Page 87 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

Raevyn

“Raevyn…”

My eyes flew open as I heard my name whispered darkly right by my ear. The voice caressed the syllables like a prayer, something reverent and demanding worship.

“Who’s there?” I scanned my eyes around the room, picking out the familiar shape of Corvus perched on his favourite branch but not seeing anything else out of the ordinary.

“What is it?” Corvus asked as he stretched his wings.

“I don’t know. Just… something…”

“Raevyn…”

My head turned in the direction of my door and I stepped out of bed. I grabbed a hoodie and looked back over at Corvus. “You coming?”

He squawked and hopped off his branch, landing on my shoulder with a resolute thud.

“I think it’s time we checked out the West Wing,” I said.

I left my room and walked the quiet hallways. I’d been left to sleep on my own and I think that was the guys’ way of telling me I needed a good night’s sleep before heading to the Isles. That was the plan for tomorrow and I was a little giddy with excitement. I mean, I might discover who my father was and by extension, the other side of my family. It was nerve wracking and exciting but I kind of wanted to vomit a little.

I tried to keep my footsteps quiet as I walked towards the centre of the house. The black rose was suspended in the air like it always was, the embers kissing its charred petals. It was beautiful in a sombre way. Like it was a gift even though it brought a darkness with it.

I walked past the flower and the down the forbidden corridor. I thought I should have felt some sense of wrongness walking down there, but I didn’t. I just felt a sense of walking home. That I belonged here.

“Raevyn…”

I could hear my name louder now, calling me towards the dark door at the end of the hallway.

“Am I doing the right thing?” I asked Corvus, nerves starting to twist my stomach.

“Only you know the answer to that, but I’m here to help with whatever decision you make.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “That sounds like a total copout.”

He croaked a laugh and snapped his wings.

“Come on then. Let’s just hope we don’t get eaten by whatever is behind the door.”

I finally made it to the door and paused. There was no doorknob, no obvious way to open it. I placed my hand on the door, my palm flat against the cool surface. Something hummed through it, something powerful, and I knew it was going to everything within me to open this door. I could feel how powerful this magic was. It was complex and l there were intricate layers woven through the door. They extended beyond the door, through the walls and I figured that they must surround the space.

A hazy memory flittered through my mind of a room with no windows, but I couldn’t quite hold onto it. The more I tried to remember, the harder it was to picture the space.

I glanced at Corvus. “What do I need to do?”

“Feel the layers and try to break them down.”

Okay, I could do that… I think.

I placed my other hand on the door and focused on the magic I could feel. I systematically broke down the first few layers, it seemed easy at first, disrupting the magic but it started to get harder the deeper I went into the layers.

My arms trembled with the effort, my head pounded, sweat peppered my brow and I clenched my jaw so hard I thought that I might have broken a tooth or two.

Warmth spread through my shoulder where Corvus was sat, and I realised he was channelling some of his energy into me to bolster my power.

“Just a little more,” I ground out. Pain lanced up my arms when the magic started to fight back. It sliced at my skin, wrapping around me like thorns and hooks, digging in.

“Come on,” Corvus said, his voice strained. “You can do it.”

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