Moon Raven Rising (The Moon Raven Trilogy #3)

22. Raelle

Chapter twenty-two

Soren stares at me from across the room. The massive library seems to shrink as soon as he steps foot into the room. I’m not afraid of him, but my hate for him keeps me quiet for now. As much as he thinks he’s learning about my magic, I know that I’m learning more. Having access to the Demetrey library has proven to be as much of a blessing as I think fate can give me in this situation.

He doesn’t say anything; just sits in the settee with his legs crossed as he sips his bourbon. I can’t tell by his facial expression what he’s thinking, so I put my book down in my lap.

“Are you just going to keep staring at me all night, or are you going to let me read? It’s really hard to stay focused when I can feel your gaze glued to me.” I cross my arms, and our gazes bore into each other as he surveys me. It’s been two weeks since the first time he introduced the dark magic to my body. Which he has done twice now. The shadows have only surfaced twice also. Both times, immediately after Thames gave them to me.

“What is it you’re always reading in here?” Soren asks in contemplation. I was prepared for this question. I am always ready to hide what I’m actually reading when he or any of his men come in. I haven’t seen Violet in at least a week, so I assume that she isn’t here. It worries me to think that she is elsewhere spewing her rancid magic in the realm, though.

“Books. You should try it sometime.” I don’t know why I’m pressing my luck. I can feel the curious and evil energy coming from him. He rolls his eyes, throws back his liquor, and stands abruptly. When I swallow audibly, he smirks. I’ve learned in my time here that Soren likes to invoke fear in the Fae around him. He feels powerful by it, and that is what he wants above all else.

Power .

Every time I see him wring fear to someone, his ego and the powerful emotion surge. I know my being able to focus on this is my magic is getting stronger. I have been able to hone in on the complex emotions from the Fae around me, just as Ambriel and Alaric had started teaching me.

“Thames will be returning today. Get good rest tonight, little bird. You are going to need it.” With that ominous statement, he grins before setting the crystal on the table to his right and sauntering from the room. As soon as the tall wood door clicks shut, the weight that had been sitting on my chest leaves, and I can take in a deep breath.

My head falls back on the high-back chair I’m sitting in, and I look up to the domed ceiling and let my mind think about the one Fae I try to steer clear of thinking about, because when I do allow those thoughts in… I immediately feel weaker. I know it doesn’t make sense, but the way my heart and soul aches for him drains me and I feel as though I can’t go on any longer. I know that’s not right, though. I’m doing this for him. So he can live .

I just hope that our family and friends have figured out how to get him home. Tears burn my eyes, but they do not fall as I close them. With a huff, I adjust the bodice of the stupid dress that Soren makes me wear. The white material nearly blends into my milky skin. It’s too stiff and pushes my breasts up, nearly choking me. I hate it. Nearly as much as I hate him.

Letting my eyes flutter shut, I see the flickering embers of Dax’s gaze warm me as they sweep over my body, and I drift to sleep.

A moan comes from my parted lips as Dax works his way down my body with his mouth. Starting at the hollow below my ear, then down my neck. He pays each breast attention with slow twirls of his tongue and soft nipping of his teeth. It’s late in the morning for us, but it’s one of the first mornings that we have woken up together since the battle and Melani’s death. I should be training with Alaric right now, but waking up to Dax’s body wrapped around mine was something I didn’t realize I craved until it happened.

“I like the sounds I can bring from you.” With his words, another moan is pulled from me as his fingers pinch the delicate bud of the breast he isn’t kissing. My body responds so easily to him. Arching into his, he uses the movement to wrap an arm around my waist and eats up my moans with a kiss. He devours me, and when we stop, both of us are left panting, our eyes locked with one another. “You are beautiful.” He says as he looks into my eyes.

Running my hand along his jaw, I smile softly. “You’re not so bad yourself.” He grins before taking my lips hostage again.

“Why are you reading this?” Osiris’ deep voice wakes me from where I had fallen asleep in the library. Blinking rapidly, my eyebrows pinch as I squint up at him. The blinding orange light coming from the windows beyond him tells me the sun is going down. I must have been asleep here for hours. He steps forward, casting me in his shadow, and I can finally see what he has in his hand. The blue book with a white wing on the front I had been hiding from Soren.

“It’s a book, obviously. They are meant for reading, or perhaps you don’t know that?” When he continues staring at me blankly, I continue to press my luck. It seems this is a habit for me today. I’m having a hard time keeping my anger from seeping through in every conversation. The ability to hold my tongue as of late has been nearly impossible. That, and every passing glance becomes sharper and more lethal with the longer I spend in their invisible chains. “ Oh. You don’t know how ?” I whisper the question, my condescending tone not lost on him as he narrows his eyes on me.

“I know how to read. I asked why. Why are you reading this book?” I move to snatch the book from his meaty hand and he lifts it quickly out of my reach. “Why, Moon Raven?”

“Since we are asking questions, why do you call me that when no one is around? Why have you been avoiding me since the day you showed me this?” I ask, pulling the rough moonstone from my pocket and holding it up in my palm. He says nothing. Just continues to glower down at me. I found the stone in my pocket in this very library later that night. He must have slipped to me before leaving me. “I’m reading to learn more about where I come from. I want to learn of my heritage; I figure it might help.”

“If you are going to lie to me, do better.” He says, tossing the book into my lap. I jump and catch the book, where it hits me on my stomach.

“PAH! Who says I’m lying? How about minding your own business? You can’t just be all ominous and give me little to nothing and expect me to just lay out all my thoughts and wishes to you, Prince.” I stand, spinning on my heel, and stomp to the back of the library and place the book back on the shelf next to the others on the royal line. This library has more books on the royals than I’ve ever seen. When I turn around again, I shriek as I run straight into Osiris, where he now stands only a foot behind me. He steps forward, causing me to take a step backward and I slam against the bookshelf. When he lifts his hand and slowly brings it past my face, I squeeze my eyes shut, thinking he is going to hurt me or defile me like Soren tries to do.

“This one,” he says in a voice quieter than I’m used to. He lifts my hand and places a book in my palm, and as he does, I open my eyes to look at it. “This one will give you the answers I think you truly seek.” He takes my other hand and places it on top of the book. “Soren wants to see you for dinner. I’ll escort you to your chamber so you can get dressed.” My eyes track up slowly from the book to the deep blue eyes that hold my gaze only a foot away. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes to my tongue. “Put the book in your pocket, Moon Raven.”

I swallow any words that were beginning to form and do as he says. I feel nothing coming from Osiris. Just as any time I am around him. He’s shielded himself from me since the moment we met. Though at the time my own emotions were too wild to really take notice. Being that he is from the kingdom of Valeska, I know that he likely has his shields up because the power like mine is much more widely used in their land. Like it used to be here.

He walks me to my room, and before he closes the door between us, he grabs my wrist, causing me to stop abruptly and stare at him in disbelief. He has not put a single finger on me since the moment he put me down after carrying me away from the cliffside—now twice in one conversation. I look down at the connection with my jaw slack, then back up to the mountain of a man standing before me.

“Read as much of the book I gave you before morning. I urge you to remember as much as you can before they do what they plan.” His blue eyes are warmer than I’ve ever seen. Again, I look down to where his fingers wrap around my wrist. The grip he has on me is firm but not painful. After a long moment of silence, I finally meet his gaze again.

“Why? How can I trust anything that you say?” I ask, as I narrow my eyes on him.

“I know that you won’t. Because you are smarter than that. I can tell. Keep the stone on you at all times and read. The. Damn. Book.” This is the most words I have ever heard the grunting dragon prince speak, and I think the shock of it, along with what he is saying to me, has me too confused to process at my normal speed. “I can give you this though, and it’s more than I should. Just heed my warning, Moon Raven Queen. If you do anything at all— heed my warning.”

Without another breath, he drops the barriers on his mind, and his emotions, his thoughts, and his magic slam into me, and I gasp, staggering back as the weight of it all threatens to knock me off my feet.

The feel of his magic is hot, like molten lava or the flames of a dragon licking at my skin. It makes me sweat, and images from his mind flash through my own. His kingdom, his people, his dragons. Then flashes of what his emotions are for his family, his father, sister, and brother. There is an urgency to his thoughts. A sense of duty, and then I see me. I’m standing on the cliffside. The same day I was ripped from my mate, and the feeling of his shock courses through me like a stampede. I was not what he was expecting.

As quickly as it happened, everything stops. The memories that he wanted to show me are gone, and the only thing that remains are the emotions that are written clearly on his face. The concern creases his forehead, darkens his eyes, and purses his lips. Not only concern, though, but also that of desperation. I don’t realize until he lets me go that I’m struggling to catch my breath. Each one comes in short inhales and out in puffs. As a tear tracks down my cheek, and he wipes it away with a gentle touch. I blink in shock by the tear, the emotion he pulls from me, and a lingering feeling of his magic dancing with my own.

“Heed my warning.” He whispers again before turning and leaving me alone with my thoughts. My heart is in my throat, and as I stand there with a torrent of emotions storming through me, I put my hand into the pocket of my dress, pull out the book, and finally read the name.

Tales of Fate and the Moon - The Moon Raven Rising. On trembling legs, I turn to face the room, take a deep breath, close my eyes, and squeeze the book to my chest. The moment my eyes open, I decide. I will do as Osiris says because, so far as my magic is telling me, I am meant to trust the Prince of Dragons.