Moon Raven Rising (The Moon Raven Trilogy #3)

37. Raelle

Chapter thirty-seven

My eyes snap open, but the darkness remains. Unseeing, but I feel everything. My body aches and burns with a frigid, icy heat. There is a tugging sensation that is growing, but as much as I try, I can’t seem to follow the thread that pulls me. Slowly I bring myself to sit up as I peel my clammy skin from the overheated, hard surface where I lay. A loud bang sounds from a door slamming open forcefully and hitting the wall behind it.

Blinking rapidly, my eyes begin to adjust to the dark, and I see the hulking figure steer toward me through the slowly dissipating aubergine mist. I fling my legs over the side of what I see now is a dias, and memory of what I am doing here flashes through my mind. “Soren.” The name comes out more like a deep rumble from my belly as I remember what he did to me.

Lifting my eyes to the man who now stands in front of me. I’m met with a glacier stare. His blue eyes are sharp like ice shards of loathing as they pierce through me. Taking in the state of my body and the room I’m sitting in. I am frozen as I watch his eyes stirring like an oceanic storm with his thoughts.

“What have they done to you?” He growls through clenched teeth, and I watch his chest begin to rise and fall rapidly, but his words don’t affect me. Slowly, I slip from the stone altar I was placed on and tilt my head as I eye Osiris. It occurs to me what this could mean.

“They royally fucked up,” I say as his eyes fall down my body. I follow his stare and realize my body is shrouded in shadows. As the dark power ripples and waves like a dress of water, it eerily pools at the ground around my feet. It laps at Osiris’s boots, where he stands with wide eyes, taking in the scene.

His head begins to shake as he takes a step backward. “I—I can’t fix this. I can’t bring you back from dark magic, Raelle.” A deep V forms in the center of his forehead as my teeth rake over my bottom lip and a vicious smile spreads across my face.

“I don’t need to be fixed, Dragon Prince. Don’t you see? They haven’t broken me. They have loosed the arrow on my restraint. The power that I so tightly held secret can finally be… free. ”

“I don’t understand…” The prince continues his slow retreat. “Where are they? Soren and Thames?” He asks, looking around the dank space.

“Hopefully close,” I respond candidly. Voices break out in a frantic commotion down the hall and echo to the chamber we are standing in. Soren’s voice I recognize among them, and my smile deepens. Osiris has the good sense to look scared of the vengeful queen who stands before him, but it’s not him who I seek to maim.

“Osiris, I’m still on your side, or have you so easily turned your back on me in what seems like a time of great need?” I ask, and he narrows his eyes on me. In the distance, I hear Bracarva howl, and his head swiftly turns in her direction.

“Bracarva needs me.” His gaze turns back to me, the storm now a raging endless ocean. “Against my better judgment, I still trust you. Even—with all of this.” He gestures down my body to the dress of shadows I’m draped with.

“Good. We are still going to get what we want, but Prince?” He bristles at my request but keeps his attention on my face. “Follow my lead.” With a quick jerk of his head, he storms out of the room. Without his scrutiny of me, I’m finally able to really take in how I feel. The magic that is rippling through me and the icy heat I feel streaming through my veins.

I understand what they were trying to do, and to any other Fae, it may have turned out very different…

Closing my eyes, I feel a familiar essence brush my senses. A tingle runs down my spine; a hum at the center of my chest. My eyes snap open, and my heart seizes as a new shadow darkens the doorway. The muscle in my chest pounds with fervor as two eyes of molten lava burn through me where I stand. His hair is overgrown and the scruff on his face is longer than I have ever seen it, but even before I laid eyes on the man, his soul caressed mine with its dark touch.

The force of his gaze punches the air from my lungs entirely. My lip trembles, and my legs threaten to send me to my knees at the sight of my dark king.

“ Dax ,” I breathe his name like it’s a prayer to the gods. He takes no more than a glance at me and what surrounds us before he closes the distance between our bodies. And as though he is taking his first breath after being dragged down in the deep depths of the Creale Sea, he gasps as he wraps me in his strong arms. Tears fill my eyes and spill over the edge, finally given reason to allow it.

“Are you really here?” The words come out a muffled cry as I bury my face into his neck, and he does the same.

“I’m here. Fuck, I’m here, love.” His hand finds its way to cradle my head. His fingers snake into my hair, sending shivers to cover my already cold skin. His eyes worriedly skate over me then settle on my eyes. Flicking back and forth, his worry grows. “Your eyes,” his thumb brushes along the side of my face in repeated strokes as his eyes stare unblinking into mine. “It’s the same darkness that’s riddled Cano, isn’t it? Who did this to you? Soren?” He questions rapidly, his eyes never leaving mine, and it makes me curious as to what he sees.

“They tried. The shadows they gave Cano did nothing to me. They gave me something else this time…” Dax’s eyes finally leave mine and trail down my body, watching as the shadows dance along my skin. His lips part and his eyes narrow and glow like molten copper as they burrow into me. “They can’t give me what I already have, Dax.”

“They’re mine.” A dark smirk pulls to his lips unlike any I’ve seen before, and then they are on me. Crushing, bruising, frantically, he steals my breath again with his mouth, and I allow it.

Welcome it.

My arms wrap around his neck as I throw myself at him. My legs help me climb up his body, and I hug him like a tree as our tongues battle in a dance of pure need. Tilting my head back, he groans with need as his tongue and lips taste the skin on my neck. His hands tremble as they roam over every inch of my body. His teeth graze the sensitive skin at my throat, and he nips at my shoulder. With a snarl, he rips the small amount of fabric that covers my breasts. The shadows instantly caress the skin of my hardened nipple, bringing a shudder through me and an arch to my back.

Bringing us to the center of the room, he lies me down on the dias where I lay, but mere minutes ago in a very different situation. His eyes flare as he steps closer between my legs, and his hands trail my vibrating thighs. With a snap of his finger, the dress crafted of pure shadow magic falls from my milky skin, and he laughs. The sound of it is so jovial and so unknown to me that I pause.

“I should have known,” he says, smiling, then kissing me. “You are extraordinary. It was your magic that ripped me from being stuck in the shadows. Your light shined so bright it burnt it all away, and now? You not only can control the shadows I create. You can conjure them too!” He shakes his head in disbelief; his smile so wide and vibrant, I wish it would stay just like that for the rest of our days. If only we could be so lucky.

“I can,” I whisper, and he wipes the pad of his thumb across my cheek to catch another tear. “I have so much I need to tell you, but I need nothing else right now—other than to feel our bond. I need you.” I don’t have to say more. He reaches between us, rips away the remaining scrap of fabric on my body, and drops to his knees. His tongue is sliding through my drenched center with a primal rumble through his throat that vibrates my every nerve ending.

Metal clanks to the stone as he pulls his baldric free and lets it fall to the ground. He pulls his tunic over his head as he takes a breath between achingly slow strokes of his tongue. His hands leave my thighs only as I feel him stand, and I look at him through hooded eyes as he bares the rest of his body to me.

He licks his lips, cleaning my arousal from them with his tongue before he steps in closer. The feel of his warm tip presses at my entrance. I pant with need, grinding my hips and begging for him to come closer. His molten eyes lock with mine as his wings unfurl, and he does not disappoint. He sheaths himself inside of me in one blind thrust. I cry out, but shadows burst from Dax’s hand, and they muffle the noise. With a wicked grin, he lifts one leg and when he slams into me with force, tears stream down my face. The pain of his size and the angle at which he holds me, but still I pulse around him. Wanting more. Needing more of him viscerally.

Steadily pumping in and out, he uses his shadows to push my body up. Folding me in half, my knee touches my shoulder, and he pants heavy breaths and words of longing into my ear.

“Oh my Gods!” I cry around the shadows.

“No, not the gods,” he says with a grunt. “But I am ready to be worthy of the title you gave me before.” His voice drops even lower, and he growls into my ear, “Come for your dark king, love.”

I grip onto him so tightly that his blood spills from crescent-shaped cuts as my nails dig into his flesh. He moans my name as he spills heavily inside of me, his wings flaring wide.

His shadows fall away from my mouth, and I suck in all the air I can. Not caring that it’s the dank, musty air of the discarded chamber that surrounds us. Everything is okay while he is here holding me in his arms, but just as the thought comes to my mind, sadness washes over me because I know it’s going to be short-lived.

Lifting his head from my shoulder, his thumb finds the side of my face again, and he caresses the skin there softly, kissing my lips slowly this time. He takes his time showing me his love.

“I’ve missed you.” His breath comes out in light puffs against my lips, and I close my eyes, hating myself for what I’m about to do.

“I’m sorry I left you.”

“Don’t.” He presses his forehead to mine. “I don’t need apologies from you. I have all I need from you right here.” He squeezes me a little tighter.

“Dax—you have to go back to Ravendene. I can’t leave yet.” Shadows billow in his eyes as he leans back, looking between mine.

“What do you mean? I will not be separated from you again, Raelle.” His words spear through my heart.

“I have unfinished business I need to take care of. Please understand if there was any other way…” I press my palm over his heart.

“Does this have to do with him ?” He snarls, and I flinch.

“Him?” I ask in return.

“Ambriel and I saw a vision of you getting quite cozy with another man.” He stands, pulling his breeches back into place, and fists his tunic, leaving me bare and looking up at him from my back. He has to be talking about Osiris. Osiris and I have been friendly, eventually, but never cozy. I shake my head.

“No, it—it’s not what you think, Dax. The prince is on our side.” I fumble, as my thoughts spiral through everything I know I need to tell him, but I know I don't have time.

“It looked like he was more on your side.” My brow furrows at the jealous words, but as I look at him, his eyes drop to my ribs and then snap back up to mine. “It appears that is more indisputable than you claim.” My eyes drop to the spot he is looking at. The black dragon and white raven, in a swirling dance in the sky. Both equal and opposing, darkness and light. Two halves to make a whole in a never-ending circle. The symbol that marks both of us and brings our kingdoms together. I purse my lips because I can understand how he might be feeling.

“I won’t tell you that things won’t get worse, and I’m not going to lie to you. Osiris and I have forged a royal bond, and I have promised him Aldramani’s help. I’ve learned more since I’ve been here. About myself and my magic. Royal bonds, Dax, we can share our magic. You’ve witnessed it and used it yourself.” I cup his cheek with my hand. “Soren is a mutual enemy. Osiris has agreed to work with us to take him down. His kingdom had a deal with the royal family—it’s all a long, old story. Please. Trust me. ” He grinds his teeth as he works through everything. I can see the amount of pain I am causing him, and it hurts me just as much.

“I can’t leave you again,” Dax whispers in defeat, and it breaks my heart.

“We will be working together, Dax. We can attack on two fronts. He will never see it coming.” He is silent for another moment. The echo of footsteps approaching marks us out of time, and the realization brings tears back to swell in my eyes. “Dax,” His name is a plea, as I try to get him to see what I’m trying to tell him.

“We will be ready. Can you communicate like Ambriel?” He asks hurriedly, and my eyes widen.

“Dax, you are a genius!” I whisper-shout, and I wrap myself around him and kiss his lips. His cheeks. His nose. “I must be able to. I will find a way. Be ready. All of you. And stay safe. Get out of here while you can.”

“I will always trust you.” He says, kissing me once more and then sending his shadows to blanket my naked body once more. “Even when I don’t want to, I will honor your wishes. We will be ready, love. Don’t keep me waiting too long. I’m not a patient man.”

“It will be before the winter moon. If I don’t reach you two days prior, something is wrong.” He gives me a firm nod before his eyes snap to the door and then back to me. He steps backward into the shadows, only the twin flames of his eyes glowing back at me, and as soon as Soren stomps into the room, they disappear with a blink.

I can feel his presence. I know he’s still here, hiding in the shadows until he can escape. I take a deep breath and blow it out as I pull shadows back into my eyes and light them from behind, making them an eerie purple. I grind my teeth, hoping that he can endure what comes next without giving us away.