“I really appreciate that, Extinguisher Teagan,” I said sincerely. “I've had a bit of a mixed reaction from my fellow extinguishers. It's nice to know there are those who still support me.”
“I'm sure they all still support you,” she said gently. “We extinguishers can be temperamental when it comes to change but we're loyal, especially to our own.”
“You're right, we are,” I gave her smile.
“Good luck, Ambassador,” she nodded and closed the door behind her.
“Hopefully I won't need it,” I sighed as darkness fell.
It was a long wait. Hours later, some extinguishers brought dinner out to us and we ate in tense silence but no mockers arrived to ruin our meal. It wasn't till way after midnight that we finally heard the cry of a diving raven. I sat up straight in my chair and Cat let out a low growl.
“Shhh,” I hushed her and she immediately quieted.
I stood up and went to the railing, staring into the darkness expectantly. A few sparks and the whoosh of wings were the only things betraying the presence of a flock of raven mockers. I strode down the porch stairs and my Guard rushed to follow me but I held up my hand and all but Cat fell back.
“I am Princess Seren Firethorn of the Twilight Court,” I called out in a commanding voice. “I demand to speak with your leader!”
A hush followed, only broken by Cat's anxious shuffle beside me. She was staring up into the sky, following movement that I couldn't see.
“Show yourselves now or be labeled traitors to your court!” I shouted and several of my knights gasped.
A form dropped suddenly before me and Tiernan rushed forward but again, I waved him back and he stopped just one foot shy of me. The mocker was merely standing there, offering me no harm, and I didn't want Tiernan's behavior mistaken for an attack. So I stepped forward, away from Tiernan and Cat, and drew close enough to the mocker to clearly see him.
He wasn't at all what I was expecting. First off, he looked young and I'd read that most raven mockers had a withered appearance. As much as it sounds impossible for a whole species to be withered and old, it sometimes happens with fairies. It was simply the form their bodies took and had nothing to do with age. Just as someone of Tiernan's unknown but certainly lengthy lifespan could appear to be no older than thirty.
This man didn't even look that old. I would have guessed maybe twenty-five if he'd been human. But he wasn't, hesowas not human. He could have passed for it though, if not for the pair of enormous, ebony, feathered wings flowing from his back. Without them, he looked Native American, in a very old school way. As in; buckskin pants and long, pin-straight, midnight hair adorned with a single raven feather tied on with a leather strip. He was shirtless and his magnificent chest was a deep, tawny fawn; like sunlight on a rocky mountainside. He belonged in a historic painting and I realized that my dream self, dressed in leather and beads, would have looked perfect standing beside him.
The angel-like wings folded serenely behind his back as he stepped forward just barely an inch, bringing him close enough to smell. I breathed in the scent of sage smoke, leather, and cinnamon; odd but appealing. The hollows beneath his high cheekbones fluttered as his jaw clenched and he looked me over.
“Youare the new princess?” He asked in a skeptical tone.
“Do you need proof?” I lifted my hand and an eyebrow.
His response was to lift his hand very slowly to my temple and stroke back the hair there. I held still as he pulled forward a swath of my hair and brought it into the moonlight. It was the ombré stripe of purple that faded to lavender at the ends; the coloring I'd inherited from my father. He dropped the hair and leaned his face into mine, staring me straight in the eyes. No doubt, he was searching for the stars that were the true proof of my heritage.
“You are just as he said,” the mocker nodded and stood back.
“He?” I asked as Cat edged forward.
“My father,” the mocker cocked his head at Cat, looked her over just as intensely as he had me, and then gave her a slight nod. “Her as well.”
“I've met your father?” I blinked in surprise. “I thought most raven mockers kept to the woods or the Human Realm and I'm sure I would have remembered meeting one.”
“My father is not a mocker,” he said simply.
“You're one of the first then?” I asked.
“Thefirst,” he bowed. “I am Rayetayah; son to Ayita, raven fey of the Seelie, and Raza, dragon-djinn of the Unseelie.”
“Raza?” I whispered as Tiernan shifted forward. “You're Lord Raza's son?”
“I am,” Rayetayah lifted his chin.
“Well damn,” I huffed. “I'm surprised your wings aren't more leathery.”
“Did you not hear me say that my mother was a raven fairy?” He smirked.
“Raven fairy,” I frowned. “Oh right, the Native American animals spirits are actually types of fey.”
