29. Raelle
Chapter twenty-nine
Osiris’ hand presses against my lips as he cages me to the wall outside the dining room. We didn’t mean to overhear his father and Soren talking, but what we heard has my head spinning and not enough air getting to my brain. Even without Osiris covering my mouth.
He lifts his other hand between us, signaling for me to be quiet, and after I nod, he peels his hand away. My eyes are wide as we continue to stand near the cracked door. Their voices carrying to us on an echo.
“You know, the Fae in this kingdom are calling her the Moon Raven?” Soren scoffs and continues, “She’s powerful, but she is no deity. A trembling bird most days.” The sound of Soren’s voice grates at my nerves, and the bird comment makes me grind my teeth, but it does make me question why he is bringing this information up to the King of Valeska.
“You don’t say…” Phyrrohs is quiet for a moment, then continues, “This bond that she has? Is she fully bonded? With body and blood?” The blood drains from my body as I await where this conversation is going.
“No,” Soren lies, and my forehead wrinkles in confusion.
“Good, you know if she was our deal would be void, Soren. Without a god’s blessed heir, she is of no use to me.” King Phyrrohs says, and I watch as Osiris’ nostrils flare and his breathing gets quicker.
“My son and I will leave with the girl in a fortnight. I wish to get the dragons back to our kingdom by the winter moon. Especially if she is indeed the Moon Raven. Traveling with such a powerful event is not wise.” At that, both mine and Osiris’ eyebrows shoot up, and our eyes find each others. He’s right, the magic that surrounds the winter moon is powerful; in fact, it’s said that on the night in which the winter moon rises, magic rises too. It’s when the veil is at its thinnest and the gods themselves have been known to walk into this plane. Whether they lay blessings on those they cross is left to be known.
“Mmmm, indeed. A fortnight is reasonable. Consider it done.” Soren purrs in the way that makes my stomach roil every time I hear it. We start to move down the hall back to my bed chamber when I hear the rumble of King Phyrrohs’ voice again.
“The mate will need to be taken care of before we leave.” The words echo through the hall, and a cold washes over me as if all my blood left my body at once. My shoulders slump and my steps falter, threatening to take me down. Osiris has to catch me before I fall to the stone floor.
“Of course. I will deal with it personally.” Soren accepts, and so casually says ‘it’ like he is not a person at all but an object to discard. I can barely hear anything else as the blood begins rushing in my ears. The hall seems to be swaying back and forth like a boat at sea, but Osiris grips my face between his fingers, forcing me to look at him.
“This will not break you,” Osiris says calmly, and those words echo through my soul as I feel it shattering with the thought of living without Dax. “You have to fight.” Slowly my vision corrects, the ocean calming, unlike the storm I see raging within Osiris’ eyes. He’s right. I will fight— and I will spare no one of my fury.
“You heard my father. The deal is void if you have mated body and blood. We will get you back to your mate; you can finish the ritual, but listen…” He whispers and I try—I truly try to hear what is said next, but it may as well be another language. My mind races with what could happen in two weeks and of what could be lost for everyone.
When their conversation seems to come to an end, Osiris ushers me hastily back to my room, and the guards quickly shut both of us in. He brings me to the settee and has me sit. Seeing that I am still in shock, he wraps the blanket that lives on the arm over my shoulders and flicks a fire to life in the hearth before he comes to sit in the chair at my side.
“We are already.” My voice is mumbled and my brows are scrunched, but I look at Osiris with a dawning realization. “ We are already !” A smile pops onto my face, and the look of confusion deepens on his.
“Shhhh! You are what?”
“Mated Fully. Body, soul, blood, magic, in every way!” I say, biting down on my lip as it threatens to tremble. “Mated fully, and he’s going to die if I don’t get to him. You have to help me.” I turn so I can fully face him. “Please help me get him back. I will help you with the dragons. We will help, but Osiris, nothing will survive if they get away with killing Dax. I will bring it all down if that were to happen. That I can guarantee.”
His eyes darken at my threat, but he nods, accepting my words. He stands, crossing the room. He lifts my pillow and pulls out the book he told me to read.
“You really do know nothing of royal bonds?” He asks, and heat rises in my cheeks, though I don’t know why. I can’t really be blamed for not knowing anything about royal bonds; most of the information was destroyed when my parents were killed and the kingdom fell. Not to mention, I had no clue I was even royal until very recently. Regardless, being that I am rightfully queen and bonded without knowing exactly what that meant brought a fire to my face.
“I don’t,” I finally admit.
“This is very good news, Moon Raven. Bonded royals are able to do so much more when bonded fully .” He smiles when my cheeks heat more, and I roll my lips to hide my smile. “Do you know what all of Dax’s magics are?”
“I think so. Dax is very secretive of his magic because he didn’t trust it for a long time, but eventually he relented.” I respond carefully. Something in Osiris’ gaze tells me he can see that I don’t trust him with all of this information.
“Well, let me explain a little bit… When I offered my allegiance to you, I also offered you my magic, Moon Raven. It’s the way of royal bonds. You cannot harm me with my own magic but you are granted access to it. When you bond fully, and especially when it’s a god's bond, like fated mates, you have full access to each other's magic.” He is quiet as he lets me process everything. My brow furrows as I worry my lip looking around the room. If that’s true…
“Is that why the dragons took it easier on me the last time Soren had me ‘train’?” I ask, finally making eye contact again. He nods, watching with understanding, as I come to realize all the times my bonds have helped me.
Visions from my past begin to flood my mind. Alaric, getting my memories back, controlling the Fae in the hall when Alaric and I were found coming back into the castle after the meeting with the seer… Ambriel’s air magic releasing Trent. So many times I used their magic without even understanding what I was doing, and now the other night flashes to memory.
“I thought it was a very vivid dream!” I exclaim, recalling the sexual encounter that I assumed I dreamt. “Dax controls shadows; they are of his own creation. I realized I could control them, but I thought that they had to be cast by Dax first. I didn’t… He can project!” I announce the last part a little too loud and clap my hand over my mouth. Osiris chuckles, but still looks over his shoulder at the door before he brings his attention back to me.
“How do I do it? Wait…Does that mean I can communicate with him? If he can shadow project—that means I can too, right?” The questions come out one after the other, barely a breath between as everything comes rushing to me.
“There isn’t much information on shadow magic; even in Valeska, it’s rare. But… I would assume it could be done just as any magic is shared. You and Dax are something else entirely. Light and dark, but the moon needs night, does it not?” His words bring a warmth over me. A feeling of acceptance—that he is right, and beyond him being on the side of Soren when he came into my life, I now understand that he had just as much a choice in the matter that I had.
“I noticed… you have more than one bond, Moon Raven. I’ve been in that field when you have used many kinds of magic. What is your own and what are you borrowing?” He asks, and I flush once again with my lack of knowledge, but I lift my chin and give him the best answer I can.
“The bonds, aside from Dax, have been given by the Fae who choose me as their queen. A blade to wield, a shield to protect, and now a dragon to destroy. They are gifts given; the magic is mine to use and for protection.” I feel something inside me flare. The tingling power surge starting in my chest and working its way through my limbs with the words that come.
The moonlight filtering through the window seems to grow with the feeling inside me. Slowly closing my eyes, I welcome it, and when I open them again, I feel my shift come over me. My wings delicately unfurl from my back, and my eyes cast the world with a white glowing hue, but my vision is sharper. I hold back a sob as I finally let my moon raven magic immerse me. I have not shifted since I’ve been held captive. I likely still wouldn’t have, had it not come over me so naturally. As though my magic was telling me to trust—fate, Osiris, and even myself.
Osiris’s eyes are wide with awe as he stands smirking at me.
“I also have something of a seers magic, perhaps, or an empath.” I say flexing my wings. Letting them stretch out at my back.
“Your magic is stunning, and your tenacity proves to be just as strong. Very similar to someone I was once very close with back home.” His eyes go distant for a moment, and I feel a pang of sorrow—I can’t tell if it’s from him or my reading of his expression.
“I know that if you are anything like her… You have fight in you, Raelle.” The use of my actual name makes me blink. Something akin to friendship blooming between us with just the one word and I don’t miss the longing I see in his eyes as he talks about this other woman.
“Thank you, Osiris. I don’t know where I would be without you in this…” I say, placing my hand on his forearm.
“Something tells me that you would come out on top either way. But I am here, so you will not be alone. And thank you; without you, I would lose everything important to me… including my dragons and likely my kingdom.” The magnitude of those facts weighs on me, but the thought that we both have so much to lose gives me a sense of union in a way that nothing else might have.
“I’d like to try something.” I say standing and rushing to the balcony. “If I call on your dragon, will it come here?”
“Yes. She will fly to wherever you need her to, but commanding a dragon is more than just that. It’s a mutual respect. If you should disrespect her, she will be less inclined to listen when you need her.” He crosses the space I created between us to stand at my side. “You have to focus on what you want. How did you get her to do as you wanted on the training field?” He asks, and I answer with a shrug.
“I—I don’t know how; I just wanted to live.” I laugh; the motion curling my lips feels foreign, and the sound just as much. It causes me to stop abruptly, a frown quickly pulling the corners of my mouth down as I realize how long it has been since I’ve felt the true emotion to bring even an ounce of elation.
“Focus on where you are and that you want to see her fly by. Push your magic out to her like a beacon for her to follow, and Bracarva will come.” He points to my skirt of my dress and the pocket in the side. “Use the power of the channeling stone for more control over the magic.”
Wrapping my fingers tightly around the stone in my pocket, I close my eyes and think of the giant black dragon with glittering scales that are both deepest night and stars alike. I think of billowing flames, claws, and teeth—the power she emanates with just size alone. The deep rumbling growl and the scream before she lets her fire fly.
When the screech pierces my ears, my eyes snap open to see Bracarva flying directly in front of me. A wide jovial smile spreads across my face, and when I think of how I want her to show me her fire, she accepts the command with a show of blazing heat in a wide arch as she back flips then flies through the circle of flames she creates. A breathless laugh slips past my lips as my air is taken away at the beauty I am finally able to see in the beast.
When I look to my right, I see Osiris watching her too with a lazy smile on his face.
“She’s beautiful.” I tell him, and then he looks down at me.
“She likes you too.”