Chapter 34
Guard Him
Silvana
My eyes were glued to my best friend as his wings flapped and he pushed off my shoulder. Moonlight reflecting off of his dark feathers as he soared along with our group. He hadn’t spoken since we left the library, and he’d been shifted since we walked out of the manor.
“What do you think is going through his mind right now, Raiden?” My mate was riding next to me.
Periodic shadows flowing from his fingertips and wrapping lovingly around my arms and ankles.
He’d been doing that a great deal since the group of us decided to head into the Court of Ice, meeting with the vampires who worked against Keres and helped Raiden and Paine get survivors out of Whitbourne and the surrounding cities.
Raiden shrugged, his eyes following Cedar the way mine had.
“I’m not sure, my Ice Queen. It’s hard to understand.
When Allie told me we were mates, it was before we ever secured the bond.
We had the time and space to talk about it.
Even while rocky, we decided to continue on with it, together.
Cedar didn’t have that.” He let out a long breath.
“I’m not sure if Cora knew what she was truly doing when she initiated it, but even if she didn’t, there was no choice in it for him.
Now he’s forever bound and mated to a female he may never even see again.
Not to mention the tumultuous history between the two.
So, I could not even begin to fathom what is going through his mind as of now. ”
I turned his words over in my head and sighed as we rode on.
“Tell me something good, My Lord,” I pleaded, hoping a change of topic would help the ride go by quicker.
Glancing over in time to see him smirk and release a few shadows up my thighs, I attempted to keep my squirming to a minimum.
“Hmmm,” he hummed for a moment. “Something good. Well, we’re almost to the border.
Which means minimal riding left for a while.
We’ll have news on your sister when we arrive, which should be a positive in some light, and hopefully, this is the final time we’ll step foot in this Fates-forsaken court. ”
I felt myself smile, despite most of the things he mentioned being tentative. Raiden had a habit of doing his utmost to see me smile, even if it wasn’t always with the most positivity.
“Do you know exactly who we’re meeting with? Have you met them before?”
He nodded, his eyes still above on Cedar, a strange look passing over his face and a sense of unease crawling through the bond.
“I have, though it’s been many years. The head vampire running the operation is a female.
She and her late brother were descendants of the last ruler in Whitbourne, before Keres secured his place within the walls.
I believe he was their uncle, though I’ve never dived too deep into the family tree of it all. ”
I arched a brow, pieces clicking into place. “So, wait, is she also a born vampire?”
“The only one I’ve ever met aside from Valentine, my maker, and you, of course.
She wasn’t a direct line of royalty with her uncle being the next in line, so her father had an easier time stepping away from the family when they ruled.
Not many knew of the connection, and she didn’t keep it well-known either when her uncle was killed. For obvious reasons.”
Nodding, my eyes returned forward. We were riding along the Mistral River, but Bastian had mentioned we’d be cutting up and along the border soon. The town we were traveling to was just before The Broken Ruins Pass, hidden within the smaller snowcapped mountains here.
“Do you think she’s okay?”
I didn’t need to elaborate on what I’d meant, Raiden knew without the added questions.
“Your sister, despite her many flaws, is one of the strongest females I’ve met, Silvana. If anyone can step foot back within those golden walls and make it out once more, it is her.”
The sun would rise soon, and just as I was about to pester Bastian to tell us how much farther, a small cottage came into view. I glanced over at Raiden, but he didn’t seem alarmed by this sudden development.
“Is this… where we’re going?” I questioned.
Raiden nodded as Cedar circled above before landing on my shoulder, a light squawk coming from his beak. There was nothing wrong with the home, it just hadn’t been what I expected it to be.
“You know, you could shift back and talk to me as if you have something worthwhile to say,” I whispered to my friend. “It’s only been roughly three days now. Not that I’m counting.”
He leaned down, his beak pushing my baggy shirt to the side as he nipped at my bare shoulder. Shaking my arm, I glared at him.
“Fine. Stay in feathered form. See if I care.”
Throwing my leg over the side of the horse, I lowered myself to the ground and shook him off me. If he wanted to be an ass, that was fine. But he had to perch elsewhere.
Raiden was by my side a moment later, Cedar flying over to pester Bastian and Paine.
“We should’ve brought Arabella with us,” I mumbled as I slid my hand into Raiden’s.
Our group consisted of Raiden and me, Bastian, Paine, and Cedar.
Micah and Arabella stayed back at the manor to keep Allie safe in case Keres had word we’d left and sent in his men.
Plus, it was clear that Arabella didn’t want to step foot back in this court unless she was required to.
She wanted to help in any way that didn’t put her within the walls of Whitbourne.
“I’m sure you can somewhat understand her resentment towards such a journey.”
“Of course I can, but it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy the facts at my feet.”
Just then, the wooden door to the small cottage opened, and a tall lithe female stepped out. She had skin the color of snow and silver hair that was chopped just above her shoulder blades.
“Ah, the rulers of my favorite courts have arrived,” she said, her melodic voice stirring something deep within my chest.
I hadn’t stepped around my horse yet, nor had her eyes wandered over towards me. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing within my mind.
“Fucking Cora,” I muttered beneath my breath. Typically the lack of my full memory didn’t bother me. It wasn’t as if there were a hoard of positive memories waiting for me. But times like this? Times when there was something I needed to recall, and simply couldn’t, I wanted to smack my sister.
Paine walked over to the female, wrapping his arms around her in a long hug, only to be replaced by my mate moments later. I hadn’t even noticed he’d moved from my side, I’d been so wrapped up in my own mind.
“Hello, Zima,” he mumbled. “It’s been too long.”
I clutched the side of the horse, and suddenly Cedar was there, his taloned claws setting on my hand. My mind spun as small images began to reappear behind my eyes.
Cookies. Statues created from snow. Watching the stars late into the night. My father’s laugh as he wrapped her in a hug. Squealing with Cora as we received gifts made of ice and lessons within the mountains for our magic.
“Silvana?” the female asked, her gaze locked on me as she strolled around my horse to stand before me. Her eyes looked like Father’s. A deep, emerald green color, but the rest was like looking into a mirror.
“Aunt Zima?” I whispered the question, and everyone was silent as we stared at each other. “He told me…”
My voice trailed off as the shock of it all hit me. Keres had told me my entire family, my entire village, was gone. Burnt to the ground when he’d taken Cora. Yet here she stood, alive and well.
She walked towards me, slowly, as if I were an injured animal she was scared would attack and lunge in mere moments. However, I wasn’t, nor would I.
Closing the distance between us, I wrapped my arms around her tightly. Embracing her as if my life depended on it.
“You’ve been out here all this time?” I whispered , my face buried in her hair.
She laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “It’s a long story. Why don’t we all come inside out of the snow and the coming sun. We can talk, yes?”
Bastian opened the cabin door and we all followed inside.
The interior was exactly what I’d thought it would be.
Small, but cozy. In the corner was a set of stairs that went up to what I imagined to be bedrooms, while the first level was all open.
Couches, a few small tables, and chairs sat around.
No kitchen or bathing room in sight, just a great deal of seating and comfort to be seen.
Bastian took a chair near the door, Paine on the opposite side. Raiden’s hand slid into mine as he guided me over to one of the couches, and Cedar flew in behind me, perched on the back of the couch. Aunt Zima pulled up a chair and sat a few steps across from me, her gaze on no one but my own.
“I know you must have a great deal of questions for me, but I want to start at the beginning, if you’ll allow it,” she began, but I shook my head.
“As much as I’d love to, I need to know if you’ve heard anything about my sister first,” I found myself insisting. Raiden squeezed my hand and it clicked that they’d met before now. My gaze flew to his. “Did you know? That she was my family?”
Our gazes locked, his onyx eyes staring into my own.
“I had suspicions when you and I first met,” he answered carefully.
“I sent Zima a letter, asking about her kin, but she didn’t get back to me until after we were mated and then Cedar was taken.
That felt more important and it just never seemed like the right time to explain it all.
Then she asked me to let her explain herself.
After everything she’s helped us do, my queen, it felt like a small ask. ”
Pulling my hand away, I sat back on the couch, my mind roiling, my anger spiking, the magic within my fingertips aching to freeze him or maybe stab him in the leg a few times. Something. Anything to release these feelings.