Valeria Nocturne's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Valeria half carried Vexxir through the dark streets, blood warm against her palm. The healer's cottage rose ahead, its magenta walls and crooked roof glowing under lantern light. Crows shifted on the eaves and watched them pass. Valeria pounded the door until it opened, and steady hands took her sister from her arms. She stood on the threshold while the healer worked. Vexxir's breathing slowed. Her color came back. Valeria touched the silver locket at her throat, the one with both their faces inside, and felt the metal warm under her shaking fingers. The healer nodded once. Safe. For now. Valeria stepped back into the street alone. She walked without choosing a direction. Her legs felt thin as paper. She did not cry until she passed the park, where a tree strung with pink neon branches buzzed softly in the dark. Then her knees nearly folded. A tall shape stepped into her path beneath a tall iron streetlight that cast purple shadows on the cobblestones. Xander. His dark coat was open, his face tight with worry. "I heard," he said. "Tell me she lives." "She lives," Valeria whispered. The locket bit into her closed fist. Her shoulders shook. Xander did not ask another question. He stepped close and pulled her against his chest, one gloved hand cradling the back of her head. She wept into his coat, hard and ugly, while he held her steady under the violet light. When the worst passed, she pulled back and wiped her face. Xander kept one hand on her arm. "We stop hunting from the outside," he said. "Tonight you come with me. We work together, openly. No more secrets between our houses." Valeria nodded. The alliance was no longer fragile. It was a bond sealed in her sister's blood, and she would not let it break.