Page 27 of Raven in Midwinter

You will not die.

It was nearly shouting.

Opening my eyes, I found myself looking up at teeth lowering toward me. The ravenous maw was there, terrifying, readying to end me, and I closed my eyes. Lorne was yelling, and then…silence.

It took me a moment to realize I was underground.

Roots were squeezing me in a vise, and I would have howled in agony if I could have.

I didn’t dare open my eyes, thinking, this is the transition. I’m dead. But the pain driving through me told me I was still very much alive.

It was selfish, and I felt bad, but I still wished Giles had gone somewhere else, to any time that wasn’t mine. It would have been better if another of my ancestors had to deal with him. The reason it was me, though, was simple. He thought I was weak—which most of our line was, compared to him—so he came in midwinter to attack Corvus under my protection.

The sound of churning brought me out of feeling sorry for myself, and then I was shaken…and saw flashes of trees backlit by the moon. I saw the inky-black sky before I was lifted from the cold earth and high into the frigid air. I wondered then if I would ever be warm again.

“Xan!” Lorne yelled, and when I turned my head to see where he was, it didn’t hurt. My muscles responded, and I saw him below me, so far down, a good fifty feet, standing with his arms lifted, as beside him, buried to their necks in the dirt, were Giles and the wolf.

When I felt the roots begin to drop, I thought fly, my clothes falling away, raining on Lorne, and instead of plummeting down beside him, or maybe being yanked back into the earth, I circled as a flock of ravens.

The moon was the sole light in the sky, and when it went behind clouds, it was again pitch black. This wasn’t the deep indigo sky of summer with its soft air; this was the glacial dark with no light coming from anywhere, and it was scary to think I was alone. But then the clouds parted, and when I glanced at the ground, I saw Lorne on his knees, clutching my clothes, staring up at me.

He was there. My anchor was there.

Circling for a moment, I then landed near him and was instantly back, a man again, stumbling forward and collapsing into his arms.

“That was amazing,” he husked, clutching me tight. “Let’s get you inside so you don’t freeze to death.”

Purposely, I didn’t look at Giles or the werewolf, instead wrapping my arms around Lorne’s neck, closing my eyes, trying to soak in his warmth.

Through the snow, Lorne trudged closer to the back door, and when we were almost there, I had him put me down so I could thank my land for saving my life.

We care for the guardian, and now the guardian will rest.

The abruptness, the command, surprised me, but it was starting to feel more like winter was influencing the land, not a spell.

Once I was on my feet, Lorne quickly scooped me up and carried me into the house that had somehow become again the 1799 version of our home.

“What the hell?” Lorne said.

“I think, possibly, because we’re living inside a spell right now, that when we’re not occupying the space, it’s going to revert to Giles’s more powerful magic.”

He huffed out a breath. “As I said before, I hate all magic but yours.”

“But you shouldn’t,” I soothed him. “It’s always all around you.”

“Doesn’t it make you angry that you can’t fight him?”

“I use my magic for healing and defense, you know that. I revere nature, as I was taught, and that works best for me, for you, for our family and friends, and for Corvus.”

“I know,” he said, giving me a squeeze.

“I don’t think Giles does that. There’s no restoration in the magic he practices.”

“I get it, I… If this was the middle of summer, Corvus would be vigilant, and Giles Corey would be miles underground.”

“Perhaps…or not. He’s a Corey as well, and if he wanted to claim Corvus and be the guardian, it’s possible the land would recognize him.”

He shook his head. “You never give yourself enough credit. You’re the only one we want—me, your friends, and Corvus.”