Chapter 31
Take Better Care
Cora
The walk back to the manor felt longer than the trip there. As if the path had doubled in length and my feet no longer wished to carry me any farther than I’d walked.
“It’s the drink,” Silvana muttered from next to me, her arm intertwined within my own. “I find anything after two is just asking for pain and misery.”
My gaze cut towards her. “So when you forced four upon me?”
She snickered, her head coming down to my shoulder. “I can’t believe you choked down four goblets of that shit knowing how horrid it must taste to you now. You’re the most stubborn female I’ve ever come across, Cora.”
I rolled my eyes, biting back a laugh.
We reached the manor, the guards nodding towards Raiden as he strolled a few steps behind us, but it was Alina meeting us at the door, a note in hand, that caught me as odd.
Raiden stepped past us and took the parchment from her, nodding his thanks.
“It came not long ago, but there seems to be—” She paused, her eyes darting to Micah before they returned to Raiden. “The bird had blood on his talons, sire.”
Raiden nodded as his eyes trailed over the words within the letter.
“Thank you, Alina. Don’t fret, everyone is fine. Do you mind ensuring Lady Cora has fresh linens, please? I’m not sure we bothered to show her where everything was.” He said it all as if nothing was amiss, and none of her previous words bothered him at all.
I couldn’t confess the same. The buzzing notes in the back of my mind that had been whispering something was astray felt thicker and more potent than ever.
Silvana released my arm, walking over to read the parchment over Raiden’s arm, as my own nails dug into my palm, the pain keeping me from lashing out. I wanted to speak, ask for clarification, but I wouldn't. I’d be patient.
My mother’s words echoing within my mind, even now.
That had been my plan, at least, until Silvana’s teeth sank into her lower lip and her eyes darted up to my own, the worry in them clear.
“Do we—” she began, but he shook his head.
“No. They’ll be back soon, and since we don’t have an actual location, it would take longer to search for them than to just give them the small leeway of time to return.”
He handed the note off to Micah who scanned it quickly before he swallowed roughly and nodded in agreement.
Silvana’s eyes met mine once more before she released her lip. “Cedar’s been hurt, so it’s taking them longer to travel home than they expected. But, they’re on their way back.”
The patience I fought to hang on to snapped then, as I turned on my heel and walked back out of the front door I’d just come through. Silvana was close on my heels, but I had no intention of stopping.
Walking across the small bridge that connected the manor of Darkmoor to the streets, I was mere steps away from being out before a massive wall of shadows shot out of the ground, blocking the path from my departure. I stuttered to a stop, my eyes wide as the feeling deep within my chest tightened.
My hand slammed against it, the anger rising above the feeling I wouldn’t name.
“Tell him to drop it, Silv,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “Now.”
Her hand reached out, her fingers grazing along my arm.
A sense of warmth to the sudden chill I felt coming across my body.
“Come back inside, please. We don’t even know exactly where they are, but I know them both.
Cedar is simply too stubborn to die and Bastian is too stubborn to have something like that on his conscience. Please, just, don’t. Not yet.”
“Silvana, I can’t,” I whispered. “I can’t just go back inside knowing he’s out there.”
She pulled my hand away from the wall of shadows and took it within her own.
“When Keres had Raiden taken… I had no idea where to look or what to do. I lost my mind, Cora. Burning down buildings, killing people I thought were guilty in public for all to see. It was…” She released a breath.
“Well, it wasn’t good. But, I was able to find him within my dreams. I didn’t know it then, but it was real.
I was able to help him. Maybe, if you two are bound, it’ll be the same for you. ”
My eyes finally met hers.
“Do you believe that? Truthfully?”
She nodded, the sincerity clear in her eyes. “Truly.”
My bare feet were pressed into the damp grass, the sun just beginning to crest over the hill. The light breaking through those puffy white clouds, and dancing along the wildflowers growing in large patches around me.
I walked up the hill towards the large tree Cedar and I always found ourselves under. The branches extended out in a wispy fashion.
Once I reached the top, I sat down, the grass shorter here, moss coming down the trunk of the tree at my back, providing a soft place to lay and stare up at the sky. So I did just that.
He wasn’t here—at least not yet.
Silvana mentioned that it only worked when we were both unconscious, and maybe he wasn’t yet. That was good, right? If he were injured but remained awake, it was a good sign. A sign the injury wasn’t as horrid as we thought it would be.
Just as the words crossed my mind, I heard footsteps. Shooting to a seated position, I watched him walk up the hill towards me. He didn’t appear injured, but as his eyes met mine, they seemed tired.
“Hello, Princess.” His voice gave away nothing and I wanted to hound him with questions. Check him over from head to toe to ensure there were no injuries not healing the way they should.
“No greetings? It’s been a hell of a few days and I don’t even get a hello?” he questioned as he lowered himself beside me, a small groan slipping from his lips as he laid back along the grass beneath us. “Tell me, Princess, what have you been up to lately?”
“Is this real?” I found myself whispering.
Cedar shrugged as he closed his eyes, one arm bent beneath his head. “As real as it normally is if I had to guess.” He released a groan. “I can feel you worrying. Just lay back here with me and relax.”
Reluctantly, I followed his instructions. “What happened? Bastian said you’d been injured.”
“Ugh, damn shadow wielder. Should’ve known he’d write home about it.
I’m fine. Got into it with Voss and his soldiers.
One of them stabbed me in the thigh. Took a bit to heal.
In all my rush to be the hero, I haven’t eaten much lately.
We had to stop and find some fresh food.
We’ll be back before you know it. Try not to fret too much, Princess. ”
“You need to take better care of yourself,” I whispered, but he just chuckled in response.
“I’m sorry for leaving without saying anything,” he whispered, his tone more serious now.
“I’ll forgive you when you make it back alive,” I replied in the same whispered tone.
I laid in that grass next to him, the silence enveloping us as we stared at the passing clouds. The whistling wind for what felt like hours before I opened my eyes to find myself back within my chambers—a knocking sound at my door.
My stomach sank as I stared at the wood keeping me from whatever news lay beyond that door, but I couldn’t stop myself from rising and opening it.
Alina stared up at me. A shy woman who appeared young and eager to please. She produced a quick bow, as if unsure how to act in front of me.
“Lady Cora, this came for you moments ago.” She spoke softly as she handed me the pure white parchment with a gold seal, her hand shaky and her eyes refusing to meet my own.
I clutched the letter in my hand and nodded. “Thank you, Alina. Has there been any word regarding Cedar and Bastian?”
She shook her head, her eyes finally finding mine. “Nothing yet, no. But Sire believes they’ll be back at sundown.”
Nodding, I took a step back into my room to close the door. “Thank you again. Sleep well today.”
Alina bowed once more and hurried down the hall as I closed and latched the door behind me.
I stared down at my shaky hands as I walked towards the window and slid my finger beneath the golden seal.
Just get it over with, I found myself chanting.
My eyes scanned the words, but it wasn’t the normal note I received from Keres. Quite the opposite, really. Normally his notes were short and to the point. A reminder of where I belonged and what our goal had been for many winters now—bring Silvana home.
Well, his goal. Mine had always been simple: protect Silvana.
But as I read the note in hand, I realized somewhere along the way, my goals and thoughts had shifted to include more than just my sister. They included a certain pair of dark brown eyes and deep tawny-colored skin. A towering raven shifter who never kept his mouth shut when needed.
I read the note once more, this time trying to bury the feelings it elicited—
Cora,
If you’re reading this it means you’re still there in that Fates-forsaken place. A place I thought I’d made clear I was prepared for you to depart immediately.
That clearly didn’t mean to you what I thought it would, so let me clear things up at once.
It’s time to leave Darkmoor, with or without our dear Silvie.
Come home now.
Come home or it’ll be the shifter that pays the price for your defiance. If the dagger buried in his thigh wasn’t enough, allow me to impart a thread of knowledge your way.
A dagger to the heart won’t heal—even at a slowed rate.
Come home, Cora.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my chest tight as the words began to blur. He was right about one thing, a dagger to the heart wouldn’t heal.