The Moon's Fangs | 1

Reks Arlen

Everything. He was prepared to leave everything behind.

It didn’t matter she’d been born a reincarnation of the very woman who ripped him away from the life he should have lived, or the end he was destined to meet. That didn’t define Amelia. Even if the two are parallels, she never made those choices. Ellison did. He refused to hold Amelia accountable for the sins committed by the empress.

Deep down, he knew the two were connected far before reaching this point. The hints hid amid the days they shared. He knew, yet the more time he spent with Amelia, the less it mattered. He never allowed himself to chance to entertain a truth he subconsciously denied.

Sio’s public declaration, its powerful influence, would prove a difficult obstacle to escape. It already sank its teeth into Amelia’s psyche, marking her as its next successor. It wouldn’t yield so easily.

Sio would haunt her mindscape if they ran, but the other option was far worse. A severed end in all aspects. He’d have to find a solution before Sio attempted something drastic - they already experienced Sio’s reach within her mindscape, how it easily harmed one’s soul.

This choice meant they’d be hunted. Hunted by Sio, by The Full Spectrum, and by any powerful leaders with the desire to claim the power one obtains when Sio bonds with its chosen successor.

Still, he was prepared to flee the planet with Amelia by his side and never look back at his twisted past.

But the past refused to let go. He couldn’t escape the opulent scales that bound him here, in this endless forsaken cycle. That truth was painfully clear as he felt Amelia’s weight collapse to the floor behind him before they reached their way out.

The familiar suspension of astral gunfire sliced through the air a second after impact.

Reks twisted, heart slamming against its cage. Bright blue eyes, terrified and wide, locked onto him in her descent, revealing the residue trail of amber light from the weapon at fault. Furls of smoke curled in the air around General Rhosyn as he lowered his redfin, eyes alit with savage satisfaction. For hitting his intended mark.

A violent shade of red coated Reks’ vision. The encompassing frenzy warped into thick shadows as something like a roar ripped from his lungs.

He barely caught her in time before she hit the ground. He pulled her close to his chest before registering his hands touched something warm and wet across the center of her back.

His gate ring clanged to the floor, sounding miles away as he pulled his hand back to see it painted crimson. Something rattled in his chest as he stared down at her in horror. Her blue eyes were wide and wholly alert. Each breath she drew came short, labored past her quivering lips.

The sight of her pulled and twisted at his chest. A familiar fear oozed through his bones like venom.

“Reks…” she struggled to lift her hand.

He grabbed it, pressing her palm tight to his chest. “I’m here.” his voice came out in a tight rasp, and he hoped Amelia couldn’t feel the fear driving his racing heart through her palm. He willed Luk to examine her, begged his Guide to tell him she would be okay – that Nox could heal her.

“Reks, I… I can’t feel my legs.” her eyes didn’t leave his, and he couldn’t hide the pain laced in his expression.

He pushed loose strands of hair from her face, smoothing his hand across her temple, her ear as he tried to soothe her. “Nox is within you, remember? It'll heal you.”

Amelia blinked, which allowed a thin stream of tears to escape the corner of her eye. “Nox… isn’t responding to me. So-Something’s wrong.” she struggled to say between shortness of breaths.

Pain wrenched his chest. Luk raced out from both his wrists and snaked behind her to find the source of the wound, to find the problem before he formed the command. Just like they did when Nox first bonded with Amelia, he and Luk would intervene again - allow Nox to siphon their energy.

He wouldn’t lose her.

He would save her... then he and Luk would murder the man responsible. He’d shred the General apart, piece by piece, and leave his wrecked soul for the Shayd to torture. The phony General may run now, but there wasn’t a single hole he could hide where he wouldn’t find him. Destroy him.

He’d save her, and make any who crossed them pay. Everyone will be reminded of why The Moon’s Fangs still invokes fear after a millennia of absence. He’d provide them a taste of the kind of monster Ellison Lucil sculpted him to be.

~Nox’s core vein has been severely damaged in its attempt to protect her spine, severing its body in two at the point of impact.~ Luk’s statement mirrored his increasing fear. ~Nox is unresponsive but has not slackened its protective hold. Attempting to rebind the severance now. Expect a gradual depletion of energy.~

The lids of her eyes drooped, blue eyes falling dreary.

His blood spiked, yanking her closer. “Amelia. Amelia, stay with me, damnit. Luk is healing you. I need you to keep your eyes open. I need you to stay with me.” he urged, unable to hide the desperation coating his plea.

He couldn't risk moving her until Luk stabilized her enough.

Her gaze fluttered over him, staring into his eyes as if she wanted to fall into them. That look had the tendency to strip him bare of his demons, and stoke the fire she ignited so beautifully within him.

Her light shrank his darkness. But in this moment, her light waned. And he felt the weight of his shadow-curled demons closing in.

“I do-on’t want them to die.” her voice cracked, making his chest squeeze and stomach cramp.

Not far off, amongst the ensuing mayhem, Shion ripped silks off the ceiling from the hall of fabrics, shoving heaps of it in Etch’s arms and spouting off orders like a tiny commander. She pointed towards a commotion surrounding Nikoe and Sio, far too many people in his way to see. It blocked his view from seeing if Nolan still laid unconscious on the ground, and the Danika girl was nowhere to be seen either.

"Don't worry. Sio's distracted and guests are escaping right now." he said, hating that was the best answer he could provide.

As Luk began to make headway, his energy slowly started to recede.

He didn’t know if it would work. He gambled on its success because it worked once before. But this was different. Healing a severed Guide... was it even possible? He had to believe it was, for Luk was different. Special. And by extension, that made Nox special too.

He and Luk could move mountains, and damn him if he wouldn’t move this one.

Energy siphoned from him as Luk persisted. Their combined determination doubled the efforts.

But her eyes. Her pretty blue eyes remained open as she took what he gave her, fighting with every ounce of willpower she had. Her fingers squeezed against his chest, over his rapidly beating heart.

“Reks, n-no.” she bit down on her lip, making something deep within him ache. “You need your strength too…” from the flash of fear in her eyes, she feared the worse. She feared what kind of toll it would take on his own body when half of hers laid paralyzed, when her spine held severe damage.

Agony clawed his insides, watching her fight the pain tormenting her. Wishing he could take it and make it disappear. The best he could do now was distract her while Luk continues to mend her torn Guide.

“I have a confession to make.” He smoothed a hand across her cheek, cupping her face. “I tasked Nox with keeping a small secret from you.”

“Secret?”

“Yes.” he smiled down at her, despite the growing fatigue and slow throb of a headache. “I told Nox it wasn’t allowed to fully explain what it truly means when I call you my flame. It reaches far beyond a simple term of endearment. It’s a rare declaration of love and unbreakable commitment. It’s said that if The Fates smile upon two avowed flames, their souls are reunited at Celestia’s Gates.” he was certain The Fates had never once smiled down upon him for anything, but even they couldn’t deny the fires which burn so heavily for the woman in his arms.

Amelia’s breath rattled, forcing his gaze to sharpen. But then she smiled. He chased the tears tumbling down her tinting cheek with his thumb as her trembling fingers brushed the side of his face. He pushed into her touch.

“I’ve never... felt anything more powerful, Reks, than the l-love I feel when you call me yours. Your flame.” her eyes glistened with a level of adoration that made his chest ache uncontrollably. “I don’t think I’ll ever s-stop burning for you.”

Days. He had spent less than a month with this girl, and he somehow managed to adore everything about her, from her optimistic way of thinking to their natural chemistry. He yearned for her in a way he never felt, a fire he thought he’d never find - never deserved to attain.

With Amelia, he sought to challenge her, to play, to explore the fires and stars mingled between them, melting into one stunning flame belonging to them alone.

“Careful,” he smirked tiredly down at her, fighting pain splitting the back of his head. “It’s a vow one can not retract.” technically, it wouldn’t be official until a Rite of Flame is conducted, but she didn’t require that small detail right now. He’d have them go through the motions after he got them out of this mess.

A sharp influx of screams sounded from the side, but Amelia captured every drop of his attention as she pulled his hand against her chest. “The fires raging here are entirely y-your fault.” she smiled weakly, then suddenly gasped as a wave of pain hit her.

He felt a wave of his own too. The pain pressed against him as Luk shook from the overexertion.

“You’re giving too m-much. You have to stop.” she pleaded him.

“I would light every dormant star ablaze if that’s what it took to keep you with me. This? This is nothing compared to what I’m willing to do.”

Something like stars shimmered in her eyes. The reflection of interchanging constellations from the ceiling above their heads.

Her lips parted in answer, but something close hissed behind him.

Rage and fear twined together in a dangerous dance up his spine. He looked over his shoulder to see Nikoe rip colorful silks from his and Sio’s line of sight, snatching up Reks' gate ring and chunking it across the room. It slid across the floor, hitting the far wall.

Nikoe Rhosyn resembled an animated corpse at this point. His eyes… he couldn’t even make them out anymore. All around them, Sio managed to regain control and subdued everyone in the room once more.

Around a hundred or so guests hadn’t escaped. Now, they were all made to be on their knees, their hands planted to the floor as if in the lowest of bows. No sounds emitted from the high ranks. Their only duty was to witness what Sio wished them to. Several among them laid dead in pools of their own blood. Had Sio sought out the bastard who attempted to take Amelia’s life? He couldn’t see the rotten General anywhere.

Reks stiffened as the monster crept closer to him, to his Amelia.

“Fuck off – stay the fuck away from her!” rage bled through him as he threatened Sio and its dying puppet. But he couldn’t move from where he held Amelia. He couldn’t risk moving while Luk used his life energy to heal her and Nox.

Sio snarled back down at him, as if he were nothing more than a nuisance under its slitted stare. “The Fates will punish you, Reks Arlen. Not even the empress can intervene once the Fates strike their decree upon you.” Sio reached down to grab his shoulder.

He roared in defiance, crouching lower to the ground with Amelia in his arms. Her breathing quickened into fast, shortened gasps, making his blood freeze over. No. “Stop! She needs my Guide–”

“I will not wait a moment longer!” Sio seethed as Nikoe’s fingers bit into his shoulder while his other snatched a handful of his hair.

Reks’ hands slipped free from Amelia as Sio yanked him away with unnatural brute force - forcing Luk to release her as to not cause additional damage. She cried out, and his answering fury seared his very flesh.

He reached back to rip the monster from Nikoe’s neck, but he wasn’t fast enough. Not after so much of his energy had been drained. Sio chunked him like a ragdoll through the air. His body crashed into several bodies, all hard skulls. Bones against bones.

“Stay away from her! Fucking touch her and I’ll kill you!” A howl of defiance ripped from his lungs as he pushed back up to his feet, jumping over high-ranking assholes and biting through the sharp throb of pain burning the back of his neck from how Sio twisted him.

Then hands. Hands grabbed at his ankles, slowing him down. He fell from the force, kicking someone’s arm with enough strength to break it. He ripped free of others’ grips, not caring if they were being controlled or not – fuck their arms. He had to get back to her.

Amelia’s shallow scream pierced through him, through his very being as Sio dropped its puppet to strike her.