Page 35 of Rage of Her Ravens

When they both squealed their delight, Nikkos turned from them with a sigh. The poor hapless Fae thought they were done with him, but I knew they were just getting warmed up.

“But sugar’s expensive!” Aurora protested.

Nikkos made a noise that sounded like surrender.

Blaze laughed out loud.

“Girls, enough,” I said to them before turning to my mates. “We’re not used to much, in case you couldn’t tell by the shack we lived in.”

When my mates looked me over, I felt like crawling out of my own skin as they stared at my worn and patched skirt, pity reflected in their eyes.

I fought the urge to run when both brothers bridged the distance to me.

“I’m sorry,” Nikkos said as he stopped just a breath away, the heat radiating off his body reminding me of the flames he could summon at will. “All that’s about to change. Once we bring you to our estate, you’ll be treated like the princesses you are.”

I swallowed at that, not sure which unnerved me more—his warmth that enveloped me like an invisible hug, or the pity reflecting in his eyes.

“We don’t need fine things.” I took a step back. “We just need to be safe.”

Blaze followed my retreat. “We’ll give you both.”

Both men were so big, their massive wings blocking my view of the girls, and Blaze had a predatory gleam in his eyes that set my soul on fire. “Thank you.” I smoothed my hands down my dress. “We should get going.”

“Yes.” Blaze cleared his throat. “Let’s go. You ready?” he asked me while holding out his arms.

I nodded. “Are you carrying me?”

“I am.” He slanted a smile that rivaled the very devil himself. “I won the coin toss.”

“Coin toss?” I asked, then gasped when he swept me into his arms.

The girls squealed in delight when Nikkos lifted them into his arms.

“Hold on tight,” I called to the girls.

“I won’t drop them,” Nikkos said with a wink.

Before I could protest, Blaze raced for the ledge and jumped into the sky, and I was hit by a blast of frigid morning air. But it was a welcome relief to the heat flooding my face and the fire radiating off his solid chest, making me want to melt in his arms while he stared at me with those piercing, dark eyes. Elements save me, I was falling hard and fast for my mates—two of them, anyway.

* * *

This forest was sodifferent from the one by our home. The trees were at least three times in height and width, their branches sagging with needles that were as big as blades. The scents here were stronger, too, the moss covering the forest floor more pungent, and the thick air weighed down my gown. Each step was heavier, harder, and I felt more insignificant than a mouse. I didn’t feel comfortable here, especially not when a squirrel the size of our old hound bound past us and went up the nearest tree.

The girls and I relieved ourselves behind one of those thick trees before heading to the stream. Scowling, I scrubbed sticky honey off the girls’ hands and faces. I tossed a glance over my shoulder to where my mates were waiting for us. Nikkos and Blaze casually sat beside what was left of the fire, picking food from their teeth. Draevyn, however, stood staring at us, an impatient look in his eyes, which was exactly why I decided to scrub the girls’ faces a little longer.

I left the girls standing on a wide stone slab at the edge of the stream while I knelt beside them and washed my face.

I sat up, drying my face, noting how the girls had edged closer to the water. “Girls, don’t get wet.” Shafts of morning light pierced my eyes as I squinted at them. “I don’t have a change of clothes for you.” I tensed while watching the girls hover close to the edge, fearing my warning was like telling a fish not to swim. “Step back toward me.” I held out a hand.

I inwardly swore when Ember slipped off the slab and fell up to her ankles in water. Aurora tried to help her out and ended up slipping into the water, too. They both giggled, which told me it was no accident.

“What did I say?” I scolded them.

Hand in hand, they climbed out of the stream, standing on the stone slab.

Ember blinked up at me with those large puppy eyes. “Sorry, Auntie.”

I scooped her into my arms, her blasted straw doll pinching my stomach as she held it between us. “Stay here until I come back for you,” I said to her sister. “I don’t want you getting your stockings dirty.”