Page 124 of Rage of Her Ravens

My stomach churned with unease. What would she try to do to them when she found out they didn’t kill my parents? What would she try to do to the girls and me? And what would I have to do to stop her? After searching his gaze, I finally found the courage to speak. “What will we do?”

“Whatever we do, we will decide together.” He clasped my hands. “You look tired. Get some rest.”

My eyes fluttered, and a soft moan escaped my lips when he stroked the side of my face and kissed my cheek. I instantly missed his warmth when he got up from the bed, and though I didn’t want him to go, I suspected why he left me alone with his brother.

After he left, I checked Draevyn’s pulse and wiped crusted blood off his forehead and wings while adjusting his blankets. I stilled at the sound of hooves clomping outside the door.

Then came the knock, and Mrs. Euphemia poked her furry head inside. “How is he?”

I waved her into the room. “Still sleeping,” I said while smiling down at him. He certainly was handsome, with a warm complexion and features that looked like they’d been carved from granite. He was slightly taller than his brothers with broad shoulders to accommodate his large wingspan. I briefly wondered if a certain appendage matched his wingspan, but I was confident it did. Then I berated myself for my crude thoughts while fighting the urge to look beneath the blankets.

Mrs. Euphemia sat in an oversized rocking chair beside the bed, her shoulders sagging as she leaned back.

“The girls?” I asked as I sat up against the headboard, crossing my legs.

“Sleeping,” she answered. “I will return to them shortly.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I never knew we needed a nursemaid until Mrs. Euphemia, but she’d proven to be an invaluable addition to our family, giving me time to become familiar with my mates while keeping the girls entertained. Even though I adored the girls as if they were my own children, it felt nice to get a break and have some adult time.

She offered me a warm smile. “They are a joy.” She blew out a long breath. “Even if they wear me out.”

I laughed at that because I knew exactly what she meant.

Mrs. Euphemia stood, frowning down at Draevyn sleeping beside me. “He doesn’t look like he was badly burned.”

I nodded, then swallowed back my emotion. “He was a lump of coal.”

“His skin looks so smooth.” Mrs. Euphemia beamed. “Nikkos’s healing magic must’ve grown stronger.”

“It has.” I swiped a tear from my eye while frowning down at Draevyn. “But there’s something my father never explained to me about fire mages.”

“What?” she asked as she sat back down.

“How can they withstand their own fire, but not someone else’s?” They had fire in their blood, fire in their eyes, and elements knew they were as warm as hot cinders. Why would they not be able to withstand another mage’s fire?

She shook her head. “I’m not sure why their own fire doesn’t harm them but other fire does.”

Draevyn rolled over, the blankets falling off his chest and revealing thick muscles and those swirling fire tattoos. It took all my willpower not to run my fingers along his heated skin.

I looked up at Mrs. Euphemia when she cleared her throat. She’d pulled back her sleeve, revealing those same violent scars Draevyn had shown me the first day I’d met her. “When Queen Malvolia’s healers tried to heal me, I refused to let them erase all the scars. They serve as a reminder for all I’d lost.” She visibly swallowed, her eyes flashing with pain.

My chest tightened with emotion. “I’m very sorry,” I rasped.

“Why?” She began rocking in her chair, the floor creaking with the movement. “It wasn’t your fault. You, the girls, and the young Masters Inferni are all innocents caught up in this. Did your mates tell you about my husband?”

“No.” I froze at the mention of a husband. I had wondered what had happened to him and why she wore a black dress and veil.

“He was my fated mate, and he was not a satyr.” She gave me a pointed look. “Everyone in my family was against it. Bjorn was considered the lowest of the Terrae, a bear shifter.”

“A bear shifter? I had no idea they existed.” I had only ever heard of wolf shifters.

“They have been hunted to near extinction, loathed and scared by humans and Fae alike.” Her mouth flattened into a grim line. “I will admit, even I hated my mate at first. I fought the bond, cursed the elements for choosing Bjorn as my mate. He was a brute.” She made a strange sound that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a wail. “He had terrible manners. But Lord and Lady Inferni took him in, made him the Warden of the Forest, gave him a sense of purpose, but most importantly, they treated him with dignity. And he repaid their kindness with loyalty and bravery, defending Abyssus with his life.”

I swallowed at that. Somehow, I feared what she was about to tell me would shatter my heart. Still, I leaned forward, intrigued by Bjorn’s story.

“It took me a while to accept the bond,” she continued, shaking her head and clucking her tongue. “Too long. I’m ashamed to say I wasted years fighting it. After I finally surrendered to my heart, I spent the happiest two months of my life in our little cottage in the forest. I remember the night we saw the castle on fire. He begged me to stay in the cottage, but I refused to leave his side. I rushed with him into that burning tower to save the boys. He didn’t come out with us. The entire tower would’ve fallen down on our heads, but he shifted into a mighty bear and held it up long enough for me to escape with the boys in my arms.”

I was unable to stop the flow of tears that spilled from my eyes. My chest felt as if it had been cleaved in two. Poor Mrs. Euphemia.

---