Nyxis clenched his fists. He wanted to punch something but he shook his head. He might damage his precious and beautiful hands, so...no thanks.

Still, that didn't erase the anger bubbling in his chest like yeast on a sugar basin—a great way to treat a certain type of foot fungus, by the way. He prayed to all the gods for it to ease or disappear but even when he saw June tread the thin line between life and death, it was still there—gripping his throat and coiling in his gut.

It's only because of Xanthy that Nyxis was even helping that moron. If June wanted to die so much, Nyxis could have slipped poison in one of the numerous potions he shoved down the half-blood's throat. Faster. Cleaner.

Nyxis glanced at June's limp form that sank on the mattress like it was slowly eating the half-blood up. Ah, if that's possible, why not?

Apparently, June had no choice when he did what he did. Nyxis clicked his tongue. Dagrine crap—that's what it was. June betrayed Xanthy and killed the High Queen because he wanted to. Now, they would have to reap all the consequences, Nyxis included.

Nyxis's gut swirled along with the concoction he was putting to a simmer. His own reflection stared back at him from the opaque green liquid rolling in the cauldron. In the situation where Nyxis should be feeling sorry for June, only numbness was present in Nyxis's heart. He glanced at the array of ingredients and potions spread out from him.

All of these didn't matter. Not with June destined to shrivel away one of these days. It's not arcane magic. Everyone knew that. Drawbacks weren't reversible. Death was inevitable with drawbacks cutting a person's access to magic and without magic, a fairy ceases to exist. Nyxis bit his lip. June was only able to survive this long because that's only half of him, or that's at least according to Nyxis's theory.

Earlier in the morning, Nyxis was herded to Eldan's house as they prepare for Xanthy's journey. Did Eldan know what Xanthy was going to do? Did he care? Marthiaq, a brownie and apparently a fairy close to both Eldan and Xanthy, winked at Nyxis before talking to Eldan in rapid Keijula.

Nyxis took one look at the abundance of exotic wildlife surrounding Eldan's house in the middle of the thick, Komery forest and he forgot that he was supposed to help Xanthy. When Eldan gave him explicit permission to explore, within the next hour, Nyxis had refilled his inventory and had conceptualized two new recipes.

Then, Xanthy talked to June and all of Nyxis's amusement with Dwanzeig flew out of the forest. Xanthy left out a crucial piece in her plan just to get June to agree. She...lied.

For someone who hated being lied to, Xanthy surely had some guts to start doing it to people.

Once June's eyes rolled back inside his head, Nyxis watched Xanthy heave a breath before striding out of the room. Through the window of their borrowed room, he saw her linger on Eldan's spacious porch, staring at the endless horizon of trees. Nyxis blew out the fire below his cauldron and gave his concoction one last stir.

June probably wouldn't wake up after this. The dosage of the potions he'd been inhaling just to get him in a half-functional state would lead to more undesirable side effects if Nyxis continued. Nyxis rubbed his face and drew his hair off his forehead. Gods, he's tired.

Nyxis strode out of the room and followed Xanthy towards the porch. Xanthy didn't turn to him as she sat on the first step and Nyxis dropped next to her. "I cannot watch him die," Xanthy propped her chin on her knee. "I know I cannot abandon the war altogether. I do not know what to do."

Nyxis leaned against the wooden rails flanking the short steps to the porch. "Why did you not tell him?"

Xanthy turned to him but kept her head on her knees. "Tell him what?"

"That the price of saving him was you," Nyxis said. Xanthy chuckled. "I do not need another opposition, you know?" she wrapped her arms around her folded knees and rocked back and forth. "If I told him, he would have said no."

Nyxis nodded. "As he should," he leaned forward, searching Xanthy's eyes for a shred of reasoning. He'd even settle for a little bit of hesitation. He found nothing but despair and anguish. "Xanthy, this is not right."

"You think so?" she gave a mirthless laugh. "We should hide the Virtakios away before somebody else gets it. I could not protect it without getting others hurt."

Nyxis frowned. "You already have a plan?"

Xanthy leaned against the other rail. A stray breeze blew and shuffled her hair away from her forehead. "The moment my soul enters the chalice, someone should bring it back to its original place. I will tell them where and how."

"What will become of you?"

Xanthy looked at him with sadness flashing in her eyes. She'd been doing that a lot lately. "I will cease to exist," she ran a nail against the muddy steps. "Consider it as my last sacrifice to the island."

"No," Nyxis shook his head. "This is wrong."

Without a word, Xanthy inched closer and laid her head on his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut. Stop. This...this wasn't anything more than what it was.

"You are the one who told me that I am free to choose my own path, to believe in myself," she exhaled a soft breath. Her voice was nothing but a hollow whisper. "This is what I want to do, Nyxis. This is what these recent events have been telling me."

"So you chose to give up?" Nyxis pursed his lips until his chin throbbed and shook.

"It is better to give up now than regret it later when too many have been hurt," Xanthy said. "I do not have another fight left in me. I just need to survive long enough to finish this last mission."

Nyxis let himself snake his arm around her waist. He leaned his head against her hair. Why would the gods allow him to do this just when it's for the final time? "You know, none of us blame you for everything," Nyxis shook his head against Xanthy's scalp. "None of this is your fault."

"Wish I could believe that lie," Xanthy reached out and picked at Nyxis's trousers, flicking flecks of mud that hardened upon it. "Even for a little while."

Nyxis tightened his hold on her. Would she vanish if he slackened? Just after mere months of being with her, he couldn't imagine losing her. Strange.

"Will you stay with me just a little longer, Nyxis?" Xanthy's small voice sounded even smaller now that she was slowly losing her will to speak.

Nyxis nodded. "Of course. Anything for you."

A light laugh chimed like bells in Nyxis's ears. "What did I do to deserve that devotion?" Xanthy asked.

Nyxis clenched his jaw. Don't kiss her or do something equally reckless or stupid. "You are you. I love you because of that."

A flurry of curses exploded in Nyxis's mind. What in Daexis's name was he saying? Xanthy didn't need this upon her shoulders now.

Xanthy chuckled. "You are not fooling anyone, Nyxis."

Nyxis pursed his lips. Seconds of silence passed between them. Then, Xanthy shifted to look at him with wide eyes. "Wait, you were not joking?"

It was Nyxis's turn to smile. "I have never been more serious," he said. Well, that's out there now. He couldn't hold it in any longer, anyway. "I like you, Xanthy, for a long while now," he exhaled. "But it is not like we could be something more than this, right?"

What kind of crap was that?

Xanthy's soft laugh was in agreement. Nyxis's heart wrenched. It hurt. She took his hand and squeezed it. "I am the daughter of a brownie and a nature fairy. Anything is possible these days," she nodded. "But you are right. We could not be something more than...whatever this is."

"Friends," Nyxis amended. "We are friends."

Xanthy squeezed his hand again. "Friends," she echoed. "I like that."

A certain kind of peace washed over Nyxis. It's true. They couldn't have been something farther than this. It wouldn't feel right if they did. It's painful, yet a relief, somehow. Regret swirled in his gut but he was happy for the both of them. Nyxis might have not gotten what he wanted, but he got what he needed most—friendship.

In this broken world, that was more than enough.

"Will you stay with me a little longer, Nyxis?" Xanthy asked again.

Nyxis squeezed her hand back as she settled against him once more. "I will stay with you forever, if that is what you want."

Xanthy buried her face on his neck. "A moment longer is enough."

Nyxis kissed her scalp and closed his eyes against the cool breeze blowing around them. The sun's fading rays were nothing but a warm reminder that there was hope in this dark, dark world.

The next time he opened his eyes, Xanthy was gone and a butterfly pendant was tucked in his hand. Nyxis held it up to the dark sky right into the moonslight. Its charred edges and melted blue stones that melded with the cheap metal the pendant was made of gave the whole thing a coat of blue-gray.

A smile crept at the corner of Nyxis's lips. Perhaps, after this journey and all these trials, they might not retain their original shape and color but they might end up with something far more beautiful. A blue-gray finish, maybe. That's what hope was, right?

Nyxis's gut swirled with all the mix of emotions running through his veins. He sighed and pressed the pendant against his forehead

Hope. That's all any of them could have.