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I had never had anyone, not even my own mother, show such unwavering devotion and concern for my well-being. My chest tightened, and my throat closed. I had already sworn allegiance to this young, Dark Queen, but given the chance I would have sworn it again. My loyalty was eternal, and unshakable.
“Of course not.” Zayne replied. “I am not looking to buy her. She will remain free, as will I. I am looking for an emissary to manage relations between our courts, and I would like it to be Cerenah.
“She will stay with me, here, in The Court of Greed, and help me to free my people, as your mate has done for The Court of Pride. She will act as a bridge between us. Grant me this, and I will swear fealty to you now, and fund your war.”
“I am not leaving Cerenah here to live with someone who abused her for centuries.” Raven snarled. “Choose something else.”
“No.” Zayne replied, his tone firm. “It is Cerenah or nothing.”
The Dark Queen and The Bone Prince stared each other down, and for a moment, I was not sure who would cave first. Watching Zayne glare at my Queen, I knew he would never let me go.
He had told me so, over, and over, for more than two hundred years. ‘There is nowhere you can go that I will not follow, Cerenah.’ He would whisper to me, on nights when I would beg to return to the kitchens. ‘It would hurt so much less if you would just stop fighting it.’
As the tension in the air continued to rise, and Zayne’s words played on a loop through my mind, I realized that he was right. If I fought him now, it would cause so much unnecessary pain. However, it was no longer just my pain that he held in his hands. If Raven didn’t agree to these terms, he would follow through on his threat, and her reign would be doomed before it could even begin.
Watching her stand fiercely before me, angry and determined to protect someone who she considered to be one of her own, I couldn’t help but think of how much of a shame that would be.
“I will do it.” I said. Zayne’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline, and Raven whirled to face me.
“Cerenah, no. You don’t have to do this.” Raven said. I clenched my fists at my side and shook my head.
“I do. I know him, my Queen. If we do not give him what he asks he will spend every waking moment ensuring that he follows through on his threat, and your people will suffer.”
A smug, terrifying smile curled across Zayne’s lips as he met my gaze.
“Good girl.” He purred, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked snidely at Raven. “It would seem at least somebody in your party has a head on their shoulders.”
She whirled on him, and without warning, shot him square in the chest with a quasar. He barely had time to block the blast and the energy sent him reeling several steps backward. My eyes widened in surprise and suddenly she was on him, her shadows peeling off the ground and swirling over his body, holding him still before her.
“I should just kill you for your fucking attitude.” She snarled, and he gave her a disgusted look.
“Kill me if you want but The Court of Greed is not loyal to you. Who knows who The Court will align with if I’m dead. It’s like you want her to win.” He spat, and Raven wrapped a hand around his throat, her dark hair whipping around her in the stormy wind.
“Raven,” Jeremy said softly, stepping forward. He looked worried. “You can’t just kill everyone who disagrees with you.”
“Like fuck she can’t.” Rycon snorted, cocking his gun menacingly.
Jeremy sighed. “Can’t you make a deal with him? He said she will act as emissary. She agreed. I know this guy is scum, but sometimes you need to work with the scum to get the bigger bad guys.”
Zayne didn’t look impressed with the fact that a human had just referred to him as scum, but even he could see the sway Jeremy had on Raven. He kept his mouth shut.
“My Queen, allow me to do this for you.” I said, forcing myself to keep my voice even, hoping it would convince her I was more sure of myself than I actually was. The thought of staying here with Zayne made my skin crawl, but it was different now. I would be free. I had my powers back, and apparently a very large Titan at my disposal. I looked up at Elektraz, who was watching the interaction silently with a cocked head. I wondered how the lightning bird fit into all of this.
Raven paused for a moment, still gripping Zayne tightly by the throat, her dark eyes searching his scarred face intently. After a long, angry pause, she finally released him.
“Fine. Cerenah will act as our emissary. She will not be bonded, assaulted, raped, abused, or hurt by you or anyone who serves you, under any circumstance. If a single hair on her head is harmed, I will murder you where you stand and burn your fucking court to the ground. Gold be damned.” Zayne opened his mouth to speak, but Raven stabbed him in the chest with her finger before continuing.
“In return, you will fund my war, and you will bow to me. You will serve me, Zayne. Every order I give you from here on out will be followed without question. Do you think you can stomach that?”
He narrowed his eyes at Raven, as he stood up and casually straightened the collar of his shirt. However, it was my eyes he met, before he smiled.
“Fine. I agree to your terms.”
“One more thing.” Rycon interrupted. I watched the shifter step forward. He pulled a notebook out of his breast pocket and tossed it at The Bone Prince’s feet. Zayne called the notebook to him, flipping it open with a look of mild curiosity. Raven too, looked interested and confused. “Every single daemon named in that book is to be captured and delivered to The Court of Pride, immediately. The ones that are still alive at least.” Rycon ordered. Zayne flipped through a few pages before shrugging and nodding.
“Consider it done.”
Raven exchanged a look with Rycon who just patted her on the shoulder.
