Page 40 of Heart of the Raven Prince

I whip around, expecting to find him, but the room is so dark I’m having a hard time seeing through the thick shadows. Peering into the void, I think I’ve spotted him, when I freeze. It’s not Caden. It’s that asshole fae guard from the blacksmith. He catches my gaze, a devilish grin pulling at his lips, revealing fangs, and I feel my blood run cold. Without another, thought I turn and bolt off.

I don’t know if he’s following behind me, but I can’t afford to spare a moment to turn back and see. I’m far too focused on navigating the dark ballroom in front of me. Spotting a door up ahead, I slip through it, hopefully unnoticed. I’m in a grand hallway now, my eyes slowly adjusting to the marginally better lighting. Lanterns line the long corridor, their low light barely illuminating anything, but I don’t let that slow me as I take off at a brisk pace.

I try the doors I pass at random. The majority of them are locked, but I finally stumble upon one that twists open, and I rush inside. The room is lit only by a sliver of deep maroon moonlight spilling between thick curtains. I’m breathing rapidly, panic buzzing in my mind as I search desperately for a hiding space. My eyes haven’t even fully adjusted to the dark when the door creaks open behind me.

Gods and demons, he’s faster than I thought he would be.

I don’t bother running. I know he’ll chase me. Standing rigid, I wait as the door snicks shut, cutting off the muted light from the hallway and plunging us once again into darkness. I hear the quiet click of the lock sliding into place and swallow against my rising nerves.

“I have to say,” he laughs, the sound echoing through the room as he steps toward me. “This uniform is a far better fit for you than armor. So much skin. Where do I start?” He rounds in front of me, his hands clasped behind his back as he stares down at me. He cants his head, flashing me a mocking frown. “The feisty ones are always so quiet when you get them alone. Where did all that bright fire go, hmm?”

He sighs, like he’s annoyed I’m not fighting back as I remain stoically frozen in place. His icy cold finger grazes my shoulders, and I jerk away from him, but I’m not quick enough. He snares my arms, yanking me toward him.

“I should’ve shot you in the mouth with that arrow, at least that would have shut you up.”

“Gods, I’m going to enjoy breaking you apart.” He opens his mouth wide, about to lunge at me.

“I think you’ll find I’m not that easy to break,” I hiss before spitting on his cheek. He balks, his brows furrowing in confusion for a moment. I expect him to snarl, to strike, to do anything other than just stare at me. So, I am entirely unprepared when he merely laughs, and places a hand gently on my cheek. I don’t flinch at his touch, and I get a small beat of satisfaction when I see his eye twitch.

Still, he pulls his lips into an expression that looks halfway between a smile and a grimace, and he says, “Oh good, I love when they fight.”

I turn to the door, but his hands are already in my hair. Pain rips a scream from my throat as I’m yanked back by the roots, but the sound is stifled by his hand clamping over my mouth. Blinding hot agony radiates from my scalp as the world tips, and I’m sent sailing through the air. I land on a couch with a thud, the leather squeaking under me as I try to scramble for purchase. Before I can sit up, he’s upon me, forcing his weight onto me and pressing the air from my lungs. My hands slam above my head, as he easily pins my wrists together.

Acid and wildfire, that’s what it feels like when he sinks his razor-sharp fangs deep into my neck. I scream into his hand, still held tightly over my mouth. I’m struggling to get my legs free, but he holds fast against each of my attempts, sucking savagely on my throat. The wet sound of him drinking my blood is somehow deafening and sends a shiver of disgust rolling down my skin. His cock grows hard against me as he takes another long drag of my blood. I’m just about to pry my ankle free to kick us off the couch when I still.

A shadow moves, and I turn toward his obsidian eyes. His pitch-black gaze is somehow luminous in the darkness. Gods, I have no idea why, but relief blooms in my chest at the sight of him. That feeling is short-lived when the next thing I know he is ripping the man’s heart out of his chest, and I am reminded that Caden may be many things, but he is never a relief.

“I was going to ask the same thing.”

Caden stiffens behind me, his arms rigid as one holds me tightly against him, the other keeping that knife held firmly against my throat. I don’t even fucking breathe. I can’t.

Not in the presence of the two most powerful beings I’ve ever encountered.

The queen stands in the open doorway. A silver starburst crown adorns her head, white spires glittering with diamonds. Her hair like spun moonlight is twisted and braided around the base of it. Like when I last saw her, she’s dressed in all white, this slinky gown nearly the exact shade of her deathly pale skin. Her bright ruby gaze shines behind her ivory lashes, as she stares cruelly at Caden.

“Why do I smell death in the air, Caden?” she asks, her soft childlike voice so in contrast with her withering gaze.

“Death is always in the air here,” he says, his voice deep and guarded. He’s so tense his chest barely moves with each shallow breath. It occurs to me then; I don’t feel his heartbeat against my back.

“Watch your fucking tone, son,” she sneers. She’s shaking, anger rolling off her in waves. “Why does it smell like one of mine died?”

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the voice of evil before, but I can believe it sounds exactly like the queen. Sweet and calm, and full of so much dread it threatens to bury me in it.

“He was taking from what is mine,” Caden snaps quietly. The unhinged tone in his voice and his icy breath whispering over my neck sends a shiver tracing down my spine. His arm tightens around me when I tremble against him. If I wasn’t so distracted being terrified by the presence of the queen, I would be furious that Caden referred to me like I am his possession.

“Need I remind you that everything in this realm and beyond belongs to me?” She storms forward, the pressure of a coming storm building in the small space. She stops just in front of him, seething, her fangs bared as she snarls at him. I didn’t realize she wasn’t paying attention to me, that is until her red gaze darts to me. She does a double take, her eyes growing wide as she studies me. Pure confusion clouds her features, before she tilts her gaze back to Caden and asks simply, “Her again?”

“I claimed her,” he growls defiantly.

“She is not yours to claim,” the queen snaps, taking a step back as she shakes her head, as though she is nothing but a mother disappointed in her son. He makes a strained sound, like he is fighting some internal war, and he holds me tighter against his chest. For one brief moment, I have the wildest thought that it doesn’t feel possessive, but protective.

Then I remember that Caden is a gods-damned monster, and the thought quickly fades.

“You took a member of my court, Caden. You executed an unsanctioned death. And what’s worse,” she snarls, her ruby lips twitching in unbridled rage. “You did it all because of a human.” Power billows off her like smoke from a raging fire, yet her voice carries the cold bite of winter as she softly whispers, “You know the price of defying me.”

I feel the energy shift in the room, easily noting the way Caden goes rigid at her words. With his body so close to mine, it’s impossible to not pick up on his magic rising to the surface. It feels different from before. Far more wild, untamed, like he’s barely holding it at bay. The queen holds her hand out, as though she is asking him to dance. A red mist begins to slowly gather in her opened palm. It forms into a gleaming red orb twisting above the queen’s outstretched palm. Strange, I could almost think it looks like a heart. Caden is breathing rapidly against me. He presses his lips against my ear and hisses, “Listen to me, Oisín, you need to run.”

He doesn’t loosen his hold on me.