Page 37 of Rage of Her Ravens

I blew out a breath, nervous energy buzzing through my veins when Draevyn stood behind his brothers, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Try asking us a question first,” Blaze said.

I tried not to look at Draevyn as I focused on Blaze and Nikkos. “How did you know where to find my parents?”

“We were tracking the white witch when we saw your father fly out of Cyrene,” Blaze said.

I swallowed at that. “My sister?” They were tracking her because they wanted to kill her, too. How was I supposed to reconcile the fact that my mates wanted to kill half of my family?

“Our mommy!” Aurora squealed, clasping her hands together.

Ember giggled, her eyes practically glowing. “Will you find her for us?”

Nikkos and Blaze both blanched. I didn’t dare look at Draevyn, for I wouldn’t be able to contain my rage if he was smirking.

“Sorry, sprite,” Nikkos said to her. “She flew too far away.”

The girls pouted.

“We will find her,” I said to them. “After we find a safe place.”

They both nodded and went back to playing with their feathers.

“I caught a glimpse of her when she was escaping,” Nikkos said. “She was a mousy human with pale hair. She looked nothing like you.”

“My mother has skin shifting magic. No doubt they changed her appearance so nobody would recognize her.”And her memories, I thought darkly,so she wouldn’t even know herself. How could my parents have been so cruel?

“We’ve heard of Flora Avias’s skin shifting magic.” Nikkos looked from his brothers to me. “I’m certain she and Derrick have left your home and have assumed new bodies.”

I cut Draevyn a dark look when he swore, though I knew my parents had assumed new bodies so as not to be recognized by Malvolia’s mages. Where would they go? Instinct told me they’d head to Peloponese, King Fachnan’s capital city. But would Tari truly align with that wicked king after what he’d done to shifter-kind?

I swallowed back my sorrow. Tari had been my best friend for so many years. We did everything together, even spoke telepathically, just like Ember and Aurora. How I missed her. “Other than her different body, did she look well?”

Draevyn cleared his throat. “For now, yes.”

I shot him an accusatory look. “For now?”

He shrugged. “I’m sorry, but Malvolia has a price on her head.”

I inwardly cringed when my nieces gaped at me.

“I assumed that already,” I snapped. “I didn’t need you to remind me.”

Aurora wrinkled her nose. “What is a head price, Auntie?”

“It means Malvolia wants to kill your mommy,” Draevyn interrupted before I could get in a word.

“Elements!” I threw up my hands. “Did you have to tell them that?”

“Should I lie to them and keep them ignorant, or should I prepare them for the realities of this brutal world?” His swollen nostrils flared as he glared at me. In that moment, I felt his hatred in my very bones. How could I possibly mate with him?

Ember’s eyes watered. “Will the bad queen kill our mommy?”

“No.” I cut Draevyn a sharp look. “Your mommy will stop her with her magic.” I ignored Draevyn’s grumbling and instead looked to Blaze and Nikkos. “Why wait until now to attack my parents?”

Blaze visibly swallowed. “For years we thought Malvolia had executed our parents murd—er.” He visibly swallowed, giving me an apologetic look. “Had executed Flora and Derrick, but when the white witch revealed herself, we knew your parents had somehow survived.”

“I see.” I chewed on my lip, thinking back to all the times we had to start over in some other part of the forest because my father had feared that Malvolia’s army would find us.

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