Chapter 143 - How the Fuck?

Chapter 143 - How the Fuck?
Chapter 41 - How the Fuck?

Nyxaria POV

We didn’t fall through the portal. We screamed through it.

Magic ripped sideways, wind knifed around my ears, and someone’s elbow, probably Lyrielle’s dramatic-ass elbow, hit me right in the jaw as we tumbled out of the tear in reality.

Then the world exploded in light.

Stone. Grass. Air. Sound.

We slammed into the courtyard in a tangled pile of limbs, wings, and snarled profanity. Pain shot up my spine as I rolled across the runes, skidding to a stop right in front of the Moonspire fountain.

“FUCK,” I wheezed, coughing dust.

A second later Rhaen crashed down beside me with a wolfy yelp, followed by Lyrielle slamming into him with a groan. Lucen hit last, because of course fate saved his dramatic landing for maximum effect.

He landed on his back with his arms splayed, and rasped, “I fucking hate magic portals.”

The courtyard went dead silent.

And then...Screaming. Not us this time. Everyone else.

Doors burst open. Students poured out. Professors. Guards. Wolves. Vampires. Fae. Even the enchanted shrubs rustled nervously as our families stampeded toward us.

“Nyxaria!”

The roar wasn’t human.

I lifted my head just as Alpha Draven vaulted over a full railing like gravity was nothing but a suggestion. His wolf eyes glowed molten gold, the whisky-scent still lingering on him, but the power rolling off him made the courtyard bow.

He reached me first.

My grandfather dropped to his knees and yanked me into a bone-crushing hug, one big hand cradling the back of my head as if I might disappear again.

“Little star,” he breathed, his voice breaking. “I thought we lost you.”

Lyrielle whimpered. “Grandpa…”

She barely got his name out before he grabbed her too, pulling us both against his chest. His arms shook around us. The last time I saw him cry was… never. Not ever.

“Girls,” he whispered, forehead pressed to ours, “you’re safe, you’re home, thank the gods..”

A chorus of howls, snarls, and wings thundered behind him.

Drayen reached us next, still half-shifted, still radiating fury, and he practically tackled Lyrielle from the side.

“LYRIELLE!” he snapped, grabbing her face in both hands. “I swear to the FUCKING MOONS, do not ever do that again!”

“We didn’t exactly have a choice!” she shot back, trembling.

“I don’t care!” He pulled her into his chest so fast she squeaked. “I’m putting bells on you.”

“You put bells on me and I’ll drown you in the bathtub.”

“That’s fair.” His voice cracked anyway.

Then someone new rushed up behind him.

A girl. Tall, and stunning. All bronze-gold skin and fire-bright eyes and long pink hair braided down her back. She wore leather riding pants and a crop top that showed off a ridiculous pair of abs.

She smelled like dragonfire and citrus.

Her gaze landed on Lyrielle and me, and she froze, not with recognition, but with awe and worry.

“Is she hurt?” the stranger asked softly, pointing to Lyrielle.

My twin blinked back tears. “I...do I know you…?”

Drayen suddenly cleared his throat, his cheeks turning bright pink. Which was suspicious. And hilarious. And mildly alarming.

“Oh. Right.” He stepped aside, pulling the girl forward with a trembling hand on the small of her back. “This is… uh…”

The girl tilted her chin proudly. “Gisella Drakaryn.”

Her voice was confident. Beautiful. A little rough around the edges. And her last name was strong... the kind riders carried.

Lyrielle’s eyebrows flew up. “Drakaryn? As in the dragon clan near the eastern mountains?”

Gisella nodded once. Drayen exhaled shakily. “She’s my mate.”

Both me and Lyrielle: “WHAT?!”

Gisella bit her lip shyly, raising a hand in a tiny wave. “H-hi. I… just met him an hour ago.”

Lyrielle’s face went slack. “Drayen. You have a mate. And you didn’t tell us?”

“I WAS BUSY PANICKING ABOUT YOU!” he shouted, throwing his arms up.

I gave him a flat look. “Fair.”

Gisella smiled nervous and bright. “I’m really happy to meet you both. I’ve… heard a lot.”

Lyrielle blinked at her. “You’re gorgeous.”

Gisella flushed. “You’re dragons.”

“We’re water dragons,” I corrected, wiping my cheeks. “And we’re also extremely emotional right now.”

Gisella stepped closer, her voice warm. “Then let me help.”

“Goddess,” Drayen murmured, staring at her like she personally hung the moon. “I love you.”

She grinned. “I know.”

Lyrielle melted a little. I might have too.

And then the courtyard erupted around us in a tidal wave of professors, guards, siblings, and chaos.

“THEY’RE BACK!”

A wall of voices crashed into us.

Boots thundered. Someone screamed my name. Another voice barked orders.

And then a blur of red hair and moon-magic slammed into me so hard I almost toppled again.

Taya.

She grabbed my face with shaking hands, her eyes wild and wet. “Where.. where the fuck have you BEEN”

Before I could answer, Rhaen was ripped off the ground by Noctara herself.

Noctara Velmira, cold, lethal, unshakeable Noctara, was sobbing. Actual tears slid down her cheeks as she crushed Rhaen into her chest and dragged Lucen into her other arm.

“Oh thank the fucking gods,” she choked, shaking violently. “My boys… my babies… I thought.. I thought...”

Lucen… made a small strangled noise and clutched her back like he was five again.

Kylion, the literal Storm God, dropped out of the sky in a crack of blue lightning, his eyes blazing as he landed hard, scanning the courtyard like he expected an ambush. “Where are they? Where are my sons?”

Ravek arrived half a second later in a blur of wolf and muscle, skidding to a stop on his knees as he grabbed Lucen’s jaw and checked his pulse, his pupils blown wide with terror. “Lucen. Rhaen. Talk to me. Now.”

“We’re..” Rhaen coughed. “We’re okay. Mostly. Probably.”

Lucen tried to smirk and failed. “Been better.”

Before I could breathe, Maeve and Finnian were there. Seren. Kaelen. Rowan. Theo. Azara. Saphira. Kerra. Eryk.

Taya turned on all four of us, pressing the heels of her palms to her temples like she couldn’t even process it. “How..how the actual fuck...did you four escape Raelith?”

Everyone froze. Silence rippled outward like a spell.

Dozens of students gathered at the edge of the courtyard. Half the professors. Guardians. Soldiers. All of them staring, and waiting.

Lyrielle swallowed hard and stepped forward, our hands still tangled together. “It wasn’t just us. The cages were blood-forged. We couldn’t break them outright. We had to… unmake them.”

Mae Verric gasped. “You used the spell of undoing?”

Lyrielle nodded.

Taya staggered back a full step. “The one Verenya taught you? THAT undoing spell?”

My voice came out rough. “We had no choice.”

Noctara was still shaking, holding her boys so tightly they winced. “And then what? What happened? How did you get past Raelith?”

I forced myself to meet her gaze. “We didn’t. Lucien distracted her.”

Noctara froze. “What do you mean distracted...”

Lyrielle explained quietly, “He told us to run. To portal out. He bought us the seconds we needed.”

Rhaen groaned. “And then Raelith slammed him through a wall.”

Noctara’s eyes flared red. Kylion’s lightning snapped across his arms. Ravek growled so loudly the stone beneath us vibrated.

“You stupid, brave little...” Noctara tugged Lucen’s ear. “Do that again and I swear I’ll ground you for a century.”

Lucen muttered, “Worth it.”

Azara crossed her arms and said flatly, “He’s lying. He’s still concussed.”

Drayen stepped forward, his jaw tight. “Are the vines… the ones that grabbed you… are they still connected? Did you see anything that tells us where she is?”

Lyrielle and I traded a glance.

Before we could answer, Taya let out a long, shaky exhale and rubbed her eyes.

“Okay,” she said finally. “Okay. You’re safe. You’re here. You’re in one piece...mostly.” She jabbed a finger at all of us. “But HOW. DID. YOU. DO. IT?”

The question cracked through us like a whip.

This time, Lyrielle didn’t falter.

“We had help,” she whispered.

Everyone leaned forward.

Rhaen nodded slowly. “We… heard Elowen. She reached through the realms. She steadied us. I don’t know how she did it, but she did.”

Gasps echoed through the courtyard.

Taya grabbed Lyrielle’s face again, searching her eyes. “Your mother is watching over you?”

I nodded. “Always.”

Noctara let out a sob that sounded like a dying star. Kylion bowed his head. Ravek wiped his face with the back of his hand.

Drayen looked at his sisters like he’d never seen them before. “You two… broke out of Raelith’s cage.”

Gisella whispered, “Holy shit.”

And finally....

Taya exhaled one long, shaking breath and whispered, “Your mother is going to bring the fucking sky down on Raelith’s head.”
__________________________

Elowen POV – The Ripple

I watched them from the divine balcony, the scene below unfolding through a shimmering veil of moonfire.

My children. My babies. Safe. Lyrielle clinging to Rhaen. Nyxaria cupping Lucen’s face. Drayen holding tight to his new mate, Gisella. Every heartbeat eased a knot inside me… and yet unease sat cold and coiled in my chest.

Daxon stood close, his hand brushing mine. “They made it home,” he murmured. “Our children are strong.”

“They are,” I said softly. But a thought gnawed at me like an itch I could not reach. “Something is wrong.”

Ashrian blinked down at the courtyard, shadows flickering in his irises. “You sense her again?”

“Not her,” I said slowly. “Lucien.”

My mates turned toward me.

Vaelrix frowned, his wings rustling. “The vampire?”

“Raelith’s former servant,” Bram growled darkly.

“Raelith’s former lover,” I corrected, tasting bitterness. “He should have stopped them. He should have fought. He should have died before allowing them to break free.”

Lachlan crossed his arms. “And instead he told the lassies tae run.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “He let them go.”

Lysirra stirred restlessly inside me, her voice sharp. “Something is wrong in her, El. She smelled like blood-sickness and fear.”

Chaos shifted in my core like liquid lightning, anxious, pacing, and childlike panic swelling.

“Elowen,” she whispered, her voice trembling inside my skull. “Elowen don’t go to him. Don’t go to him don’t go to him don’t go...”

I froze.

Daxon stiffened beside me. “What’s happening?”

“She’s here,” Chaos whimpered, her voice high and breaking. “She’s coming. I feel her I feel her I feel her”

Selene’s head snapped upward from across the throne hall, silver eyes flaring. “What is that?”

Then it hit.

A soundless BOOM rippled through the divine realm, not noise, not light, but a reality tremor. The marble beneath my feet cracked. The sky above warped like oil on water. My magic flared instinctively.

Chaos screamed inside me, a raw, keening wail that peeled through my bones.

“NO! DON’T LET HER TAKE ME! DON’T LET HER HAVE ME!”

My knees buckled.

All five of my mates lunged toward me at once, each grabbing an arm, a shoulder, a waist, anchoring me as power pulsed out of me uncontrolled. The divine air warped around my skin. Moonfire shattered in the sky.

Soltharion exploded into the chamber in a blast of gold. “What in the holy FUCK was that?!”

Elanithra appeared beside him in a column of starlight, her face pale. “Something touched the boundary of the divine realm.”

Selene strode toward me, cloak blazing. “Elowen...what did you feel?”

Chaos whimpered, curling into a terrified ball inside me.

“Raelith,” I whispered, shaking violently. “She reached for Chaos. She learned where we are. It doesn't feel like her Selene, something is wrong.”

Vaelrix snarled, flames blazing up his throat.

Daxon’s voice was a broken whisper. “She’s coming here?”

I met Selene’s eyes, my breath trembling.

“No,” I breathed. “She’s already in the realm between.”

And the divine realm… just shuddered in fear.