34. Raven
Istiffened for a fraction of a second, but a tense, possibly scared girl was not the impression I wanted to leave with the queen. Despite my exhaustion, I needed to strap on my armor of confidence and let that shine through whatever facade I now presented.
I know what you are.
The queen’s words rang in my mind. They could mean several things—a stranger, a troublemaker, a strong magic wielder, a spark in a sea of paper. Knowing…or thinking the queen knew…my origin and what I had come to the citadel to do didn’t really mean much.
At least, that’s what I told myself. A reaper wasn’t likely to make the list of possibilities.
I relaxed my stance and adjusted to better see the queen’s expression. “Semi-close to your royal grandson?”
“Oh, I have no doubt Winter is rather taken with you.” The queen’s gaze shifted to the door through which Winter had disappeared only a moment earlier, lingering all of a second.
She refocused on me, her demeanor nothing if not serious.
“You are, after all, something new and curious in his otherwise redundant existence.”
A hundred years with little to no change. Redundant indeed.
“He has always been fond of mysteries and puzzles.” She sighed, and an almost sorrowful expression took root in her features. “But this interest of his is something you will neither return nor encourage.”
“Because I’m not a lady of royal blood?” A sour taste settled on my tongue.
My response sounded curt and completely unacceptable in the face of a royal, but I felt too tired to maintain the expected decorum.
She hummed. “There is that, but no. That is not the reason you will discourage Winter.”
My chest tightened, sensing—anticipating—the words about to flow from the matriarch’s lips. My entire body braced for whatever secret the queen thought she knew.
“I met with a young gentleman not so long ago,” the queen continued. “His bone structure, coloring, and style of attire not so dissimilar to your own. His last name was Badden. Perhaps you know him?”
Chace.
She spoke of Chace. Had seen Chace.
Was that before or after the two of us had fought? Before or after Aldine and Aoes had last seen him?
She made no mention of Aldine. Only Chace.
My heart slammed in my chest, even as I maintained a casual stance, concealing my anxiety and tension. Had the queen locked up Chace...in that awful, dark place depicted in Myla’s drawing?
“Your friend…associate…” The queen smirked. She studied my features, clearly looking for a reaction to her word choice. “He was not the first Badden with whom I have crossed paths. His family has been here before.”
What? Oh…shit. She knows.
My chest collapsed in on itself, and I held my breath.
“It was then, during that first encounter, that I learned of your kind’s existence, and I have not forgotten. Shall never forget.” She spoke the last sentence with harsh solidity. “Your kind takes from us those whom we love.”
Something in her eyes flared.
I fought the responding widening of my eyes. Had she hurt Chace in some misguided act of revenge?
Her attention flickered behind me, and her shoulders drooped. She took a small step back, granting me a smidgen of breathing space.
At my back, nearing footfalls crossed the room.
I’d bet the queen had stepped away, quieted her temperament, because of who approached. If she meant to intimidate me, she didn’t want anyone to witness her doing so.
She raised a beseeching hand toward the approaching person. “Thank you, my dear.”
Winter stepped to our side and handed over the towel. “Of course. Your request is my command.”
As the queen used the towel to dab at the smear of tonic left upon her hands, he turned to me, a twinkle of humor in his eyes. “How are you holding up? Are you in need of rescue?”
Rescuing? Seriously? I should scoff at his words. He might have rescued me once―okay, twice if I counted the first time I’d met him―but by my estimate, I ranked ahead in the rescuing, having saved his ass at least three times now.
From the specters in the tunnels—despite the mad Watcher’s involvement, I still claimed that win—to dragging him all the way back to the pub for help, then ultimately pulling him out of his afflicted state.
All of those times might have taken place today, but I would still count them individually.
And by the time I finished with this citadel, I planned to save his soul and possibly even restore his access to his magic. Save everyone’s soul and access to their magic.
His fingers reached for mine, brushing lightly against my skin. A slight rush of heat rose through me, and I spied the queen’s judgmental gaze.
“Raven? Are you okay? Still with me?” he asked.
I arched an eyebrow. “Do I strike you as the damsel-in-distress type?”
“No. Never.” He regarded me with a scrutinizing gaze, and I detected a slight purr in his delivery.
The queen cleared her throat. “As much as I may find this exchange between you mildly entertaining, I have other matters that demand my attention.”
She held the dirty towel at arm’s length, pinched between the tips of two fingers. A servant rushed forward, collected the discarded cloth, and departed with a low bow to both royals.
Without another word, the queen turned and strode from the room. Something in my gut told me she was not yet finished with me.
Fine by me. I needed information from her if I stood a chance of locating whatever key we needed to end the reaping curse plaguing this citadel so that we might set the collection of souls back on track.
“Shall we?” Winter held his arm in waiting.
I accepted, and with arms linked, we strode from the room and into the outer hall. Folding his free arm across his body in my direction, his finger traced tiny designs near my elbow.
Sunlight glistened through the floor-to-ceiling crystal-cut glass windows at our side, the light fracturing, sending colors to dance across the ground, the walls, our bodies.
With all the time spent in the tunnels and then healing Winter, had close to twenty-four hours passed and a new day dawned? The prospect was highly possible.
I marveled at the way the colors flirted with his pale skin and frosted hair. He looked like a work of art. A stained-glass window I wanted to ogle for hours on end. I could easily get lost in the male’s beauty. And yet, I shouldn’t. I couldn’t. The queen would never stand for it.
I forced myself to look away. The reality that the queen had seen Chace, knew who and what I was, became a plague upon my thoughts.
She might very well know where Chace was being held. I needed to get to him. Save him.
“The queen said something to me that has me wondering,” I said.
“What is that?” Winter continued his gait without a hitch.
I wiggled my fingers and nibbled on my lower lip. “Is there a chance that Chace recently met with your grandmother?”
Winter’s forward motion paused, and he tilted his head. “Not that I am aware of.”
He could be lying. But…from all that I’d come to know of him, all that he had done for me, I believed he told the truth.
I nodded. “So, where do we go now?”
Because I’m tired. That tiny nap was not nearly enough, and a bed married with peace and quiet sounds like the best thing ever. A mental recharge so that I may better think and plan.
“Hmm.” Winter wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me snug against his chest, dropping his lips within inches of my own.
So close. Too close.
Surprise crackled like lightning through my veins, and I inhaled sharply. His blue eyes warmed, and his breath washed over me like a crisp winter breeze, awakening my senses. And, oddly enough, reminding me of Chace’s gum.
“What if I asked you to indulge the savior complex you accused me of having?” Winter said. “Allow me to see that every inch of you is safe and cared for.”
The beat of my heart may have stilled in that moment. What did he mean by “every inch?”
“Your Highness, pardon me.” A young messenger quickly approached, and Winter took a step back, granting me a much-desired moratorium.
He turned to greet the messenger, and the man passed the prince a fold of paper.
“Your presence has been requested.”
Winter unfolded the paper and scanned the message. He glanced up from the note, an inquisitive look upon his face. “Now?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Immediately.”
Winter winced. “I prefer not to leave Raven―”
“Worry not, my prince,” the messenger said. “I shall see that your lady is escorted safely to her destination.”
A low growl vibrated in Winter’s chest as he turned to face me. “I don’t want to leave you. Not fond of the idea at all. But when the queen summons…”
“You must answer,” I supplied.
“Yes. That’s how it works.” He took my hands, lifted them to his lips, and pressed a kiss to my skin. “I will return to you as soon as I can.”
He took a step back, stretching our held hands between us. His gaze lingered on me for too-long moments.
“I’ll see you soon.” Releasing my hands, Winter turned and strode off, glancing over his shoulder at me twice before disappearing down an adjacent hallway.
I clenched my jaw. I should have expected his advance…after the way he’d flirted with me since our team’s arrival. Still… I heaved a breath. I’d need to tread delicately with him.
Once Winter vanished from sight, the messenger turned to me. “You are to come with me.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, falling into step behind him and turning my thoughts from Winter.
The servant’s steps took us quickly across the outer hallway and away from the room I’d used earlier.
I rushed to keep up. “Where are you taking me?”
“The queen has requested a private meeting with you in the blue drawing room.”
A private meeting with the queen?
But…didn’t she just request Winter’s presence, taking him in a different direction?
Unease flowed through me as I followed the man down hallways, upstairs, and through corridor after corridor until we arrived at an ornate set of double doors―a couple of reaping tasks biting my arm along the way.