Page 31 of Heart of the Raven Prince

“I want to hear it from her.”

I breathe in deeply, steadying myself the way my father taught me to. It was like when I was hunting from horseback, narrowing myself in on the prey. I did not focus on the rise and fall of the horse beneath me, I focused only on the feel of my bow in my hand, letting it become an extension of myself. I harness that calm now, pressing out the surrounding world, and focusing only on Bryan.

“You’re right,” I say, internally grinning a small victory when his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “You do deserve answers. Where have I been? I’ve been held captive by the Raven Prince.” A gasp of shock ripples through our small crowd, even Bryan’s face pales at my declaration. “But please believe me when I say I have been trying to get back to you every chance I got. Siobhán is right, the passage of time is different here than in the mortal realm. To me, Gaelynn fell yesterday. It’s been mere hours since I was brought here to…” My words begin to fail me, and Siobhán comes to my rescue.

“Fomoria. This place is called Fomoria.”

“Fomoria,” I say, testing the word out. Meeting the eyes of the survivors I say, “I was brought here like you, through some rip in the fabric of our realm. If they brought us here that way, then that’s how we leave. I’m going to find a way to rip open their world and lead us down the road back to our home.”

This time the ripple of shock is so loud Siobhán has to hiss at them to be quiet. We all freeze. Waiting. Listening. When it doesn’t appear that any guards are heading down the hallway to break us up, I say, “I know you have been here much longer than I have, and I know that I can’t even begin to understand what you’ve suffered, but know that I am not going to let it continue. I’m getting us out of here. I’m taking us back to Gaelynn.”

Bryan doesn’t even try to hide his laugh, and with each sarcastic chuckle, doubt creeps around the room. I watch it infect the group, as they chew on their lips, study their shoes, or exchange disbelieving glances. I’m losing them.

Did I ever even have them?

“Gaelynn is dead,” Bryan says flatly, his hollow voice like a slap to my face.

“Gaelynn is not dead,” I force the clipped words out, barely keeping myself from snarling them.

“It might as well be. Take a look around you, princess,” he spits, taking a step toward me and gesturing at the walls around us.

I hold my chin high as I say in a deathly calm voice, “I am a queen.”

“Not anymore,” he laughs hollowly, moving closer until he is standing directly in front of me. He reaches out, gripping the charm on my earring. The jewelry is so featherlight I forgot I’m even wearing it. Now it feels like the weight of the world is dangling from the end of that silver chain. His eyes are hard on mine as he says, “This is our life now.”

“This life is a nightmare,” I breathe, narrowing my gaze at him as he continues to hold my gaze with those murky blue eyes.

“Just because it is a nightmare doesn’t make it any less of a reality.” His words are uttered so quietly, I would think I am the only one that hears them, but one glance at the other survivors shows me that they heard. They heard, and they agree.

“You’re just going to give up?” I ask, holding my chin high. His anger softens, but not into anything kind, more like the pitying expression you give a child that isn’t picking up on a basic concept. Dropping his hand from the charm, he sighs. The sound is infuriating. He gives me one final scoff before he walks around me and heads to the door, his son close behind.

“Come and find me when you’ve been here for two months. Then we’ll see how optimistic you still are.”

“In two months, we’ll be back on Gaelynn,” I call after him, making my voice as loud as I dare. The promise hangs thick between us like fog. He pauses in the doorway, holding the frame firmly.

“I hope you prove me wrong, princess. Truly, I do.” I don’t miss that he chose to call me princess and not queen. “But I know you won’t.” With those damning words, he and Seamus leave. Doubt and silence creep in, strangling the air from the room. Eventually the other survivors leave as well, a few giving me half-hearted smiles before scurrying from the room. Only Siobhán remains, coming to stand beside me as I continue to look at the empty doorway.

“I knew Bryan was going to be an issue,” she sighs. “He’s placed himself as a leader of sorts within our small group. I don’t think he likes the idea of ceding that power to you.”

“Bryan isn’t what I’m worried about,” I say grimly. I’m no stranger to men thinking they deserve to rule over me just because of the cock between their legs. “They don’t believe in me,” I whisper. Turning, I see Siobhán chewing on her bottom lip, and my stomach plummets before I ask, “Do…do you?”

“I want to,” she says without hesitation, but her smile does not reach her eyes, drooping instead into a frown as she shakes her head. “I’ve no doubt you wish to return us to Gaelynn, we all wish that. It’s just…how? How can you possibly hope to get us back?”

I turn, grabbing her hands quickly and squeezing them as I say, “I don’t know. Truly, Siobhán, I have no fucking idea how I’m going to save anyone. But please, please know I am going to do everything in my power to try. There is magic in this realm. Real power. All I have to do is find out how to harness it and—”

“I know, I know you want to try,” she says gently, quieting my rapid speech. Pulling her hands from mine, she tugs me into a firm hug. “But please tell me you’ll also know when to stop trying and just accept this.”

My stomach bottoms out at her sad, broken words. She pulls back and gives me one last forlorn smile before walking out of the storeroom and leaving me alone. I have never felt lower in my life.

I have no people. No power. I don't even control what happens to my blood.

This time when the tears come, I do nothing to stop them.

Aheadache throbs behind my eyes as I massage my temples, trying to ease the worst of it. I stayed up most of the night silently crying. When the tears stopped, my mind didn’t. It refuses to slow for even a moment, denying me the temporary peace of dreamless sleep. I had promised my people that I would find a way out of this hellhole, and I intend to keep that promise. Now I just have to figure out how. The entire night passed, and all I had to show for it was a splitting headache and no ideas.

Siobhán roused me not long after, and I followed her into the bathing room to prepare for the day. I dress in one of the drab brown gowns the other women wear, tying a white apron around my waist. We file out of the bathing room and make our way to the overcrowded kitchens. Humans bustled around the sweltering stoves, stirring pots of oatmeal, and pulling loaves of bread out of the ovens. We join the crowded line; the small space is already packed. I grab a chipped wooden bowl, filling it with a meager portion of soupy porridge. She snatches two slices of dark, crusty bread and we secure spots along the far wall to eat quickly. The food is disgustingly bland, but I’m starving so I don’t particularly care as I devour every bite. I’m using the last of my crusty bread to sop up the last few drops when I look up and see Bryan entering the kitchen. He joins the line for porridge, absentmindedly glancing around the kitchen until his gaze falls on me and he stiffens.

“Gods and demons,” I mutter when he begins to make his way over to us. I shove the bite of bread in my mouth, desperate to be done with this meal and hurrying out of here. Not quick enough, it would appear, because he is already cutting off our path.