Page 22 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

Raevyn… Raevyn…

My core sparked with an intense electric heat. My body hummed. My veins sizzled.

Shadows swirled.

Hands touched. Caressed. Whispered against my skin.

A tongue at the seam of my lips.

Bright sparking eyes watching.

It felt so good. So good. More. Needed more.

My body thrummed. Snapped taut.

Exploded.

I jolted awake. A gasp of surprise leaving my mouth as the remnants of an orgasm faded from my body. My lips tingled with the faint memory of someone being there and I could taste something on my tongue. Something spicy. Exotic.

Something wicked.

Raevyn…

Something whispered my name. I looked towards the window, following the sound, and saw the largest raven I'd ever seen sitting on the balcony. It was magnificent. Large black wings shimmered blue under the light of the sun and its black eyes watched me as if it knew I was staring at him.

I extracted myself from Hawk’s long limbs, loving his adorable little pout as if he knew I’d left him in sleep, and walked over to the large glass doors. Stepping through, I eyed the large bird warily. He was certainly bigger than the average raven. More like the size of an eagle. He was probably just under a metre tall, and his eyes were big and black with a sharpness that suggested he was assessing me the same way I was him.

“Um, hi.”

The giant bird bowed his head in greeting.

“So, are you just a bird or something else?”

“Something else.”

The voice was low and soft, with a sultry lilt that resonated clearly in my mind.

I stared at the bird, my mind refusing to process what it had just heard.

He cocked his head to one side. “Are you alright?”

Nope. The bird was talking. “Did you just talk to me?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re a bird.”

He squawked at me. “I’m no mere bird.”

“Sorry. It’s just… I didn’t think I’d be waking up and conversing with a raven today.”

“Not spoken to animals before?”

“Nope.”

“It’s a rare gift. One usually reserved to the Gods.”

Cool. I suddenly wanted to learn what else I could do. Overnight I’d gone from having no magic to stepping into a world of possibilities. It was a little overwhelming actually, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to see what else I could do. If I was going to take on my grandmother, I was going to need all the help I could get.

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