Nyx curled into a warm embrace, her body weightless. Painless. The air around her was hot and scorched her skin, but it felt good. Her mind floated between dream and reality in the sweltering space as strange guttural voices mumbled around her. Then, finally, after many delirious thoughts, she heard a familiar voice. 

"Vekyek I oe te oaj." Protect her with your life.

Somehow she knew the meaning of the words, and she wondered who he spoke to, but sleep snatched her away again.

When Nyx woke in the orange-tinted darkness, her throat was desert dry, and her sight blurred. Her throbbing head rolled to the side, and she spotted a tall bottle of water on her bedside, illuminated by a small floating orb. Unable to understand the small light source, she focused on the water and slowly let its coolness coat her parched gullet. The faint remnants of copper clung to her taste buds, and she groaned, allowing her eyes to close again. A heavy weight moved across her legs, and she wiggled her toes against it. A low growl stopped Nyx in her tracks, and she stared at the ceiling, bewildered. 

What the hell was that?

Shifting her elbows beneath her, Nyx sat up and found herself eye to eye with a horse-sized dog. Another shape prowled across the mattress to her side and pushed its snout into her stomach, forcing her to lie down again. 

Two horse-sized dogs. 

They seemed a mixture of Doberman and rottweiler, but their size was otherworldly. Her limited experience with dogs made her wary, but they lay back down on either side of her placing their soft heads in the crook of her elbows. She was effectively pinned under the duvet as their long bodies tucket the fabric against her. 

"Nice, doggies," she croaked, tentatively stroking their velvety ears. The floppy triangles were the size of dinner plates and twitched slightly beneath her touch before relaxing completely. "Where am I? Do you guys know?"

The darker dog with a scar through its brow lifted its head and made a slight grumble in its chest. A chain jangled around the creature's thick neck, and an engraving caught the light. Nyx blinked and craned her neck to see the words. "A'ren? Is that your name, puppy?"

A'ren tilted her head to the side and grumbled before snuggling down again. The other dog pushed his wet nose against Nyx's cheek and lifted its neck, exposing the engraved chain. "Ruz?"

Ruz whined and flopped on his side, exposing his belly, which Nyx scratched. The space Ruz created gave enough freedom for Nyx to pull herself up and check herself over. When she peered down, she noticed her attire had changed from her black dress to a long, emerald nightgown, and she frowned. 

Who changed my clothes? 

Anger bubbled in her belly as she gently poked the area Micah punched, but she hardly felt any tenderness. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. Her head and back were similarly painless.

"Alright, A'ren, Ruz, I'm getting up now."

A'ren growled while Ruz just hopped off the bed and waited patiently. A'ren whined, looking at her companion and appeared to roll her eyes before joining him.

The bed was huge, and Nyx had to scoot a fair way until her feet dangled off the edge, not reaching the floor. Despite the lack of abdominal pain or death from internal bleeding, she still felt groggy as she slid off the bed. Her feet brushed the warm wood before buckling under her. A'ren and Ruz skittered over and offered their backs as leverage. Nyx cautiously obliged, aware of how close she was to the largest sets of teeth she had ever seen. As she stood, the dogs rose to full height and their backs aligned perfectly beneath her armpits like they were made to be at her side.

"I like you two already. But I need to figure out where I am and get back home. I've got work..."

The creatures peered at one another as she unpeeled herself and stood on her own. The room was mainly all bed. A small bedside table with a black safe nestled against the wall, and above it was a large mirror. The orange orb had moved at some point while Nyx got up and now cast its light from above them. Her reflection looked back at her with dark circles and pale cheeks. Her steel eyes narrowed, the purple and green flecks brighter in the dark room. Her copper, gold hair framed her face in long messy waves as she scrutinised herself. The dogs watched her as she crept closer to the mirror, touching it with dry fingertips.

It was warm. Like everything else in the place, heat emanated from the polished surface. Nyx spun and walked to the room's only other feature: the door. A'ren and Ruz whined as she twisted the knob and pulled. Nothing happened. The door didn't budge.

"Am I a prisoner here?" she whispered incredulously. She rounded on the animals who shrunk back. "Are you two meant to be my guard dogs or something?"

Her chest tightened as she leaned against the warm wood and a strange sound passed her lips—a scoff. Then a chuckle, which turned into a belly laugh mingling with hysteria. "What the hell?"

Ruz's head lifted, and his eyes met Nyx's with earnestness. Understanding dawned on her, and she laughed harder. She laughed so hard that her stomach cramped, and tears poured from her eyes. But, when the laughter subsided, the tears did not, and her body shook from another emotion. Despair.

Snot and sadness drenched her nightgown as she curled against the locked door. A'ren and Ruz clambered closer, nuzzling her legs as if encouraging her to get on the bed, but she rolled over and stared at the door in silent objection. She heard their loud sighs and a lumbering warmth pressing the length of her back. She hiccoughed and sniffled, letting sleep retake her.

Minutes or hours later, light poured in, irritating Nyx's eyes, and when she went to swipe at the annoying brightness, she landed on a solid limb. Her shock and jolting backwards startled the dogs snuggling behind her, and they growled menacingly at the intruder. They realised their mistake almost immediately and hid behind Nyx, making themselves look small. Nyx snuggled between them, taking longer to decipher the figure blocking the doorway until he spoke in a deep, softened tone.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

Neo.

Three years' worth of questions and accusations spun in her mind, but the words she came up with were. "Where were you?"

Neo's face remained in shadow as he approached. "Ruz, A'ren, out."

They whimpered as they shimmied from beneath Nyx's body and scampered from the room. The door shut behind them, and Nyx slid across the floor to the nearest wall, pressing her back against its delicious heat.

"I had to ensure we weren't followed, and you needed time to heal. There's only so much I can do-"

"That's not what I meant," Nyx cut him off. "Did you know Micah would hurt me? Is that why you gave me to him? Why didn't you stop him?"

Neo crossed the room and knelt in front of her. His eyes were hard and remained downcast as he wrapped his hand around her ankle. She jerked back, but he silenced her, gently straightening her leg and running his fingers across the fading pink scars over her shins and kneecaps. Nyx remembered the glass embedded in her legs and Medea's corpse embedded in her mind. "Oh god," she whimpered, burying her burning eyes behind her hands.

"I only let Micah take you from that ball because I hoped an Angel would keep you safe from the Demons. The same demons who think you weakened me and want to kill us both. When I saw his hands on you, I could have killed him. I should have..." Neo balled his hands into fists and tapped the concrete floor a few times before continuing. "He hid you from me. That's why I called you to come and find me tonight."

Nyx lowered her hands and stared at the Demon's perfect face. "You were the one who called me?"

"Yes. I have kept tabs on you for the last three years while Micahs been AWOL. Then he returned from some realm a week ago and cloaked you."

Nyx sniffled as Neo examined her other leg. His touch sent warmth along her limb and into her belly. "Do you think he was with Tunrida?"

Neo froze, his head snapping to look Nyx in the eye. "What did you say?"

"Micah said Tunrida was ready for me, and I needed to help them both before they would leave me alone."

The jumbled memories ticked over in her mind. "I think they're going to use me to turn your demons human."

"Vekai," Neo cursed. "So that's it then. That's how she planned to take the throne." They hovered in silence for a few moments before he offered his hands to her.

Stubborn as a mule, Nyx turned and stood on her own, crossing her arms across her chest with a scowl. "Alright, I answered your questions. Now you answer mine."

A long-awaited smirk pulled at Neo's lips as he mirrored her stance.

"Ask away."