From once a wind
And brisk of leaves
There came a night
So dark it seemed
No more light
The curse it brings
And so the dying moons said to the sun
Set me free
As the last of the song filled her ears, she paused, feeling Draven’s body jump slightly, as though he’d inhaled a sharp breath. She opened her eyes and started to speak, but he let go of her and turned away.
“Draven?” she whispered into the air.
He cleared his throat, continuing to avoid her gaze. She swore she heard a sniff emit from his lips, but she didn’t push it.
“Thank you,” he managed after a moment.
She started to reach out for him, but cold feet washed over her, and she pulled back. “No Venari King deserves to have to live without ever hearing the song of its blood.”
His head turned just slightly in her direction. “I wish my men could hear it,” he whispered.
“Perhaps I’ll sing it for them,” she suggested. “Tomorrow night. After supper.”
He smiled back at her over his shoulder. “They would love that.”
The look he gave her then made her heart skip, and her face redden. Something she was not accustomed to. She pushed her hair back behind her ear as he turned back towards her.
“What?” she asked wearily.
“You’re… you’re not what I expected,” he admitted.
She huffed amusedly. “Let me guess: you thought I was a female version of my brother.”
“You never proved any different growing up,” he replied.
Her memory flashed to the times when Draven had visited with the Venari King before him, Parkyr. How she’d been so high on her own horse, so arrogant even as a child.
The noise of Draven’s chuckle brought her back to the present, and he laid back on the log behind them.
“Do you remember when you kicked my ass during our battle round at eight?” he asked.
“You swore to me that day you’d be the one to end me,” she remembered. “That one day it would be your sword to slice my throat and rid me of my royal life.” She paused and gave him a full once over as he smirked at her. “Makes me wonder if you’re just keeping me alive here so you can challenge me at the end of it when I’m well. The final battle.”
He scoffed. “I am glad you know I’d not kill you while you were wounded.”
“There would be not enough fun or glory in that for the Venari King,” she mocked.
He grinned up at her, his hand coming up under his head to support it against the log. She smiled and fumbled slightly with her hands, the memory of the day they’d fought as children coming to mind.
Her raven landed on her knee.
“You know, I earned my mark after our bought,” she informed him, stroking the bird’s head.
