Chapter 13
RAVENA
Lying in bed, I felt like I was being crushed under a mountain of bricks. My skull throbbed like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it—repeatedly—and my limbs were as useful as wet noodles. Every tiny shift sent spikes of pain behind my eyes.
Days like this, where the magic in my body was trying to escape, made me weak, and I hated it. I was fed up feeling like this.
After Darian realised who I was, he stormed away, and Kieran went with him, and that was almost a month ago. Christmas had been and gone, Xarothar slept, and Ronan came and cooked with me.
Honestly, I wasn’t much help, but seeing him use my kitchen and cooking like it was second nature was the sweetest thing, and a bit of a turn on.
I was a bit worried about Malrik; the wards around Velmore were stronger, and I hadn’t seen him. Knowing he was in the same realm as King Draeven terrified me, because I have no way of knowing if he’s okay.
And I had no idea if he would be able to get back into Velmore, or how long it would take to collect all the ingredients we needed.
It was nice having company at Christmas, and Ronan insisted we do everything that you would do on a normal Christmas day. Cooking, opening presents, which, by the way, that man gave me a necklace with a star on it. My heart did literal somersaults.
Then we baked cookies, got to know each other, had a snowball fight, built a snowman and then drank hot chocolate in front of the fire before he headed out to work.
He was making it really hard not to fall for him.
Now, both Ronan and Kieran knew; he had no idea she even had children. Kieran, well, I have no clue, he shows up some days on his bike to keep an eye on Ronan and then others he passes out drunk.
It’s quite sad to see.
I missed Malrik and Ronan.
Ronan did ask me a million questions about my past with Darian, but I shut it down.
He clearly hates me, and I don’t understand why.
I feel sorry for the boy he once was, and that’s why I want to help get rid of the darkness inside him.
Hence, the deal I plan on making with the others is in exchange for help to get the blood I need.
Darian still smelled the same, fresh coffee and caramel. But when I stood in front of him a month ago, I felt the same darkness coming from him as I do the enchanted dagger.
I groaned in pain; I curled up in myself, clutching my blankets.
“The magic is making you weak, Raven, it’s killing you.”
I know. I could feel it. My power, buried deep, thrashing against its cage like a beast desperate to break free. It was dark, pulsing beneath my skin. Magic isn’t meant to be locked away, and because it is, that’s why it was killing my body.
Draining me from the inside out.
I wasn’t afraid of death, well, the dying part, it was what came after.
“I’m going out. Maybe a walk will help.”
I moaned as I pushed myself out of the bed, throwing a jumper on and leggings, my boots, and I made my way downstairs slowly. Hopefully, the cold air would help.
When I stepped outside, the woods seemed quiet, and I couldn’t feel the connection with Xarothar much; it was faint.
“Not to alarm you, but I have left.”
I froze.
“You what?” My pulse spiked as I headed over to his den to find him gone.
How the hell did I miss him leaving? He’s a big arse dragon.
“Are you out of your mind? You could get yourself killed.”
“You were asleep.” His voice was calm and unbothered in my mind, which pissed me off more. “And I am fine, I have just had this feeling I needed to go. I will explain when I can, Raven.”
My nails dug into my palm. “Where are you?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Then just like that, he shut me out. Oh, that damn stubborn, annoying dragon is being all secretive.
I rubbed my temples to try and soothe the headache, then shoved them into the pockets of my jumper and started walking through the woods.
Maybe I could find a good, quiet spot to watch the fireworks from a distance. Just me, the stars, and the explosion of colours lighting up the sky.
The streets were alive with the sound of cheerful music and drunken laughter spilling out from the pubs and houses celebrating the new year like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Maybe they didn’t.
I wasn’t in the mood for crowds, so I kept to the quieter paths, letting the hum of the city buzz around me without getting too close.
Then I turned a corner and saw them.
A group of guys and girls, their energy sharp with cruelty, had backed a small woman into the alley. Her wild, curly hair framed a face filled with fear as they closed in, voices low but dripping with threat.
My blood ran hot.
I hated bullies. Didn’t matter who they were, didn’t matter what their excuse was—I despised cowards who thrived on making others feel powerless.
And tonight? I was in no mood to let them get away with it. I hadn’t brought my daggers stupidly, and no matter how pissed I was, I couldn’t use my enchanted one.
If it comes down to it and they don’t leave, I’ll have to use magic, which is going to hurt like a bitch.
I stormed over, catching the tail end of their taunts just before one of them pushed her.
“Fucking mute,” the guy sneered, standing too close, his lips curling in amusement. Then he licked his lips, “Would you scream if I fucked you? Or would you be mute then, too?”
Absolute scumbag.
He reached over, fingers aiming for her wild curls; her face was wet from her tears. I barely flicked my head before he was gone.
Lifting him clean off his feet, his body slamming into the brick wall behind us with a sickening crack before he crumpled to the ground, groaning.
The rest of them spun around, gazes snapping to me, but I was already pushing my way through them, stepping in front of her.
I could feel my anger swirling inside me, and in this moment, I didn’t care how much I was hurting, or how exhausted I was—these idiots weren’t going to lay another hand on her.
“You have ten seconds to leave, or you’ll end up with a concussion like your friend over there. “
Some of them hesitated, eyes darting to the guy on the ground. A few had the sense to run, bolting into the night. But not all of them. Two girls stayed in their spot, along with two other guys.
“One against four?” one laughed, rolling his shoulders, clearly thinking he had the upper hand. Then the others joined in with their mock laughter.
“She won’t help you, she’s a mute and useless.”
Ah. So that was it. They were bullying her because she either didn’t speak or didn't have magic. Pathetic.
“Wow,” I said flatly, stepping forward. “Real tough, A group of you ganging up on someone who can’t even defend herself.”
The idiot with the bright, bleach-blonde hair swaggered forward like he thought he was some divine gift wrapped in arrogance and very bad cologne. Classic pretty boy with zero brains, all ego.
“Keep your mouth shut and run along, unless you want a beating too.”
I smiled sweetly, but it was anything but.
“Oh, please, go ahead. Let’s see if you can back that threat up.”
I could feel the thrum of their magic around me. One of them held illusion magic, but it was weak. The blonde in front of me had pain magic.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
But instead of actually using it, he cocked his arm back and aimed a punch at my face.
Rookie mistake.
The moment his fist cut through the air, I sidestepped with ease—he was all muscle and no precision, so he stumbled forward, off balance.
I grabbed his arm, twisted, and slammed my fist into his nose. The crunch was delicious, blood spraying across my knuckles. He howled, clutching his face, but I didn’t wait for him to recover. A sharp kick to his side sent him sprawling to the ground, hard.
Then it hit me.
Agonising pain exploded in my skull and rippled down my spine, stealing the breath from my lungs. I staggered, biting down on a cry as every nerve lit up. Now he was using his magic.
I missed this.
A somewhat worthy fight.
Pain was nothing new to me; I dealt with it every single damned day. Gritting my teeth, I forced my body forward and wrapped my hand around his throat. His other friend with messy red hair made a move, but my wind hit him and he flew back, knocking the girls over in the process.
I focused on his magic that was spreading through my body like a virus. It slithered through my body and burned through my nerves. My power surged up from within me—more than I had ever used before. It slammed into his magic, wrapping around it like a vice and snapping.
Just like that, the burning stopped and the pain vanished. I stood breathing hard as his eyes widened, then he began clawing at me to let go. I let go, and he fell to the floor, coughing.
Dark tendrils of illusion magic poured out of the girl on the floor. She had dark hair and dark skin, her gaze locked on me with a smirk like she was going to win.
The pain hit me like phantom claws, dragging down my skin, and I staggered as the pain sank in, not as brutal as the blonde-haired prick, but enough to make my knees buckle. A high-pitched ringing screamed in my ears, making my skull throb.
Through the haze, I could see the other girl reaching for something in her jacket.
Steel flashed.
They were going to use that on the girl with curls.
Oh, hell fucking no.
I snarled, shoving her magic back, and the illusion shattered like glass, the magic dispersing before it could do any damage. I surged forward, gripping the one with the knife by the wrist before she could use it.
She was an elemental witch, but could only control water. Too fucking bad for her.
I looked at the knife and back at her. “What were you going to do with this?”
She tried to pull her arm back, but I gripped her face in my other hand. The other girl was passed out, too weak after whatever I did.
I had no clue how it happened, but it did, and I’m thankful. They deserve everything they get.
“Nothing.” She snapped.