“It isn’t your fault, Lore. If it hadn’t been you, then it would’ve been someone else. Hecate doesn’t necessarily want me dead, which is what I’m counting on.”
“Bullshit, Aria. Knox intended to strangle you out there. If you hadn’t cloned yourself with magic prior to his arrival, he’d have ended you.”
“No,” I argued as my tongue snaked out, licking over my lips. “Knox was fighting her, which probably set her off. He said he wouldn’t. Seconds after that, even more darkness oozed from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth. Like she’d turned a faucet on. He also said ‘Ain’t that a bitch? A raven doesn’t care about magic, Aria. Think about that. In four months, they’re fully embedded with more intelligence than you’ve ever had. Maybe you should find a flock of unkindness and go take a flying fuck off a cliff.’ It didn’t make any sense. I mean, the ravens are his eyes and ears . . . fuck. I missed it.” An icy chill curled up my spine. “Has Knox been with her for four months or less? Longer?” I demanded urgently.
“Why does it matter?” Brander countered.
“Answer me!” Panic thrummed in my words, quivering as it gripped my heart and throat in an unforgiving hold.
“Three months and three weeks?”
“Three months, three weeks, five days and six hours,” Lore muttered.
“We don’t have time to wait around doing nothing. Knox was trying to tell me that. Ravens gain their intelligence four months after they’re born. He was warning us of how long he had left before he ceased to exist with her darkness inside him. There’s also the reference to the unkindness. When you left earlier today, Killian, did you notice any ravens?” I asked, with a rock sitting in my stomach.
“I did,” he admitted while he straightened in his chair. “In fact, one sat on the courtyard wall, which I found rather strange. Normally, they go to the birdcage Knox built for them. It’s where he keeps the ones he raises. They’re taught never to be seen around the palace. It prevents anyone from connecting the ravens back to him.”
“Perfect,” I whispered through a smile curving my lips. I whispered, “He’ll be lost forever if we don’t do something soon. That isn’t something I can live with. With or without your help, I’m going to the citadel to confront Hecate.”
“You’re not going alone,” Esme piped up. “Even though this is a terrible idea, you’re my person. I’d hide bodies with you any day.” Esme caused heads to turn toward her, confusion stamped over their faces. “If you go, I go. If we go down, then let it be together.”
“Together,” I whispered, as my throat constricted with tears.
“Where you go, I go,” Zyion stated. His worry at the idea of me putting myself in danger made his words a harsh whisper.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m in, even though this is a shit idea.” Eva’s tone mirrored Zyion’s, but I figured she was “in'' just so she could watch his back.
“I’ll go,” Basilius muttered even as he glared toward Esme.
“I’m in too,” Killian announced. “He’s my best friend. Knox is also my family, which means no way in hell are you saving him without my help. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do something to help him.”
“Count me in too,” Brander grumbled, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you noticed he was aware of anything happening. We hadn’t gotten close enough to him until today.”
“No, Brander. The king doesn’t take unnecessary chances with his life. If shit goes south, we can’t chance losing the king too. Norvalla needs you more than he does right now.”
Brander’s eyebrows pushed together as he snorted. “If shit goes south, you’ll need me. What do you plan to do if people are hurt, you’ll have no one with you who can mend them enough to get back here.”
“If shit goes south, Brander, we will not need a healer to mend our broken corpses. Knox is one of the strongest beings inside the Nine Realms. He’s currently being driven around by a complete sociopath.”
“He’s my brother,” he continued. The look of hopelessness in his stare almost caused me to concede. Knox’s voice inside my head reinforced my resolve.
“A king doesn’t go into a battle with the odds stacked against him. Knox would tell you it isn’t your job to come for him, Brander. You handle an entire kingdom, and he’s one soul within an entire realm of souls who both depend and rely on you. If we don’t return, they’re going to need their king to lead them to safety. You can’t do that if you’re dead.”
“I’d go, but I’d only be a hindrance.” Lore grumbled. His face turned away as if embarrassed. The angle caused the moss to slide from his cheek, revealing perfectly, undamaged skin. “Besides, they’d smell me coming from five realms away.”
“Lore needs you more than we do, Brander. He needs the moss removed. Once you’ve removed it, burn it. The toxins are still active, so don’t touch them without some kind of protection. Those who are coming with me, you have thirty minutes to grab or do whatever you need to before I open a portal to the keep on the edge of the Red River.”
“Are we going to pick up what I think we’re picking up?” Esme asked with a hopeful tone.
“It’s time to announce our return and then bring them here. If shit goes bad, they’ll need someone to protect them.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aria
Powerful wing gusts caused silvery strands to whip across my cheeks. The scent of tangy copper triggered my heart to still before it hammered, pounding against my ribcage. No sound originated from the ruins of the castle that we’d left Soraya, Siobhan, and Avyanna secured inside. Fear sought to hold me in its embrace as I took in the damage done.
“They’re okay, right?” Esme’s trembling lips caused my stomach to knot.
“I don’t know, Esme.” I wouldn’t lie to her or myself. I advanced cautiously, examining the rubble for any sign of bodies littered beneath the heavy stones. “Ember, I’m going to need your help here.”
“Why? Is best lesbian, Esme about to cry? She can use your titty to wipe them away, not mine.”
“Do you hear any heartbeats beneath the stones?” I questioned, unwilling to argue about Esme with her, not when I was so close to screaming in both denial and grief.
“There are several beneath us. All beating quickly, in fear. Esme’s sister is one of them, Siobhan. I also hear the horny girl’s increasingly nervous heart thundering louder than the one that woke me as it rumbled.” Guilt washed through me, which forced my eyes to narrow. It wasn’t my guilt that I was feeling.
“You didn’t make a sound when I confronted Knox,” I pointed out, only to close my eyes as more guilt and shame drifted through my mind. “I am not upset, Ember. I wouldn’t wish to see my mate like that, either.”
“Not my mate. I can’t feel my mate anymore. I haven’t felt him since we returned. It’s as if he’s just . . . gone. I don’t know how to feel. My insides are twisted, achy, and it hurts me.”