Page 74 of Heart of the Raven Prince

However long that is.

I’m tracing a line up and down her arm with the barest hint of my finger, the same way I did last night. I can’t stop the smirk that tugs at my lips when I remember the look on her face when she barreled into my room. Such an angry, defiant little creature. I am utterly bewitched, and it strikes me now that I will willingly do whatever she asks. The queen may control my heart, but Fawn is beginning to own it.

As though I summoned her with my thoughts, I feel her approach like a creeping plague. I freeze, my finger ceasing its looping trail on Fawn’s skin. The pressure of a coming storm builds in my mind, and I go rigid at the feel of it. Pulling slowly away from Fawn, I rise, careful to not disturb her. She lets out a small whimper but doesn’t wake. Because I’m fucking weak and I can’t resist the urge, I lean over and place a single kiss on her exposed shoulder. She instantly relaxes, drifting further into deep sleep. Rising, I turn and leave my room, snicking the door quietly behind me.

The peace I feel around Fawn instantly drains from me as I descend the stairs toward my front door. My empty chest twinges, letting off quick, sharp bursts of pain. I am keeping her waiting, and she does not like that. Stopping before my front door, I take a moment to breathe, before I open the door and come face to face with the queen.

Arawyn smiles at me, her beautiful face lighting up as her bright red eyes narrow in on the blackened scar on my chest. She always grins at her handiwork. She’s wearing a pale ivory frock that drips into red at the bottom. It makes it look like she walked through a pool of blood, staining the hem. I’m not entirely sure that isn’t the case. Her wings flutter in the wind as she tilts her head, continuing to gently smile at me. She does not step foot over the threshold of my apartment. She can’t.

I’ve never once invited her in.

It’s a strange twist of fate that I originally fled to this apartment to escape my parents and my duties as their heir, and now I cling to it as the final resting place of their legacy. In the first few months when I raged war on Fomoria, captured entirely by the demon that lives deep in my mind, my parents had covered the city in a protective barrier. They poured their power into it, every last drop.

As more and more of my kingdom fell to the Raven Queen’s clutches, those protections shattered until only this last safe space remained. Arawyn has never particularly cared about it; she doesn’t need for me to willingly invite her into my home when she can command me out of it.

Bowing my head, I wait for her to address me. Tension seizes me at the thought that she might demand the second trial begin now. Fawn’s not ready, not physically, and certainly not with her power. Arawyn grins, savoring my nerves as she clasps her hands in front of her. She leans forward, stopping just before the barrier of my doorway. Her eyes flutter closed as she inhales deeply, scenting me. Her ruby gaze flicks open, and she croons, “Oh, Caden. You reek of that human.”

Her eyes flick behind me, traveling up the stairs that lead to my bedroom as she shakes her head, giving me a false look of concern as she says, “Did you not learn your lesson the last time?”

“What do you require, mother?” I ask, keeping my voice and my face as neutral as possible, even as my grip on the doorknob tightens.

“What indeed,” she muses, leaning back from me and flashing me another wide grin as she taps a slender finger along the side of her face, pondering. “That was quite a spectacle your little pet performed, was it not? I have to admit, I’m enjoying this game more than I thought I would. My whole court was thoroughly entertained, though not as much as if my creations had ripped her apart.” She quirks a brow, waiting for me to react.

I do not.

“My people are eager to meet her.” She pauses, waiting for a response, her gaze narrowing in on the clenching of my jaw. She smirks in victory. “Dine with me this evening, son. I’ve planned an intimate dinner for some of my closest advisors. I’m even graciously extending an invitation to your fascinating new obsession.”

“How generous,” I say, fighting to keep the bite out of my voice. She laughs, the bright sound mocking me as she turns and saunters to the carriage. The coachman is opening the door for her, and she pauses, turning and snaring me in her crimson gaze. She smiles and all I see are fangs. “Oh, and Caden, be sure to pack a bag.” She flicks her eyes over my apartment, my last refuge in the storm of my life. “There won’t be a need for you to return here.”

Arawyn climbs into the carriage, blowing me a kiss from behind the window, her eyes shining bright as that chilling smile never once leaves her face. The carriage pulls away, and the moment she is out of sight, I slam my door shut. Turning, I punch my fist through the wall as I bark out a swear.

“Caden?”

Shooting my gaze to the stairs, I see Fawn halfway down them, hugging herself as she stares at my hand lodged firmly in the wall. With a grunt I pull it free, not even registering the pain that radiates through it. I’m certain I broke several bones in the process, but I ignore that as well. They will heal. Besides, I have far more important things to focus on.

“You need to get dressed,” I say, marching up the stairs and grabbing her hand as I pass, tugging her after me.

“Is it the second trial? Already?” she asks, hurrying to keep up as we move swiftly down the hallway.

“Not the trial, but certainly a trial,” I mutter, leading us to her room and depositing her outside of her door. “The queen has invited us to dinner.” Her eyes grow wide as she inhales sharply, misunderstanding my meaning. Leaning into her, I grip her chin and tilt her face to mine as I say, “You have nothing to fear.”

“I have everything to fear, Caden,” she whispers. I let out a single dark laugh, as I shake my head. What can I possibly say to that? She’s right. Everything touched by Arawyn is something Fawn should fear, something she should run from. Including me.

Fuck. Especially me.

“Be that as it may, Arawyn is interested in you, in how she can play with you. That grants you some semblance of safety, no matter how little. And, if anyone tries to foolishly cross that line, I will be there to relieve them of the privilege of living.”

“I don’t need you watching over me,” she says, stubborn as ever.

My beautiful, defiant Oisín.

“No, I suppose you don’t,” I agree softly. She has not pulled out of my grip, and suddenly all I can look at are her soft, supple lips. My voice drops, coated in restrained desire as I ask, “What do you need from me, Fawn?”

I’m not sure what last night was, what it meant to her. It meant everything to me. I cannot believe she came to me for comfort, there is no reality that exists in which she finds peace in my arms. Even if I am only a distraction to her, if that’s all she can ever give me, then I will savor every last second of it. They will be the moments that carry me through the rest of this cursed war, and the last thing I think of before she kills me.

“I need to get dressed,” she says, twisting the doorknob behind her and pulling out of my grip. Turning quickly, she shuts the door, leaving me alone and wanting. I stare at her closed door, considering kicking it open like she did mine, but my chest pulses sharply—a silent but painful reminder from Arawyn to hurry.

The queen waits for no one.