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Chapter 20
Bree
While Eurig movedthe fallen villagers into their beds, Bree found a stool inside of the pub, climbed on top of it, and reached out through her bond to Taveon. After everything they had discovered, she was desperate to hear his voice. Besides, they needed to fill him in on what had happened. Bree might not understand what the ravens meant, but Taveon might. And it might just be the clue they needed to unlock this entirething.
“Bree,” Taveon said, his voice sharp with worry. “Please stop putting up so many walls between us. I have been worried out of my mind, scared that something else attacked you. Here and there, I felt pain shooting through the bond, and fear, as well as sorrow. What has happened? Are you allright?”
Bree closed her eyes, battling the storm of emotions that shook through Taveon’s soul. Her own emotions were heightened just from the contact with his mind. If he wanted to know why she kept up the walls, this was why. As much as she yearned to be close to him, it was still far toomuch.
“We made it to the village,” she said without bringing up the second attack in the forest. There was no reason to worry him any more than she already had. “Just as we worried, the curse hit here, too. All of them have fallen, and the buildings have been ransacked, especially forweapons.”
Bree fell silent, giving Taveon a chance to weigh her words. And he came to the same conclusion that Eurighad.
“Ransacked? That sounds like the Wilde Fae tome.”
“Yes, it does.” Again, Bree let her words sink into Taveon’s mind. She knew how he would react when he discovered what was on her mind, but she would not back down. No matter what he said. No matter that he was the King. Bree knew what she needed to do, and nothing would stopher.
Taveon read all the thoughts fluttering through her mind, and he raged against them. “No. I will not allow it, Bree. You and Eurig cannot storm the lands of the Wilde Fae alone. There are only two of you, and they will kill you on the spot. They know who you are. My champion. The fae who defeated one of theirown.”
“None of that matters now, Taveon,” Bree said quietly. “They have clearly planned something, and it involves you and everyone inside of the Court. If Eurig and I do not take them down, there is no telling what they will donext.”
In fact, they were likely to storm the castle. With everyone inside of it under that curse, there would be no soldiers or guards or fighters there to stop them from taking complete control of the throne. They might even kill everyone there, including Rafferty, Dagen, Ethne, and Taveon. Bree could not let thathappen.
“I appreciate your bravery, Bree,” Taveon said, his voice growing more panicked by the moment. “But this is senseless. It will solve nothing. The two of you cannot win against hundreds or thousands of WildeFae.”
“Then, our plan better be a hell of a good one, don’t you think?” Bree asked with a hollow laugh. “Don’t worry. We’re not just going to run in there with swords swirling through the air. We’ll be stealthy.Covert.”
“I do not like this,Bree.”
“Too bad,” Bree said, curling her hands around the edge of the stool. “Because I’m going to do it whether you like it ornot.”
At that, Bree threw up every wall she could. Deep down, she hated breaking Taveon off like this, especially knowing that he had no one else in the world that he could speak to right now. But Bree also knew that he would only lob order after order at her, insisting that she return to the castle atonce.
Bree would do no such thing. As much as she hated to upset him, losing him to whatever the Wilde Fae had planned was far worse than that. If Eurig and Bree did not work fast, the curse might be the least of their worries. Lives were in danger. Lives of those she cared about. And Bree would do anything to save the ones sheloved.
In the corner of the room, Bree spotted another dead raven. She furrowed her eyebrows, and she glanced around to see if any others could be found within this room. But only silence answered her. Eurig had already removed the villagers who had fallen in the pub, so there was no one left in here but Bree. Bree and theraven.
Curiosity nibbled at her brain, and she pushed her stool back against the stone ground. It groaned underneath her, the wood creaking as it shuddered across the floor. She hopped down and crossed the room, kneeling down beside the blood-soakedraven.
She cocked her head and stared at it. If it weren’t for the blood, and there was lots of it, she might believe the raven had fallen prey to the curse as well. The horses hadn’t succumbed, but that did not mean every animal would resist it. Unfortunately, this raven’s fate had ripped it from this world. Something sharp had sliced through it stomach, a wound that had caused it to bleed out on thefloor.
But why? What did it have to do with thecurse?
Bree took one glance over her shoulder at the open door that led out into the village square. And then she glanced at the bird, reaching out with timid fingers. She placed one hand gently against the dark feathers, stiffening at the warmth she felt from the bird. Bree’s heart began to hammer hard in her chest, and a strange sickly sensation turned through hergut.
She swallowed hard, and then pressed her hand even harder against the raven. “What happened toyou?”
Bree listened, even knowing that she would never get an answer. Her fingertips buzzed, electricity lighting up every inch of her skin. With a gasp, Bree snapped her hand back and stared down at the bird. She had felt that sensation before, but only once. And it was a sensation she would never forget, no matter how many years she might live on thisearth.
It was the very same sensation she’d felt when she used Taveon’s powers to heal Rafe’s wound. But that was impossible. She had to be imagining things. For one, she was not even in communication with Taveon at the moment. The walls were firmly up between them. When she had healed Rafe, she had only done so with Taveon’s help. He had sent his power into her body. She hadn’t claimed it herself. And two, well...the bird was dead. How could she heal something that was not evenalive?
Still, there was no denying what she had felt. That bright sparking electricity that filled her soul, making her feel full of the most glorious light imaginable. With a shuddering breath, Bree reached out once again and placed her trembling hands against the raven’s blood-soaked feathers. It was still and stiff, though it was warm, as though it had only died moments ago. She focused on its tiny body, closing her eyes to breathe in itsaura.
Underneath her fingertips, she swore she felt its body twitch. She gritted her teeth, her entire body filling with Taveon’s healing powers. It was a storm in her veins, churning through her at an impossible speed. Her breath shuddered from her lungs, and her entire body felt as though it was consumed byflames.
And then she pushed every single bit of that power down to her hands, to the tips of her fingers, and into the poor creature who had died for this curse. The magic stormed out of her in a rush, leaving her to gasp for air as if she hadn’t breathed in a million years. Her whole body went weak, and black creeped in the edges of her vision. In the distance, she could feel Taveon pounding against the wall she had erected between them. Even with those walls there, he knew what she was doing. No doubt he’d felt her suck his healing power right from hisveins.
With a deep breath, Bree cracked open her eyes. The tiny raven still lay on the ground, and a rush of disappointment burned through Bree’s heart. It had been ridiculous to think that she could have healed a dead animal, but she had truly hoped she could. Tears even pricked the corners of her eyes as she gazed at the horrible blood that had soaked into the floorboards. The raven’s blood. The poor creature would never again soar through theskies.
