Page 25 of Lyric of Wind
“I don’t know.” Raven’s voice caught. “I’m not lying when I tell you that. I truly don’t know. I’ve tried, trust me, I’ve tried over the years. Tried to track down any trace of information about who I am. Where I came from. Nothing. I’ve got nothing. I just think that I might be—”
“Part Fae? Magickal? Do you come from our realm, Raven?”
“I just told you that I don’t know, didn’t I?” Raven ground out, frustrated with him pushing her to reveal her deepest vulnerabilities. It wasn’t particularly fun to tell him that nobody cared about her. That not a single person had seen fit to claim her as their daughter or bothered to raise her.
“Your voice. It has power. Why? What can you do with it?” Kellen kept her there, pinned to the wall, his interrogation not complete.
“I…I don’t know. Not really,” Raven insisted when Kellen shook his head, dismissing her words. “I’m serious. I don’t know. I just…listen. It started when I tried copying the confident people. The ones walking down the street that people moved out of their path. The ones who walked into restaurants and everyone watched. I copied how they spoke. The way they asked for things. How they expected people to do things for them. It was just a…” Raven fluttered her hand in the air. “An affectation at first. A way to try and gain some sense of confidence when I didn’t have a leg to stand on. Then I just learned that I could be really, really good at using my voice if I tried. That’s it. I don’t know about magick or spells or rituals. I just know that sometimes, if I try hard enough, I can make people do what I want.”
“An enchantress,” Kellen muttered. Raven pushed his chest, needing to move, to pace, but he didn’t budge.
“I’m no enchantress. I just told you that I don’t know magick.”
“And yet, you use it without thinking, carelessly even.”
“How would you know how I use it? For all you know I’m using it to get people to feed hungry kids,” Raven said, anger making her stomach turn. How dare he assume that she would use her voice for evil?
“There’s a traitor in our midst, Raven. The Domnua we killed today? They broke the wards. The spell was ripped from the inside. Is that something you want to tell me about?”
“You can’t be…” Raven threw her head back and laughed, disbelief joining anger in her gut. “You…you think that I, of all people, snuck out and ripped a hole in your magickal shields and then waited to get attacked by the Dark Fae? To what purpose?”
“I’m not sure,” Kellen admitted.
“Listen, boyo.” Raven jabbed a finger into Kellen’s chest, anger winning out. “You’rethe one who dragged me here. I was doing just fine on my own. I didn’t ask to come to your stupid world with your stupid problems. I have enough of my own.”
“And yet, here you are.”
“Well, you had freaking Alicorns, okay?” Raven kicked his shin in frustration and a ghost of a grin crossed Kellen’s gorgeous face. He leaned forward, until his face was inches from hers, and Raven was torn between wanting to headbutt him and kiss him.
Which, in itself, was so shocking that she automatically made a move forward, but he grabbed a braid and jerked her head lightly back.
“Careful, darling. I’m not in the mood for another head injury at the moment.”
“Then I advise you get your face out of mine.” When Kellen didn’t move, instead just staring at her while he held her braid, the air shifted around them, as though the particles that held anger and distrust were whisked away, and something else moved into the room.
Curiosity.
The possibilities of new beginnings.
It was almost intoxicating,almost, but Raven reminded herself that this man had just accused her of being a traitor, so that certainly wasn’t the best way to gain her affection. Though she did give him points for being direct. In any other situation, she very well could have been tried and accused without anyone asking her if she was guilty or not. Because, at the very least, he’d asked her and had actually listened to her response, she decided not to knee him between the legs.
“I’m sorry you have a traitor. But it’s not me. I was dead asleep for however many hours and then I was with Bianca or you the entire time. I haven’t been alone. Even when I came to the stables, Bianca dropped me off. It’s not me you’re looking for, if that’s your concern.”
With those words, Kellen eased back, finally dropping his hands, and breaking the moment. Turning, he stalked away, and Raven let out a breath that was, admittedly, shakier than she had expected it to be. For more reasons than one. Now that Kellen wasn’t blocking her view, she took in the contents of the room.
“Holy shite…” Raven breathed, turning in a circle. Weapons of all shapes and forms lined the walls, some of which were beyond anything she could have imagined. The arsenal went far past knives and bows, and all sorts of instruments, with varying degrees of menacing capabilities, were on display. At one end of the room, mother-of-pearl shelves held intricate bottles with liquids and powders of all colors. “This is quite a collection.”
“Yes, well, the Fae have been around a long time. We’ve had time to collect our favorites.” Kellen stood in front of one particularly gruesome-looking dagger, which resembled a mini trident, and sighed. Raven felt the anger drain from her body as Kellen’s shoulders slumped.
“Hey, listen, it’s going to be okay. You’ve got some good people on your side.”
“I wish my mother was here.”
You and me both. Raven walked closer, stopping short of touching him, and studied his face.
“Do you want to tell me about her?”
“She was everything. Joyful. Fun. Commanding. Terrifying. Both sides of the coin, I suppose you would say. People adored her. And trusted her to make the right decisions. Now I’m wondering if I’m making the right choices. Is going into battle the right move? My people could get seriously hurt. I’ve already lost Alistair.” Kellen’s voice cracked, and Raven did something she never, ever, did. Reaching out, she ran a hand lightly across Kellen’s back, soothing him, as she looked up at his face.