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And she certainly wasn’t about to start with some Fae prince or whatever just because she was dead on her feet, and he’d saved her from an attack. She could express her gratitude in other ways. But not with her body.
Raven gritted her teeth and held still, forcing herself to not think about the emotions that lay beneath her fear. Curiosity danced at the edges of her mind, and she viciously shoved the idea away. No. Now was not the time, nor the place, to suddenly become interested in sex. Raven blamed her lack of sleep for allowing her emotions to flirt this closely to lust, and slammed that door shut in her mind.
A raven darted by, cawing its greeting, and she was surprised to see a bird this high in the sky. That being said, she knew little about birds other than the fact that she’d always had a bit of an affinity for ravens. They were curious birds, often bringing her little trinkets and, because of her name, she often talked to them on her lonelier days.
“There’s home.”
At Kellen’s words, Raven looked up to see, incredibly, cliffs spiraling out of a mass of thick clouds, hovering far above the earth, with various outposts built into the craggy rock walls. Raven’s eyes widened, and she feared that if she blinked, the image would disappear, and she’d wake up curled in a ball on the sodden ground of the alleyway. There was, quite simply, no way this could be real. What was essentially a mountain floated in the sky far above Ireland, and Alicorns flitted around the outskirts like honeybees buzzing around a hive. It was unbelievable to the point of laughable, and a gurgle of laughter caught in her throat as Raven tried to wrap her head around what she was seeing. A strange keening sound arose, and Raven started when Kellen’s arm tightened even more around her waist.
“You’re not going to be sick, are you?” Kellen asked and Raven jolted, suddenly realizing the sound was coming from her.
“No,” Raven said, faintly. “It’s just so…this is your home? Like you live here? This is real, right?” Raven twisted to look at Kellen over her shoulder and froze.
Bad move, Raven.
Her lips were suddenly inches from his, and he regarded her with those steely eyes, and Raven wanted to squirm against the desire that tugged low inside of her.
“This is real,” Kellen said. But his eyes were on hers, and Raven was caught, transfixed by the warm timbre of his voice, and the ease in which he cradled her against his body. Nobody had ever picked her up before, let alone held her close like she was a delicate package, and the feeling of being at his mercy left her both aroused and uneasy. She didn’t like the shift in the power balance, and she didn’t like feeling out of sorts. One of the reasons Raven had stayed so long in Galway was that she was rarely caught on her back foot, instead knowing all the inner workings of the city like the back of her hand. Now, a distinct unease filled her as the Alicorn landed gracefully in front of the tall pillars of a castle and Kellen jumped easily to the ground, with her in his arms. As soon as he let her down, she rounded on him, ready to mouth off to hide some of her nerves when a voice sounded behind her.
“This is what you left your city unprotected for? A girl? You had the king at your disposal and instead you fly off to pick up some chit? A human one at that? It’s a disgrace you are, Kellen. Leaving your people like this. Again.”
Kellen’s jaw tightened, and if it was possible, his eyes turned even more icy. Raven whirled to see a man, much shorter than Kellen, but with enough resemblance for her to determine that he was, at the very least, a relative of Kellen’s. Before Kellen could speak, Raven did what she always did when she felt uncomfortable–she went on the attack.
“Hardly a chit, old man. What are you? His servant? I’m surprised you let the help talk to you that way,” Raven said to Kellen and was rewarded when the man’s face flushed a deep red. A ghost of a smile slipped across Kellen’s lips, and the sight only emboldened Raven.
“Yes, well, he’s certainly impertinent,” Kellen agreed.
“Impertinent!” the man burst out, spittle flying from his lips. “Have you lost your mind? You certainly aren’t fit to rule if you let this…this…”
“Queen,” Raven said, bowing her head in what she hoped was a stately manner. “That’s Queen Raven to you. Queen of the Fringe People. From Galway.”
The man just gaped at her, clearly uncertain how to proceed, and Raven took that opportunity to push it further.
“You may see that a room is made up for me, as I’ll be requiring rest and a bath.” When the man did nothing, Raven gave him a steely gaze. “That was an order. Go on now.”
“You can’t possibly think that I’d…” The man stopped when Kellen stepped forward.
“Father. We rescued Raven at the king’s request. Please be respectful to her while she is our guest.”
“Guest?”
“Father?” Raven said at the same time, and the two stared at each other with equal amounts of annoyance.
“Queen Raven, please meet my father, Devlin of the Air Fae.” Though Kellin’s lips quirked at the use of her fake title, he didn’t try to wash his father of the notion that Raven was anything but what she claimed. Points for Kellen on that one. He’d be useful in a grift if ever needed. Not that she was a grifter. She’d stolen before, but she didn’t cheat people out of their money. It was a fine line, maybe only discernable in her head, but there was something about making a fool of people while you stole from them that was particularly distasteful to Raven.
“Charmed, I’m not,” Raven muttered, glaring at Devlin.
“This is what you waste your time with? Your people need you.” Devlin did spit on the ground this time, and Raven’s lip curled in distaste. “And you bring a second human with you?”
Bianca and Seamus landed next to them, Bianca’s face brimming with joy, and she slid neatly off the Alicorn before smiling at everyone.
“I don’t think that will ever get old. I mean, seriously. How cool is that? Riding on a flying freaking Alicorn? Seriously.Thebest.” Bianca beamed.
“We’re delighted to be your amusement ride,” Devlin growled, and Raven’s shoulders tensed.
“Your son just killed dozens of evil Fae. All while you were up here bloody well picking your arse for all we know. What, exactly, would you say it is you do around here? Because from where I’m standing it looks to me like if you were really all that worried about protecting your people from harm, then you’d be inside the castle walls doing just that, instead of keeping us out here, unprotected, and open to harm. Or perhaps that’s your goal all along? Jealous you’re not the ruler, is that it?” When Devlin’s eyes flashed, Raven grinned. She’d found the mark. Now it was time to exploit it. “Ah, that’s the truth of it, isn’t it? You’ve got that little-man syndrome. Not as tall or as handsome as your son. And the people look to him for power, don’t they? Not you? I’m not surprised if this is any indication of how you try to order people about. Now why don’t you scamper along and go protect your people if you’re so worried about it? Your help isn’t needed here, little man.”
When Devlin lunged, Raven was prepared for it, but to her surprise their Alicorn stepped between them and lowered its horn at Devlin.
