Beak Performance (Fangs on Ice #3)

10. Ten

Ten

Max

W e said goodbye to the others.

“Let’s finish these, yeah?” Arne suggested once they had left. “How about we change to a smaller table so they can use this one for someone else?” Arne got up and walked over to a tiny round table tucked into a corner.

We were both way too tall for it, which meant our legs were all in each other’s spaces.

Lean in; you could kiss him again.

Arne realised this a moment later, when I shifted in my seat and our legs made contact. A hand gripped me just above the knee, strong fingers digging into my quads.

He sank into my eyes as willing prey, ready to drown. Then, Arne emptied his beer in one deep draught and let go of me.

“Drink up, I’ll walk you home.”

I finished the Demonic Slap that hadn’t had the effect I’d hoped for, grabbed my coat, and got up.

Leading the way out of the bar, I took a few steps into the crisp night, then turned back around to face my captain.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Viking. If anything, I should walk you home.” I gave him a dry smile. Let’s ignore that Veitsreuth is one of the safest cities in Germany.

“You sure about that, Raven?” he returned the smile, inviting me to his side.

Don’t let it show how much you care.

“Dead sure.”

I licked my lips and backed away. The changes were subtle at first. Shadows creeping up the wall behind me like ghostly creatures. A wind tore at my coat, my scarf whipping out behind me as if I stood in a storm Arne wouldn’t be able to feel. Then I grew, morphed into something more, something terrible. My lips formed into a beak, the feathers at my neck ruffling as I spread my wings.

He stood there in the dark street, watching me, mesmerised.

Prey.

Within seconds, I shrank back to my normal, fairly humanoid form, righted my scarf, and gave him a sheepish smile.

“See? Of the two of us, I’m the monster.”

“You are not a monster,” Arne breathed. “You are my Raven.”

His.

“Well, if you insist,” he added in a raspy whisper, and I agreed. The faint buzz of alcohol in my blood blurred the line between right and wrong.

I moved my hand in an exaggerated twist as if I was asking him to dance with me. “After you, Viking.”

It was a lovely night in early November. Few people were around, and we walked in silence, with only the stars for company.

The Viking and I strolled through the streets of Veitsreuth, so close we might as well have been holding hands.

I wasn’t sure why I’d revealed myself to him. The only explanation I had was that I trusted Arne.

And you have a crush on him.

With a sigh, I pushed my hands into my coat pockets.

“That was pretty impressive,” he said after a while, kicking a stone out of the way.

Impressive?

I hummed.

“Is that your true form?” He dug deeper.

“Not exactly.”

How much can he handle before he’ll abandon me?

“I’m sorry if this is too personal.” Arne glanced at me out of the corner of his soulful blue eyes.

“It’s not, it’s just…” I hesitated. “It is personal, but not ‘too’ personal, if that makes sense?”

“Mmm, I think it does.” He smiled at his feet.

“I have two forms.”

What do I have to lose? Let’s end his stupid crush right now.

“Two?”

“The one you saw, that’s the Nachtkrapp. And a…raven,” I muttered, my head dropping between my shoulders.

“Hang on.” Arne stopped, grabbed my forearm and pulled me around, a bold look on his face. “You can turn into an actual raven ?”

“Yeah, I can. It’s pretty neat when you’re on a date, and he turns out to be a creep.”

What am I saying?

My captain just threw his head back and laughed.

“That’s an actual life experience you had, is it?”

My God, he’s beautiful.

“I’ll just say it came in handy once or twice.” I shrugged, and we walked on. “Never been on a bad date? Where you see her and know you won’t get on the same page with her?”

“I’ve been on bad dates, yes.” His eyes were on me, and he gave me that stunning smile again. The one that crinkled the corners of his eyes and showed the dimples in his cheeks.

Don’t look too closely. You’ll only hurt yourself.

Perhaps I should turn and fly away from all my sorrows.

“This is it,” Arne told me when we arrived at an old red brick building. “Wanna come up for a beer?”

“You said that cocktail was my last.”

Arne shrugged. “You walked some of it off. And besides, we’ve never hung out together. Come on, do you have anywhere else to be?”

“Nah.” I shook my head.

Nowhere I’d rather be, either.

I followed him to the door. A beautiful marble staircase and high ceilings greeted me. His flat took up the entire top floor. It was an airy space, minimalist and reminiscent of the showroom of an expensive Scandinavian furniture brand.

“Shoes off, please, Raven. Mm.” He grinned at me. “Your nickname just got a whole new meaning.”

“Why did you think they called me that?” I asked him, balancing on each foot as I took off my loafers.

“I never thought about it, to be honest. The feathers, I suppose? It fits you.”

I settled on his couch, accepting a bottle of ice cold beer from him.

We drank in silence, but Arne watched me closely. He waited until I had emptied the bottle and put it on his coffee table.

“Raven?” he whispered, and leaned in.

Oh my God.

The sound of my ringtone made him jump back. I picked it up automatically. “Hello.” My voice shook. I got off the couch and started pacing Arne’s living room.

“Maxi! Why didn’t you reply to my message? Listen, I—”

Fuck fuck fuck. Why the hell did you pick it up?

“No, you listen,” I interrupted the caller. “I told you not to call me again.”

I hated myself for accepting that call. I never learned. It was like muscle memory—or maybe just a sign of how messed up things had been between us—but I knew I had to do it or I’d be sorry.

“Come on, Maxi. You don’t mean this. I miss you so much.”

“I told you not to call me that. And yes, I mean it. Don’t call me again.” I dropped my voice even lower, painfully aware of Arne’s eyes following me. “It’s over.”

Tobias inhaled sharply, and his energy shifted. Anger bubbled under his gooey surface the way it had always done. Ever since I’d been picked for the Klagenhofener Kojoten, and he had left for his working holiday in New Zealand. He would bug me and say, ‘You hang around all these hot guys all day. How am I supposed to feel about that?’

No matter how many times I said I was only interested in him and too busy with my sports to cheat, Tobias never believed me.

Now I know why.

He had been the one cheating on me. I knew about a guy in Klagenhofen, but there probably had been other guys in New Zealand, too.

“You’ll be crawling back to me, you pathetic loser. You know you will. There is nobody who will love you like I do, Maxi,” he tried to shift the tone one more time.

“And by ‘love’ you mean ‘cheating on me’, right?” I was done. He did this every few weeks. Every time I hoped that this time he’d actually stay away like I told him to, he called, and I answered as if on autopilot.

“Fuck you, Max. I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and you know it. You’ll stay alone forever.”

“Shut up, Tobias!”

Arne got up suddenly from the couch. It snapped me out of my head. He came over to me and gripped my forearm. His blue eyes met mine, so much tenderness and care in them my voice hitched in my throat. Then I remembered what had happened right before I had accepted the call.

He almost kissed you.

I turned away, bracing myself.

“Don’t call me again,” I snarled and hung up.