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“Though, we were concerned at first because the dreams were initially only of ravens—the birds, not you. We thought the worst was coming for him. Turns out it was just you, or maybe it was the universe communicating you were in trouble? Anyway ...”
I lost track of Lyric’s retelling of what I’d dreamt. Instead, I watched Brokk and Raven, neither of whom visibly reacted to any of it, not until Lyric spoke of my heart being removed after I’d pulled Raven from the river. If I hadn’t been looking for a response, I wouldn’t have noticed Brokk had stopped breathing.
Once storytime was over, Brokk closed his eyes and bowed his head. He lifted on a slow, cleansing inhale, exposing the ebony that had overtaken his orbs. He looked more demonic than an actual demon. As far as I knew, he had no demon blood and the altering colors were a side effect of his powers.
“Father?” Kol whispered in concern as Brokk slowly rose, his palms remaining on the table.
“I’m taking Kol and leaving. You’ll keep Raven here.”
“What are you talking about?” Raven asked.
Brokk ignored her.
Draven looked at me then responded, “You know we’ll keep her safe.”
“No, I mean you willkeepherhere. Forcefully, if necessary.”
“No. No way,” she argued, hopping up to her feet.
Brokk sliced his hand through the air angrily, cutting her off. I felt a low growl rumbling in my throat when I saw the flash of pain in her eyes.
“Casimir? I’ll have your word on this. As her mate, she is your responsibility.”
Magic rolled off of Raven, hot and angry. “I sincerely hope those words are in jest,” her voice shook. “I won’t be held against my will here or anywhere else for that matter. Not ever again. I don’t care who you task with it.”
“Your answer, Casimir.” Brokk demanded, totally disregarding his daughter.
I didn’t respond. How could I? As much as I might have wanted to, agreeing to keep Raven here by force would ruin anything between us before it even had a chance to begin.
“Brokk, think about what you’re doing,” Draven advised.
“I am. My family is in a target-rich environment. Sersha will be searching for Raven. I cannot hide the call of blood like Raven can and neither can Kol, not yet. If Sersha gets close enough to one of us, she’ll know we are related. I need to take him somewhere safe then figure out what to do about the Queen.”
“You didn’t seem too concerned with any of that when you first arrived,” Phalen commented.
“I was more concerned with saving Raven’s life.”
“No,” I refuted. “There’s more to it. Something about my dreams. When Lyric described my most recent dream, something bothered you. What was it?”
When he didn’t answer, Kree touched his arm. Brokk covered her hand with his own, but didn’t remove her caress. A year ago, I’d have been sick with envy over someone sharing such obvious affection with the female.
Once again, I was more than thankful she’d turned me away. The warm pull of the fondness I experienced with Kree paled in comparison to the blazing need I’d instantly experienced with Raven.
My mate caught me watching the interaction between her father and Kree then quickly looked away. The cool energy seeping into our bond pissed me off. She’d muted it once more, something I’d have to correct—again—in private.
“Brokk?” Kree whispered encouragingly.
“The night before I lost my mate, I dreamt of her. I dreamt that she’d removed my heart.”
A block of ice formed in my chest. It wasn’t common for Others to dream of their mates. Demons typically only did this when the universe wanted to give a portent that they’d soon be united with their other half.
Soulmates were rare but not so rare that they never found one another. Dreams were usually the first clue of what was to come. It had been the case with Draven, as well as his parents and my own.
However, dreaming of a mate outside of a foreshadowed meeting typically signaled trouble.
“Your mate is dead? I’m so sorry,” Lyric offered kindly.
“Oh, our mother’s not dead,” Kol corrected nonchalantly. “She’s hiding out in Earth Realm.”
