Chapter 34 #2
But Aunt Zima stole my attention back before I could begin any sort of torture I had in mind for the male I loved.
“I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be.”
Cedar squawked at the same time I scoffed, the disbelief apparent in both our reactions, but she ignored us both, pushing forward.
“From what I’ve been told, Cora is alive.
Keres has her locked within one of the tower's chambers, away from others while he talks to her, trying to glean any sort of information she has yet to share. There are some things he’s learned about your sister in her absence that I fear aren’t what he was expecting,” she explained.
Her lips pursed in a thin line as she watched me, her eyes glancing back to Cedar as if to say more.
“It won’t be long before he discovers the mating bond between Cedar and her, so we need to get her and Oren out of there before that happens.
I already have my people inside, ready to act with short notice if required.
” Her eyes moved over to Raiden. “I assume we’re ready for this to be the final meeting with him? ”
Raiden nodded. “Which brings us back to you explaining things before I do. I’ve kept your secrets long enough, Zima.”
My aunt let out a sigh and sat back in her chair, her fingers fidgeting and rubbing together the way Cora did when she was anxious.
“When Keres showed up to take your sister, your mother knew they were coming. I’m not sure how, but she told your father and I that they had to stay, but we needed to leave.
Your father, of course, refused to leave the two of them.
” Aunt Zima let out a slow breath before continuing.
“Your mother and I weren’t close by any means.
I didn’t agree with the way she was raising you and Cora, but you weren’t my children.
When she came to me and told me someone was coming and I needed to be around to be there for her children when she couldn’t be, I didn’t question it, Silvana.
I left, only returning after two winters had passed and Keres was no longer looking at our village for survivors. ”
When I didn’t speak for a moment, she continued.
“When I came back, it took time to build connections, relationships with others in surrounding courts. Raiden came into power and he was the first to understand what I’d been through.
Paine came later, and Oren’s father as well.
We began investigating, getting ears and eyes into Whitbourne.
When I’d heard you both were alive, I wanted to march in and take you home, but I knew firsthand how powerful the bonds Keres had manipulated himself into were.
So I waited. I had no idea Cora had gotten you out until you were long gone, and then you disappeared.
We thought you were dead, until a coven leader in the Court of Wolves spoke of you at a meeting.
I tried not to get my hopes up. I tried talking to visionaries and others to get an idea on where you were, but nothing came of it.
It wasn’t until Raiden’s letter that I began to have hope.
“But you were mated then. It wasn’t as if I could bring you home and tuck you into bed like when you were small. I reached out to Raiden, but your friend was taken, you found your sister. It didn’t feel right upending one more aspect of your life. So I waited.”
I scoffed, the anger once more rising. “You didn’t think I deserved to know I had more family out there? That I wasn’t alone? Anything about my past?”
“Of course I did! But it just felt like too much with everything else happening around us. And, to be honest, I was more focused on getting more survivors out of Whitbourne than anything else. Since Keres found out you were alive, he’s been on a rampage, Silvana.
Our family reunion didn’t feel like a top priority compared to everything else on the list.”
Shaking my head, my eyes dropped to my lap.
It wasn’t that I disagreed with her. It was the fact that once more, everyone seemed to know more about my life than they wanted to let on. I was tired of being the odd one out of my own memories and past.
“What is the plan? How are we getting my sister back out of that golden hellscape?” I questioned, forcing a subject change away from the rest.
Aunt Zima grimaced before her eyes drifted back to Raiden. “We aren’t.”
Cedar squeaked once more behind me, his wings flapping out at his side as he screeched.
“What? That’s the only reason we came here,” Bastian growled, voicing Cedar’s words aloud for everyone else to hear, it seemed.
“Anwen sent a message. The ice princess will come to us, and we need her for the next part.”
Cedar chose that moment to fly, shifting in midair as he strutted towards the door, determination on his face, but Bastian and Paine stood, blocking the door and refusing to let him out.
Fists flew as he tried to push them out of the way, words still not leaving his mouth as he fought the two of them.
“Raiden,” I commanded.
Shadows flew out from my mate and into and around Cedar’s body until he was laid out on the floor, unconscious.
“How did you do that?” Paine asked, his eyes wide as his chest heaved from the fight.
“Silvana and I have been training,” Raiden muttered as he stared at my unconscious best friend sprawled across the floor. “We’ll guard him in shifts. He doesn’t leave this room.”