“You are okay. You just went through something traumatic, and you’ve finally ascended. Not just any ascension either. You ascended with the power of the royal line as the queen, Raelle. You have power you know nothing about and no idea how to handle it.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?” Panic is etched into every line of her face. Dropping her hands, I grab her face between my palms. Her hands pull at mine. Trying to rip them from her face. She struggles as tears build in her eyes and confusion in mine. “Wait, what are you doing? Please don’t take my memories. Please don’t let me forget him!” She cries. Broken, wet sobs and tears carve paths down her cheeks. My hands fall away from her face as her words strike me like an open hand.How does she know I took her memories before?I rub the exposed skin on her biceps, hoping to instill warmth and calmness in her.
“Hey—Raelle,” I say, giving her a gentle shake to pull her from the panic that is seizing her. Her eyes meet mine, her lips trembling in fear and sadness.
“I—you remind me of him,” Her voice is only a whisper. My brows dip as she begins shaking her head back and forth. “Your dark presence, your looks, and the way you carry yourself. It reminds me of Dax in a way. Maybe I’m just missing him…” She closes her eyes again, and I watch her throat bob as she swallows hard. “I’m seeing things. My dreams feel too real…” Her voice trails off, and I release her. She has been in and out of fits like this. She is either determined to go on a mission of bloodshed or become hysterical. She shakes her head more intensely, and she falls back on her ass. There is not a person in the world who wouldn’t be affected by seeing the heartbreak in her eyes. The pure and raw fear that paints every sharp edge of her face. A single tear drops from both eyes as she looks up at me.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Raelle. You have to trust me when I tell you that I will never hurt you. You knew my sister, didn’t you? Ambriel?”
“Yes, she—pledged herself to me.”Fuck. I didn’t see that coming. “She is my friend.” She continues looking down at her hands, picking at the skin around her nails. Crouching down, I pinch her chin between my finger and thumb and tilt her head up to meet my gaze. I wait a moment as she searches my face. I track her eyes as they flick over my features. Watching her gears spinning.
Claire clears her throat, and it breaks Raelle’s focus. She pushes my hands away from her face and shuffles back until she rests her back against the wall, and her chest rises and falls at a quick pace. She’s afraid of me.
Claire sits down beside her and places a hand on her knee. Raelle looks at it and then at her oldest friend, and her breathing begins to even out. Claire laces her hand with Raelle’s. “Will you get her some water? The panic attack is receding.” I cross the room and pour water from the pitcher on the counter into a glass and bring it to them. Raelle takes it without hesitation.
“I’m sorry. I believe that you’re here to help me, but my dreams feel so real, and you look—you look so much like Dax sometimes. It makes my heart break all over again. And as much as I want to trust you… Knowing what you are capable of is hard to get past.” She swallows a large gulp of water, then another until the glass is empty.
“I’ve got good news.” I give her a wry smile, and her eyes light with a white glow for a brief moment before she blinks and they return to her normal bright green.
“What is it? I think she could use some good news. Couldn't you, Rae?” Claire’s soft voice draws her attention, but when she looks back at me, it nearly brings me to my knees again. The pain I see in her gaze breaks my fucking heart.
“I found out Trent and the others are alive. My guess is they are back at Loema by now. I have a contact who is tracking them down and will send word when he gets confirmation.” And he better fucking get it, quick. There has been too much stress lately, and it’s driving me up a wall, not being able to expel some of this negative energy.
“I don’t want to wait for confirmation. Let’s go to Loema too. We will be safe there. I know we will be welcome there.” I wait a beat, thinking about what to do. If we go back to Loema, Raelle will begin to trust me, and she can convince the others. My sister is going to be pissed. I know her and her fiery personality. She’snot going to let me slip into her life with a simple ‘Hey sis, I’m not dead.’ She’s going to flip the fuck out.
“I guess now’s the time to tell you both that I’m supposed to be dead. I—um, kind of faked my death to get out of Cano’s regime a few years back, and I have been working to gain knowledge of what he was up to ever since. When I found out about you,” My gaze zeros in on Raelle, and she bites her lip while listening to my story. “My objective… changed. You will change the kingdom, Raelle. Without you, the kingdom is doomed to the dark wrath of an evil king.” Her face falls as she looks into my eyes, the glow behind hers showing only for a second before she speaks.
“I believe you. I also believe that you are lying to me about something or not telling the full truth.” My eyebrows shoot to my hairline at her accusation. She is not wrong… I don’t elaborate, and she continues, “But I trust you anyway, and my instinct hasn't failed me yet. I wish I would have pushed Dax harder not to go forward with the duel. I knew how it would end. My power was telling me something, and I ignored it. I won't do that again.” She is full of surprises tonight. Her power told her? It seems like maybe she has the power of an empath. A rare gift that often comes with sight. I study her for a moment longer, and when she doesn't say anything else, I grab her other hand.
“Let’s leave for Loema then. If that’s what you choose, we’ll leave right away.” Something close to happiness sparkles in her eyes, but that’s not what it is. I think it’s more a feeling of relief. Relief that her instinct has led her to the decision she thinks is right. I just hope I survive the wrath of my kid-sister when I return with the queen that she swore her life to.
Chapter twenty
Trent has been upmy ass since the kiss we shared. Luckily, we weren’t kissing when the vision took me into its grasp, but I think he noticed anyway. He’s been talking about visions and prophecy incessantly. I’m going to end up throat-punching him instead of kissing him if he doesn’t give it a rest soon. I’ve been doing all I can to avoid him today. It’s been a week since the duel, and every day has been harder than the last.
Winter has set in, and the snow began to fall late in the night. Looking up, I have to squint; the sun’s blinding reflection is making it hard to see. Trent paces in front of the large double doors of the library balcony, a book in one hand and whiskey in the other. I needed fresh air, so I came to the courtyard to get away. When he hasn’t been nagging me about visions, prophecy, or whether or not I think Dax and Raelle are alive, he has been balls-deep into books. What he’s looking for, I have no idea. I haven’t asked.
“You look cold.” Naza offers me a steaming cup of tea. The snow melts as it flutters down, reaching the vapors, and I smile as I accept the drink.
“Thanks.” Turning my gaze away from the castle and back out over the grounds, my eyes snag on a dark shape in the otherwise white sky. Naza notices my attention and follows my gaze. Magic ripples as they enter the barrier, and moments later the regime is pounding down the snow-covered walkway between us and the impostors poised to land.
The closer they get to landing, the more my heart seizes. My breath is ripped from my lungs, and my knees knock, threatening to send me to the ground where I stand. Naza places a hand on my back and another on my shoulder as she notices my struggle.
“Are you okay?” Her brows knit together as she studies me. The hand that holds the mug of piping hot tea slips down to my side, the liquid spilling free and melting the snow, leaving a puddle before the glass follows its path and shatters into pieces—just like my heart did all those years ago. Ric lands just feet in front of me, alive and in the flesh. His dark, gold-flecked eyes meet mine, and when words fail me, he is the one to speak.
“Hello sister.” His familiar voice rasps out, and he places a female I don’t know on her feet just as Raelle lands behind him. My eyes nearly bulge out of my head as I see her white wings spread and contract, returning to her back. She gives me a wry smile before every single guard in the courtyard finds their bearings and drops to one knee, head bowed.
Alaric’s coming back from the dead does nothing to distract me from the fact that he’s landed with Raelle in full shift behind him. Her eyes glow white like the moon, and her wings have an opalescent glow matching her hair. She is in full black battle leathers andhas her moonstone dagger strapped to her thigh. The love-stricken Fae that ran out into the arena the day of the duel is nowhere to be found, and in her place, a warrior queen stands.The Moon Raven has risen.I hear the words from my vision.
Trent comes running from the castle behind me, and I hear him curse a string of words that even I would normally blush at before he slides to a stop at my side. When I look up to see his face, the relief and surprise is clear. A smile begins to spread across his face, but it falters when he doesn’t see Dax. With a resigned tilt to his lips, he slowly drops to one knee too. As does Alaric, and I follow suit. Raelle stands tall, and when every Fae around shows her that we are ready to follow her rule, she takes a deep breath and then speaks clear and loud after sweeping her gaze along all the faces that are trained on her.
“RISE! Today marks a new era! We will take back what was once ours!”Oh shit. Bits and pieces of my vision from days ago have come spinning into place. Everyone rises, and as they do, cheers are shouted as she is ushered closer to me—by my brother. The bewilderment must show, because she smiles wide before placing her hand on my shoulder and gripping it firmly. “We have a lot to discuss.” She looks between me and my brother. “But first—I think you two have some catching up to do.”
Trent steps into my body, pressing his hand flat at the small of my back, sensing me tense as I look up at my brother. The familiar warmth I used to feel when around him is replaced by a cold indifference. My gut clenches as I realize the brother I once knew really did die all those years ago. The man who stands before me has no feel of the warm, light-hearted brother I loved. The man standing at the queen’s side is drenched in lies and darkness, and it’s like staring at a stranger—when I try to get a read on him, hismind is locked tight, and he smiles as though he feels my magic brush him.
“We have quite the catching up to do,” he says darkly as he follows where Trent’s arm connects to my body and then up to his narrowed eyes. I roll my eyes at their theatrics, and when I take a step, planting my feet solid before rearing back and punching my brother in his smug face—none of them see it coming, and when blood spurts from his nose with a curse—I smile then sway my hips as I saunter back into the castle.
“How’s that forfuckingcatching up?” I growl as I pass Maki, who is barely stifling a laugh.
