Page 86 of Reaper’s Curse

Can it be true? Is Valen keeping a monster in the palace?

He spared a quick glance to his left and to his right, as if expecting to spy someone who’d seen his trespassing. Surely someone heard that scream and would come to investigate. When they did, he couldn’t be sitting around staring at the locked door like a dunce. He needed to pull his thumb out of his sexy butt and skip out immediately.

“Sorry,” he whispered at the door, for reasons he couldn’t grasp, and then launched himself into action.

He moved from the room, the wing, as fast as he could without drawing unwanted attention.

When he stopped to take a breath and consider all that he had experienced, he found himself standing a foot inside Raven’s rooms, the mirror hiding the secret passage at his side. He’d been moving on instinct and yet had found himself drawn toward Raven. What did that say about him?

Had she become his new coping mechanism?

He moved deeper into the room, sweeping a gaze over every surface and shadow. The room was empty. She was likely still with Valen.

Unless the royal healer had heard the screech and sent Raven away.

But they’d been far enough away that maybe Valen hadn’t heard, and no one had told him. For all Winter knew, Valen’s workshop was soundproof. Winter had certainly not heard anything echoing through the walls during any of his few visits.

So, he guessed he had time. But why did he need time alone in Raven’s rooms? Why had he come here?

He dropped his focus to the spot where he had watched Raven smiling and talking to the crows that morning, before she realized he was present. A hint of a grin tugged at one side of his mouth. Then he dragged his attention to her bed, or more specifically, her headboard.

Without another moment of hesitation, he crossed the room and reached behind the monstrous piece of furniture. He was certain he’d witnessed her pull something from behind it. He patted and swept his palm against the connected surfaces, feeling the edges for something, anything.

Moving his fingers along the seam between the post and flat board, his touch danced over a protruding blunt edge. It felt like paper. He yanked it free. Took a seat on the bed and immediately investigated. In his hands, he held a message, and even without a signature, he knew without a doubt that Chace wrote the letter.

How? How had he gotten a message to her in the palace?

The letter was something about invisible winds and staying on perches, waiting for the crow caw. None of that made sense to Winter. But if he were to venture a guess, he would presume Chace was telling Raven to stay put.

Had she planned on leaving?

He folded the message, crumpling it in his grasp. His gaze dropped to the iron bracelet for the ninetieth time that day. The fact that his magic was currently unavailable to him was probably a good thing. Otherwise, his emotions might have turned Raven’s room into an ice fortress.

He was usually a rather calm person. He had to still be edgy from all the magic he’d inhaled from Raven. From the way he’d felt, continued to feel, he suspected he’d collected more than just his magic.

He stood, dropping the note on the bed. Then, thinking better of the action, collected the message and shoved it into his pocket. Marched for the secret passage to his room and beyond, straight out the palace gates into the surrounding citadel.

Winter arrived at the Bridge Crossings Pub to find the place somewhat busy, the waitstaff unfamiliar, and Aoes pacing behind the bar.

At the sight of Winter, Aoes jolted, and his face brightened.

“My brother!” He hopped over the bar and closed the distance with a dash. Pulled Winter into a hug. “I’ve missed you, brother. You been too busy to make time for old friends?”

“I’m never too busy for you.” Winter drew back and patted Aoes’s shoulders. “I’ve been out of commission for a few days. Four, to be exact.”

Aoes’s brow furrowed. “Are you all right? What’s been going on?”

What’s been going on, indeed. Winter missed his confidante and wanted to bend his friend’s ear, but he needed to be sure of one thing first. He scanned the pub to verify the absence of Raven’s irritating coworker.

Taking note of Winter’s roving eye, Aoes raised his chin toward a few spots throughout the pub with which Winter was familiar. Locations he knew were connected to the monitoring system in the room below.

“Is he here?” Winter asked in a low tone.

Aoes nodded and tugged him toward the back hall and the room at the end. Aoes’s private quarters. A place free from any outside surveillance.

“Where’s Earl?” Winter glanced over his shoulder to the pub’s serving area.

“Running an errand.” Aoes reached for the door. “But I’m starting to worry. He’s been gone far too long.”