Chapter Text
The moss felt cool beneath Quinn’s bare feet as he ran through the darkened forest. Rain stung his eyes, but he didn’t slow. He kept pace with Air, weaving through the trees.
Air was messing with him. He glanced over now and then, purple eyes lit with mischief, a grin ghosting across his face. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. Wasn’t hindered in the slightest by the treacherous underfoot conditions, or the relentless deluge that had soaked them both right down to the bone.
No. Air was in his absolute element out here.
Lightning lit the canopy above, and another presence registered. As sleek and graceful as Air, but low to the ground. A silent, miniature predator.
She was his. Once. In another life.
The trees thinned out, and a clearing opened up. Air slowed, coming to a stop at the centre of it. He turned around to face Quinn, drenched but absolutely glowing.
Quinn hesitated at the treeline, breaths heaving, lungs burning, heart hammering. He glanced down at himself. Neglected. Out of shape. He shouldn’t have been this wrecked by the pace they’d kept.
“Quinn.”
His eyes met Air's, the image going blurry from the drops of water.
“Azael?”
The image wavered.
“It’s okay, Quinn.” Air stretched out his hands, beckoning him. Quinn staggered towards him, a sob breaking from his throat, what little strength he had dissolving with the rain. “That’s it. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay now.”
Quinn stumbled. Fell to his knees in the moss-covered forest floor. Fingers combed through his hair, and Air cupped his skull, tipping his head back.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn breathed. Air smiled down at him. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
Air guided him to his feet. Pulled him closer. Wrapped his arms around him and breathed him in.
He was trembling.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much,” Air murmured. “I never doubted you.”
Lips and fangs brushed Quinn's throat, and Air said the one word he needed to hear: “Mine.”
A shudder of relief rolled through Quinn at the growled claim, and he sagged against his mate.
___
Quinn’s eyes flew open and he dragged air into his lungs, flailing against the warmth that held him.
“Easy,” a deep voice rumbled, strong arms tightening their hold. “I’ve got you.”
Quinn focused. Green eyes. Kindness. Strength.
Earth.
What the fuck?
The hold relented and Quinn tried to sit up. They were on the floor in the infirmary. Earth’s back against the wall. Quinn cradled in his lap like a sleeping kit.
The room was too quiet, bar the soft sounds of mechanical whirrs and beeps. The scents of antiseptic, smoke and blood tickled Quinn’s nostrils, offending his confused senses.
A relentless ache in his heart where something metaphysical had torn...
Reality slammed into him like a fucking car crash.
He couldn’t breathe. The echo of Air's touch still burned, but the warmth was gone. Cold reality took its place.
Air.
Quinn jerked away from Earth and jumped to his feet.
The bed. A still body lay on his side atop thick furs; furs taken from their bed.
He looked so fucking small. So achingly fragile. Linked to tubes and wires.
A weak flicker of life pulsed deep within him, like a candle flame facing down a hurricane.
Imp lay curled into a ball next to his stomach, purring. Water sat in a chair next to the bed, his magic flowing between he and Air, balancing levels of hydration.
Another soul registered, spooning behind Air, and Quinn’s territorial instincts tore their way to the surface.
A stranger, pushing a steady thrum of healing quintessence into him.
A low growl rumbled from Quinn’s chest, and Earth’s arm shot out, barring his way.
“Council quint. He needed all the help he could get. Don’t go doing anything stupid, seer.”
The words didn’t soothe him as intended.
“Get the fuck away from him,” Quinn snarled at the ghuleh.
A blonde head whipped around, wide, surprised frost-blue eyes snapping to his. They flicked to Earth, then back to Quinn, but the ghuleh didn’t make any moves to obey.
Fear flickered in her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
“I was sent to offer healing while you were weakened. That’s all I’m doing.”
Her tone put Quinn’s back up. Had she just called him weak?
“Are you deaf, youngling?” Quinn said, tilting his head. “I said get the fuck away from him. He is mine to heal.”
The ghuleh was young, yes, but Quinn sensed she was powerful. He blinked. Those eyes. Familiar, like an echo from a dream he’d tried to forget.. .
There was warmth in her energy. Something old and familiar. It shouldn’t have comforted him, but it did. A whisper of home, from a life he wasn’t even sure had ever been his.
Something deep within him ached, but he pushed it aside. He didn’t have the energy for chasing ghosts right then.
The ghuleh narrowed her stare and spoke. She sat up, being extra careful so the movement wouldn’t jar Air.
“You'd burnt yourself out,” she said, voice hushed. “You needed some time to recharge. The Prime Ghoul sent me and my kin to assist in healing the injured.” Her eyes slid to Imp, and she huffed. “Your quint creature has been a great help.”
Quinn blinked, remembering the apothecary. How Imp had picked up the slack where Quinn had failed. What the fuck was going on?
“Imp,” he said, the territorial anger receding a little. He met the ghuleh's eyes. “Her name is Imp.”
The ghuleh smiled and swung her legs over the side of the bed, crossing the room to stand before him. She looked up at Quinn and offered her hand.
“I’m Nova.”
Quinn glared at it, but he didn’t take it. Nova cleared her throat awkwardly. “So, I’ve concentrated on Lord Azael's airways, and on boosting his healing systems. The human machines have helped a lot.” She glanced back at Air and frowned. “What you did for him was extraordinary. I can see the soul-tether you made. Could you show me how? Imagine the lives I could save back home with that kind of magic...”
Earth cursed under his breath, his grip on Quinn tightening. Quinn bared his fangs, cutting her off.
“No! That magic is forbidden.” He glanced at Air and sagged in Earth’s hold, the fight suddenly going out of him. The spell still held. A fragile cage of magic anchoring Air’s soul to a body that should have already failed. The weight of the unknown cost still hung heavy. “Only a fool would defy the universe that way.”
Nova flinched, lowering the hand she’d extended.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “His spirit is strong. It’s going to be a long road, but he’s responding well already. It would be an honour to assist you with his healing.”
Quinn studied her for a moment, protective instincts warring. He hated that her concern sounded so sincere.
But how could he trust a complete stranger with Air’s care? Especially when Quinn’s own daughter had apparently been the one to put him here?
He should have known. Should have felt something was off. Instead, he’d been blinded by love this whole time.
His protective instincts won out.
“I can handle this myself,” he snarled. “If I need a break, Omega or Aether can take over until I’m rested enough.”
He felt everyone’s eyes on him, and Nova’s widened.
What the fuck else was he supposed to do, though? He couldn’t leave Air’s healing in the hands of anyone he didn’t trust.
And he didn’t trust Nova.
It wasn’t anything personal.
He barely trusted anyone now.
“Quinn?” Earth said.
His tone was bleak, and Quinn’s instincts prickled.
Earth let Quinn go, and Quinn turned to face him. He sighed, willing Earth to be his usual blunt self and get this over with.
The big ghoul obliged.
Steady green eyes met Quinn’s, and he placed a large palm on Quinn’s shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze.
The way he always did when he was about to say something that nobody wanted to hear.
“Aether didn’t make it out.”
It took a moment to process the words. Then the reality he’d been denying hit.
“No.”
It came out strangled. More of a whine than a word.
But Earth didn’t look away.
He may as well have punched Quinn in the guts.
His mind flashed back to the fire.
The bodies on the floor.
One of them was Aether.
An image of the big quint from mere days ago, grinning and bantering with his pack...
Raw pain clawed at Quinn’s heart.
He met Earth’s level stare.
“Who else?” Quinn breathed. Earth flinched. “Who else didn’t make it out?”
Earth glanced at Water, as if looking for help. None came.
He kept his voice low as he listed the injured and the lost, and every name spoken felt like a lash to Quinn’s soul.
“Calista, Sunshine, Cirrus and Rain are critical.”
Quinn closed his eyes, grief and self-loathing crawling out from the gaping wound in his gut.
Earth sighed wearily.
“Aether, Swiss and Cumulus were lost.”
He let that sit, quiet for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite believe it himself. Quinn felt sick to his stomach.
The hesitation stretched, then Earth whispered,
“And Ayla.”
The breath left Quinn’s lungs, and he flinched, his brain spitting out random memories from the burning lair. He’d been totally focused on Air, blocking out the others. But she’d been there, hadn’t she? Right next to Air, on the ground.
A tentative wave of quintessential magic brushed against his grief, and Quinn’s sorrow transformed to rage. His eyes snapped open, landing on the source of the magic.
Nova.
The stranger in amongst his family.
“Leave,” Quinn snapped, using his own quintessence to push hers away.
She pulled it back, expression turning from shock to pity.
“I’m sorry...”
Quinn bared his fangs at her, eyes burning.
“Get the fuck out!”
She scowled. Dipped her eyes. Glanced at the others, then back at Air.
“As you wish. Please call on me again if he needs me.”
And with that, she slipped quietly out of the room.
Earth let out a heavy exhale.
“There was no need to be like that with her, Quinn.”
Quinn glared at him.
“Fuck her,” he muttered, eyes straying to the bed.
Air was out cold, the ventilator breathing for him. Quinn scented the sedation they’d used, but he didn’t think his mate would have needed it, anyway. His soul still hovered in the void between life and death, tethered there but tugging to fly free.
Burns covered the whole of his back, his arm and his flank, the skin blackened and angry. Faint sparks of magic crackled over the gauze and salves that had been applied to the wounds. They’d draped a thin sheet over his middle, but everywhere else was left exposed, showing the true extent of his injuries.
The room was warm enough. Stiflingly so, but that’s what was needed.
Quinn's feet carried him closer without thought. He carefully climbed in beside Air and lay down on his side so they were face to face.
He reached out with a shaking hand, brushing a stray lock of hair back from Air’s forehead and tucking it behind his ear. His now-recharged magic found its own way, and Quinn let it go to him.
Imp settled in-between them, purring, and Quinn felt the click as her magic synced with his own. On some unconscious level, he recognised the feel of it, but he wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge what that meant yet.
Instead, he concentrated the magic on healing Air, because he knew they were safe for the time being.
For a while, they stayed silent. Quinn beside Air. Earth resuming his place on the floor, back to the wall. Water in the chair beside the bed, using his elemental magic to monitor and adjust along with Quinn’s healing.
Quinn’s mind whirled, though. Trying to connect the dots. Why had Amaya done this? Where was she? What the fuck had gone so wrong?
Eventually, the noise inside Quinn’s head became too much.
“Do we know what happened yet?” he murmured.
Earth stretched out his long limbs, inhaling a deep breath and blowing it out while he figured out where to start.
“Bits and pieces. Secondo is with Amaya in the cells. Woe, Fire, Svarog, Agrat and he are guarding her. Boreas' people are getting tetchy, demanding her back, but we're stalling them. She has a few hours before she’s called back. Rain is still unconscious, but Calista is awake. She remembers some of it.”
Calista.
Fuck.
Amaya’s own mother.
“How is she doing?” Quinn asked, the guilt he already felt growing tenfold.
Earth hummed.
“As well as can be expected. Rain shielded her from the worst of it. He’s not doing great. They still don’t know if he’ll make it. Papa is next to useless with grief. Terzo has taken charge. Omega burnt himself out, but luckily he has Seren. That’s why the Council sent a team of quints. They’ll swap them out every few hours to heal the injured.”
Earth paused, and Quinn glanced at him. He sighed again. “Boreas personally sent Nova to heal Air. She’s one of the best they have. Amaya got to the Prime Family, too, so every powerful quint in the realm has been drafted to the Capital.” He nodded towards Air. “Nova did a great job with him while you were out for the count.”
And now Quinn felt like a bastard for being a dick to her. He and Boreas didn’t see eye to eye, but he was still Air’s brother. Of course he’d send his best.
“Shit,” Quinn murmured.
“Yeah, shit,” Earth said. Then his composure cracked, the echo of visceral fear bleeding out from him. “We almost lost him,” he said, voice cracking. “We felt it too. The bond fracturing.”
Quinn directed some soothing magic his way. His eyes rested on Air’s face. On the dark slash of his brows against ashen skin. On the strips of surgical tape holding his eyes closed. The tubes in his nose and mouth. On the thready beat of his heart, thudding reluctantly in his chest.
“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Quinn whispered. “No fucking way.”
Earth climbed to his feet and came over, stopping behind Water and wrapping his arms around him.
The water ghoul patted Earth’s forearm and offered Quinn a sad smile.
“We know. And we are grateful for what you did,” he said.
Earth felt like he wanted to add something more, but wasn’t sure how Quinn would react.
“Go on,” Quinn said. “What else?”
Earth met his eyes, and they glowed green. His gaze flicked to Imp and a ghost of a smile crossed his lips.
“Amaya was going after Zoe and Rin. Imp stopped her from getting into the lair.”
His voice cracked on those last words.
Quinn frowned, remembering encountering Amaya in the hallway as he ran to Air. Remembering Imp launching herself at Amaya.
“We got there just in time,” Earth continued. “Amaya was distracted fighting off Imp, and Secondo caught her unawares. He heard her true thoughts for the first time. Knew what she planned to do. Used his magic to subdue her.”
A cold shiver ran through Quinn, at odds with the balmy room temperature and the warmth of the furs beneath him. They smelled of him and Air, their scents combined.
Quinn clenched his jaw, anger surging once again.
“Has she told anyone why?” he gritted out. “Why she would hurt her family?”
A look passed between Earth and Water, but a soft knock at the door stalled their answer.
A dark-haired head appeared, and Seren carefully entered, followed closely by Omega. He looked exhausted, but divine magic thrummed between them, fortifying Omega’s considerable strength right before Quinn’s eyes. The unearthly blue glow made him shudder, remembering the angel Raziel—Seren's father’s—blade.
His scarred shoulder ached at the reminder.
Omega softly closed the door behind them, and they came to stand by the bed. Seren cast her eyes over Air, expression solemn.
“We came to cast some more healing spells and offer a boost. How is he?”
She sat on the edge of the bed, taking out glass vials and healing potions from her bag.
“He’s alive,” Quinn said simply.
Omega took the chair behind Quinn.
“Is it okay if I heal him too?” Omega asked.
The first one to acknowledge Quinn’s authority on his mate’s care. He was so fucking grateful to his fellow quint.
“Yes. Thank you,” he said.
Omega’s magic swelled, tangling with his own and intensifying the stream of healing.
“Any news?” Earth asked.
Omega answered.
“Calista will be okay. They don’t think she will scar. Alpha's with her. He’s beside himself. Won’t leave her side. Rain is still critical, but he’s turned a corner. Two Council quints are with him, along with his remaining pack. Sunshine is still unconscious. Her burns are healed already. Her fire half protected her, but her skull and her spine are fractured. We think she’ll live, but who knows if she’ll fully heal. Again, two of the Council quints are still working on her.”
“How’s Itzal doing?” Water asked.
Quinn was sure their pack mate would be a wreck, and he wished he could do something for him.
“Not great,” Seren said. “We stayed with them for a while. He’s been frantic.”
Earth’s phone vibrated and he grunted, taking it out.
“Secondo. I need to take this.”
He answered, eyes sliding to Quinn.
Quinn heard every word, and his blood ran cold.
“She’s demanding to speak to Quinn. Alone. I told her no, but she claims he’s going to want to hear what she has to say. She refuses to speak to anyone else.”
Quinn growled.
“Tell him to take her thoughts,” he snarled.
Secondo sighed, and Quinn pictured their human summoner rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion.
“She’s blocking me,” Secondo said, realising Quinn was listening. “We’ve neutralised her magic, but she knows how to shut me out.”
Quinn fixed his gaze on Air again. He couldn’t leave him like this. Not so soon after everything.
“No! I can’t...”
“Put me on speaker,” Secondo said. Earth obeyed, placing the phone on the bed next to Seren. “Quinn, we don’t have the time to interrogate her. Boreas is putting pressure on us to send her to him. We have six hours until she’s sent home automatically.”
Six hours? How long had Quinn been unconscious? Amaya’s forty-eight hours On earth were almost up already?
“Boreas and Airs' parents are dead. Aella and Boreas himself are severely weakened. The only reason Asteria survived this was Lyra's quick thinking. Amaya tried to kill them all, Quinn. Our guess is she drained them somehow, and planned to flee back across the Divide after the chaos at the Abbey to finish the job.”
What the fuck was Secondo talking about?
“She what?” Quinn breathed, brain struggling to comprehend Secondo’s words and align them with the daughter he thought he knew.
“The only solid thing we’ve got from her, which Calista has corroborated, is that she’s been working with the Fates.”
Quinn stilled.
For a heartbeat, the world went silent. Just the white roar of disbelief filling his skull.
Followed by a rage so absolute that Quinn almost exploded with it.
“No,” he whispered. The words tasted like bile on his tongue. “No, no, no...”
The Fates.
Of course it was them. Of fucking course.
Laughter clawed at him. Hysterical. Manic. The sheer absurdity of it. The sound that escaped was half snarl, half sob. Broken and ugly.
Just. Like. Him.
“They never fucking stop... They’ll never stop fucking with me.”
Blood rushed in his ears, as loud as the river of ether.
Madam Bucur had tried to warn him. The Fates had silenced her when she’d been screaming it at him.
Cold devastation hit, focusing his thoughts, and Quinn carefully climbed off the bed.
He could have prevented all of this.
The warnings were all there.
He’d chosen to ignore them in favour of victimising Agrat.
He looked down at Air. The only thing he’d had the audacity to fully claim for himself since Ashtoreth and the twins. Hanging onto life by a mere thread.
They’d almost succeeded in taking him.
“Please, Quinn.” Secondo’s voice echoed from the phone speaker. “This could be the only chance we have to find the answers. Boreas is out for her blood. We can’t deny him for much longer.”
Quinn reached out and stroked a claw down Air’s cheek. He met Omega’s clear blue stare.
“Will you stay with him until I get back? You and Seren?” Omega nodded. “If anything changes, you come get me. If he even so much as twitches, you find me, yes?”
Omega reached out and squeezed Quinn’s biceps.
“I will, brother. We will take care of him.”
Quinn leaned in and kissed Air’s forehead, murmuring Infernal against his fevered skin.
“I'll be back with you as soon as I can. I swear it to you. Stay strong for me, little one.”
His magic swelled, and Quinn sent as much healing energy through their bond as he could.
Once he was satisfied he’d done all he could, he straightened and turned away.
“Do you need me with you?” Earth asked.
Quinn hesitated by the door and shook his head.
“No. Stay with him for me.”
Earth grunted his agreement, and Quinn reached for the door knob, closing his hand around the cold metal.
Every instinct he had screamed at him to stay, but he had no other choice now.
They needed answers from Amaya, and by Satan, Quinn was going to get them.