Page 30 of Queens Will Play

I held his gaze. “Bran, I need you to ask your mother to talk to Aeval. She’s making me miserable. She’s taken it into her head to threaten me because I’ve got Vanzir’s back…”

At his confused look, I realized I had to start from the beginning. I told him about what happened. After I finished, I said, “Aeval has some connection with Raven Mother. At least, she respects her. And Aeval doesn’t respect me. Can you talk to your mother and ask her to intervene?”

“Why don’t you call on my mother yourself?” Bran asked.

“She’s still pissed at me. She never wanted you to be one of my Keraastar Knights, and she knew that I didn’t have a choice. And she wanted me to marry you, and that wasn’t about to happen.”

“Thank gods,” Bran said. “You’re hot but we’d kill each other.”

“I know. Anyway, Raven Mother was so angry with me⁠—”

“Wait,” Bran said. “I thought she was angry too, but recently I went to talk to her. I felt like we needed to settle things. She was pissed, but honestly, it was more the grief over losing my father. That he chose you to be the one to deliver his demise and rebirth didn’t help. But now he’s back, and while he’s still new to the world again, he’s remembered his lives. And he remembers my mother. She’s at peace with the situation.”

He shrugged, adding, “And so am I.”

I hesitated, gauging the tone of his voice. “You’re serious?”

Shrugging away my question, he said, “I told you, yes. I am.”

I sat silent, thinking. Raven Mother and I had always had a capricious relationship, though it was one that neither one of us could avoid. Bran, I’d been nervous about. When Raven Mother wanted me to marry her son, everything had shot to hell. But now…maybe we could sort things out. If so, I wanted to. Not only were the pair powerful allies, but I genuinely missed hanging out with Raven Mother.

“Maybe I should talk to her. Is there a way for me to get in touch with her? As in…soon?” I asked.

Bran cleared his throat. “I already did. I decided the two of you need to talk, so I asked her to meet us here. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Part of me wanted to smack him upside the head for being so brash, but part of me was relieved. We locked eyes and finally, he smirked again and started to laugh. I couldn’t maintain a straight face and started to crack up.

“Bran, I swear, you drive me up the wall sometimes. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you, dude.” I leaned back in my chair, resting my hand on the arm of the chair.

Bran slowly placed his fingers over mine, still locking my gaze. I stared at him, then quietly withdrew my hand, not saying a word. After a moment, he cleared his throat. He pulled away and once again, things seemed back to normal.

At that moment, Trevor knocked and opened the door. “Raven Mother to see you,” he said.

I took a deep breath. “Usher her in, please.”

And then, we waited in silence.

CHAPTER NINE

Raven Mother swept into the room. It had been nearly two years since I’d seen her and I’d forgotten how…well, impressive wasn’t the word. Raven Mother was an experience.

She towered over me. Her hair framed her face, caught up in a messy chignon with curls hanging down from her temples. With ethereally pale skin, she reminded me of Elvira, if Elvira had a full dose of Fae glamour. With a wasp waist, boobs that sat high and rounded, and hips that curved sensually, melding into legs that went on forever, Raven Mother embodied carnality. Her lips were jet black, and her eyes were the color of the night sky, with flecks of gold that glimmered from a deep magic. A black mask surrounded her eyes, like a raccoon’s face, and she reeked of Trickster energy—a devious cunning that both beckoned and yet warned, stand clear.

“And here stands a queen, yes, lovelies, a queen of Fae, newly born and yet called by destiny. How fare you, Camille, Queen of the Shadows? Queen of my time, your time, the time between the worlds.” Raven Mother’s voice was guttural and throaty.

I stood, walking toward her. “It’s been a long time, old friend.”

“Time is passing, yes. Friend, old friend, friend of the bosom. My son called me. Come, he said. Come and make amends. Are we to bury the hatchet, sheath the sword, set down the axe?”

Raven Mother danced over her words, weaving spells with her odd cadence. Like the raven and crow, she lived in the world of twilight and magic and the deep, feral forest.

“If you’re willing, so am I. I missed you,” I added, knowing it put me at a disadvantage to mention it first. But I was tired of games. “I need your advice. I was going to ask Bran to approach you, but I suppose now I can do so.”

Raven Mother cocked her head again, then unceremoniously took a seat. “Spill your secrets, girl. Tell me your concerns.”

“Aeval has threatened me over a friendship I refuse to sever.” I told her what had happened with Vanzir. “He’s done nothing wrong. I refuse to cut loose a friendship with someone over threats. Just because she’s trying to make the people of her Barrow dislike him, doesn’t mean I’m going to help her do her dirty work.”

“Ah, I see. The Queen of Darkness and Night is playing for scapegoats. Tell me, Camille of the Twilight, can she push you from your post?” Raven Mother’s eyes sparkled.