{Enki | Ocean Landing}

A shadow towered over Rayne. No, not the first one. A second enormous shadow. This one burned and stretched from her. She broke the person’s neck in her hands and turned.

It was Rayne’s shadow. She stared open-mouthed at it. It grew taller and broader, very broad. Muscle cut the shape of the silhouette. And long hair. Almost as long as hers. Taller and bigger. A man—An Icarus.

“Nox.”

Wings spread from his back, made entirely of shadow, and carried him higher like a plume of smoke. He met Squilly head on. Literally head butt the leviathan, grabbed its tongue, and pulled, extracting a terrible roar from the injured monster. It backed up.

No, too far!

“Nox!”

Rayne screamed and chased after them, but not fast enough to catch the creature from dragging Nox into the water with it. “No!” Surely, the sea monster fought better in the water. “Nox!” She shouted again at the surface.

Someone was dumb enough to run up behind her with a triumphant cry. Rayne let them swing whatever weapon they had, ducked, and tripped them over the platform’s edge. At the last second, she caught them from falling into the water, only to break both their arms before dropping them in—

Squilly broke the surface. And… floundered. He writhed and spewed gray fluid—presumably blood—in a spiraling arc. Rayne crouched to avoid the spray and to make out the source of pain on his back. The screeching and crying almost brought tears to her eyes. The poor creature was a victim as much as any Imminent pawn.

With one last roar, Squilly’s long neck sagged and fell into the water. From this angle, Rayne made out the wound. Ripped open, and the spinal cord was bisected.

Bare hands.

“Nox!” Rayne called out to the ocean. He wasn’t in her head, and the water grew darker in its depths. Would the absence of light erase his shadow construct? Could he… would he… die?

“Nox!” Rayne’s cry was more desperate, reverberating off the dead bodies littering the battlefield at her back. “Nox!”

“Behind you.”

Rayne whirled to find him standing there. In her shadow. Her voice was breathy, surprised. “You’re all right.”

Nox gazed at his hand as he lifted it to his face and flexed a fist. “Much better than all right.” When he looked at Rayne, he smiled.

Black smoke, veiled specter—A shadow smiled at her. It suited Nox and took Rayne’s breath away. “How… how?”

“The constructs you taught me. I—”

Calibrated.

Optimized.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Stabilizing…

Unable to stabilize.

Warning: Sixty hours and thirty-two minutes until maximum destabilization.

No. That couldn’t be right. It was full only seconds ago.

Oh.

Rayne gazed at Nox with a horrible truth dawning behind their eyes. She shut them from facing it.

This wasn’t fair. Of course Rayne’s Weapon burned more fuel powering two bodies, but… This was working out so well. She and Nox could take Enki together. There was a poetry to it that Rayne wanted to hear more of—

“Rayne.”

How did a shade make such a beautiful baritone? Swallowing her distress, Rayne opened her eyes.

Nox stood over her with a patience in his gaze she’d attribute more to his younger brother. “The price is too high. This is how it must be.”

So many thoughts. The first and most obvious one was, “This is not fair.” The second was, “Wow, he’s handling this a lot better than the Nox of even a year ago.” And the final thought was, “How can I keep him with me?”

The last one stirred something in Rayne, confusing and deepening the moment all at once. The look in the smoke of his eyes further confounded her.

Happy. Nox looked happy.

A tear spilled from her lashes and burned her cheek. She rubbed it away harshly and confessed, “I was worried Squilly had dragged you down too far and… I don’t know. Extinguished you or something without the light to fuel you.”

“I was dragged down too far, and the construct returned me to you. To the shade you cast.”

With time slipping away from them, Rayne stared up at Nox. “You’re my shadow.”

“You’re my light” hung in the air.

Calibrated.

Optimized.

Stabilizing…

Unable to stabilize.

Warning: Fifty-eight hours and fifty-four minutes until maximum destabilization.

Rayne cried out in frustration and a little bit of fear. “What?! What do we do?”

“Face the sun and close your eyes, your highness.” An edge of sadness tinged Nox’s voice and broke her heart.

The scalding tears made it hard, but Rayne turned and closed her eyes, trusting in him.

A warmth pressed against her back, firm and adamantine. Her heart raced with it. More so when the warmth went through her skin and into her bones. It seeped into her blood.

His name left Rayne’s lips on a breath. “Nox?”

“Open your eyes.”

Inside her mind, Nox towered over Rayne once more. Gratitude washed over her and sent her to her knees in tears. “I was so worried. Worried how to fix it.” Truthfully, the transformation in him overwhelmed her. Nox could’ve let Rayne self-destruct. Fought her, kept her from her mission, and wasted her time until there was none. Instead, Nox traded his first taste of freedom for her peace of mind without hesitation or ceremony.

Never mind, Rayne feared her own loneliness. When she thought he’d vanished, she almost couldn’t process the loss. No more company, and an unfit end for all the time they’d invested in his reeducation.

Nox held his hand out for her. “Every battle deserves a good breakdown, but save it for after you win. You need to catch up with Abresson. Remorse sent him after—”

“The depositories.” Rayne clasped Nox’s wrist, ignored the warmth of it and the way his hand swallowed hers, and let him haul her off the ground. “I caught it, too, and I think the depositories what’s at the end of this map. I’ll get there.”

Something passed over Nox’s eyes. Curiosity or consideration—either way, he asked, “You knew the dragon was there. What would you have done if I couldn’t manifest myself as a construct?”

The grin that spread across Rayne’s lips was pure fun. “I guess you’ll have to wait and find out. I’m not a damsel that needs saving.” His face fell a little, and it made her duck to meet his lowering eyes. “But I’d much rather fight by your side.”

Staring at her, Nox said, “You cry so much. You fight so hard. In less than fifteen minutes, you wiped out an army. Now it’s time for you to lead us to victory, King Rayne.”

She wiped away the tears and any trace of her desperate fear at the thought of a future without him. That was too scary to unpack, and there was no sense wasting time interviewing Nox as to his motivations for helping her. It was in his eyes. Even without his Atramentous, they reflected Rayne.

He loved her and placed all his faith in her.

Rayne set on Abresson’s trail to prove it wasn’t misplaced.

All the while, the Overseer watched. She hoped they liked the show.