NICO
When I wake up I’m surrounded by shadows, the low flicker of light. Wherever I am, there is no Sun. No Veda. Only sharp pain in my back and chest. Darkness. And one, maybe two, dim orbs of orange light floating in the distance.
As my eyes focus, a shadow comes into view. Two shadows? Three?
“Nico?” It’s a low voice. Not one I recognize, which instantly sets me on guard and sends my nerves on edge.
I try to sit up, throw my fists toward whoever might be near enough for me to punch, when I realize I’m tied down. Strapped to the bed.
“Give him some space,” the voice of a woman breaks in from behind my head.
Barely … Slowly … I force my eyes open more fully. Blurred but standing over me is Dorian and an older man. There are others, more blurs, but I can only make out that they’re all dressed the same, wearing black.
Glaring from one face to the next, I see. I begin to remember. I put the pieces together.
I scream the only name I can think. “Veda! Where’s Veda?!”
“Shhh…,” the woman, peeking around a mound of bandages—a nurse, I think—soothes.
I’m not interested in any of it.
“Veda!” I pull against the ropes holding me down. I kick, jerk, nearly send the whole bed tumbling over.
“Not yet,” the man, the one who’s not said a word until now but refused to take his eyes off me, says. The one who holds a distinctive air of authority.
“Please, Sindaco, he deserves to know,” Dorian says. The man seems to consider his request and then gives a curt nod.
“Nico,” Dorian says. “Veda was captured by the Imperi during the raid. It was chaos. We tried to get to her, but with the blast, the confusion … it was too late.” He breathes through his nose, jaw flexed.
“What?” Again, I try to sit up. “No!” I use every last ounce of strength to fight the restraints holding my arms down. “We have to help her!” I shout.
“We have soldiers out on missions to find her. We’ll bring her back. I’ll bring her back.” Dorian’s eyes are puffy; he looks like he hasn’t slept in days.
“No.” I shake my head, and the movement sends a sharp pain down my back. “They’ll kill her. Raevald will kill her.” Pain be damned, I thrash against my bindings. “I’ve got to find her! I need to go to her!” I shout. “Please!”
“Is this necessary?” Dorian asks the man, eyeing my arms, the burns I can feel are quickly surfacing under the rope.
“It’s as much for his own safety as it is ours,” the man in charge says without emotion. He steps closer to my side. “Nico, your injury’s significant. You’ve got to rest.” And he motions to someone standing behind me. From the corner of my eye, I watch as the nurse approaches. A flash of silver and glass passes my periphery. Then, a hot, fiery sting plunges directly into my neck.
“Veda…,” I say, the voice barely my own. “I need … to save … her…”
“So do we,” Dorian says quietly.
I open my mouth, a thousand questions to ask, but everything in the room spins, blurs, and goes dark around the edges.
Then, like vesper bells ringing inside my head, the older man’s low words echo, “We’ll find her. I promise.”
Ad astra.
It’s all I need to hear.