CHAPTER FOUR
Astrid
After a long night of tossing and turning, I wake up to a knock on my door. I dreamed of Rave, and it pissed me off even more. I know he’s hurting because I can feel it through the bond.
Still half asleep, I open the door to find Bane standing there, dressed in his battle leathers. He definitely has the whole dark and tortured vibe going for him, and I wonder what his story is. All I know about him is that he lost his parents, and Zython has taken him under his wing.
His gaze trails slowly down my body before flickering back to my face, and I realize I’m wearing nothing but a thin night dress that leaves nothing to the imagination.
“You better get ready. Your mate is at the castle gates demanding we hand you over,” he says, his tone husky.
“Shit. Give me a few minutes,” I reply, closing the door. No wonder I can feel Rave so strongly… he’s right outside.
I think I hear him mutter something like ‘lucky fucker,’ but I can’t be sure. Sighing, I quickly get dressed, not bothering to do anything with my hair, letting it fall down my back in tousled waves. I knew Rave would find me, and after I told him about Zython, I shouldn’t be surprised he’d come looking here. But if I’m being honest, I’m not ready to see him yet. I haven’t processed everything that happened. Do I miss him? Yes. My soul hurts without him, but my heart and head are still fucking angry at his lies.
Glancing at myself in the mirror, I grin at the tight tunic and leggings that show off my shape. Let him see what he lost.
Zython, my brothers, Bane, and August, are all waiting for me and quietly talking.
“He’s waiting outside for you,” Zython says as he lifts his head. “Do you want to talk to him? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I reply, glancing toward the entrance. “Who is he with?”
“Soren and Elios,” Kai replies, surprising me by kissing my head.
Of course, he brought all my favorite people with him. I don’t want to cause any problems, so I hope this ends without Rave sending his shadows all over my father’s castle.
Taking a deep breath, I step outside and walk down the stone steps. Rave is standing at the gate, which opens as they enter. His icy-blue eyes give me a slow once-over as if making sure I’m safe and sound. His body is tense, feet apart in a fighting stance. Two swords are crossed at his back. Magic and darkness ripples from him as he tries to contain them, but I can still feel it. His power is so strong it makes the air around him thick and uncomfortable. His eyes flash with anger, which he quickly masks into inscrutability.
I’ve never met anyone more morally gray than the male standing before me.
I know he’s many things, but I never thought he would be a liar.
I don’t know what he has planned, but I’m not returning with him today. My eyes move to Soren, who gives me a long, searching look, a storm brewing in his gray eyes.
Elios looks hurt and a little perplexed, but his hand rests on the hilt of his short sword.
“I’ve come for what’s mine,” Rave announces, his eyes zeroing in on me. He exudes predatory dominance, and it gives me a little pleasure knowing he can have all the magic in the world, yet I’m the one who has power over him. His anger curls off him in shadowed coils, which only infuriates me further.
He has no reason to be mad at me.
Unless he truly does blame me for being unable to save his son.
August steps closer, his fingers brushing mine, and Rave’s eyes narrow as he notices it. “Astrid,” he says, his voice silky smooth with barely restrained violence. The sheer dominant energy he exudes should scare me, but I know he’d never physically hurt me. “Come home with me. Whatever has upset you and made you so fucking angry, we will handle it privately between us.”
Whatever has upset me?
Confusion hits me, and I take a few steps closer to him.
Bane seizes my wrist, holding me back. “This is her home now.”
“Let go of her, Bane, unless you want to die today,” Rave growls, his eyes darkening to pitch black.
The threat that hangs in the air is chilling. Rave can be terrifying when he’s angry.
These two definitely have history, and I want to know what it is.
“You don’t know why I left? Is that what you’re saying?” I ask him, my brow furrowing as I pull my hand free from Bane’s touch.
He grinds his jaw. “You just up and left, Astrid, without a word. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You somehow shielded yourself from Soren’s tracking. Do you know how worried I’ve been? If I couldn’t feel you through the bond, I would have thought you were dead.”
He doesn’t know that I know.
Which must mean his son is alive, and Vera didn’t tell him anything.
Was this some plan of hers?
“So your son is okay after his fall, then?” I ask, watching his reaction closely.
Black eyes widen slightly, the only tell that I’ve taken him by surprise. He didn’t know. It looks like Vera has been a sneaky, scheming bitch, but I’m still glad she told me the truth, even if she did it to hurt me.
And hurt me, it did.
Rave steps forward, reaching out to me. “Yes, he’s fine. Astrid, I can explain.”
“Let me tell you why I left, Prince. Vera came to me asking me for help with her injured child. I went to help…” I trail off, letting him suffer. He swallows, this throat bobbing. “And the child looked just like you. I tried to heal him, I did, but it didn’t work. And then your ex started crying and screaming, saying that I killed your heir, which I’m assuming wasn’t true either.”
It starts to rain, thunder and lightning hitting the dark sky, almost as if reflecting my mood.
“Astrid—”
“Vale is a void, Princess,” Soren says, speaking up. “He can’t be healed… that’s why it didn’t work.”
Rave’s son is a void?
Motherfucker.
No magic works on people who are voids. They are basically a place where magic goes to die.
She set me up.
She knew I couldn’t help him, and then what? She got him to pretend he was dead? Was the kid in on it too? Or was he genuinely that injured?
She took advantage of her child and used him to play her games—I’ve never hated anyone more.
I know Rave can feel my emotions through the bond, and he momentarily closes his eyes.
It fucking hurts.
He’s betrayed me, and it’s worse than physical pain.
The temperature in the air suddenly drops.
“What a great mother you picked for your heir,” I comment, trying to keep my tone even. I’m proud when my voice comes out strong and doesn’t crack. “She used your child in her manipulation to hurt me and think I… fucking didn’t save him !” My eyes then go to Soren, who flinches at what he sees in my expression. “And you all knew,” I say in a quieter tone. I then look at Elios, who keeps his eyes down, unable to look me in the eye.
“I didn’t know she did that,” Rave grits out, shadows now rising from the ground, swirling around his legs like a protective barrier. He’s on edge, and I know it. Soren and Elios shift nervously around him. He could erupt at any moment, and I know he could destroy all of us if he wanted to. He’s more than capable.
“I’m sorry, Astrid. I should have told you the truth. I just—”
“The time for explanations is over,” I state, cutting him off. Others might fear the Prince of Shadows, but I do not. I’m just as powerful as he is. And I know he would never physically hurt me. “I’m not coming back with you. Leave now. If I want to see you, I’ll visit. Go back to your family, Rave. Because it’s not me.”
Panic flashes in his eyes, which bleed from black to blue. A sign his control is slipping. “You’re my mate. We will get through this. There’s no running from this, Princess.”
“Yes, I am a princess,” I murmur, looking him dead in the eye. “But I’m no longer yours.”
Lightning strikes once more, and my father tells Bane to control himself. I turn to him and notice the magic sizzling from his hands and the anger in his now amber eyes, and it hits me—the weather isn’t reflecting my mood, it’s reflecting his. Bane has weather magic.
I step back so I’m lined up with August and Bane, my brothers and father at my back. August reaches out and touches my arm, offering comfort.
“Get your fucking hand off her!” Rave snarls, lifting his palms as sparks of his shadows fire through the air, gripping hold of August and picking him up by the throat.
His eyes never leave mine as he silently orders his darkness to choke the life out of my best friend.
“I’ve protected her since she was a child. You’ve known her for ten fucking seconds,” August chokes out, still pushing him.
“Rave, stop!” I yell.
He listens and drops August back on his feet, the swirling smoke leaving August and coming over to me, gently touching my cheek to offer me comfort.
I know I’m safe from his shadows, but I think I’m the only one.
“Well, thanks for protecting her and keeping her away from other males for me,” Rave fires back.
Fucking hell.
Rave’s magic all but pours out of him, and it’s suffocating.
He’s lost control, and I know how much he hates that.
I feel his pain, and it’s stifling.
It mixes with my betrayal, hitting me harder.
So hard it almost brings me to my knees.
“The princess has spoken,” Zython calls out, his hand resting on my shoulder. “And you will respect her wishes, Prince Rave.”
With one last look at the male I love, who was meant to care for my heart and soul, I turn my back on him and return to my new home.
“Astrid!” he calls out, voice strained. “Don’t do this! I fucking love you!”
I stop in my tracks.
Of course, this is the first time he tells me he loves me.
Maybe he’s just as manipulative as his ex.
Maybe the fates got it wrong, and they belong together, after all.
My legs continue taking me inside.
I close my eyes and brace myself with my palm on the wall when he loudly roars with pain and rage. The castle trembles with the magnitude of his emotions, darkness closing in on us all.
But he caused this.
And now we both have to deal with the consequences.