Nobody spoke, not even the High Coven. Birch looked like he was ready to hurl everywhere.
“Good. Now rest whilst you can. When the realm sleeps, we move. No mercy, no hesitation. Tear apart everything until this mystery woman is found and bring her to me. Tonight, we start when they least expect it.”
Ronan’s hands clenched so tightly his knuckles went white, jaw ticking as he stared down at the table like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
I didn’t blame him. He was worried.
Vespera was the devil dressed in a pretty dress. Her presence was suffocating. There wasn’t a trace of mercy in her—no softness to her, no glimmer of anything human. She was cruel. She thrived on fear, wore it like a fucking crown. Being hated didn’t bother her, but being feared? She relished it.
A nightmare carved into the shape of a queen.
Chapter 20
RAVENA
My mind was a storm that I couldn’t ignore.
Ronan left a couple of hours ago for some emergency meeting after giving me endless orgasms. He mentioned something about exploring his new good boy kink while I tried to use my legs again to use the bathroom, muttering something about collars and needing to do some research.
He and Malrik would get along well.
They have been gone for some time now, and I was getting worried. I knew the attack last night wouldn’t go unnoticed, and Xarothar had been so quiet; even our bond was dead, as if he were in some sort of slumber.
At least he wasn’t in Velmore.
I also needed to find a way to get Malrik back in without signalling there’s been a breach in the border, and I had a small idea of who I should find. I missed him and his crazy ways.
Drew practically dragged me out of Ronan's room the second he left—said I needed food, whisky, and a good distraction. In that order, and he wasn’t wrong.
He ordered takeout, found a stash of Kieran's whisky and decided now was the perfect time for twenty questions. Thankfully, Daleyza showed up before I could tell him where he could shove his game. I had a headache, but he pouted and I caved. I was curled up in the corner of the couch, working my way through a mountain of fried rice and noodles while Daleyzasipped her drink and side-eyed her brother, who was painting my toenails like it was normal.
God, being lonely for so long does something to you.
“Okay, next question,” Drew said, grinning like a menace. “How do you know our brother?”
Not the question I was expecting.
I looked at him slowly, both of them looking at me, waiting for an answer. “I don’t.”
Drew pinched my foot, and I yelped, jerking it back. Daleyza didn’t miss a beat—she jabbed him in the side, and he nearly dropped the nail polish bottle, sending his glass teetering on the edge of the table.
“Shit.” He mumbled before pointing at me with the brush. “Don’t lie to us. We remember him mentioning a secret girl he was friends with years ago in the woods. If I recall, he was pretty smitten by you, too.”
He was my only friend.
“It doesn’t matter.” They weren’t having any of it.
Darian might be cruel sometimes, but he does have a good heart. He’s just under a lot of pressure, being responsible for us even though we are adults now, and working for Vespera.
I agree, but he’s still a dick and completely changed from the boy I once knew.
I hate not knowing how deep the dark magic has infected him already—how much of him is still him. It could be twisting his mind, messing with who he is, and he has no idea. Heck, I don’t, all I know is dark magic is rare and illegal. The only way I would know for sure is if I touched him, but he hates me, and it would put me at risk. Also, his OCD would be an issue, too.
I remember the games we used to play—those stolen hours filled with laughter and late-night conversations that felt like secrets just for us. The way he looked at me was like I wassomething important. We never touched, not once. But by the stars, back then I wanted to.
Besides my mother, he was the only other person I could talk to. Now we have both changed, and he hates me for some unknown reason, and part of me dislikes him from the hushed rumours around Velmore.
Maybe I was wrong.
