Page 91 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

Hades hummed softly, a touch of disbelief in that little sound. “Okay. Head to Dolorem first. His old hideout was in Nivis and you may find him there.”

“But what do we do when we find him?” I asked. We couldn’t exactly kill a God and besides, all he’d done so far was to escape a prison. What if he was actually helping Raevyn? I’m betting he was the voice she’d been hearing in his head and that giant raven was probably his too. Was I the only person thinking that this had all happened for a reason?

“Bring him back to his prison,” Hades said, his eyes sparking with fire.

“And Raevyn?” Hawk asked, his tone eerily calm and steady.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Then he vanished into a cloud of smoke before any of us could argue with him.

Fucking asshole.

“We leave in five. Get ready,” Korbin snapped.

“Make sure you pack all your winter clothes,” Casimir crooned, or was it Deimos? I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t stop me from punching him on my way past.

Chapter Forty

Raevyn

Iawoke to the soft glow of a dying fire. There was a chill in the air, but I couldn’t really feel it. I had no idea where I was. After I’d left with Apollo, the grief had been overwhelming and, combined with the loss of energy from pretty much depleting my magic, I had been exhausted. I vaguely remember falling from the sky as my wings gave up carrying me. After that it was just darkness.

I rolled over and froze when I saw who was behind me. His chest rose slowly with his deep slumber and the lines of his face were softer in sleep. It made my heart stutter in my chest as I looked at him. there was something buried in my soul, something that yearned just for him. I didn’t know if it were fate or something else, but I knew, instinctively, that he was mine as much as the others were.

I was curled into his side and wrapped in his feathered wings. They were as dark as his hair, and I trailed my fingers along the length of the plumes. He stirred a little beneath me but didn’t waken. I followed the ridge of the wing that was wrapped around me and marvelled at how soft it was.

“That tickles,” he said softly by my ear, his voice thick with sleep.

I pulled my hand back. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay.” He pulled me tighter to him and I fell across his chest. “I don’t mind. Feels nice.”

Gods, the guy was so adorable half asleep. I brushed his hair back from over his eyes and a little contented sigh escaped his mouth. His hand captured my wrist, and he pressed a kiss to the tips of my fingers. Heat pooled in my core at the gentle caress.

I traced the shape of his mouth and down the line of his jaw, his neck, and to the edge of his collarbone the peeked past the collar of his tunic.

When I looked back up at his face, his eyes were open, and they were watching me with an intense heat. I shivered under his glare, unable to look away from those eyes that swirled like fire.

“Raevyn.” He said my name on a groan, like he couldn’t bare my touch. I pulled away but he stopped me with a hand around the back of my neck. “Stay. Please.”

I nodded slowly, and lay back down, tucking my head under his chin.

His hand trailed through my hair, and I listened to the soft beat of his heart in his chest. It was slow and languid. Peaceful. I didn’t know how he could be so calm after escaping his prison. I was all over the place after leaving home. Home… was that what it was now? Had I just walked away from my home and my family? Grief clenched my heart in a tight grasp. I was going to miss them. How had they wormed their way into my heart in so short a space of time?

“Talk to me, Raevyn.”

A whimper clawed its way out of my throat and Apollo pulled me tighter into his chest.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what it is.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t put my emotions into words, couldn’t get what my grandmother wanted to do past my lips. Everything was a mess, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

“Did you know, Corvus used to be white. A brilliant white, as bright as untouched snow,” Apollo said softly, his voice low and husky.

My eyes flicked over to where Corvus was perched by the window, and I looked to the snow beyond, wondering how different he would look as white instead of the colour of pitch.

“All ravens used to be white, but in my pain, anger and jealousy I scorched Corvus’ feathers and turned them black.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Master. I should have done something,” Corvus croaked softly.

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