19. Raven
CHAPTER 19
Raven
“ D id you know she would offer them a fair trial?”
I worked my fingers across Diana’s scalp as she sat in the tub, soaking. As much as I’d feared for her life during the fight, I’d also seen the powerful, brilliant woman she was—not that any of that was a surprise to me. I’d known for a long time that she was perhaps the most amazing soul I’d ever met.
Diana made a soft mewling sound in the back of her throat as she leaned into my hands. Gods, she distracted me, and I could barely think what question I’d asked her as she answered.
“I had a strong feeling she would. Her family is very fair, and she was raised with a sense of justice that is evident in all she does. All the clans will see what I did as a leader overstepping, and what she did as a correction of that overstep. It will help her be seen as the right person for the job.” Diana tipped her head to the side, laying her cheek against my arm. “You helped, you know, distracting Cammon.”
I grunted, thinking of that werewolf made me want to tear holes in him adding to the damage that my Frostbite had inflicted. “I did little but be myself. He just didn’t much like me. Funny, that.”
Her laugh was soft and warmed me through, chasing away cobwebs of uncertainty. “You being yourself has gotten you into more than one fight.”
“If you recall it has gotten me into your bed, as well.” I kissed the top of her head and stepped back as she took a half-hearted swat at me. All I cared about was the fact that she was healed—courtesy of Sienna and a healthy dose of blood. I could feel her fatigue and lingering aches, but the broken ribs, cracked spine, and punctured organs were no more. The worst was done.
“Now what?” I grabbed the large, pre-warmed towel from the basket and draped it over Diana as she stood, water sluicing down her curves. My fangs and cock reacted, and I couldn’t help but drag Diana out of the tub and crush her to my body as I kissed along her wet neck. “Forget I asked any questions, just let me fuck you ragged.”
She tipped her hips against me and let out a soft sigh as my fingers found their way between her legs, to the silken folds that begged to be spread, begged to be worshiped.
“Raven…we have a meeting.”
“I can be quick…okay, maybe not quick, but I can surely have us both satisfied in under an hour.”
She let me take her weight as I slid a finger along her wet warmth, teasing. “Maybe an hour and a half.”
A knock on the door had her pulling from me. “Yes?”
“A reminder, my queen, the meeting is in twenty minutes.”
Diana let out a sigh and called out. “Of course. Thank you, Julia.”
“Do you want help dressing?”
I nipped at Diana’s neck, and she didn’t swat me away this time.
“No, I’ll be fine, thank you, Julia.” How she kept her voice steady…I wouldn’t have been able to. “Raven. You have to stop; we have to get ready.”
“Is that a command?” I let my hands skim the body of my mate, knowing that there was no time for how I wanted to worship her.
“Yes.” She smiled and stepped back, the towel dropping. “I have to get dressed, and you need to get control of yourself.” She motioned at my crotch and I looked down.
“You don’t want me to get…a hold of myself maybe? Or would you rather get a hold of me?”
Her lips quirked up, and her green eyes danced with light. “Get ready, Raven.” Gods, to see her smiling, to know that the worst of her time as queen had passed, it eased my fears for her. For us.
I made myself turn and leave her to get ready in peace. If I stayed, there was no doubt we’d make the meeting start late. Making my way to the great room, I was surprised to see that I was the first one there.
No, that wasn’t quite right…
“Who are you? That Lochlin fellow said he’d be right back! He couldn’t hear me!”
I spun to see a hologram of Rabia, the queen of the Angels, sitting on her throne.
“Your Majesty,” I bowed deeply. “Apologies, I arrived early for the meeting, not expecting anyone to have arrived already.”
She huffed and waved a hand, deep silver feathers dangling from her wrist. The end of each feather was tipped with a violent red, as if freshly dipped into blood. “I’m not exactly here, am I? This technology is marvelous, but fickle, like so many things in our world.” Her eyes latched onto me. “You didn’t answer with your name.”
“My apologies, I was startled only. My name is Raven, my home is…or was on the mainland in Seattle.”
“Ah, you are the one that I heard has finally thawed the ice queen’s heart?”
I grinned wide, not feeling any threat from Queen Rabia, only curiosity. The truth was, the old queen was known to see love lines between people, so it was rather nice that the bond between myself and Diana was visible to her, even without Diana here. “Is that what you call her? Funny, I nicknamed her Frostbite.”
Her laughter filled the room, as she tipped her head back. “Ah, you are a charmer! So fascinating that she lost her heart to you, of all the men who sought her hand when she first took the throne.”
As interesting as that was, and as much as I wished to ask more about Diana’s early years as heir, we were joined by an out of breath Lochlin. “Your Majesty, can you hear me now?”
“Yes, yes, I’ve been chatting with Raven here. I must tell Diana that I approve. I always love to see fated mates find one another.” Her smile was genuine, but it was Lochlin who choked.
“Fated…holy fuck. Pardon my language.” He bowed but tipped his head to look at me, the question still hanging between us.
There was naught that I could do but shrug. “She doesn’t know, don’t tell her.”
Rabia clapped her hands. “Oh, we won’t interfere, will we, Lochlin?”
He about choked again as Diana swept into the room, wearing a deep red gown that dipped dangerously low and had me staring hard. Very rarely did she let her body be on display, as she felt she always had to prove herself, particularly to the men.
“Rabia, thank you for coming. I am deeply sorry for what happened at the last meeting.” Diana stopped just shy of the other queen and dipped into a curtsy, sweeping her skirts wide.
“Why do you curtsy to me, ice queen?” Rabia tapped her chin with one gnarled finger. “But more, why do you apologize for the little tart who did the damage? You did not set her up to behave that way.”
Diana nodded. “To answer both, I curtsy to a queen I respect. And I apologize because the disrespect happened at the meeting I had invited you to attend.”
Rabia sighed.
As they’d spoken, the others filed into the room. Gabe was still present, as was Will and Bethany, Dominic and Sienna, and of course, Myrr. Theo was not with her, seeing as he was not actually part of this discussion, despite his time with us thus far. The last to enter was Elka. Rabia looked toward the young werewolf. “And who is this?”
“Princess Elka, please meet Queen Rabia of the Winged Seraphs.”
Rabia laughed. “You remembered! We weren’t always angels, any more than the demons are demons, eh cousin?” She winked, fucking winked at Gabe. “Well met, young Elka. So, you are the successor to the throne?”
Elka dipped into a curtsy, spreading her skirts wide and dropping far lower than Diana had. “Yes, Your Majesty. Your wisdom and grace precede you. I am deeply honored to meet you and look forward to working with you in the future.”
Rabia clapped her hands again. “I like her, Diana. Very much. Well chosen!”
Myrr grunted. “Well obviously, I knew she was the right one too!”
My lips quirked. Was Myrr jealous ?
“We need to discuss why we are all here,” Diana said. “Much as I would love to visit, we have a problem that none of us can solve on our own.”
“Cleona is the problem,” Rabia said, “And one that we must solve. I read all the paperwork that Lochlin here sent to me. After discussing with my advisors and consulting the stones, we agree. We must all combine our skills and strengths if we are to save our world, and the human’s.”
Diana let out a breath, but it was Bethany that spoke up.
“Perhaps we can slip some mushrooms into her food before we speak to her next? Something hallucinogenic perhaps?”
Sienna choked on a laugh. “She is allergic to mushrooms! You know that!”
Bethany blinked her big blue eyes a few times, looking cagey. “Are you sure?”
Rabia nodded. “Ah, you must be William’s young bride? You noticed that Cleona is…taken with your husband?”
Bethany’s eyes flashed blue fire. “She can get taken right off the edge of a cliff for all I care. Her successor cannot be as bad as her!”
Diana walked slowly back and forth in front of where Rabia’s hologram was set up. “We don’t know who Cleona’s successor is. No one does. We need to find a way to convince her to help us.”
Bethany huffed. “I’d rather that volcano she sits on top of busted its cap.”
I blinked a few times. “What did you say?”
“That the volcano blows its lid right under Cleona’s ass!” Bethany snapped. “She’s been sending him dirty pictures of her tits!”
William grimaced. “I’ve not seen any of them, love, and even if I did, I don’t care about her. I love you.”
I waved my hands, getting their attention. “She’s sitting on a volcano. You’re sure? One thousand percent sure, Bee?”
Bethany frowned. “Yes. It’s in all the topography of the Territories. The only mountain here that’s considered a volcano is the one that Cleona’s castle sits on.”
Her words rattled through me, and it was my turn to pace. I had to tell them about my visit with Nefir when I was dying, when the bloodworms had almost taken me.
“Raven? What is it?” Diana put her hand on my arm, no doubt feeling my agitation through the mate bond.
“Let me gather my thoughts.”
“Ah, just spit them out!” Myrr snapped. “It’s late and I want a hot toddy and a donut before bed.”
I turned so I faced them all. “Do you know who Nefir is? All of you?”
Rabia and Elka shook their heads, so I quickly filled them in on his connection to the dark goddess, never using her name.
“When I was…dying from the bloodworm, Nefir visited me in my dreams. I didn’t mention it before because Diana had a lot on her plate already, and I wanted to wait until things here stabilized before adding more wood to the dumpster fire.” Diana sucked in a sharp breath; I pressed on. “But in the dream, Nefir took me to a high mountain and the short version is, the dark goddess isn’t just a dark goddess…she’s a fire goddess. And when her full powers return to her, she will call all the fire to the surface. Every mountain with any connection to lava will blow. She’ll burn the world down for whatever vengeance she’s enacting. And that will include Cleona’s Mount Guisala. Of all of us, she is actually the least safe if the dark goddess regains all her powers.”
The silence only lasted for a few seconds before someone started to laugh. I spun to see Rabia giggling, slapping her leg as if we were playing poker and she’d just won her hand. “Oh, this is too rich! Too rich! That little brat will have to come crawling back!”
“But why would she believe us?” Elka asked. “What proof have we?”
A question that would have to wait as glass shattering and a ball of flame shooting through the window interrupted the meeting.
“Get down!” I leapt for Diana, pulling her out of the way of the fireball as it went straight for her.