Page 23 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

I stepped closer to the large bird. “What’s your name?”

“Corvus.”

I had a sudden urge to touch the raven. It was like there was something connecting us, but I wasn’t sure if I was just being silly or just reading too much into the fact that the bird was being friendly. I reached my hand out. “May I?”

Corvus scooted along the balcony edge towards my fingers. “Of course.”

I trailed my fingers over the crown of his head and into the plush plumage on his chest. He made a deep cooing sound as I explored his feathers and I wondered whether he was here for a reason. Just didn’t seem like a coincidence that I turned up in the Underworld heralded by ravens and then this guy shows up.

Corvus stretched his wings and shook his feathers in satisfaction. “Thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt a kind touch.”

Now I just wanted to cuddle the guy. But that was weird, right? “That’s okay.”

He dipped his head and looked sideways at me. “Can I stay? With you?”

There was something odd about this bird, something mysterious. I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust him, but there was something intriguing about him. “Do you know much about the Underworld and it’s people?”

“Are you thinking of using me as a walking encyclopaedia?”

“Maybe.”

He squawked a laugh. “Yes. I’m full of knowledge and I will answer any question you have, but you may not always like my answers.”

“Fair enough.” I held my arm out and he jumped on. "Fuck," I said as I nearly dropped the guy. He was a lot heavier than he looked. He walked up my arm and settled on my shoulder which was probably for the best. He didn’t seem quite so heavy up there.

I walked back into the room and discovered a tree sprawling along the length of one of the walls. That definitely wasn’t there last night. I would have noticed something that huge.

Corvus swooped off my shoulder and landed on one of the thick branches. Casimir’s words floated back through my mind about the room attuning to my needs. Did it know I’d need a spot for a giant raven to live? Perhaps that meant that this partnership was meant to be. I mean, if the house thought it was okay then the bird had to be a keeper, right?

“What the fuck is that?” Hawk said, his voice husky with sleep.

“A raven.”

“Draguta, that is not a raven. Step away from it.”

“Corvus is harmless. He—”

“How do you know its name?” Hawk interrupted.

“Um… he told me.”

He frowned. “You’re sure?”

I nodded but maybe he hadn’t. Auditory hallucinations could be brought on by stress and trauma. Maybe I’d imagined it. Corvus was watching me, his head cocked to one side and there seemed to be amusement glinting in his dark eyes.

“Gods, I’m going insane. I’m taking to animals.”

Hawk walked towards the raven, studying it closely. Corvus gave a sudden shrill cry and Hawk flinched backwards with a yelp. I tried not to laugh at the sound he made but I could barely hold it in.

There was a knock at the door and Rook popped his head around, his green hair wild with sleep. “What’s with the ruckus? And did I hear a bird?”

“I seem to have adopted a raven, and it frightened Hawk.”

“It did not,” Hawk said vehemently.

I snorted. I couldn’t help it; the giant mountain of a man had squealed like a little schoolgirl. Hawk fixed me with a dark look that promised punishment and I had to squeeze my thighs together.

“It’s not just a raven,” Rook said, awe in his tone. “It’s a Familiar.”

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