Everywhere was silent so Jamyd's whisper was clear in their ears.
Mom?
Nystrix hands clenched.
"Jamyd, is this how you recive me and my guests?" Gadmyne voice sounded adding to the tension that was slowly building.
Jamyd put on a false smile, "Pardon me Archwitch, I was just captivated by the striking resemblance of your female guest and my sister..."
"Lie." Gadmyne said bluntly, making Jamyd smile fall.
"She doesn't have a striking resemblance to Jacqueline, though some features are there, she looks like bothe Jacqueline and Slagus." Gadmyne smiled and Jamyd expression froze.
"What happened to your brain Jamyd, can't you recognise your niece?"
Gadmyne words were like a bomb on Jamyd.
She isn't dead?....Slagus words... Jamyd lips were stuck together.
"Uncle." Nystrix said and Jamyd tightened his fists.
"You are a hybrid, not my niece."
"Yes I'm a hybrid, but definitely your niece." Nystrix said as her lips curved.
"Jamyd, we can't stay here forever, can we?" Gadmyne questioned.
"Of course, Archwitch. You certainly can't stay here. Sammod, take the Archwitch and her guests and show them their quarters." Jamyd tone changed and he politely said to the Archwitch.
A man quickly ran out from the insides and bowed to Gadmyne,
"Permit me show you your rooms."
Gadmyne didn't answer and began walking along with Nystrix and Koisar, and the servant quickly stood and followed them, but before Nystrix could take five steps, Jamyd voice sounded,
"I'm sorry, but we don't allow hybrids into the palace, let alone allow them into our realm, but on account of the Archwitch, I'll ask you to leave."
"Uncle..." Nystrix could not finish as Gadmyne cold voice cut through.
"Are you trying to go against me?"
"No, Archwitch, but you are very much aware of hybrids in all the realms and how strict it is ij the witches realm."
"So what?" Gadmyne said sharply.
"Ar..."
"I don't want to hear it. The Noctarii has acknowledged her, so who are you to rebel?"
Jamyd tightened his lips in reluctance.
"Why are you still hee Nystrix?" Gadmyne turned to her and Nystrix turned to face her and smiled before following her.
Jamyd eyes darkened.
"Jacqueline is back to get her revenge, but I'll make sure this daughter of hers is going the way she went."
He stared at their disappearing figures and gritted his teeth.
"Where is Knox?" He asked the guards around.
"I don't know, your highness" A guard replied.
"Well, get him right now." Jamyd snarled.
"Yes, your highness."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Come, now is not the time to rest, you need to begin your training." Gadmyne entered Nystrix room asshe was about to lie down.
"Ok." Nystrix replied, eager to start.
"The spot where the palace was built was the very place the Coven Nexus is located."
Gadmyne said as they walked out. Noticing Nystrix curious look, she explained further.
"The Coven Nexus is the main core that is a combination of all the witches core, also a place where if any witch die, their core is coming back to and like the main power source to the witches, a place for restoration, controlling of powers and gaining more."
"Ooh. It must be beautiful, and did my mother core return there?" Nystrix asked, fascinated.
"Surely." Gadmyne replied, her tone a little Melancholic, and Nystrix noticed but kept quiet.
They were quiet and walked farther and after what seemed like a round of walls and grounds, and guards and more walls, they got to a place that sent a surge of raw energy through Nystrix veins.
Gadmyne felt it too and smiled.
She pushed the vines serving as a door and showed Nystrix a large room with different lighting, like a disco ball, but more deep and with a majestic and powerful air in it. In front was a whirlpool of multicoloured water, it was so beautiful that Nystrix eyes got drawn to it, it seemed to know her because when she stepped her foot inside, the room the water moved erratically.
"Sit down." Gadmyne voice sounded, distracting Nystrix from the beautiful water.
Nystrix sat down, though not sure about whats was going to happen.
"I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on that water you saw, that water is called Nexus; I want you to try and connect to it,"
Gadmyne ordered softly and Nystrix obeyed.
It was easy to try and connect to it, because she felt a connection between herself and Nexus.
Nystrix closed her eyes like Gadmyne said, and instantly, she felt herself slipping into something deeper. The moment her mind touched the Nexus, it was like falling into a pool without water—silent, endless, and glowing.
She found herself standing on a smooth surface, but it wasn't solid. It was like glass made of light, stretching in all directions. Beneath it, a whirlpool of colors spun, glowing and moving as if alive. The energy in it pulsed, and every time it did, her veins answered.
It was beautiful. Too beautiful. She couldn't look away.
Then something shimmered inside the whirlpool—a brighter light, pure white, like a heartbeat in the center of everything. Nystrix felt her chest tighten. It called to her, warm and strangely familiar, like it already knew her.
Her hand lifted on its own. She wanted—no, she needed—to touch it.
The second her fingertips brushed the glow, the entire place shook. The calm waters of the Nexus twisted into violent waves. The light beneath her shattered into ripples, and shadows rose from the whirlpool, forming into figures. Witches. Countless witches, their eyes glowing, their faces unreadable.
"You are not only witch." Their voices slammed against her, heavy like thunder. "The Nexus resists what is not wholly ours."
Nystrix staggered back. The glow she wanted so badly slipped away as the shadows pushed her, dragging her toward the void. Her chest burned—like the Nexus itself was rejecting her.
"No!" she shouted, fighting against it. But no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn't reach the light again.
Just when she thought she would be swallowed, the storm paused. Among the voices, one rose above the rest. Soft. Familiar. Almost like a whisper she had heard before.
"Not yet… but you will return."
And in a blink, the storm faded. The shadows disappeared. The whirlpool calmed as if nothing had happened.
Nystrix gasped, eyes snapping open in the chamber. Her body trembled, her breath uneven. The Nexus in front of her still glowed faintly, but it wasn't dancing for her anymore—it was watching. Waiting.
Her chest heaved, sweat clinging to her hair and skin, and a strange warmth tingled in her veins. The room looked the same—shadows stretching lazily across the walls—but the air felt heavier, thicker, charged with something she couldn't name.
Gadmyne stood nearby, calm as ever, her eyes observing with that faint knowing smile. "The Nexus has acknowledged you," she murmured. Nystrix's throat went dry.
Acknowledged?, I didn't even touch it.
Her hands twitched involuntarily, and a flicker of blue fire danced along her palm before fading into nothing. The vines crawling along the windowsill quivered, bending subtly toward her, curious or wary—she couldn't tell. Her heartbeat thudded erratically; this was not the same room she'd fallen asleep in, and she was not the same girl who had closed her eyes moments ago.
A sudden sharpness shot through her mind, like the Nexus itself had shoved her back into reality. She stumbled slightly, catching herself on the edge of the table. Gadmyne's frown was quick, fleeting, and her lips pressed into a thin line—but she said nothing, leaving the question hanging, heavy and unsolved.
Then, almost too faint to notice, a whisper drifted through her thoughts: Danger… coming. Her skin prickled, and her stomach churned, but when she looked at Gadmyne, the older witch's expression was serene, unreadable. "Rest. There's nothing to fear… not yet," she said, her voice soft, almost like it was meant for herself as much as for Nystrix.
Nystrix swallowed hard. She could feel it—something had shifted inside her. The pulse in her veins, the spark at her fingertips, even the way the shadows leaned toward her—all of it whispered that she had stepped beyond the ordinary. She had returned to reality, yes, but she was no longer the same.
And somewhere deep in her chest, a small part of her knew: the world had noticed her too.