Chapter 47 Raven
Raven
One week later…
I move like a wraith through the halls, my boots silent on the polished stone floor as I head toward my spy craft class.
My gut tells me all is not how it seems—a prickling awareness that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I’m early to class and take a seat in the back where I can see the entire room, my wings folding tight against the chair.
But something deep down is eating at me like a phantom limb that, for a brief moment, I can feel, then it’s gone.
The sensation makes my chest ache with longing for something I can’t name.
“You okay?” Ziggy asks as he walks into the room, books stacked high in his arms. The leather-bound volumes smell like old paper and ink.
“Yeah, just a lot of pressure. I don’t want to fight Mom.
But I know it’s going to get harder to stay in the territory with her.
” I pull out one of the knives Corvis gave me as a mating present—the blade etched with silver patterns—and start cleaning under my nails, needing something to do with my hands.
“I don’t want to see you two fight either.
Hell, both ancients are afraid to get between the two of you.
Father instinct versus mate instinct is tough.
” He offers me a small smile, and we both sigh at the same time.
“On the bright side, I have cookies.” Ziggy pulls out my favorite almond cookies from his messenger bag and tosses me a bag.
The cellophane crinkles. “Aunt Cora figured you’d need them today.
” He gives me a wink before setting up for class.
I stare down at the bag and sigh. I miss when life was simple. Azalea is in this class with me, and she slides into the seat to my left, her presence warm and familiar. “Hey, sis.” She purrs as she leans close, pressing her cheek to mine. Her skin is warm, and she smells like jasmine.
“Hey.” I force a smile and lean my head on her shoulder, snuggling close for a moment, drawing comfort from the contact.
“You totally almost kicked Mom’s ass last week. It’s the talk of the nest.” She whispers to me before stealing a cookie from my bag.
“It’s only going to get worse from here.
Apparently, until one of us is defeated, the battles will continue.
” I sit up and flex my wings a little, feeling the stretch in the muscles.
I pull out a cookie and take a bite. Usually this would make everything better—the sweet almond flavor, the crumbly texture.
Today, it’s adding a lead weight to my chest.
Ziggy starts his lecture, and I swear my mind is elsewhere. The pull is there again—warm like the sun first thing in the morning, golden and insistent. Whoever my mate is, they’re strong. The tether tugs at something deep in my chest before fading again.
Azalea bumps my shoulder, and I look at her. “My scales are tingling. What’s eating you?” I glance up and see Ziggy watching us while he’s teaching, concern flickering in his feline eyes.
“Not here.” I slide my stuff into my bag, the sound too loud in the quiet classroom, and Azalea does the same thing.
Within seconds, she grabs me and we phase to the roof of the dragon dorms. Reality folds and unfolds, and suddenly we’re standing in bright sunlight.
I drop my bag and walk to the edge, looking down and out across the campus.
I can see Hemlocke in the distance taking the riders out for their lessons, his black form moving among the horses.
Dad—I mean Thauglor—ugh, Dad is walking across the open space with Mom on his arm, the two of them deep in conversation.
“Spill...” Azalea says and takes my hands, turning me to face her. Her grip is firm, insistent.
“Thorne isn’t the only chimera.” I stare into Azalea’s eyes, and she double blinks, her pupils contracting.
“Shit, Mom is in deep trouble when she goes against you. That explains how you overpowered her. You have two great wyrms as dads.” Azalea’s eyes are comically wide as she stares at me.
“It’s exactly why I’m terrified to face her in battle. I didn’t SEE her when we were fighting. I saw a target, not my mother. I saw a threat, not the woman who gave me life.” Sighing, I close the distance and hug my sister, breathing in her familiar scent.
“You need Orpheus and Lily. Give me a few moments.” Azalea says as she backs up, then phases off to points unknown, leaving me alone on the roof.
Turning back, I climb onto the low wall in the center of the roof and sit on it, letting my legs dangle and my wings hang free. The stone is warm beneath me from the sun. Within moments, Azalea is back with Lily and Orpheus, both looking concerned.
“What’s happening?” Orpheus says, closing the distance, his basilisk eyes searching my face.
“Are you okay?” Lily says as she pulls me to her, her arms tight around me. Looking over her shoulder, I see Azalea wink at me, then vanish again.
“There are so many things wrong.” I draw in an exaggerated breath, then look down for a moment, breaking away from my siblings.
“Drow are hunting me. There’s still a teacher here somewhere who was working with Abaddon that in twenty-one years they haven’t found.
Lastly, I feel a fifth mate bond that flickers on and off like a light switch.
One minute it’s there, the next it’s gone.
” I lower my head and close my eyes. That faint tether flickers again, warm and golden, then blinks out of existence.
“Shit, that’s a lot to be handling.” Lily says, approaching again.
“Mom is worried you’re going to rip the nest from her sooner than later. Like before school is over.” Orpheus winces as he says it.
“I have the same concerns.” I have to be honest with myself—the next time Mom decides to fight me may be the time I win, and she’s forced to submit. The thought makes my stomach turn.
“Mom’s been training nonstop. You came too close to winning. If it wasn’t for Hemlocke bleeding, you would have defeated her then.” Lily offers as she takes my hand in hers, her fingers warm.
“I don’t want any of it, Lil. Flight mother?
I mean, I’ve been keeping everyone in line forever.
That’s not bad. Queen? A black dragon as the continent’s queen.
Are they out of their ever-loving minds?
I have a temper when I’m pushed. I torch first, ask questions later.
” I search both of my siblings’ faces for understanding, desperately needing them to see how terrified I am.
“Yeah, it’s kind of our thing, except you have the strength and size to back the temper.” Lily half-laughs when she hugs me again.
“So what are you going to do when the school year ends?” Orpheus asks the one question I didn’t even think about. The one that makes everything feel more real, more immediate.
“Well, shit...” I raise both brows, looking out over the campus grounds again, holding my sister tight to my side.
“It’s really going to depend on whether Mom and I can exist in the same area or not.
” I kiss Lily’s forehead and look at Orpheus.
“Cerce offered me Abraxis’s chalet to take my family to.
So there’s an option. We also have my lair, but it’s not somewhere our human forms will do well in all the time.
” I huff out a sigh and look toward Shadowcarve in the distance.
“Can you even be in the barracks with Mom, or is it just the territory?” Orpheus asks, and I shrug my shoulders.
“Not sure. My scales crawl staying in the guest house. My dragoness doesn’t like not being in the mountain.
” I turn my gaze toward Malivore, the massive structure looming.
“Maybe I’ll keep my family on campus during the break.
” I pull out my phone and text Ziggy, asking him to come get my siblings. His response is immediate: On my way.
“Ziggy will be here in a few moments for you.” I hug and kiss my siblings, breathing in their scents—Lily’s soft vanilla, Orpheus’s earth and stone.
I turn toward the courtyard again. Klauth is on campus today, and I need his counsel.
The second Ziggy arrives with a displacement of air, I leap off the roof to fly toward the Arcanum campus where Klauth has his office when he’s here.
As I fly, I think about how lucky I am that my wing wasn’t permanently damaged like Abraxis’s.
The doctor begrudgingly cleared me after learning what had happened and that I had flown before I was cleared.
The wind feels incredible under my wings; the muscles respond perfectly.
Banking hard, I turn and land on the balcony to Klauth’s office and tap on the glass with my knuckles, waiting for him to unlatch the door.
He steps to the door, and I can hear the latch disengage before he pulls it open.
“Raven, shouldn’t you be in class?” He arches a brow, looking at me.
I glance over his shoulder and see Samara there as well as Anipe, both ancient beings whose presence fills the room with power.
“I should, but I was seeking your counsel. I can come back later if you need me to?” I relax how I’m holding my wings so that the tension I know I must be radiating lessens some.
“No, come in. We were just finishing up.” He steps back and makes a sweeping motion with his arm, motioning for me to enter.
“We can continue this later. It seems more pressing matters need your attention.” Samara says as she bows to me—a full, respectful bow—then moves toward the doors.
“Yes, it’s rare for the heir apparent to make an appearance here. We will speak later.” Anipe bows in my direction and leaves with Samara, their footsteps echoing down the corridor.
The deference the two of them showed me is more than they show even my mother as queen. I hazard a glance looking over at Klauth, and he stares at their retreating backs, his expression troubled. “That’s mildly concerning.”
“What is it , Dad?” I close the distance and give Klauth a hug, holding him until he hugs me back. His arms are warm and strong around me.
“You’ve always had a presence about you.
” He kisses the crown of my head before walking us over to the leather couch on the other side of the office.
The material creaks as we sit. “Thinking back, it’s probably because you’re as much my daughter as you are Thauglor’s and Balor’s.
” He tilts his head, looking at me. I can see the paternal love in his crimson-flecked amber eyes.
“Red dragons have a commanding presence. We basically demand attention and respect without having to utter a word.” He pats my hand and offers me a small smile.
“So, Samara and Anipe acknowledging my dominance is a good and bad thing?” I tilt my head in the opposite direction he did.
“Yes.” He furrows his brows and draws in a breath audibly. “Think of it this way. If the queen and the nest mother stand side by side, and the nest mother commands more respect, how does that look?”
“The older dragons look to you first, then Mom. But when it comes to the flights, it’s the female’s power that they look at.” I look down at our joined hands, his skin warm against mine.
“Which means at events we have to keep you and your mom far apart. If they feel a difference in power between the two of you, it can cause problems. The clans can call for your ascension long before you’re ready because of your commanding presence.
” Klauth lays yet another concern in my lap, adding to the crushing weight.
“Okay, so let me get the big picture here. I have drow hunting me.” He nods.
“I’m going to have to fight my mom at some point for the position of dominant dragoness.
” Sadly, he nods again. “Because of my legendary bloodline—” I motion to him, then touch my black scales on the side of my neck, “—I have a commanding presence that may cause issues for you and Mom.” He nods again, this time slower.
“We still don’t know which teacher helped Abaddon hunt Mom.
And to put the icing on this disaster cake, I have a fifth mate out there somewhere that I can and cannot feel to be able to track him.
” I slump back into the chair and run a hand down my face, feeling overwhelmed.
“That pretty much sums it up.” He says calmly, like we’re discussing the weather. “We’ve been hunting and killing drow for weeks now. Keir’s pack has been instrumental in eliminating the threat.” There’s an air of pride in his voice mentioning my mate’s pack.
“I think for summer break we’re going to stay on campus.
Hemlocke needs to be here for the horses.
” My eyes turn to the doors leading to the balcony, watching the clouds drift by.
Slowly, I stand and hug Klauth when he stands with me.
“Thanks for everything, Dad.” I kiss his cheek and leave before he can say anything else.
I didn’t want to say that I’m afraid of tearing my mom apart if we come home. I’ll keep those fears to myself for everyone’s sake. Staying here on campus would be easier for Hemlocke. The rest of us have nothing to do except Keir, and he can blink to wherever he needs to be.
There’s one question I don’t have an answer for.
What the hell am I supposed to do for the next three years?
The weight of my station, my power, my future—it all presses down on me as I fly back across campus. The sun is warm on my wings, but inside, I feel cold.
Lost.
Terrified of what I’m becoming.