Chapter 44
Corvis
Keir’s now an Alpha, Raven is becoming a flight mother then one day queen.
That leaves me and Hemlocke without a title or a greater purpose.
The thought sits heavy in my chest as I walk across the training circles in Shadowcarve, my boots crunching on the gravel.
The afternoon sun beats down on the ancient stone, making everything shimmer with heat.
I head to the lower offices where Vaughn is.
I knock on the door frame and wait for him to look up from the paperwork scattered across his desk.
“Hey Corvis! How’s mated life treating you?” He motions to the chair before the desk with a broad smile.
“It’s real good. The date book and erasable calendar has been amazing.” I smile at him and look down at my folded hands, seeing the silver scales that pattern my knuckles. “I have several questions for you. If you don’t mind.”
Vaughn pauses and sets his pen down, the click loud in the quiet office. He looks at me, his expression shifting to concern. “Is something wrong? Is Raven okay?” He gets ready to slide back from the desk, and I raise a hand to stop him.
“She’s fine. I just need advice.” He arches a brow, waiting for my questions. “How did you deal with not being as important as your mate? Or bond brothers?”
“Ah...” Vaughn stands up and starts pacing around the room, his footsteps heavy on the wooden floor.
“It took me quite a few years to be okay with everything. Let’s face it, we have a pair of royals and a war hero general in the nest.” Vaughn pauses and leans back against the closest wall, his arms crossed.
“The weight of feeling insignificant never quite goes away.”
“Raven will be a queen. Keir is an alpha. I’m...” I look down at my hands again, unable to finish the sentence. Just a dragon. Just ordinary.
“You and whoever else Raven takes as a mate will be a King Consort like I am. You are no less important than the next mate. It was a struggle I had for a long time.” Vaughn forces a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, then smirks.
“It’s still an issue occasionally. It’s why we use the question bag.
It’s where we put our questions without anyone knowing who asked.
It’s a trust thing—no one asks who asked the question.
Everyone has to answer honestly.” Vaughn walks back over to the desk and reaches down, pulling out a cloth bag that looks like a pillowcase, worn soft from use.
He slides it across the desk to me, the fabric whispering against the wood.
I take the bag and stuff it in my satchel, feeling the weight of possibility of something so simple. “Thanks for the help.” I reach across the desk and shake his hand, his grip firm and reassuring.
Turning slowly, I leave his office and cross the courtyard to observe the training. The sounds of combat fill the air—steel on steel, grunts of effort, instructors calling corrections. Today is the first day Raven is allowed to spar like before her injury.
Raven is leaning against the wall, watching everyone fight.
Her black wings are folded tight against her back, and her sapphire eyes track every movement in the ring.
Orpheus is within reach of his sister, watching everyone from behind his lenses, his basilisk nature coiled and ready.
“Next!” Abraxis calls, and Raven and Orpheus step away from the wall in perfect sync with each other.
Every move a mirror image of the other, right down to drawing the same sword at the same time.
The blades sing as they leave their sheaths.
They spar, and it’s like watching a choreographed dance between them—each strike anticipated, each parry flawless.
“It’s eerie how they move, isn’t it?” Mina says from behind me, and I jump slightly. I didn’t hear her approach.
“I never noticed it before.” I answer honestly, unable to look away from the twins in the ring.
“The terror twins, they call themselves. They are probably the closest bonded of all of my children.” Mina’s tone is wistful, carrying years of observation.
“Isn’t Lily very close? I mean, I remember the three of them constantly separated from the others to protect Orpheus.” My question leaves so many other possible answers hanging in the air. Any of them would give me more insight into my mate.
“Lily is close. But like you and Raven, Raven just knows where Orpheus is. He can do the same with her.” Mina pauses for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
“All things considered, they probably are twins. Well, just given different forms.” Mina’s gaze says so much more than her words.
Orpheus and Raven are twins more than we ever thought before.
Seeing they are both chimeras, and from the same clutch, the pieces fit together.
“They are lucky to have each other.” A genuine smile crosses my lips as I turn to watch them. Every strike and parry is perfect in form and action—a lifetime of training together clear in every movement.
“They are. I’m glad she’s taking over as flight mother and will never have to leave her siblings.” Mina smiles, then rests a hand on my shoulder, the touch warm and maternal.
“Tie!” I hear Abraxis call, and I watch Orpheus and Raven hug, their swords lowered.
“Corvis!” Raven yells and then crosses the yard to me before leaping into my arms. Her wings spread slightly for balance, catching the sunlight.
I catch my mate and hug her to me, spinning us a little. Her scent fills my nose—sea salt and jasmine and home. A soft purr escapes both of us, the sound rumbling between our chests, and we laugh a little. “I missed you.” She whispers softly next to my ear.
“I always miss you.” My lips press against her cheek, tasting salt from her exertion, then capture her lips. She tastes of the tea she had this morning and something uniquely her.
“Do you have a class to teach?” Raven asks as she looks up at me, her sapphire eyes bright.
“Next period. I came to see how you were doing. I also visited Vaughn.” Smiling, I tilt my head, looking down at my beautiful mate.
“Ah...” Raven says and smiles knowingly before leading me away from the others. “You got the bag from him.” It’s not a question, I notice.
“Yeah, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have it. The basic idea behind it can be quite helpful.” I run my fingers through her hair, watching the threads of midnight slip through my fingers like silk.
“It works well in Mom’s house. As the kids grew, we had our own bag to ask the tough questions of each other or our parents.” Her gaze drifts to her brother in the ring, and I see something complicated pass across her face.
“Do you need him with us? I mean, in Malivore with his mate.” I arch a brow, watching my mate carefully. The scales on her shoulders that I can see through the open collar of her training shirt move, raising and lowering with her breathing.
Raven turns to look at me. Her eyes flicker between human and dragon, watching every move I make. Her gaze drops for a moment, then back up to me. “Yes, and no.” She narrows her eyes, and the corner of her right eye ticks. It’s one of her tells. The subject bothers her.
“Talk to me.” I caress the side of her face, feeling the smooth skin, then draw her close for a slow kiss. I sip at her lips, feeling the love through the bond like a warm hug that spreads through my entire body.
“I’m sure Mom told you about how close Orpheus and I are.
What they suspect.” Raven says, and all I can do is nod.
“I don’t know why it is, it just is. I can sense Thorne and Orpheus as easily as I can sense you and my other mates.
” Raven sighs and looks up at the position of the sun in the sky.
“I think we’re triplets. But...” She pauses, and I lead her to her room here at Shadowcarve.
I open the door and allow Raven to pass before me, catching the scent of her that lingers in this space—leather and dragon fire. “You think Thorne is different from the two of you.” I sit on the arm of the chair and draw my mate close, allowing her to stand between my legs.
“I know she is. She only has the color of Balor’s basilisk in her eyes and nothing else. She can’t spit acid, and her scales are a mix of hard and soft.” Raven sighs as her gaze meets mine, vulnerability written in every line of her face.
“And Orpheus?” I kiss along her jaw, trying to comfort her as she speaks about the things that make her different. Her skin is warm beneath my lips.
“We both have mixed scales. Hard silver talons, acid, and we both can use stone gaze.” Her eyes close as she processes what she’s saying, the weight of it settling over her.
I nod slowly, not sure how to answer. “We will keep Orpheus close from now until forever. However long he wants to stay close.” I shift my left hand, feeling the familiar pull of transformation, and stare at the silver scales there.
Carefully, I cut one free with my talon—the sting sharp but brief—and offer it to Raven.
“I don’t have a title or even a rank in your nest father’s army.
But I can give you this. A part of me you can carry forever.
” I offer her the scale with a reverence befitting an ancient treasure, the silver catching the light.
Raven’s hand rises, and she unbuttons the shirt she’s wearing with deliberate movements.
Gently, she pulls it over to the side, exposing the flesh over her heart.
I press my talon over her heart and press down, feeling the resistance of skin before it gives way.
I remove my talon, and Raven presses the scale into her flesh.
Our bond blazes to life brighter than before, burning through me like wildfire.
A soft purr escapes her lips. “I feel you so strongly now.”
Raven shifts her hand, and I watch scales ripple up her arm. She plucks one of her scales—matte black and perfect—and offers it to me. “Will you wear mine?”
I couldn’t get my shirt open fast enough, buttons scattering as I tear it. “I would be honored.”
Raven seems to move in slow motion as her talon moves toward my chest. Hers are sharper than mine—deadly weapons honed by genetics.
It slices through my flesh like a hot knife through butter, and I gasp at the sensation.
Within seconds of Raven pressing her scale into my flesh, I’m knocked on my ass by the power that seems to punch me in the solar plexus.
My pulse races as if I’ve been running for hours.
I’m gasping for breath, trying to catch up to the wave of power that hit me.
The world spins, colors too bright, sounds too loud.
“Dad said each of my mates that bear my scale share in my lifespan.” Her voice is calm and smooth as she says it, like she’s commenting on the weather, and looks back toward the door leading to the courtyard.
“What’s on your mind?” I feel the fluctuations of her emotions more acutely than before—anxiety, determination, love, all swirling together.
“I need to give Keir a scale.” She says it with such certainty. If I didn’t know any better, she’s staring in the direction she’s sensing him through their bond.
“I’m sure he would wear it with pride.” Leaning forward, I kiss her cheek, tasting salt. It’s interesting that I don’t feel the insecurity or jealousy that Abraxis warned me about. Just contentment that she’s happy.
“Where did your thoughts just go?” Her eyes flick to mine as she picks up the egg carrier, strapping it to her chest with practiced movements.
“Abraxis made it a point to warn me about getting jealous over your other mates.” The hair on the nape of my neck stands on edge at the memory of that conversation.
“Only a male who is insecure in himself fears the other mates’ arrivals.
” Raven says so calmly. Her eyes drop to the cursed egg she’s carrying, the orange shell glowing faintly.
“Solaris wonders how you’ll handle his arrival.
Him being the elder drake, stronger and more powerful.
” Raven bites her bottom lip, and then the corner of her eye ticks. She has her own concerns about this.
“As the oldest drake in our nest, he would by default lead us. I also understand that he will hold the majority of your attention, being the stronger male.” This is a subject I’ve thought about since she received a cursed egg. I’ve made my peace with it.
The slow tilt of Raven’s head reminds me of Klauth when he’s sitting among the council, weighing evidence.
She’s weighing what I told her, measuring my sincerity.
Her eyes drop to the egg carrier. “He wants your counsel and brotherhood when he hatches.” Her eyes appear vacant for a moment, distant as she communicates with the being inside.
“He senses you are a good male. And you honor the old ways.” Raven closes the distance between us and kisses me before leaving, her lips soft and warm.
Thauglor and Klauth told me about how they used to speak to Mina when they were in their eggs.
Balor and Ziggy expanded on what they had said.
The more the ancients spoke to Mina, the more possessive of the eggs she became.
Raven is clinging to the egg, and I swear it responds to her and her moods—glowing brighter when she’s happy, dimmer when she’s stressed.
He is another mate of hers, one that cannot protect itself yet.
We have a good mate, one that I count my lucky stars I was blessed to have.
And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she never regrets choosing me.