Page 206 of Sigils & Spells

“Apollo…”

Ice remained in his tone. “Chiron will raise this child. It pains me too much to look at him.”

The centaur?Before she could ask what he was thinking, he disappeared, leaving her alone with Corvus and the burning bodies. Artemis let her gaze fall back toward the carnage and clutched her bow tightly. The lovers hadn’t deserved to end this way. Using more magic than she wished to dispel on the mortal plane, Artemis sent Coronis into the heavens where her body broke apart into bright lights and arranged themselves far, far away as stars. A constellation in the shape of a crow, a cautionary tale to be wary of those who seek to do others harm for personal gain.

Nothing ever comes from such treachery. Corvus’ daughters would now bear the burden of the curse, which she could not save them from.

May the gods have mercy upon them.

CHAPTER1

Present Day

Ravyn Corvus stared at her cell phone screen as her mother called for the thirty-seventh time today. She hit ignore and shoved it back into her pocket. While she knew she risked everybody she came into contact with due to her act of rebellion, someone in the family needed to change their fate. No matter how careful the Corvus women were, people still died every day. No one could escape fate, and giving up their own lives and well-being did nothing but make them miserable and bitter.

The ferry horn blared over the choppy waters of the Atlantic, and she tried to smile, though the action seemed foreign. She thought elation would have kicked in by now. She’d gotten her way. After moving city to city so she couldn’t make strong connections or friendships through middle and high school in fear of, well, heralding her potential friends’ deaths, Ravyn had secured a scholarship to a college far from home and her family. She would finally live her life without being smothered by warnings and unsolicited advice.Don’t fall in love. Sleep around; otherwise, you’ll become attached, and if you predict their death by shifting, you’ll be crushed. What will people say when you’re the link between a bunch of mysterious deaths?

She was free now as an adult. So why did Ravyn feel like she was setting herself up for one huge disaster? Oh, yeah…because everyone kept telling her that she was the bringer of disaster and there was nothing to do about it.Right.

As the ferry pulled up to the Kasper Island dock, Ravyn stood from her seat, threw on her backpack and extended the handles on her two suitcases, then headed toward the line of students excited to embark on this new semester of campus life. She’d chosen Kasper Island University, KIU, because it was isolated, on the opposite side of the country, and had a phenomenal marine biology program.

How much trouble could a death omen get into on an island off the coast of Maine? The ocean was vast, and if she worked with marine animals and lived somewhere remote, she could find an area to fly in her bird form without being seen. The likelihood of causing trouble on a small island with only a college campus and a few small businesses seemed minute enough to take the chance. Besides, she hadn’t actually come into her power yet. She hadn’t experienced her catalyst, and since, at nineteen, she was older than anyone else in her family had been when they’d come into their powers, she hoped her father’s fully human genes had snuffed out that of the harbinger blood. Something the women in her lineage prayed for with every new generation.

And thus, as she moved with the rest of the students to exit the ferry, she continued to make the same argument with herself that she’d used with her mother to inform her she’d be leaving. Brenda Corvus had tried to convince her she was setting herself up to fail, something Grandma Corvus and Aunt Sarah agreed with. But Ravyn couldn’t take the constant relocating to keep her from making friends. Even with the internet, forming attachments wasn’t easy. Communicating online wasn’t the same, and she craved a real friendship. A boyfriend. A life where decisions were hers and hers alone. A chance to be normal, even if it was doomed to fail sincedoomwas practically her middle name.

Ravyn dragged her luggage up the dock and toward a massive university building. The gray brick structure looked like a fortress. Three stories high, it would be her life for the next fifteen weeks of the semester. She hadn’t made it out here before now, only taking virtual tours of the campus as she prepared to hightail it across the country in the middle of the night before anyone could stop her. The dormitories should be on the other side of campus, not quite visible from the docks.

Her stomach knotted. Dorms. Hopefully her roommate would be nice. She’d never lived with anyone but her family members. Having been home schooled as an only child, she hadn’t even spent the night with another kid. She wasn’t sure if it was an experience she’d enjoy, but she wanted to find out.

While her nerves continued to eat away at her, she made it to the booths set up with volunteers to sign in the new students. A boy smiled at her as she reached the front. He had a dimple in his right cheek and hazel eyes that seemed full of life and happiness. His light brown hair wasn’t long, but was growing out. Someone could grab a handful of it easily enough if they wanted to.

Weird thing to think about…

“Hi,” the boy said. “Freshman?” His nametag sticker read:Hello, My Name is Daniel.

“What gave it away?” Ravyn fumbled with her backpack. Her wallet had sunken deep into the abyss of the bag somewhere, and no matter how far she stuck her arm into it, she couldn’t locate it.

“Well…” He clicked a pen a few times and leaned forward to whisper, “I’ve never seen you around here before, and you I would probably remember.”

She halted her search and gawked at him.Was he…flirting?

Her lack of comment seemed to break the spell, and his smile faded. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”

“No, no,” Ravyn said. “It took me by surprise is all.” Finally, her wallet was uncovered and she quickly produced her ID and handed it to him with a smile. He grinned back and looked at her card.

Crosschecking the list he had in front of him, he picked up a highlighter and drew a line over her name. “Okay, Ravyn Corvus. You are in Dorm A, room 213. The two signifies it is second floor. I also have it listed here that your boxes have already been delivered so you should be good to go unpack, relax, and prepare for orientation this evening.” He rifled through a box of envelopes with keys in them and handed her one.

“Looking forward to it.” She smiled again, dropping her wallet and envelope into her bag, and then walked off.

“Ravyn, wait!”

As she turned, she nearly crashed into Daniel. He was a good six-feet tall, and somehow even more handsome up close. She tilted her head back slightly to meet his eyes and sucked in a breath. She had talked to guys before, but none threw her off kilter as this one did. “You forgot your ID.”

“Oh.” She didn’t glance down at the card he held out to her. She couldn’t look away from his face. His lopsided grin made her feel as though he couldn’t figure her out. It would probably be safer for him if he didn’t try. “Thank you,” she said stupidly and continued to stare up at him.

Daniel laughed and reached for her hand. He placed the card in her palm and closed her fingers over it. “See you later.” He winked before turning and made his way back to his station. Ravyn stared for a few seconds before getting a grip on herself and resuming her path toward the dorms.

Wow.Her brain had apparently melted. It wasn’t like she’d never talked to guys before or something.Just wow.

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