Page 12 of Heart of the Raven Prince

We turn a corner and the path before us comes into view. I blink, momentarily confused. I can't make sense of what I'm seeing. I can only describe it as a rip in the air. It’s like the scenery ahead is painted in expert detail on a massive canvas, and someone has taken a dagger to that painting and sliced it nearly clean in two. Shadows bleed out from the rift in the world, a howling wind crying from deep within. I suck in a sharp breath, my eyes going wide at the sight.

This is how they came to our island, how we were unaware of them until it was far too late. They tore a hole in the world and unleashed hell on us. He did that. The leather saddle creaks as I grip the pommel tightly, fighting the primal fear and rage that war inside of me. One side screaming at me to fight him, the other begging me to jump from this horse and go sprinting through the woods. My temper might blind my better senses, but even I’m smart enough to want to side with that voice pleading with me to run. Because I know where that tear leads. To the land of the fae, where he and all his other cursed brethren reside. Where the Raven Queen rules.

And I know that’s exactly where he plans to take me.

Ican’t fucking breathe.

I’m looking at the shifting split in the world, like tattered edges of a torn veil, but all I can see is the churning void that is sucking the life out of my home. My home that we are leaving. It was one thing to look at Falen for the last time as he remained bound on the stone courtyard of our destroyed estate. I had held the knowledge that we would never again be reunited in my mind and heart, because that meant he had gotten out. It meant he was free.

It never occurred to me that it would be because I resided in another realm.

And it is all happening too fucking fast. I have just laid eyes on the howling tear in the world, and he is guiding his massive warhorse toward it. I can’t help the involuntary jerk as I slam my back against his chest. The entire ride I have been trying my hardest to put as much space between us as possible, but now all I care about is distance between myself and that rip. It is a pointless effort of course, even as that primal fear rears up inside of me screaming at me to run, run, run! Because there is nothing I can do to stop the approach of the rip, the open mouth of the beast stretching wide to devour us.

“Remember what I said about silence, Oisín.” Those are his only parting words. A fitting eulogy for the captured queen of a fallen nation. Then his horse steps into the darkness, and it swallows us whole.

His horse trudges onward, one heavy step in front of the other, but his hooves make no sound in this vast chasm of nothingness. The wailing wind whips around us, blowing my loose hair into my face and blinding me. Rain pelts me, great droplets flung at me with the force of a hurricane. It feels like when my brother and I used to stand on the cliffs overlooking the coast during a coming storm. We would try to see which of us could make it closer to the edge before the unbridled power of the wind knocked us back. It was exhilarating to stand strong before such an overwhelming force. I wish I felt strong now. Instead, I feel like I am moments away from being knocked off that cliff to my death.

A torrent of water slams into me, and I gasp and sputter as I’m doused in it. I’m overcome with the feeling that we’re not walking through rain, but rather a waterfall. I seem to be the only one affected by it, as Caden remains a statue behind me, and his steed walks steadily on.

The deluge turns to a misting rain as we step out of the worst of it, and one quick glance down is all I need to see I am somehow not soaked to the bone. Shoving my wild hair from my eyes, I turn my gaze ahead of me, and get my first look of my new surroundings. A blood red orb shines behind gray clouds, casting brilliant maroon light on the sprawling city before us. It’s impossible to tell if that light is coming from a moon or a sun. Although, this plane doesn’t seem like the type of realm to require a sun.

My lips part in surprise at the vast city, at how strange it looks. Tall stone buildings crowd together, a wide cobblestone path leading through it. Glancing quickly to either side, I see his horse is stopped on an arched stone bridge on the outskirts of the city. A churning river passes quietly beneath the bridge. I want to turn and see if there is a massive tear in the world on this side as well. But then the horse is moving and I can focus only on the road ahead of me. With the glowing red light, it’s hard to determine what time of day it is, but I suspect late due to the lack of inhabitants on the streets.

Or maybe they’re just all hiding from Caden.

I grimace at the thought, hating how plausible it could be, as his horse clops down the cobblestone streets. My eyes dart back and forth, taking in this unfamiliar city. The main village near my home is made up of mostly wooden buildings, a far easier commodity to come by on our island than importing stone. Even the construction of the stone buildings seems so different, with etched gutters and iron twisting around the doors and windows. Gargoyles leer down from their perches atop the roofs, their vacant eyes and wide-open jaws menacing in the gloomy red light of this world.

The streets are lit in the muted amber glow of lanterns lining the cobblestone path and adorning most doors. Shadows shift and dart in the windows we ride by, curtains tugging shut quickly as we pass. I could almost think this town to be entirely inhabited by ghosts, but then we travel a little further in and I get my first real glimpse at the citizens of this cursed place.

The first thing I note are the odd clothing, similar to what the prince was wearing last night. The style is detailed and layered, even for the men. Elegantly tailored coats hang almost to their knees over stiff shirts and with silken ties fashioned around their necks. One man has a woman walking beside him, her arm looped through his. She’s dressed in what I can only describe as the most suffocating garment I’ve ever seen. She looks as though she’s been laced into a binding top, the low-cut exposing far more of her cleavage than my mother would ever have allowed. Her skirts billow out behind her, and I wonder how she can walk so easily under the weight of it all. Her hair is done up in a puffy and intricate style, pinned and coifed perfectly in place, with bright gems and flowers adorning the look.

A glance is all I need to see their black eyes and pointed ears. When the male catches sight of Caden, he freezes, drawing the woman closer to his side. She seems confused for half a heartbeat, before her eyes snare on the massive horse and the two occupants. Then her already alabaster skin pales further, and she clings to her escort. His eyes are only for Caden, brows creased and lips turned down in a harsh frown. But the female fae…she stares directly at me. When she locks eyes with me, I see hers grow wide, and then instantly snap to my ears. She tugs at the sleeve of the man at her side, hurriedly whispering something in his ear, and together they scurry down the street.

If his own people fear him this much, how do I have any hope of getting him to spare mine?

More fae begin to line the street; all dressed in the same fashion, and all giving us a wide berth. No one jeers or laughs like in Caden’s army, but their expressions are a mix of abject horror and open disgust aimed directly at the prince. I note more than one door slamming shut as we pass by, the snick of locks sliding into place is deafening in the stifling quiet of the city.

Nearly everyone reacts with some level of malice or disdain toward Caden, all except a group of expertly dressed fae males. One, taller than the rest, locks eyes with me the moment I look up from observing yet another door slammed shut at our approach. I falter, a gasp parting my lips.

His eyes are red.

Caden must notice him as well; he stiffens behind me the moment he sees the fae, his arm around my waist tightening. The fae grins directly at Caden, then turns and disappears around the corner.

“Fuck,” Caden says behind me as the other men in the trio turn and hurry after him. I expect Caden to continue to lead us further into the city, but instead he turns and begins to guide his horse down a dizzying series of side streets. Tension is clear in his rigid form, and the way he holds tight to me. I expect to feel his heart beating wildly, plastered as I am against his chest, but instead I feel nothing.

He pulls us down a side alley, darkness overtaking us as we are cut off from the dancing light of the lanterns illuminating the city streets. Pulling his horse to a stop, he quickly dismounts behind me, and I have the briefest idea to take this horse and begin careening back toward the rift in the air. Maybe it’s still there. Maybe I can make it back. Maybe I’ll see Falen again.

Emptiness settles in my heart. I know it isn’t worth the effort.

Besides, I am left alone in the saddle for barely a moment before that sickening sensation of moving too quickly overcomes me, and suddenly I’m placed upright on my feet.

“Don’t run,” he says, grabbing my upper arm like he doesn’t trust me to follow the simple command as he begins to drag me behind him. Blinking rapidly to adjust my eyes to the low lighting, I have just spotted the outline of a door when he beats his fist rapidly against it. I hear a harshly barked response from within; it is muffled and unintelligible through the door followed by the snick of a lock. The door creaks open the barest hint and a single black eye appears in the crack.

“Caden,” a voice wrinkled with age rasps, the door opening wider to reveal an older gentleman. He’s dressed similarly to the other fae males around the city, although his clothing doesn’t appear to be embroidered and embellished like the others. The fae male steps aside, and Caden doesn’t hesitate a moment before yanking me in after him. The way the male in front of me doesn’t bat an eye at Caden towing a bound woman in his wake doesn’t make me feel any better.

How many women have you done this to?

I refuse to think about exactly what he might have planned for me, but that doesn’t stop me from darting my eyes about to look for any available weapon. Unfortunately, my weapons will have to be improvised as we stand in the middle of what appears to be a storeroom. Barrels and sacks line the walls besides stacked crates. The space is barely visible, the only light source coming from a single lantern placed atop a barrel.