Page 122 of Court of Aether and Shadows

Rarely do I feel flustered around anyone, yet my thoughts seemed to scramble with this woman’s presence. It was similar to when Solaris entered the dining hall yesterday, or when I’d been saved in the forest thanks to Liam.

I’d accepted with this Omega status that maybe it made me respond oddly in the presence of male wolves. Maybe specifically “Alpha” wolves.

She is a girl though and I’m not in romantic competition, but then thinking this way feels hypocritical.

Just the thought made me want to pout my lips in misery, but I couldn’t assume I would be every wolf’s romantic fascination all because of this “omega” status thing.

Ugh. This Omega thing keeps coming up!

"Surprise!" She grinned, flashing teeth that were slightly sharper than humans. "Speaking of those two hotheads, Solaris sends his regards. He's probably my best friend. Well, when he's not being an absolute pain in the ass about territory and dominance."

Her expression turned mischievous.

"Liam was supposed to be here for your orientation too, but..." she examined her black-painted nails casually, "let's just say he's nursing some bruised pride along with other... bruises."

Bruises?!

"You fought Liam?" I asked, both concerned and oddly impressed. Liam wasn’t the type to insinuate fights, but maybe he was in a foul mood today which influenced his level of patience.

Which is probably non-existent…

"Foughtimplies it was a fair contest," she smirked. "I simply reminded him that being an Alpha doesn't make you invincible. Especially when you're dealing with Void magic."

“That’s impressive,” I confess in awe, leaving her grinning at my praise. Her mentioning this Alpha status also made me wonder if she was one as well, but that could have been a “male” title while this Omega status was for females.

"Cypress doesn't need to know I'm technically the strongest," Nyx said as we walked through the room, her boots making no sound despite the crystalline floor. "Our Earth wolf thinks being connected to all four elements makes him special." She rolled her galaxy eyes, but there was fondness in her tone.

The way she moved was mesmerizing — part predator, part cosmic dancer. Every step seemed to bend reality slightly, leaving trailing echoes of void energy in her wake.

"So there's four of you?" I asked, trying to understand the complex dynamics at play. "You, Liam, Solaris, and Cypress?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, casually stepping through a shadow and reappearing on my other side, leaving me in surprise. "Each representing our courts. Cypress commands earth, water, fire, and air. Solaris brings that irritating sunlight and healing. Liam has his shadows and stealth. And I..." she grinned, showing those slightly-too-sharp teeth, "I control the void itself."

The perfect balance.

"Is that why you're the strongest?"

I had to know because the idea of her being the only female in their group and overpowered felt motivating to me.

Her galaxy eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Let's just say it's hard to fight someone who can literally fold space and time. Poor Liam learned that lesson today. He thought his shadow walking could match my void stepping." She laughed, the sound like wind through crystal caves. "He's probably still trying to figure out which dimension I left him in."

“D-Dimension?” I gasp in shock.

“Now, Lady Nyx,” Celeste spoke up. “That’s not nice.”

“True,” she agrees with a wink and shrug. “But he deserved it for being a grumpy douche so early in the morning. We all had to get up at the ungodly hours to get ready so he can’t possibly think I’ll have the tolerance to deal with his jealous foolishness.”

She twirls around, threads of black and purple wisping around her like fine fabrics of silk. There was something about her casual display of power that should have frightened me — or anyone in my predicament frankly — but instead, I felt drawn to it.

To her…

That same pull I'd felt with the others, but different somehow.

More... complementary.

"You feel it too," she said, not a question but a statement as she was suddenly inches from my face. It made me blush immediately, but she carried on as if my embarrassment at our closeness meant nothing in this heightened moment. "The connection. It's different from what you feel with the boys, isn't it? More balanced."

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