“We have to find him.” My stomach growled loudly. I peeked up through my tangled hair, checking whether my bear noticed. He scowled. Of course he had.
“You’re not going anywhere until you’ve eaten a decent meal and had a long soak in the tub, little mate.”
“There is much to discuss before we leave the sanctuary of Olaf’s castle,” Rasmus agreed.
“And we need to figure out what to do with the magicalswe rescued.”
Goddess, what a selfish witch I was! Here I was, worrying about my stupid runaway storm mage when there were magicals in need of therapy after being held in captivity for goddess knew how long!
“Did you rescue a vampire?” I blurted at Rasmus. She’d known who he was!
He looked almost tearful for a moment. “Yes, we rescued my sister. All thanks to you, darling.” He pulled me into his arms and nuzzled my hair. “Thank you for finding her.”
“Um, I didn’t do anything other than end up imprisoned and experimented on.”
A volley of growls and curses filled the room as my mates registered what I’d just told them.
“What the fuck do you mean byexperimentedon?”
29
Raven
Before being sent to Starfall (against my will, let it be noted), I’d rarely left the farm. Consequently, most of my knowledge of the wider world came from books, TV shows, and movies.
Adam had frowned upon us binge-watching human shows and movies, but whenever he went away on coven business, Willow and I watched whatever we could get our hands on. I loved anything romance and fantasy themed, while Willow was a horror fan.
As I stood on the threshold of a huge banquet hall, I was reminded of a human fantasy series we’d watched several seasons of, with dragons and all manner of fantastical beasts. Oh, and a ton of gore and naughty scenes. The name of the series escaped me, but I felt certain it had chairs in the title.A Game of Chairs?
The hall with the vaulted ceiling looked like it belonged in the series about chairs. Logs burned in two enormous fireplaces, one at each end of the room, while magical creatures of all types sat at long trestle tables filled with food and bottles of elkwine.
A low hum of conversation rolled over me while a firm hand pressed against my lower back.
“You need to eat, little mate. Let’s sit down so I can feed you.” My eyes pricked with happy tears. I’d missed my mates so much. Missed the way they each cared for me in their own ways.
Kai was the only one I’d not yet seen, but Maverick assured me he was fine. He’d told me there was a geothermal lake deep inside the mountain, and Kai had gone there to swim. I silently resolved to join him once my bear had fed me and brought me up to date on the latest gossip.
As Maverick nudged me toward a table, I scanned the room, searching for the vampire but unable to spot her. Perhaps she was blood-starved and dangerous. I’d have to ask Rasmus.
Kenji blinked into view as I sat down. He waited until Maverick fetched me a plate piled high with meat, vegetables, and bread rolls before he stole a sausage.
“I’m not sure I can eat all this.” After several days of little more than stale sandwiches, this much food was a lot.
“Please try, little mate. You need to rebuild your strength after…” My bear’s voice trailed off.
“After I killed all those poor mages?” I swallowed back a sob as my appetite vanished.
“Poor mages?”Kenji scoffed while swiping a second sausage.“The same mages who imprisoned you, fed you experimental siren sex drugs, and forced you to bond with the storm mage?”
“Okay, so when you put it like that,” I conceded. “But they were acting on orders from Tibs, so I’m not sure they are completely to blame.” The stinky mage definitely deserved his fate, however. That asshole had taken liberties.
Maverick tensed. “Describe him to me so I can check he’s dead.”
“Um, he smelled like a skunk shifter?”
“Dead mages always stink.”Kenji rolled his eyes and shoved a third sausage in his mouth.“All mages stink.”
“Um…Alaric never does…” Alaric smelled delicious. Like ozone and rain. My thoughts drifted to our time together, and my heart pined for him.
