Alec’s

Nyx's words keep playing in my mind like a broken record—sharp, bitter, and laced with so much hatred it felt like they cut right through my soul.

I've tried to make sense of them, but I still can't. She said so little, yet somehow it felt like she revealed everything. I hated that she couldn't just tell me everything I needed to know all at once. Why was she feeding me breadcrumbs? And what was that whole talk about me not being ready? How long was she going to use that as an excuse?

The more I thought about it, the more tangled everything became. The only clear takeaway from our conversation was that both she and Xena knew Kaden—and that Xena and Kaden did something awful to her. Something that caused her to hate her sister. Something that turned sister against sister.

I fell back in my chair, eyes unfocused, trying to piece it all together. There was something I was missing. Something crucial. What the hell was it?

Frustrated, I got up and started pacing. My feet moved aimlessly, but my thoughts scattered in every direction. I stomped like a child, letting out a groan of pure exasperation when, even after minutes of thinking, I still hadn't found the missing piece.

Eventually, I collapsed into the chair again, head in hands. I closed my eyes and forced a deep breath in— then out—before opening them again.

Needing a distraction, I grabbed a book, hoping it would help reset my thoughts, maybe even lead me to something useful.

I don't know how long I sat there flipping pages. But eventually, I shoved the book away in disgust. Nothing. No answers. Not even a hint to point me in the right direction.

I leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling as if the answers might suddenly appear there. Silence pressed in from all sides, thick and heavy. I hated this feeling—this helpless circling around a truth that always stayed just out of reach.

Maybe I was being played. Maybe Nyx was just messing with me, dangling half-truths and cryptic warnings because she could. Or maybe... maybe she was right. Maybe I wasn't ready.

The thought unsettled me more than I wanted to admit. Because if I wasn't ready now—after everything I'd been through-then when would I be?

I closed my eyes again, but this time I wasn't trying to breathe or center myself. I was reaching-mentally clawing through every memory, every word, every silence. Nyx had said something. Something about betrayal. About being abandoned. And she spoke Kaden's name with venom, but Xena's with something colder. Emptier.

Like the hate had burned itself out and left only ash.

And then it hit me. Not a full picture, but a crack in the frame-something terrible must have happened between the three of them. Something that twisted their loyalties and buried their love under layers of guilt, rage, and silence.

I sat up straighter, heart pounding now-not with fear, but with the edge of understanding. I still didn't have the full truth, but I was close. Closer than before.

Nyx didn't want to feed me crumbs. Maybe she wanted me to dig.noveldrama

To find the truth, not be handed it.

With renewed energy, I grabbed my notebook and started scribbling. Names, timelines, events-everything I could remember. I didn't care if the pieces didn't fit yet. I just needed them all on the table.

Because Nyx was right about one thing.

This wasn't just about me anymore.

It never had been

“Nyx?" I called out to her, knowing her mental shields were likely still up-but hoping, just maybe, she'd hear

me.

Silence answered.

I sighed, the sound leaving my lips like the weight of everything I couldn't carry anymore. Her shields were strong-too strong-I couldn't even feel her. But I didn't push. She deserved that space. Whatever had happened to her... it couldn't have been easy.

As I sat there, letting the silence stretch, a thought struck me: maybe I was going about this all wrong. Instead of pushing her for answers, maybe I needed to just be there. Nyx had been there for me in ways no one else ever had-ways I could never fully express.

She saw me. She understood me. Encouraged me. She fought the battles beside me that even King and Raven didn't know I was fighting. She supported me, cried with me, and held me up when I was sinking. She was my anchor on the days I felt like I was drowning.

She was my support system.

So why couldn't I be that for her?

I did need answers. Desperately. But maybe it was time to stop making that the priority. Now that I had even a glimpse of her past—just a fraction of the pain she carried-maybe needed to follow her lead. She gave me her strength without asking for anything in return. The least I could do was offer her the same.

My body deflated as the truth of it settled inside me, heavy but oddly calming. I'd spent so long obsessed with what she was hiding, I hadn't stopped to consider why she was hiding it. Whatever Xena and Kaden did to her... even the mention of their names was like reopening a wound that never really healed.

And I could feel it—her pain. Her heartbreak. It wasn't old. It was still fresh. Still bleeding.

A strange peace washed over me as the decision took root.

Above all else—above the need for truth, for justice, for understanding—she came first.