Page 42 of Moon Raven Rising
“I’m ready, my king.” She says before glaring back at me.
“Good. Little bird, that little power play you pulled the other night cost me quite a bit… I suppose your little boyfriend told you the news?” He now asks as he tucks his arms behind hisback. I’m able to pull my eyebrows down the slightest amount, but it’s the only movement I can manage. It seems to be enough of the question I want to ask though and Soren’s eyes blaze with the realization that I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you. Did he?” Soren exclaims. Again, his lips curl wickedly. “It seems we all have our secrets. Some are just hidden better than others.” He flicks his finger, and at that, Violet begins her conjuring of the dark shadows. I feel a slight shaking when I realize that my lip now trembles. Another movement I wasn’t able to do a moment ago. I just need more time, but I can see that I’m running out.
The last time they forced the shadows upon me, they did not affect me the way that they were anticipating… perhaps they won’t work on me at all; maybe because my magic doesn't seem to be like any other. My eyes shake back and forth between Violet and Soren. In the distance, I think I hear the clamor of chains… Shouting… Soren curses under his breath, but he only starts to pace while he urges Violet to do her dark magic. His hands now planted impatiently on his hips.
Closing my eyes, I do the first thing I can think to do.Bracarva!I call the dragon with urgency. Just as Osiris taught me. Hoping with everything I have that the bond magic outweighs whatever they have suppressing all else.Bracarva! Help me!I shout with a deafening vigor into the dark depths of my mind.
She answers my call with a scream that is so loud, it shakes the foundation of the castle where it is built into the earth. Soren works his jaw, looking around the dark space.
“Hurry up,” He snaps at Violet and she quickens her movements, the darkness building to a different color than the green hue that I’ve seen before. I swallow hard as bile rises in my throat and the now deep purple smoke snakes out toward me. It curls through the air like the reaching limbs of a dying tree. Thesmell is rancid, a mixture of sulfur and rotting that can only be the smell of death.
Bracarva’s screech rattles the stone walls, and I hear more shouting from up the nearby stairs, but it’s too late. The shadows slither from my toes and up my legs. Taking the same sickening path that Soren’s fingers took. Almost as though Violet steers them to erase his lingering caresses in a jealous fit. Then the dark magic slams into me like a hammer to a blacksmith’s anvil. The torrent of the thick smoke pours into my mouth. Forced down my throat and nose, I can do nothing but breathe in the horrid darkness. My body convulses violently. I thrash under their control; I’m being suffocated from within.
A loud boom sounds somewhere in the distance, snapping Soren’s attention, but he could be anywhere and I would not notice. Not as the icy darkness fills my body. The shaking eases into a shrill nothingness, and the last thing I see before the darkness takes my vision is Violet as she looms over me with a scowl filled with loathing and promises of pain.
With a gasp, my breath fills my lungs with all it can, but unlike last time… I feel the shadows within me.
Chapter thirty-four
Sometime in the night,I woke in a cold sweat. I felt like I was in the middle of the Creale sea; waves of darkness crashed in on me, and I couldn’t breathe. That was hours ago, but I still sit here alone in the dark of my room. Not even the hearth is lit, and I stare out at the quiet night sky. The moon stares back at me in a silent contest to see who will blink first.
So much has happened, and while it seems like time has stretched out to an endless crawl, I know thattoo muchtime has passed. Closing my eyes, the moon wins, but I see Raelle’s bright face in my mind. The smiles she gave me that I etched into my memory replay as though it were just yesterday.
A heaviness presses on the center of my chest. A feeling of unease. Urgency. With a grunt, I stand, throwing the blanket from my lap and grabbing my discarded tunic from the back of the chair. As I step into my boots, I hear a knock at the door. Without strapping them, I yank the heavy wood open.
“You feel it too?” Ambriel stands with her brother, both with a deep wrinkle between their eyes. Alaric rubs at the bond mark on his chest absently, and I watch as my mind reels with the possibilities.
“I can’t tell you what it is I feel, but I do feelsomething.” My voice is heavy from lack of use. “Something is telling me we need to move in on Demetrey sooner than planned.”
“I agree,” Alaric says immediately as he pushes past his sister and into my room. I step back, and Ambriel follows, shutting the door behind her. “Do you think you can project your raven? Raelle mentioned you did it before. Used your raven to see her while she was searching for the cure, right?”
“I have, but I was still under the curse at the time. It was my subconscious. But I do think after projecting at the cliffs—I think, I can do it again.” Silence follows my words as I begin to pace. “Where is Trent?” I ask Ambriel.
“He and Cano couldn’t sleep and decided to spar before Alaric and I got this feeling.” I nod at her response. Trent is always quick to forgive. It doesn’t surprise me that he has accepted Cano back into the fold. I, however, will only trust him once he’s either proven himself or is dead. The latter seems more likely, but one thing I’m not going to do is question this feeling anymore. We have everything planned, but when fate calls for action, sometimes waiting is not the best course of action. I think I’ve learned that lesson the hard way too many times in my life.
Crossing the room, their eyes follow me as I pick up my baldric and strap it to my chest—a set of small knives placed in their sheaths. One at my hip and one at my boot, and lastly the sword I retrieved from the caves.
“It’s time we make our move. Something isn’t right. We all feel it.” I announce, and Alaric comes around and claps me on the back.
“Let’s go get your queen back.” He says with a smirk.
“Our queen.” I correct and nod, looking between the siblings. The smile on Ambriel’s face brings strength to my bones, and my lips tug up in return. The motion feels foreign on my face, but it feels…good. Alaric steps away, his chest puffed out as I have finally accepted him as a part of our unit. Something in the cave bonded me to him, and though we don’t bare a mark… I feel it nonetheless. Our blood calls to one another, and finally, our fates are in alignment. He is in this unkindness just as any of the others.
“I will go gather Maki. He and I will prepare the regime who is to follow and send messengers to the forces who lay in wait at the other territories.” He says as he reaches the door. His time in the regime with Cano serves Aldramani well now—even being less civilized, having been dead those years. He does well as a commander. I haven’t told him yet, but I’m considering him to be my second in command. Well… considering Kait likely won’t be around after we take the kingdom.
It’s no surprise to me that Kait wishes to find answers of her own about her family. Since meeting Raelle and finding out all the secrets tied to her. It would make anyone curious to have answers.
“Ambriel, a moment?” I ask, halting her in her retreat.
“I’ll get Trent and Cano and meet you at the stables in an hour.” She tells her brother before he nods and leaves us alone. When she turns back to me, she drops her brows and looks at me questioningly. “What is it?” She asks, cutting to the point. I like that about her. She will be good for Trent.
“I first want to tell you, congratulations. I got to speak with Trent about the bond between the two of you, but I haven’t had a chance to tell you myself. I’m happy to bless your union with my brother, and I know Raelle will feel the same.” I can’t help how my eyes fall to the mark on the interior of her wrist.
“It means everything to me that you feel that way. Thank you. Also, Dax?” She steps into me, gripping my hand and squeezing in a reassuring gesture. “She is strong. I feel her growing stronger, too. She will come out of this.”
“But not unscathed,” I add, pain-laced anger pulsing through my veins.
