at Lunaiel.

Despite the dirt and grime that covered her, she was still obscenely beautiful. Her golden hair hung over her shoulder, almost seeming to shimmer in the dark.

She still had a tail, but it was coated in feathers instead of scales, and her horns were nothing more than small black nubs on her forehead. “That sounds like-”

He saw her brace, hugging her legs tighter.

“It’s a very beautiful name. I like it. Do you mind if I call you Luna for short?”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, “If that’s what you want.”

“Thank you, Luna. Can you tell me more about our captors? What sort of elements can they cast?”

“The one that looks like the child of a thumb and a pig can use earth magic.”

Dreiki thought for a moment about who she meant. Almost laughing when he figured out that the bald and stocky Cowak fit that description pretty well.

“And the other one?”

“You mean the stick bug or the black bird?”

“Stickbug. I already know The Crow can use wind.”

“Then you know nothing.”

“How do you mean?”

“The Crow keeps his magic a secret. He has other methods of mimicking elements that are not his. Be it magic items, or strange techniques. Frankly, I don’t know what his Aix is or if he’s even xiozian. Neither do Piggy and Stickbug.”

Aix. That was the word xiozians used to describe someone’s birth element.

“Then what about Stickbug?”

“Life Aix. But he prefers poison magic over healing. He’ll drug you and do as he pleases then heal you-” Dreiki could see her jaw flex as she brought her legs closer and wrapped her tail around her shins, “I hate him the most…”

“Thank you for telling me. You don’t need to say anything more about that.”

There was a long silence.

“They said something about ‘The Jackal’ to the guards outside Yvian’s walls. Do you know what that’s about?”

“If there’s anyone worse than Stickbug, it’s Jackal. I don’t know who they are, and they’ve-” She choked up, “They’ve taken everything from me.”

“You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to…” Dreiki started carefully, “but what did they do?”

Luna took a while to answer, “I had three brothers and three sisters. All of them were older than me, and all of them were about my age when they died.”

“And your parents?”

Luna’s fingers tensed across her tail, “They broke my father’s body so he could never fight again, and tore the wings off my mother’s back before they-” She stopped, losing the strength to say anything more.

But the mention of her mother having wings confirmed what Dreiki had already surmised about her. She was a half-blood just like him. A Noxa made by the union of a xiozian and a celestial.

A Nephilim.