Chapter Text
Jinx kicked open the side door of the Koralynn Archive and strolled in like she owned the place.
No one stopped her.
Demacians were funny like that—put someone in a polished coat, a self-important stride, and a hint of official insignia, and they’d let you walk straight into the kingdom’s shinier secrets. Even if your boots were scuffed and your braids were laced with wire. Even if your idea of subtle was not dragging a bag full of stolen tech through a high-security gala.
She made her way past the ballroom's edge, trailing smoke-bomb residue and a devil-may-care grin. The place was ridiculous. Marble floors so clean they squeaked. Chandelier light bouncing off armor. Nobles sipping wine and pretending they weren’t bored out of their perfect, prissy skulls.
She rolled her eyes. Glitter and gold and all that “honor and glory” rot. None of it mattered.
What mattered was underneath .
The Koralynn vault was buried beneath the archive, sealed since the last big Mageseeker shake-up. Rumor said it held a relic that redirected magical energy. Not quite a bomb. More like a blueprint for one. A fun, dangerous, deeply inconvenient little invention—unless you were the first to get your hands on it.
She was here to be first.
Jinx ducked under a red velvet rope labeled AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (which basically meant try me ), and slipped into the west wing and through an archway’s shadow just as a guard passed by.
One breath slower and she’d be shoulder-checking shiny steel and answering questions with bullets. But he didn’t notice. Not when she moved like smoke and shadows, syncing each step to the clink of armor and the distant swell of whatever orchestral tragedy was playing upstairs.
Demacian guards weren’t lazy. They were precise. Obsessively so. Clockwork in gold trim. And Jinx? She lived between the ticks. Slipped through the silence like a song that didn’t belong in their hymnbook.
She ducked into a maintenance alcove, kicked a rusted grate twice, and yanked open the hatch behind a fake panel, and down she went.
The staircase spiraled deep beneath the archive. By the time she hit the bottom, Jinx’s boots were coated in dust, and she was grinning like a kid about to rob a candy shop. Maybe the scrolls were boring, but secret tunnels and forbidden vaults? That was the real sugar high. The corridor ahead was tight—stone, rune-lined, buried under enough petricite to make a mage cry.
She moved slower now. Eyes scanning every arch and groove for signs of hidden switches or ancient defenses. She crouched near a wall panel etched with ancient Demacian script, her fingers tracing the edge, searching for imperfections. Weak spots. Anything that might hide what she was looking for.
The blueprint had to be here. She'd tracked rumors, bribed a few chatty scholars, and even dangled upside-down from a Noxian tower to steal an outdated map of the archive’s old foundation. Everything pointed here. If this wasn’t it, she was going to scream. Loudly. And probably explode something, for balance.
She tapped lightly on the stone, then knocked harder. Hollow.
Jinx grinned. “Too easy.” She bragged
She popped a flat, palm-sized device from her jacket and slapped it onto the wall. It whirred quietly, its tools extending—mini-drills and arcane picks lighting up in soft blue.
As it hummed and clicked, she leaned back on her heels. “Come on, baby. Show me something worth exploding.”
Then she heard it. A shuffle. Soft. Measured. Not hers.
Jinx froze mid-breath, every nerve sparking like a fuse lit too close to the powder.
Oh, hello .
Her hand drifted from the drill to the small blade at her thigh—not fear, not caution, just curiosity sharpened to a grin. She leaned into the quiet, ears straining. Whoever was out there wasn’t stomping around like a brute.
A fellow rat in the walls.
She smirked, pulse thrumming. Let the games begin.
The drill’s hum cut off with a twitch of her fingers, and then Jinx crept forward, boots barely whispering against the stone. Every instinct sharpened.
The shuffle came again. Closer now.
She pressed her back to the wall at the next corner and peeked around—
A room. Small. Low ceiling. Lined with shelves, half-rotted scrolls, and cracked stone tablets stacked in uneven rows.
And there she was.
Blonde hair. Slim build. Moving like she thought she had time to waste.
She stood at a shelf near the back, rifling through a nest of ancient scrolls like the answers might leap out if she shook hard enough.
“Come on, where are you?” the girl muttered, voice tight with frustration.
Jinx tilted her head. Not a guard. Not another thief—unless it was her first week on the job. Maybe a scholar. Maybe a noble.
She crept forward, low and slow, slipping between shelves. Every step closer made her want to say something dramatic just to watch the girl jump, but this mission required a little more tact, unfortunately. Which meant she couldn’t let this intruder blow her operation.
Her fingers brushed her holster. Get in. Get her gone.
Jinx drew her pistol at her hip and crept forward, sights steady. One more step. Just enough to scare her off.
But then— Her boot clipped something soft and cylindrical. A scroll. Rolled halfway open. Discarded undoubtedly in the blonde's fury.
Crack.
The dry snap of ancient parchment echoed louder than a scream in the silence.
Jinx lurched, caught herself against the nearest shelf, hissing a breath between her teeth. "Smooth. Real smooth."
The blonde girl whipped around, her long hair cascading with panic. Hands up.
Light flared instantly in her palms—hot, blinding, and trained directly on Jinx like twin suns full of judgment.
Jinx skidded to a halt, throwing her arms up, pistol pointed skyward, half-laughing. "Whoa, whoa. No need to go full celestial meltdown." Okay, not a scholar. “Well, this just got interesting,” she said aloud, lips curling around each word like they were candy. “You always greet strangers with a sunbeam to the face, or am I special?”
The blonde didn’t lower her hands. Her stance was rigid, but her eyes had flicked down—just for a second, toward her own fingers. The light was still there, flaring bright, fast, like it had jumped out without permission.
Jinx saw the flicker of shock. Ohhhh... that wasn’t supposed to happen, was it? The corners of her mouth twitched.
“Who are you?” The girl snapped.
Jinx tilted her head, examining her like a puzzle. “Me? Just your average curious girl poking around places she shouldn’t be. But you—you're glowing and grumpy in a vault full of secrets. So tell me, Sunshine, what are you doing down here?”
“I don’t owe you an answer,” the girl said, stepping back slightly but keeping her palms raised.
“Ohhh, one of those ,” Jinx teased. “All noble backbone and no chill. Got it. Let me guess—Daddy’s on the council and thinks books are dangerous?”
The light in the girl’s hands flared just enough to cast jagged shadows across her cheeks. “Try me,” she warned.
But then her expression shifted. Tension crept across her brow as she glanced down at her hands again. The light wavered, uncertain. Her voice came lower, steadier. “Leave the archive. Now. Walk away, and I won’t call the guards.”
Jinx raised a brow, unbothered. “Hmm. That’s rich, coming from someone whose hands are glowing like they're trying to instant fry a chicken. Tell me, princess—how often do you threaten strangers in rooms you’re not supposed to be in either?”
The girl stiffened, cheeks flushing in the dim light, but didn’t deny it.
Jinx twirled her pistol once, then lowered it—but not all the way. “I’m not leaving until I finish what I came here to do,” she said, voice light but dangerous. “So unless you plan on vaporizing me with those jazz-hands, Sparkle, you can either step aside or find out what happens when someone gets between me and... uh... whatever it is I happen to...uh... want." Jinx squinted. It had been a while since she got some good banter in, and her rust was showing.
The blonde blinked, then let out a short, dry laugh. It wasn’t amused—it was the kind of laugh someone made when the options were laugh or scream. "Right," she said. "Because I’m supposed to let an unhinged blue-haired thief waltz out of one of Demacia’s most sacred archives. That’ll go over brilliantly in the next council report."
“Aww, you think I’m just a thief. That’s so cute. Even more adorable that you think you can stop me.” She fake-pouted at the blonde's expense.
The girl’s eyes narrowed, and this time, when she spoke, her voice snapped like a whip. “I’m not cute,” she snapped. “I am Luxanna Crownguard, of House Crownguard, and I will not let some gadget-wielding menace ransack Demacia’s legacy while I stand by idly.”
Jinx blinked, then gave a slow, impressed whistle. “Well then. Titles and tantrums. Guess I really hit the jackpot.”
"Okay, that's it," The blonde, Luxanna... Lux? snapped, stepping forward. The light in her palms bloomed, casting sharp-edged shadows up the walls. Her eyes glowed now, bright enough to make Jinx’s heart do an unexpected little flip.
Jinx took a step back. Not a taunt. Not part of the bit. An actual step back. Okay. So Sunshine has teeth.
She raised her free hand halfway in a slow, instinctive gesture of caution, lips still curved but tighter now, “Easy, Crownie. You’re gonna melt the scrolls.”
But Lux wasn’t easing.
She looked furious. “I have not,” she growled, “had a good day.”
Jinx raised both eyebrows. Oh, this was about to get personal. Fantastic.
She took another step toward Jinx, her voice climbing now, rising over the thrum of magic. “First, Garen pesters me about engagements—like I’m some delicate carriage waiting for a driver. And of course, a premature boy won't stop cornering me at a function I didn’t want to attend, in a uniform I didn’t want to wear—”
Another step.
“—and now you show up, rifling through archives and acting like you own the place when I just wanted to find one scroll in peace!”
She lunged. The light flared with her.
And for the first time, Jinx didn’t laugh. She dodged instinctively, boots scraping back across stone, eyes wide and startled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Personal space, Lady Meltdown!” Jinx’s heel came down hard—right onto something suspiciously not-stone.
Click.
Both girls froze. The glowing substance the blonde wielded simmered immediately.
A hiss sounded beneath them. Low. Mechanical. Old.
Jinx’s eyes flicked to Lux. Lux’s to the floor.
“Oh no,” they said in unison.
Then the floor disappeared.
They dropped like a coin tossed into a wishing well with two startled yelps and one deeply ungraceful flail.
Jinx hit the floor first with a grunt, shoulder-first into cold stone. A heartbeat later, something soft and furious slammed down on top of her—elbow to ribs, knee to thigh, hair in her face.
“Ow—hey!” Jinx groaned. “Get your self-righteous knee out of my spleen!”
Lux scrambled upright with a noise somewhere between a gasp and a growl. “You tripped the trap!”
“You lunged at me!”
“You were trespassing! ”
“So were you! And you threw light at my face!”
They both shifted at the same time, trying to scramble upright—only to realize limbs had tangled somewhere in the tumble. Jinx’s boot was hooked around Lux’s calf, and Lux’s arm had somehow gotten wedged under Jinx’s jacket.
“Ugh, move your elbow—”
“ You move! Your leg’s—how is your leg even—never mind, just—ugh!”
They disentangled in a flurry of fumbling hands and mumbled swears, pushing away from each other like magnets snapping apart.
Jinx scrambled to her feet first, dusting herself off like it might preserve some dignity. Lux shot up a half-second later, equally ruffled and twice as flushed.
Neither one looked at the other right away.
“Never happened,” Jinx muttered.
“Agreed,” Lux said flatly.
Jinx adjusted her shirt, narrowed one eye, and pointed accusingly. “Just for the record, you started the lunging.”
Lux crossed her arms, cheeks still flushed with adrenaline. “And you started the breaking-and-entering.”
“Debatable.” Jinx kicked at a loose stone on the floor, then surveyed their new surroundings. “You know, for all that drama, I was hoping this secret vault would have more… pizzazz.” Maybe a cursed pedestal or at least one dramatic skull pile. She’d settle for glowing runes and a light-up sign that said 'trap imminent.'
“Some of us weren’t planning on falling into it,” Lux snapped, shooting her a glare.
“Oh, don’t be like that, Sparkles. We shared a magical death plummet. That’s practically a first date where I come from.”
Lux flushed a little deeper at that, the tips of her ears going pink. But she rolled her eyes hard enough to make up for it. “And where exactly is it that you come from?” she asked, voice dry, arms still crossed like a shield. “Some alley behind an explosives factory?”
Jinx nodded blandly. “Yeah, actually, how’d you know?” As she said it, her eyes flicked around the room—finally taking it in properly. The walls curved, lined with inset alcoves and faded carvings that likely hadn’t seen light in decades. The vault smelled like ancient parchment and stone dust.
Lux stared at her, brow furrowing. For a second, she genuinely couldn’t tell if Jinx was joking. Her expression shifted between disbelief and something Jinx couldn't put a finger on.
She smirked. “So, do you always sneak into ancient archives during parties, or is this your first time scroll-skulking?”
Lux let out a breath and turned, her frustration still simmering just under the surface. “I was looking for something,” she muttered. “Something that might help me.” She paused, eyes scanning the chamber for a way out, her gaze landing on a narrow concourse in the back.
Jinx cocked her head. “Doesn’t have anything to do with that crazy glow you got upstairs, does it?” Her tone was casual, but her mind was already filing away the twitch in Lux’s jaw, the way her fingers tightened like someone had said a trigger word.
Lux stiffened. “No,” she said quickly—too quickly. "But, while we are on the topic, can you not tell anyone about that. If you make it out of here that is."
Jinx raised an eyebrow, lips twitching. “Riiight. Totally convincing. But hey, your secrets are your sparkly business.” She gave a careless shrug. “Doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got what I need to find. You’ve got... whatever that is.” Then she paused and looked back, offended, "Wait... if I make it out of here?"
Before Lux could answer, a low, rumbling growl echoed from one of the shadowed alcoves behind Jinx.
She froze.
“...That wasn’t your stomach, was it?”
Lux’s expression paled, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “The deeper vaults are sometimes… protected. Ancient constructs. Beasts. Left behind from the old Mageseeker days.” Jinx knew that couldn't mean anything good. The look on Lux's face said more than her whisper did—like someone had just reminded her what nightmares were made of.
Jinx’s eyes widened, taking a cautious step back. “Beasts? Like guard dogs?”
Another growl. Closer now. Heavier.
Lux nodded, not taking her eyes off the alcove. “More like magical apex predators bred to hate anything with a pulse.”
Something moved in the shadows.
A massive shape unfurled from one of the alcoves—hulking, low to the ground, glinting faintly with petricite veins and thick plated hide. Its eyes lit with arcane light, and its growl rumbled through the chamber floor.
Jinx took another step back. “I hate to break it to you, Sunshine, but if I go down first, you’re next.”
Lux didn’t argue. She just swallowed hard and muttered, “I didn’t think this part through."
There was a beat. A long, tense moment with the growl still echoing low and dangerous.
Jinx didn’t take her eyes off the beast. “Okay. Temporary truce?”
Lux nodded stiffly. “Until we’re out of here alive.”
Jinx flashed a crooked grin. “Look at us. Teamwork makes the panic work.”
The beast lunged.
It moved with startling speed for something its size. Its claws struck sparks on the stone floor as it barreled forward, jaws wide with an inhuman snarl that echoed through the archive like thunder in a canyon. A ripple of molten light traced down the creature’s plated spine, illuminating the petricite-veined hide like a map of pure malice.
Jinx’s eyes widened. “Oh good,” she muttered, “a death beast with mood lighting.” Because of course there was a boss battle. This place had everything except an exit sign.
Lux attempted to fire first—a bolt of light sputtered from her palm, more flash than force. It hit the creature’s plated side and fizzled out like a wet match.
“Seriously?” Jinx shouted, ducking behind a pillar. “That’s what we’re bringing to the fight?”
Lux snapped, diving to the opposite side. “This place is lined with petricite—it dulls my... my.. this!” She hollered emphatically, gesturing at her sputtering hands.
“Well, maybe try less glowing and more punching!”
The creature roared and slammed a paw the size of a dinner table into the floor between them, sending stone shards flying. Jinx shrieked—more insulted than afraid—and rolled across the floor. As the beast's claws slammed down just behind her, she fired off a haphazard shot with one of her smaller pistols—a sharp report echoing through the chamber—and scrambled up a rusted ledge with a kind of wild energy that looked more like luck than skill.
“I distract it, you hit it!” Jinx shouted.
“With what? A strongly worded letter?” Lux ducked a swipe and hurled another half-hearted burst of light. It ricocheted off the wall and singed the edge of Jinx’s boot.
“Hey! I just fixed those!”
The beast pivoted and lunged toward Lux. She backpedaled, tripped over a loose stone, and landed flat with a gasp.
Jinx rolled her eyes with a small laugh, but didn’t hesitate. She pulled a small charge from her belt—small, sleek, totally not regulation—and flung it at the beast’s face. It popped in a glittering bloom, dramatic as it was ineffective. Just enough to blind it. Jinx always believed if you couldn’t win, you could at least look spectacular failing.
“Boom,” she grinned. “Low on damage, high on drama.”
Lux scrambled up, coughing. “You’re insane.”
“And you’re welcome.” Jinx replied, "Bet you didn't think your knight in shining armor would be a blue-haired thief ." Jinx mocked, clinging to a ledge one-handed as the beast reeled, shaking off the cascading glitter.
Lux scoffed with a twinge at her lips. Was that a smile chasing her features? "Please. Watch this ."
Just as the creature turned, its claws carving a path straight for a distracted Jinx, Lux launched forward with sudden speed.
Jinx didn’t even see it coming. One second she was shouting something clever—probably very clever—and the next she caught movement in her periphery, a blur of blue and gold cutting across the chamber.
She paused, mouth half-open, pistol lowered. Is she— ?
Lux sprinted low, arms pumping like she’d trained for this—which, okay, Jinx guessed she probably had. She dropped into a slide across the hard floor, skimming beneath the beast’s sweeping strike with inches to spare. Then, with a twist that should’ve looked awkward but didn’t, she drove herself onto one knee, pivoted, and slammed both palms into the back of the creature’s foreleg.
The beast roared in frustration, its center of gravity shifting. Jinx’s eyes went wide as the thing buckled, paws skidding, claws gouging furrows into the stone.
“Okay,” Jinx muttered under her breath as the beast careened sideways. “So she does do cool.”
Unexpected. Not that Jinx was complaining—there was a particular kind of chaos in seeing someone you pegged for polished stand their ground and hit back like that.
Jinx landed with a thud, leaving her perch, blinking as the creature careened sideways, scraping along the chamber wall.
She looked up at Lux, brows arched. “Points for style, but I’m still winning.”
Lux didn’t answer—just straightened, breath fast, hands still glowing, and turned away with her jaw set and cheeks flushed. Jinx watched her for half a second too long, blinking. Huh. Guess she wasn’t just a walking spotlight with legs after all.
The beast didn’t stay down. This was getting to be annoying.
With a guttural snarl that rumbled up from somewhere very not-natural, it heaved itself upright—scraping claws against stone and shaking off Lux’s takedown like a wet dog after a bath it hated. Its eyes flared again, brighter now, veins of energy pulsing with a distinctly you ruined my nap intensity.
Jinx took a single step back. “Sooo… new plan?”
Lux, panting, tried to square up again, but her legs clearly didn’t get the memo. Her stance wobbled. “I could—maybe—try another maneuver.”
The beast’s growl deepened—a wet, gravel-thick sound that clung to the air. It dropped into a crouch and advanced from the alcove, shoulders rolling with heavy muscle, head low, jaws twitching.
Jinx side-eyed her. “Yeah, or—and hear me out—we could not try that again and instead run very fast in a direction that’s not toward the death-creature. ”
Lux hesitated.
Jinx waved her hands. “Are you really gonna try round two with the beast from hell when your magic’s doing its best impression of a dying lantern?!”
“That’s not fair,” Lux hissed.
“It’s not wrong, ” Jinx hissed back. “Unless your next move is to politely ask it to sit.”
The beast roared.
Both of them turned just in time to see it charge.
Jinx leaped forward and grabbed Lux by the wrist. “Nope. Nope-nope-nope. Time to exit the ancient murder crypt.”
“I had a route mapped!” Lux protested as they darted toward a carved passage low and narrow, nearly invisible behind a fallen slab.
Jinx yanked her after it. “Oh good, maybe we can discuss your cartography skills while it eats us!”
They dashed into the side passage—barely wide enough for one person, walls tight and carved with ancient warnings no one had time to read. Behind them, claws scraped stone. Too close.
“You’d think for a royal vault, there’d be less bloodthirsty enchantments and more— I don’t know —doors!”
Lux gasped between steps. “This isn’t the vault entrance! This is a collapsed channel—they used them to store overflow during magical containment failures!”
“Ohhh, great, ” Jinx shouted back. “Love a hallway designed to trap things that explode!”
Another roar chased them forward, echoing through the tight stone walls.
Jinx didn’t look back. She didn’t need to.
Whatever was behind them wasn’t going to stay behind for long. The beast was catching up.
She could hear it now—claws scraping stone in a rising rhythm, each strike like talons on bone. It didn’t lumber anymore; it flowed forward with brute precision, squeezing through the narrow gap like muscle through a wound—raw, deliberate, and coming fast.
Jinx’s lungs were on fire. Her legs, jittery from adrenaline and not enough caffeine. Her mind? Somewhere between this is awful and this is kind of fun .
“Almost there!” Lux gasped, breath ragged.
Jinx dared a glance forward and saw her pointing—just ahead, the hallway narrowed sharply, the walls pressed close together where a collapsed arch had crumbled part of the chamber. It created a tight passageway—one the beast, built like a battering ram, would never squeeze through.
“See it?” Lux shouted. “It won’t fit—we just have to—”
Jinx looked behind them. The beast was twenty paces out. Maybe fifteen. And gaining. Fast. They weren’t going to make it.
She knew it. Lux didn’t know it yet, but Jinx did. There wasn’t enough time unless—
“Alright, Luxie,” Jinx said, grabbing her by the elbow. “New plan. Hold on.”
“What—?”
Jinx’s pulse roared in her ears. The shimmer in her blood stirred—hot, crackling, wild. It was never subtle. It didn’t ask . It surged .
She grabbed Lux around the waist, ignored the gasp, and let the shimmer flare.
Her veins lit up like lightning under her skin—brief, violet flashes that sparked down her arms and coiled through her spine. It burned—but in that thrilling way.
And then they launched.
One moment they were mid-stride—two girls running for their lives—the next, Jinx exploded forward, momentum hitting like a cannon blast. The shimmer drove her like a bolt loosed from a railgun, boots skimming the stone floor as they shot through the narrowing space.
Wind whipped Lux’s hair into her face. She yelped. Might’ve sworn as she clung tighter.
Jinx laughed through her teeth, the sound half-wild, half-exhilarated. “Wheeee!”
They cleared the narrow pass just as the beast slammed into the walls behind them—hard. Stone cracked. Dust rained down. But it couldn’t follow.
They collapsed just past the threshold to the sound of a defeated roar, tumbling in a heap on the floor of the wider corridor beyond.
Jinx rolled once, then flopped onto her back with a wheeze. “Okay,” she panted. “So that was fun.”
Lux peeled herself off, hair tangled and eyes wide. “What—what was that?!”
Jinx just grinned, eyes still glowing brighter with residual shimmer. “Secret sauce.”
Lux pushed herself up to sit, still panting, eyes narrowed at Jinx like she was trying to solve a riddle mid-heart attack.
She opened her mouth, hesitated, then finally asked, “Was that…?” Her voice trailed off like she didn’t want to finish the word. Like saying magic out loud might make it real.
Jinx smirked, already brushing dust from her jacket like she hadn’t just turbo-launched them through a stone hallway. “That? Nah. That’s all you, Glowstick.”
Lux didn’t look convinced.
Jinx leaned back on her elbows, boots splayed out, still catching her breath. “Let’s call it a parting gift. From my past life. Y’know—before I got so charming and emotionally balanced. No magicky involved here.”
Lux blinked. “That didn’t explain anything.”
“Exactly.” Jinx winked.
For a second, everything was still. Breath, noise, thought—gone. Then Lux laughed.
Soft. Shaky. Like she’d just gotten off the wildest ride of her life and couldn’t decide if she wanted to throw up or do it again.
And of course, Jinx laughed too—because what else was she supposed to do? They’d just outrun a magically-engineered death beast with glow-hands and unstable shimmer and maybe two working brain cells between them. That was either hilarious or terrifying. Probably both.
“Well,” Jinx said, flopping back dramatically, arms spread wide on the stone like she was claiming the vault for chaos-kind. “That was... the dumbest, most brilliant thing I’ve ever done.”
Lux, chest still rising and falling, turned her head just enough to glance at her. “You’re completely insane… um, I’m sorry but, what is your name?”
Jinx smirked without looking. “You say that like it’s a bad thing… and the names Jinx.”
Another laugh. Brief. Unintentional, “What an interesting name.” She chuckled.
And for a second, lying side by side on ancient stone, dust in their hair and hearts thundering in sync—it almost felt like something. Like… not peace. She didn’t do peace. But a beat of something less than war.
Then they remembered themselves.
Lux pulled back first, suddenly stiff again, clearing her throat like she was coughing up emotion. She sat up quickly, brushing imaginary dust off her pants with way too much focus.
Jinx followed, slower, propping herself up on one elbow, watching her with narrowed eyes. That moment had lingered. She didn’t know what it was, but it stuck.
“The exit’s just ahead,” Lux said briskly, nodding toward a nearly hidden seam in the wall—slabbed with stone and crisscrossed with faint petricite lines. A way out, finally.
Jinx climbed to her feet and stretched, spine cracking like firecrackers. “Well, finally. I was starting to think we were gonna have to get adopted by the beast and raise its murder puppies.”
She took a step toward the door—and froze. Then blinked. “Uh, hey... Sparkle?”
Lux looked at her warily. “What now?”
“You’re still… glowing.”
Lux glanced down.
Sure enough, her fingers were lit again—gold light flaring soft and bright, curling between her knuckles like she was holding sunlight.
“Shit,” she whispered. Not even dramatically. Just exhausted.
“Yeah, real subtle,” Jinx muttered, tilting her head as Lux’s fingertips shimmered like they were trying to outshine the moon. “Totally blends in with the whole ‘ancient cursed death vault’ vibe. Nobody’ll notice.”
That’s when the voices started.
Muffled at first—just faint echoes bleeding in from the far side of the vault door. Then clearer. Heavier. One of them hit like a sword drawn in the dark—deep, sharp, all command and no patience.
“Luxanna! Lux, answer me!”
Jinx stilled. Every sound around her dropped out, just for a breath.
That wasn’t some guard. That was a presence . Rigid. Controlled. Protective in that suffocating, overbuilt, knight-in-a-box kind of way.
Another voice overlapped—thinner, faster, coated in nerves and too much confidence. “She’s definitely inside—I told you—look, it’s right there.”
Jinx winced. “Looks like the cavalry came.” She said, checking her pistol to make sure it was ready for another round.
But Lux— Lux looked like she’d been gutted.
Not scared like she was facing down a monster. Not cornered, not ready to fight. This was different. Cold panic. Skin-drained, knees-locked, stomach-in-her-shoes kind of panic.
Jinx’s eyes flicked sideways, really looking at her now.
Lux’s shoulders were stiff, like she could hold the whole building up with posture alone. Her hands were clenched, knuckles white. But her breathing was sharp and shallow, and her eyes—wide and glassy—were locked on the vault door like it was about to kill her.
And somehow, Jinx knew— She knew.
This wasn’t just about getting caught. This was about being seen .
“Who is that?” Jinx asked, softer than she expected.
Lux didn’t look at her. Just said, “My brother.”
Something ugly twisted in her voice. Not hate. Not fear. Shame.
Jinx tilted her head. “Let me guess—big, angry, shield-shaped?”
Lux nodded once.
Jinx narrowed her eyes. “You gonna tell me what the big deal is? You’re a Crownguard, right? Just shout ‘oops, got lost, whoopsie daisy, archive's haunted,’ and march out.”
Lux turned toward her, sharp. “They can’t see this… my hands.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it hit like a slap.
Jinx blinked. “What?”
“They can’t know, Jinx.” Her breath hitched. “About the magic . If they see—if they realize—”
She ran a hand through her hair, pacing like she could outrun the thought. “It’ll be over. Everything. My family, my house, my name—What we’ve been working toward will…” She trailed off, ” Demacia doesn’t forgive this kind of affliction.”
There was no drama in her voice. Just fact.
Jinx leaned against the wall and folded her arms. Don’t make me care, princess. That’s not the deal.
“Well, good news, sweetheart. That sounds like a you problem.”
Lux froze, bristling.
Jinx shrugged. “You don’t see me glowing and monologuing about ancient bloodlines.”
Lux stepped closer, jaw clenched. “If they see you down here, they'll throw you in a hole and lock the lid. No trial. No goodbyes. You’ll vanish. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”
Jinx raised her hands in faux terror. “Ooo, I’m shaking in my boots.” She mocked.
“This isn’t funny!” Lux hissed. “You don’t get it—they’ll lock you up, and I’ll—”
She stopped herself. Bit her lip like she wished she could chew the words back.
Something in Lux’s voice was unraveling now. No longer noble. No longer proud. Just scared. Not for herself. Not entirely. And not for Jinx either, not really. But for what would happen—what she’d have to watch, what she’d be complicit in.
“Please,” Lux said. “Please, help me.”
Stars and static, she said please. Like that word still worked on someone like me.
Jinx looked at the door. The runes were pulsing now—light edging through every seam, footsteps just beyond. No time. No plan.
“What do you want me to do?” she muttered, still not moving. “Jump into the wall? Turn invisible? Flirt my way out with Captain Thunderjaw?”
Footsteps could be heard outside the passage, and Lux’s breathing spiked.
She turned to Jinx, eyes full of desperation and gold, but wide like she’d hatched an idea. No warning. No words. Just two fists grabbing the collar of Jinx’s jacket—and then her mouth was on hers.
The kiss hit like a bomb with bad timing. No finesse, just teeth and fire and what the hell is happening . Jinx’s brain short-circuited, static buzzing behind her eyes—her body leapt in first, dumb and eager.
And not in some prim little noble peck way—no, this was heat and spark and just a little bit reckless.
At first, Jinx stiffened. Excuse her ? What did Little Miss Radiant think she was doing, springing a kiss on her like she owned the place—and her?
But then, it felt nice. The kind of nice that made Jinx's stomach flutter against her will. That infuriating softness, the unexpected fire. Like, Lux was throwing punches with her mouth, and that was a language Jinx could speak.
Still, she bristled. This had better be part of some stupid plan. Because if Lux thought she could just mess with her head like that, she had another thing coming.
Even if she didn’t mind entirely.
Then, as muffled voices stalked closer, it dawned on her—this weirdly attractive archive spoiler wasn't trying to get hot and heavy; she had said they needed a way to get past those brooding voices beyond the door.
This was a distraction .
Ah. Sneaky.
A pair of fingers curled up her back, slow and deliberate, nails grazing skin through the fabric like claws. Lux’s grip wasn’t desperate. It was calculated. Performative.
This was her play. Jinx almost laughed. Clever girl.
But fine. Two could play at that game.
She leaned in, responding with just enough heat to make the air crackle—tilted her head, let her lips part, and gave a soft little menacing hum. Her hands found Lux’s waist, fingers sliding low, hooking just under the rim of her waistband. She tugged gently, a whisper of tension that promised more than it gave.
And just as the door swung open behind them—
She nipped Lux’s bottom lip.
Soft. Just enough to tease. A flash of teeth, a flicker of intent.
Lux gasped—sharp, startled. Jinx grinned against her mouth. That sound? That sound was going in the vault .
Then Lux kissed her back harder. A little aggressive, actually. Jinx's brows quirked. Oh, so that was how she wanted to play it?
Maybe it was still part of the cover. Maybe it was payback. Or maybe, just maybe, the little golden princess liked stirring the pot as much as she liked pretending to settle it.
Jinx could work with that. She was glowing with smugness when Lux finally broke the kiss, her breath warm and ragged against Jinx’s cheek as she turned, slow and wide-eyed, toward the two intruders in the doorway.
The door had flown open moments before with a sharp, commanding bark—
“Luxanna!” The taller one stormed in first, voice full of steel and command—but it caught in his throat the second his eyes locked on the scene before him. He froze mid-step. “Oh.”
Behind him, a shorter, scrawnier blond trailed in, wide-eyed. He blinked. Then blinked again. His jaw dropped like someone had just smacked him with a frying pan full of confusion and hormones.
"…Garen,” Lux said, voice a little too breathless to be fully innocent. “Ezreal.”
The silence that followed could have shattered a petricite pillar.
Jinx tilted her head lazily and gave a small wave—still curled into Lux’s body, fingers casually resting in forbidden territory. She gave a two-fingered salute.“Hey fellas,” Jinx chirped, flashing a crooked smile. “A little warning next time? Or is barging in your way of sharing the trauma?”
The scrawny blond recovered just enough to sputter, "Wait—who are you?"
Jinx’s gaze flicked to him, sizing him up from mop-top to fancy boots. Too clean, too shiny, too… earnest . She didn’t need a name tag to know this was the hanger-on Lux had mentioned—the one who wouldn’t stop following her around.
Oh. This was the premature boy.
Before she could light into him, Lux stepped forward—smooth, confident, and just a little dreamy-eyed. “She’s with me,” she said, slipping effortlessly into the role. “I invited her. We were just… looking for a quiet place. Got a little lost in the archives.”
Her tone dripped with honey, warm and wistful like they were lovers caught in the pages of a romance novel.
Jinx blinked. Was she… impressed ? Because, gods help her, Lux was good at this. She could lie like a noble’s hymn—pure, poised, and soaked in just enough scandal to sell the scene.
Ezreal made a sound of protest, something between a gag and a gasp. Jinx gave him a sideways glance, taking in the sharp chin, the tousled hair that probably took hours to look that carefree, and the open shirt like he thought he was starring in his own drama. He looked like the kind of guy who practiced smoldering in a mirror and thought it counted as a personality.
The tall one—the big brother—was a different story. All shoulders and scowl, with a voice that could break stone and a jawline that probably had its own military rank. His armor wasn’t just polished—it was proud , like it had opinions about discipline and bedtime. He frowned, eyes narrowing. “Unannounced guests can be dangerous .”
Jinx stiffened.
Dangerous? Of course she was. That was the point.
But it wasn’t the word—it was the flavor. The way Big Brother Bark-and-Order said it, like she was some rat dragged in from the gutter, like Lux should be ashamed of the dirt clinging to her boots.
It lit something under her skin.
Her jaw clenched, teeth grinding slow behind that crooked smile. Her fingers twitched at her side, already curling toward one of her many hidden surprises. Sparks practically danced behind her eyes.
Dangerous? She could show him dangerous. She could paint the walls with it. And oh, she wanted to.
Before anything daming left her mouth, she was caught, stalled by the slow drag of fingers from her back, tracing the path they had boldly claimed under her shirt. The warmth evaporated in their wake, leaving goosebumps behind like a ghost of heat. Jinx had to bite her tongue to keep from loosening a low hum as they exited the base of her shirt.
Jinx blinked—damn, Lux really knew how to shut a girl up. How tantalizingly rude . A kiss to scramble her brain, and now this? That slow backslide of fingers, retreating like a curtain call—right before one no-longer-glowing hand snaked out and caught her wrist. Diabolical .
The grip made Jinx’s brain misfire as it shouted, behave .
Lux stepped forward. “I don’t need to answer to either of you,” she said, voice sharper than her usual sunshine veneer. “Last I checked, I still live here. I can host whoever I want. Even if she’s... uh... Jinx.”
Garen opened his mouth, but Lux cut him off with a pointed glance. “And if you don’t mind, I’d very much like to continue our evening in privacy.”
Ezreal opened his mouth, too, eyes darting between Lux and Jinx like a confused squirrel looking for the nearest tree to scurry up. But before he could get a word out, the tall one—Big Brother Brassjaw—cut in with a firm hand.
"That’s enough, Ezreal. Grant them space." The words landed with a kind of stern finality that made Ezreal recoil—and made Jinx snicker under her breath at his expense. Poor kid looked like he'd just been scolded in front of an entire academy.
Ezreal shut his mouth with a snap, shooting Lux a wounded look before turning to follow the taller man out of the vault, his boots scuffing the floor like he wanted to leave scratch marks.
Jinx glared after them, the smart remark already loaded on her tongue, something sharp and shiny—
But Lux tugged her wrist.
And then they were moving. Lux didn’t ask. She yanked .
Out of the vault, up a serious set of stairs and thin corridors, and into the lion’s den. As they entered a larger function hall, Jinx could hear the music that echoed like laughter in a dream, or a nightmare, depending on who you ask. The soft strings and lilting melodies were set to impress. The scent of spiced wine and blooming lilies wrapped around them like a gilded noose.
Jinx hated all of it.
The floor gleamed like a real boot had never touched it, the walls lined with oil paintings of ancestors and dead stares. Nobles paraded in clusters, draped in fabrics that whispered of old money and older secrets. They were all so polished , like the world had scrubbed them clean of thought.
She caught a pair of highborns watching her like she'd tracked in something from the stables.
Jinx leaned closer to Lux, her breath warm and biting. "If I knew I’d be marching through a snooze parade, I would’ve let a chomper loose at the door just to liven things up."
The grip on her wrist tightened—hard enough to send a signal—but Lux kept walking, chin high, eyes fixed forward.
"Seriously?" she hissed under her breath. "You were about to pull a weapon on my brother."
Jinx stumbled once, primarily for effect. "Is that not a noble idea?"
"It was a catastrophic idea," Lux snapped, dragging her faster now, heels clicking like punctuation marks on polished marble. "And if I hadn’t stopped you, you'd be a scorch mark on the tiles."
"Mmm. You always get this spicy after pretending to be in love with people, or am I just lucky?"
Lux didn’t dignify that with a reply. But she didn’t let go, either, but on they went.
One noblewoman peeked out from behind a pillar, scandal barely disguised behind her fan.
“Tell your friends,” Jinx muttered with a wink.
Lux tugged her harder.
A few more turns down a narrower hall, then a quieter one, and Lux finally yanked her into a corridor so dull it could’ve doubled as a tomb. One sad statue of some long-dead hero with a stick too far up his backside, and a wall sconce glowing like it knew it was better than everyone else. No servants, no guests. Just stone and silence.
Then Lux spun, shoved, and pinned her.
Jinx hit the wall with a soft thud, blinking in surprise. Her back kissed the marble—cold, showy, and trying way too hard—and Lux’s forearm settled across her shoulder like an elegant little warning sign.
Jinx smirked. “Wow. A private hallway, a bit of roughhousing—if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re flirting.”
Lux didn’t smile. Guess she didn't like the joke. Her voice, when it came, was tight and frosty enough to chill wine. “You may enjoy games, but I haven’t forgotten what you were doing in the archives. You're not off the hook.”
Jinx arched a brow. “Oh? And here I thought swapping spit was the Demacian way of sealing a friendship bracelet.”
Lux leaned in, eyes gleaming like polished steel. “You’re reckless. Unpredictable..." She paused, "But maybe not entirely useless." She loosened her grip a little, curbing her tone, "I have a proposition.”
Jinx tilted her head, lips twitching. “You’re not about to say marriage, are you? ‘Cause I left my veil in my other jacket.”
Lux exhaled through her nose. Patient. Tense. As if she were deciding whether to argue or incinerate. “Do try to take this seriously. Just this once.” She drawled. "I know you were after something in those archives. Whatever it was, you didn’t get it."
Jinx’s smile thinned. Why'd she have to go and bring that up? Jinx had been doing a stellar job, not thinking about the whole 'mission failure' part of her evening. Like a professional. Like someone who didn’t just nearly get flattened by an ancient booby trap.
"Help me with what I need," Lux continued, her tone all careful restraint and diplomatic poise, "and I can help you get that—and more."
She let it dangle there like bait on a hook, her eyes steady, her voice dipped in velvet but sharpened underneath.
Jinx opened her mouth, a joke already revving up—probably something involving tiaras, trust funds, and dramatic lighting—but she stalled. Her smirk twitched, lost its edge.
She could bite back. Usually would. But she wasn’t exactly in a position to be tossing bombs for fun right now—not without blowing up her only shot at salvaging this... setback. Lux might’ve been a glowing pain with a voice like butter, but she was also the only one offering a door instead of a wall.
“Go on,” she said instead, circling the moment like a cat deciding if the box was full of treasure or teeth.
Lux hesitated, like she wasn't expecting Jinx's sudden calmness, just for a breath. Then her spine clicked into that absurdly straight noble posture, like she was prepping for a speech to the throne room and not, you know, blackmailing a criminal into cosplay.
Here we go, Jinx thought, resisting the urge to mime a drumroll.
"As irritating as you are, you… helped me calm my—" Lux eyed towards her hands, "—y’know. And lately, I've had more than enough drama from Demacia’s finest eligible bachelors."
She looked Jinx dead in the eye, all seriousness and no shame.
"It would be… convenient to have you around. A deterrent. A buffer. And gods help me, the chaos might be worth it."
Jinx blinked. Did she just get complimented, insulted, and propositioned all in one sentence?
Impressive. Horrifying. Weirdly flattering. All of the above.
Jinx narrowed her eyes. "I'm not hired muscle, sweetpea. I’ve got places to be, unstable things to wire, and explosions to name. If you want a bodyguard, you're outta luck—unless you want your problems solved with dynamite."
Lux pinched the bridge of her nose, restraining a sigh. "That's not what I mean."
She met Jinx’s gaze again, voice firmer now. "If they think we’re in a uh… a umm… relationship, they’ll back off. All of them. My brother. The suitors… The whispers." She stopped, her eyes searching Jinx’s confused violet expression, not in that arrogant way like before, but like she was hoping Jinx might get it.
Then Lux dropped her hand, letting the words settle between them like a signed contract. "I need space. You want access. This buys us both time."
Jinx stared at her for a long moment, her head tilting just a little, like she was listening for a punchline. None came.
"Wait, wait— fake dating?" she said, half-laughing, half-choking. "You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend so the noble suitor squad backs off?"
She snorted, pushing her head back against the wall with a clunk. "You’re really out here proposing a con. To me. That’s adorable."
"I'm not adorable," Lux muttered defensively, which only made it more adorable. "And for the record, you won’t get back into Korralyn. Not without half the guard chasing you. And that safe you were drooling over? Most of its contents were relocated decades ago. You're digging for gold in a hollow mine."
She straightened, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve like that would make the proposal less awkward. "If you want answers—real ones—this deal might be the only real way in. So, unless you’ve got a better plan tucked into one of your dozen belt pouches, which is unnecessary by the way, then you should consider our bargain."
Jinx dragged her gaze across the corridor ceiling, stifling a sigh like she was being asked to babysit a ticking clock that occasionally threatened to explode, "I’ve got needs, okay?" she muttered, half to herself, half to Lux."Pouches carry gadgets. And shrapnel. Sometimes snacks."
But her eyes slid back to Lux, still watching her like she was trying not to hope too hard. That damn sincerity again—bright, raw, and completely uncalled for.
Yeah. Jinx needed what she came for. And like it or not, Blondie might be her best shot.
She let out a sigh so exaggerated it could’ve been scripted. "Alright, Sparkles," she drawled, lips twitching into something dangerously close to a smile. "Let’s hear the terms before I start charging you for emotional labor."
Then she added, crossing her arms like she was making a formal protest at a gala she wasn’t invited to, "But you’re gonna have to sweeten the deal. This is a whole new level of ludicrous—and that’s coming from someone who once faked a hostage situation just to steal cupcakes from a Piltover bakery."
To her surprise, Lux smiled. Not the diplomatic, serene kind she wore for courtiers—but something real. Something sharp and amused and entirely too disarming.
Jinx blinked, caught off guard by how much she... nope. Not unpacking that today. The smile, the look in Lux’s eyes—it was annoyingly warm for something that should’ve been all politics and bluff.
She rolled her shoulder against the wall like she wasn’t rattled at all, which of course meant she absolutely was. Jinx been in worse situations before, a fake relationship should be a walk in the park. Right?
And of course, that’s when the quiet click of boots echoed down the hall behind them.
On queue, Lux leaned in, voice low and wicked. "Oh, I’ll find a way to sweeten it."
Jinx shuddered—Lux’s breath was warm, her voice annoyingly silky, and that lean-in? Way too good at its job. That was flirting dressed up as war tactics. And Jinx, traitorous little creature that she was, felt her grin slip out like it had a mind of its own.
Her eyes flicked sideways toward the sound of footsteps, forcing a scoff out of her throat. "Your palace has terrible privacy."
Lux smiled again—less amused this time, more like someone who knew exactly what kind of grenade she’d just dropped. "And here I thought you could handle a little public affection. Don’t tell me you get bashful, might not think you're cut out for this… challenge"
She stepped back, not waiting for a response, finally giving Jinx room to move, and turned with an elegance that was far too practiced for someone who'd just acted like… that .
Jinx lingered a second longer against the wall, letting her brain catch up to the heat still fizzing under her skin. Gods, this girl was confusing. One second, she was tossing sass like knives; the next, she was moonlighting as a seductive tactician—like a sugar-coated weapon wrapped in a royal ribbon.
She watched Lux walk away, that deliberate grace infuriatingly hard to ignore, and for half a heartbeat—just half—Jinx wondered if maybe this little fake-dating plot might not be the worst disaster she’s ever signed up for.
Then again, the prettiest packages sometimes held the most volatile payloads. And Jinx had always been the curious sort when it came to dangerous things with a pretty smile.
Lux glanced over her shoulder, already several steps ahead, and called out with that annoyingly sweet lilt, "Well? You coming, sweetheart ?"
Jinx snorted—because what was that name? "Lead the way, Blondie," she muttered, pushing off the wall with a grin that refused to behave. And as she fell into step behind Lux, her fingers drummed against her side—because fidgeting with explosives was seemingly less dangerous than what this arrangement was starting to feel like.
Danger wrapped in charm. A fake romance with real consequences. Yeah. This was definitely going to blow up in someone's face. Probably hers...But she’d look damn good doing it.