Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
“Who?” Leo asked. “Oh, the raven?”
The raven hopped up onto the chair and then stepped on Percival’s knee.
“I don’t think she has one,” Leo said.
“She isn’t your raven?” Percival raised a brow.
“Well… Not yet.” Leo smiled at the raven. “I’m thinking of asking her if she wants to be my familiar.”
The raven turned her head towards Leo. She blinked at him.
“I’m a hearth and kitchen witch. We often have familiars,” Leo explained to Percival.
“Oh.” Percival’s eyes widened.
Leo got the sense he didn’t quite know what a hearth and kitchen witch was. But honestly, Leo was too tired to explain. He could tell Percival all about it later.
“I have a sense she’d say yes if you asked her to be your familiar.” Percival looked at the raven. He tilted his head, hair sliding against his collarbone. Sparks of embers danced amongst the red strands. “But you really should name her first. I think that would be appropriate.”
“Should I? Well, how about—” Leo paused, considering. “—Ebony?” He said the first name that popped into his mind.
“Ebony.” Percival smiled, and Leo’s stomach somersaulted. “That’s a good name. But let’s ask her. What do you think of the name Ebony?” he asked the raven.
She clicked. Leo chuckled.
“I think she likes it,” Percival said. “Now, Leo, do you have something else to ask Ebony?”
Leo grinned. “Ebony, would you like to be my familiar?”
She blinked at him for several seconds. Then she lifted her black beak and cawed loudly.
Percival laughed. “That sounds like a yes to me.”
Leo lifted a hand and stroked his fingers over Ebony’s right side, over the wing that wasn’t injured. “I’m glad to have you as my familiar, Ebony.” Smiling, Leo glanced at Percival.
But Percival frowned.
“What’s wrong?” He dropped his hand.
Then Percival lifted his palm over Ebony’s left side, over the injured wing. He hovered his hand above it. His fingers danced in the air above the feathers, not touching. “Her wing hurts her. It’s wrong. It’s injured.”
“You can tell?” Leo scootched closer.
He gave a single nod. “There’s a grey cloud over it. You can’t see it?”
Leo shook his head. “Maybe it’s a phoenix ability.”
Percival’s eyes narrowed, gaze still on the wing. He shivered. “I think… I think I can fix it.” Then he closed his eyes.
Leo watched him. Moments ticked past. Then Percival leaned forward, head hovering over Ebony. After a second, a single tear shone and dropped onto her left wing.
The air around Ebony glowed. Leo’s eyes widened as the light grew brighter and brighter. Than a wave of warmth washed over him. The glow and warmth disappeared in an instant.
“What—”
Then he could feel a burst of relief. It was faint. And the feeling wasn’t his. It was through the familiar bond. It was from Ebony!
He let out a startled laugh. She let out a deafening crow.
She flapped her wings and took off. She flew round and round the room, her happiness feeding into his. He laughed. Then he glanced at Percival.
Percival smiled up at Ebony. But then he slumped in the chair, slowly sliding down.
“Percy! Are you all right?”
“Just tired.” Percival closed his eyes and inhaled. “I think healing her took energy.” He said the words slowly, as if they took a great deal of effort. “But it was worth it. I healed her.” He opened his eyes. He pointed up. “Look how happy she is.”
Leo looked up. He could feel her happiness. She kept cawing.
He turned back to Percival. “We should get you to bed so you can rest.”
“What the fuck is going on out here?” Grady groused as the door to his room flung open.
Leo’s oldest brother only wore underwear. It did little to hide his erection. Leo looked away and found himself staring straight as Grady’s partner, Uzoth, the ancient gargoyle. He wore a loin-cloth, which also did not hide his erection well.
Leo’s eyes widened. Horny hexes! How did Grady handle that beast?
“Leo, why is that raven going nuts in here, and why is there a naked man on that chair?” Grady yelled.
Percival dragged himself so he sat up. He swayed. He held the blanket over his dick. But it was very clear he was naked.
“If you’re going to fuck, do it in your room, Leo!” Grady crossed his arms across his chest. “This is a bloody common space! Have some fucking common decency!”
The door to Kit and Lachlan’s room opened. Kit blinked and yawned. Lachlan rubbed at his eyes.
“Is that the phoenix?” Lachlan mumbled.
Kit’s eyes widened. He looked between Leo and Percival. “Are you two fucking? Is it the hate fucking? Like Lacy was talking about?”
“What? No!” Had Kit and Lachlan even been there when Lacy had been going on about that?
His family really were terrible gossips. But he couldn’t complain. Leo was probably one of the worst of them.
“No. It’s not what it looks like,” Leo said as Ebony landed on his shoulder. Thankfully she’d stopped cawing. “I came across Percival on the way home. He’d just been reborn.”
Grady’s brows raised. “Reborn?”
“He’s a phoenix,” Leo said in case Grady had missed that fact.
“How did you die?” Uzoth asked in his deep, rumbling voice. He stepped forward, assessing Percival.
“I don’t know.” Percival glanced around at all the people in the room. “I don’t remember anything.” His shoulders hunched forward.
And Leo realised Percival was nervous. Which of course he would be with four people suddenly appearing and firing questions at him. Especially when two of them were almost naked. At least their erections seemed to have gone down.
Leo placed a hand on Percival’s shoulder. He didn’t miss the way Percival leaned into his touch.
“So you could have been attacked?” Uzoth asked.
Percival shrank in on himself. “Maybe.”
“We have no idea what killed him. It could have been a heart attack or something else.” Leo squeezed Percival’s shoulder. “When I found him, he was just a chick. But I could see no one around. Ebony, that’s my raven, led me to Percy.”
Ebony walked along Leo’s arm and then onto Percival’s shoulder.
“Grady was attacked by thieves last year. I saved him.” Uzoth lifted his chin. “Perhaps something similar happened to Percival.”
“Maybe.” Leo glanced around. “But he’s lost his memory. He doesn’t remember anything before being reborn. Do you know if that’s normal for a phoenix?”
“I don’t know,” Grady said.
Kit shrugged.
“I have encountered phoenixes over the years. But I do not know the details of what occurs after a rebirth,” Uzoth said.
Percival sagged.
“Perhaps Briar or Avery will know,” Lachlan said. “Surely someone must.”
Leo nodded. “We’ll find out more tomorrow, Percy. And we’ll find where you live, and we’ll find your family.”
Percival gave him a hesitant smile.
“It’s going to be okay.” Then Leo turned to Grady. “He’s going to stay here tonight. He will sleep in my room. I’ll sleep in Jasper’s room and—”
Percival gripped Leo’s hand and squeezed. “No. Please!”
Leo looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Please don’t leave me,” Percival begged. “Please! I don’t want to sleep alone!”