The hybrid nobody wanted

Chapter 15:North again

We made it back to the bar as dawn broke.

Barely.

Mira collapsed first. Her magic had saved us, but it had cost her. Jax caught her before she hit the ground, carried her inside.

I stumbled behind them. Every bone ached. Every breath burned.

But worse than the pain was the memory.

Dorian's hands around my throat.

Dorian's empty eyes.

Dorian trying to kill me.

Old Tom met us at the door. Took one look at us and started moving water, bandages, blankets.

"Jax, lay her on the cot. Raya, sit down before you fall."

I sat. Stared at the wall.

Mira groaned on the cot. Jax hovered beside her, face pale.

Old Tom worked in silence. Cleaning wounds. Checking pulses. Muttering prayers to gods I didn't believe in.

Finally, he sat back.

"She'll live. Needs rest. Lots of it." He looked at me. "You look worse."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." He sat beside me. "Tell me what happened."

I told him.

The fortress. Dorian. The King. The attack. Mira's magic. The escape.

When I finished, Old Tom was quiet for a long moment.

"He would have killed you."

I flinched. "He didn't mean to"

"He would have killed you." Old Tom's voice was gentle but firm. "The boy you love? He's not in control right now. That thing wearing his face? That's the King's weapon."

"He's still in there. I felt him"

"Feelings don't stop blades, child." Old Tom took my hand. "I know you want to save him. I know you love him. But love doesn't always win. Sometimes love just... hurts."

Tears burned my eyes. "So I should give up? Leave him there?"

"I didn't say that." He squeezed my hand. "I said be careful. Be smart. Don't throw your life away for someone who can't even remember your name."

I looked away.

Couldn't answer.

Mira woke at sunset.

I was at her side before her eyes fully opened.

"Easy." I touched her face. "You're safe. We're all safe."

She blinked. Remembered. Grabbed my arm.

"Dorian. He….."

"I know."

"He would have killed you, Raya. I saw his eyes. There was nothing there. Nothing." Her grip tightened. "You can't go back. Promise me you won't go back."

I didn't answer.

"Raya."

"Mira.."

"PROMISE ME."

Jax appeared in the doorway. "She's right. That wasn't Dorian. That was a monster wearing his face. And if you go back, that monster will finish what he started."

I stood. Walked to the window.

Stared out at the forest. At the north. At the direction of the fortress.

The bond pulsed in my chest. Weak. Twisted.

But underneath it... something else.

A whisper.

Raya...

"He's still fighting," I whispered. "I can feel it."

Mira struggled to sit up. "Even if he is and that's a big IF the King controls him. You can't break that. Not alone."

"Then I won't be alone."

Jax stepped forward. "We just came back from THERE. We almost DIED. And you want to go AGAIN?"

"I want to save him."

"He tried to KILL you!"

"Because he had no choice!" I spun to face them. Tears streaming. Voice breaking. "You think he wanted that? You think he wanted his hands around my throat? I FELT him, Jax. Through the bond. He was screaming. Begging. Dying inside while his body tried to murder me."

Silence.

Mira's eyes softened. "Raya..."

"I can't leave him there." My voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't. I love him."

The words hung in the air.

Jax looked away. Mira wiped her eyes.

Old Tom spoke from the corner. "Then don't leave him. But don't be stupid about it either."

I looked at him.

"You need a plan. You need backup. You need to be smart." He stood. Walked to me. "The girl who ran into that fortress alone? She almost died. The woman who goes back? She needs to be stronger. Faster. Smarter."

I stared at him. "How?"

"You train. You wait. You learn." He glanced at Mira. "And you let your witch heal so she can actually help you next time."

Mira nodded slowly. "He's right. I need at least a week. Maybe two."

"A week?" Jax stared. "You want her to wait a WEEK while Dorian is with the King?"

"I want her to SURVIVE." Mira's voice was sharp. "If we go back now, we die. All of us. And then who saves him?"

Jax fell silent.

I looked at the window again. At the north. At the fortress.

The bond pulsed.

Raya...

Soon, I sent back. I'm coming. Wait for me.

Nothing.

But I felt it. Faint. Like a whisper in the dark.

He was still there.

Still fighting.

Still waiting.

That night, I sat on the roof. Alone.

The moon was full. The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

A sound behind me.

I turned. Mira stood there, wrapped in a blanket, pale but standing.

"You should be resting."

"So should you." She sat beside me. "Can't sleep?"

"Every time I close my eyes, I see his face." I looked away. "The empty eyes. The hands around my throat."

Mira was quiet for a moment. Then: "That wasn't him."

"I know."

"But it's still hard to forget."

I nodded.

We sat in silence.

Then Mira spoke again. "I felt it, you know. When his hands were on you. The bond. It screamed. Not pain — something else. Desperation. Like he was begging you to fight back. To survive."

I looked at her. "You felt that?"

"I'm a witch. I feel everything." She met my eyes. "He's still in there, Raya. Whatever the King did, it didn't kill him completely. But that doesn't mean you can save him."

"I have to try."

"I know." She squeezed my hand. "Just... don't die trying."

I almost smiled.

Almost.

The next week was hell.

Training with Jax every day. Fighting until I couldn't stand. Getting up and fighting again.

Mira healed slowly but surely. Her magic returned bit by bit.

Old Tom kept the bar running, kept us fed, kept us sane.

And every night, I sat on the roof and stared north.

The bond pulsed. Fainter each day.

But still there.

Still alive.

On the seventh night, I made my decision.

I packed at midnight.

Quiet. Careful. Just enough supplies to get me to the fortress and back.

I slipped out of my room. Down the stairs. Toward the door.

A hand caught my arm.

I spun.

Jax.

"Thought you'd sneak off without saying goodbye?"

I stared at him. "Jax…"

"Save it." He grabbed a bag from behind the door. Already packed. "You think I'm letting you go alone?"

"Mira said…."

"Mira said wait two weeks. It's been one." He shrugged. "Close enough."

I stared at him. "You don't have to"

"Yeah, I do." He met my eyes. "You're my family, Raya. I watched you almost die once. Not doing it again."

Tears burned my eyes. "Jax..."

"Shut up and move."

We walked to the door.

Mira stood there.

Arms crossed. Face unreadable.

"You're both idiots," she said quietly.

I opened my mouth

"I packed already." She held up her own bag. "Took you long enough."

I stared at her. "You knew?"

"I'm a witch. I know everything." She walked past us. "Now move. We've got a vampire to save."

We walked into the night.

Together.