Chapter 34 Raven
Raven
The story of Ysabella and Radimir stuck with me for the rest of the day. I sleepwalked through my Magic and Politics lesson, mostly because it was boring, and then headed to the library with Glynda.
Zane left us there under strict instructions that Glynda was to teleport me to the vampire dorm if trouble found us. And by trouble, he meant Demelza and her coven. After Pee-gate, the witch would have revenge on her mind.
But I didn’t care a bit about Demelza. If she was stupid enough to come after me, I’d retaliate.
We settled down at a table in a quiet corner, and then Glynda disappeared into the stacks to search for the books she needed. I halfheartedly ran through my list of topics and then gave up. The essay wasn’t due for another three days, so I’d tackle it tomorrow.
Had Rasmus really murdered all the witches in Ysabella’s coven? Or were the records a misrepresentation of what happened?
Vampires were dangerously powerful, which is why the mages and witches had all breathed a collective sigh of relief when the bloodborne virus caused a mass extinction event. But mass murderers? Surely not.
Rasmus had been nothing but sweet toward me. Unlike Alar-dick, he never reacted to Zane’s rage-baiting or got annoyed when Maverick became all possessive. He was happy to sit on the sidelines, watching me with my other mates.
The images Dunton had painted of Rasmus and his vampire family hunting down and slaughtering witches were barbaric.
“I’d take Ramona’s diary entries with a pinch of sage, Raven.” Glynda slapped some books down on the table and pulled a chair out.
“How do you know I’m thinking about that?” Goddess, I hoped she couldn’t read my mind. I was sick of my thoughts being comedy fodder for my mates.
“Because you’ve barely said a word since Dunton’s class.”
I pushed my notebook aside and huffed loudly. “What if the diaries are right, and I’m soul-bonded to a mass murderer?”
“Is that what you think, mea amica?” Rasmus’s question made me jump a mile high, and when I looked up, he’d appeared behind Glynda.
Even though he wore a glamor, I could still see the real him, like a double-exposure photograph.
It had freaked me out in the beginning, but now my brain automatically adjusted.
“I think you two need to talk,” Glynda said in a rush while collecting her things and shoving them into her bag. “I’ll catch you later.” She shot off before I could protest, leaving me to face a grumpy vampire.
“I don’t know what I think,” I told him honestly.
The library had emptied thanks to the late hour and approaching curfew, so I had no fear that anybody was listening. Not unless they had cast an invisibility spell.
“Did you kill a bunch of horrible witches?” The thought of poor Ysabella being ripped apart from her soul-bonded mate made me sick.
“Yes, and I’m not sorry about that. They deserved it.”
“Did the coven really kill your brother?”
Rasmus moved over to the window seat, pulling me into his lap.
“Yes, they did. We tried to talk to them to allay their fears, but they refused to listen. Ramona Du Boix was a narrow-minded bigot who would not accept that Ysabella and Radimir were soul-bonded mates.” A wave of intense grief filtered through the bond between us.
“Sadly, nothing’s changed. The covens and mages are still pushing the narrative that cross-species bonds are taboo. ”
“What happened to Ysabella?”
“I don’t know, my darling. We searched for her, but she’d vanished. I questioned Ramona, to no avail.” His eyes darkened at the memory, and I suspected Ramona Du Boix had not enjoyed a peaceful death.
“I’m so sorry about your brother. Losing him must have been very painful.”
“Vampires are very difficult to kill. The older we are, the harder it is. Radimir was my parents’ surprise baby; I was already a century old when he came along. When he met Ysabella, he was still young and therefore vulnerable.”
His eyes glazed over as he dug up old, painful memories.
“My parents adored my brother. His death loosened their grip on humanity for a very long time. It was partly why the Blood Wars lasted as long as they did.”
My mate’s arms tightened possessively around my waist while his fangs grazed my neck, although to anyone observing, all they’d see were normal teeth.
“Does it bother you I have blood on my hands, mea amica?”
I considered his question.
“No.” I knew Dunton was pushing his own agenda, and also that the diaries from the time were biased. Rasmus had no reason to lie to me. Besides, he wasn’t the only one with blood on his hands.
“If anyone tries to steal you from me, my queen, I will unleash hell on them all.”
He and Zane were very similar in that regard, and Zane’s comments about crunchy wolf shifters still concerned me, but I planned to quiz him later.
Knowing Rasmus truly was a vicious killer should have horrified me, but it didn’t. A dark part of my soul relished the idea that my soul-bonded mate was happy to eliminate any threat to my life.
The sweet, innocent witch dumped at the gates of Starfall Academy was no more. The new version of me had kick-ass magic that could fry witches and melt demons.
And she wasn’t afraid to use it.
“Do you miss your family?” I couldn’t imagine being the only one of my species left. It hurt my soul to think how lonely my vampire must be.
“Yes, but it’s possible some of them survived.”
I perked up immediately. “Maybe we can go searching for them?” Europe looked amazing from what I’d seen in books and movies.
“I would love to show you where I grew up, darling. But with demon attacks increasing and curfews in place, travel is impossible.”
My shoulders sank. He was right, of course. Our lives were becoming increasingly restricted by the whims of the Supernatural Council, specifically Tiberius Vane. What an asshole that mage was. No wonder Alar-dick had daddy issues.
I’d have issues if my father were an asshole like Tiberius Vane.
Oh, wait…my father was worse.
My father was the king of the demon realm.
“That’s okay. I’m a patient witch,” I lied. “I’d better collect the books I need before the curfew begins.”
The librarian was as old as dust and half-blind. Glynda had told me she used spells to maintain order on the shelves, but whenever I tried to find the books I needed, they were always in the wrong place.
“I’ll help you. What books do you need?”
“There’s one about the vampire royal family, and another about the New Orleans covens.” My vampire frowned.
“Forget the book about my family. It will be full of inaccuracies.”
“Oh, why?”
“Because the mages went to great lengths to eradicate us. I highly doubt they’d have allowed any factually accurate books about us to remain in circulation.”
I blinked in surprise. Glynda had hinted before that she thought the bloodborne virus wasn’t a random event. It was clear Rasmus agreed with her.
“Let’s find your book and leave, my darling. The virus is not something I want to discuss here.”
We’d made it back with minutes to spare. The minute I found the last textbook I needed, stuffed between a filthy monster romance paperback and a witch’s guide to poisonous mushrooms, my vampire whisked me back to the dorm so fast I nearly lost my lunch.
Being caught outside after curfew was a serious offense these days. Maverick had warned us that a wolf shifter had already been kicked off campus for flouting the curfew, and if any of us fell foul of the rule, he’d struggle to save our asses.
I didn’t mind staying in at night, but Maverick hated not being able to run in the forest after his classes ended. It sucked for all the shifters. Not that I cared about the wolves. They could all go fuck a hole in a tree, as Zane claimed they liked to do when horny.
Honestly, I had no clue why anyone would do such a perverse thing. Trees had feelings too. Then again, most of the wolves I’d had the misfortune of meeting were not exactly the brightest stars in the sky, so…
“Little mate. Dinner’s ready. Come and eat.” Maverick’s order interrupted my musings on intellectually challenged wolf shifters. When I looked up, he stood in the doorway wearing a cute little apron decorated with rabbits. Oh my stars. Could my bear be any more adorable?
He watched me make heart eyes at him and smirked. “There will be time after dinner for that, little mate. First, you need to take your iron supplement and then clear your plate.”
His reminder about the iron supplements he’d bought online prompted a highly inappropriate trip down memory lane to when my vampire drank my blood from my…
Maverick groaned.
Zane blinked into view and smirked. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell, care bear?”
“I’m fine. Now sit, Raven!”
“I’m not a dog,” I muttered crossly but did as I was told. Rasmus and I needed to talk about the virus, but Maverick was right about food. My stomach growled in response to the delicious smell coming from the newly renovated kitchen.
“I’ve made a meat and tomato pasta sauce. Extra meat for me and the incubus, and plain pasta for Kai.”
Kai was sitting at the table when I walked in.
He gave me a small smile when he saw me, so I rushed over to hug him.
We’d not seen each other all day, and I’d missed him.
Yes, I’d fully intended to go to the pool with him this morning, but of course I fell right back to sleep five seconds after he woke me up.
Early mornings and I didn’t agree.
“What makes you think the mages were behind the virus?” I asked Rasmus once my stomach was fit to burst and I couldn’t eat another mouthful.
Rasmus took a long sip of his synthetic blood and exhaled.
“Because my father had discovered they were conducting inhumane experiments on lesser magicals. He confronted Tiberius about it, and two days later, reports of the first cases of the bloodborne virus went viral on social media.”
The food in my belly turned to lead.
Inhumane experiments?!
I silently resolved then and there that, by the magical power vested in me, Tiberius was a dead mage walking.