Chapter Thirty-Three
Raven’s stomach clenched. Sylas was right. He and Dianthe had risked their life for these orbs. Figuring out how to open and use them was up to her and her sisters. But so far the three of them had failed to contribute much to the cause. Despite their best efforts, they hadn’t even succeeded in translating the hidden message in the scroll.
She stood with Charlie on her hip and crossed to the orbs. Without so much as a glance in their direction, Avery and Clarissa joined her. They felt it too, the unspoken pressure to solve this riddle. They were supposed to be the most powerful witches that ever lived. Somehow they needed to figure this out.
“What do you think she was trying to tell us?” Raven asked her sisters.
“Obviously that all the kingdoms have to work together to defeat Eleanor. She wouldn’t have hidden them the way she did if she didn’t believe that,” Clarissa said.
Avery picked at the sides of her bandage. “She didn’t make it easy. Every step has been a test. Medea wanted to make sure that only her descendants could get this book.”
Raven sat at the table beside the orbs for a closer look. Magic swirled at the center around those oddly shaped metal pieces that winked at her in the light. They were supposed to form a key, but she didn’t see how.
Charlie slapped the table with her chubby palm, breaking Raven’s concentration. She reached for the golden orb. “Ba, ba, ba.”
“No, Charlie, that’s not your ball.” Raven grabbed her little hand and held it.
Colin, arms crossed in concentration, did a double take. “Really, Raven? The things are indestructible. I fished one out of a pool of acid in Rogos. I doubt a bit of chicken juice or a few teeth marks are going to hurt it.” He rolled the gold orb to Charlie with a chuckle.
Charlie squealed, reached out her little hands, and caught the ball. Only she didn’t. Her hands passed right through the crystal to the cog-shaped piece of key within. The crystal rolled back toward Colin.
“Holy God in heaven,” Raven murmured. Her gaze darted between Avery and Clarissa as if they could explain what just happened. They just stared, disbelieving.
Colin gaped like a beached fish. He held the empty orb in his hands, shaking his head.
Raven blinked as Charlie put the metal cog in her mouth and chewed. “Can mommy have that?” The words came out as a whisper. She honestly didn’t believe she could speak any louder.
The entire tent had gone conspicuously silent, although Gabriel and the others had stood and approached, forming a circle around the table.
Raven turned the piece in her hand as everyone around her leaned in. Metal, maybe iron, it was shaped like an octopus with six irregular shaped extensions protruding from the inner portion. The metal was entirely covered with magical symbols.
“Give her another.” Gabriel motioned to Colin to roll another orb to Charlie.
Colin pushed the green and then the yellow, the blue, and finally the purple. The same thing happened over and over again.
“Ba! Ba! Ba!” Charlie screamed in delight. She handed her prizes to her mother one by one.
Once she was done, Gabriel approached with Charlie’s coconut ball and lifted her from Raven’s lap. “Let’s play with this one, sweetheart. Those others are broken.”
With her hands freed, Raven began to fit the pieces together like a puzzle.
“I see it,” Clarissa said, helping to arrange the pieces.
“No, like this.” Avery changed the position of one gear, and suddenly everything fit.
“This is supposed to be a key?” Raven tilted her head and inspected the contraption in front of her. It looked like the inside of a clock, five cogwheels that clicked together in an oddly shaped S formation.
Avery picked it up and turned it over. It didn’t come apart. The pieces had locked together once they had them in the correct order.
Colin rubbed his chin and took it in. “It has to be a metaphorical key. Do you think it could be a magical object? Perhaps a piece needed for a spell?”
Leena looked up from her scroll and frowned at the object. “It’s a crypt key.”
Raven and everyone else stared at the elf. She adjusted her robe. Her gaze jumped between them. “Don’t you have crypt keys where you come from?”
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
She cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable at being in the spotlight. “In Rogos, when an elf dies, the family buries him or her with riches to help them in the afterlife. It could be jewelry or artwork, weapons, or even expensive pottery. They lock it in a tomb using a crypt key.” She pointed to the metalwork in front of Raven. “After one year has passed, it is generally believed that the dead elf has made use of the items and has successfully passed to the other side. The family returns, places the key in the lock, and turns it to spell the code word.”
Raven rotated the bottom cogwheel and watched the interlinked gears above turn, moving the symbols. “These are letters that spell a word?”
Leena nodded. “It’s Elvish, and that is definitely elf-made metalwork.” She squinted at the symbols on the gears. “You’ll need to know the keyword and where the tomb is, but once you position the gears to spell the crypt key, the tomb will open.”
Colin stood and leaned over the table to get a better look at the gears and the individual symbols on the cogwheels. He ran a hand over his face. “I think it’s safe to say this fits a grave in Rogos.”
“Without question.” Leena gave a heavy sigh. “It would be unheard of for an elf to allow their craft to be used in another kingdom. This key fits a tomb in Rogos.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” Colin winced and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Why do I gather by your tone that’s problematic?” Clarissa asked dryly. She suddenly looked exhausted. Raven could relate.
“Elves are very protective of their culture. Aside from Colin, no outsiders have successfully lived among us for long,” Leena said. “And even Colin was not allowed near our dead.” She laughed. “Our graves are sacred. It’s not as if you could go grave to grave, trying the key. You’d have an arrow through your heart before you could fit it to the lock.”
Heat rose in Raven’s blood. She could no longer hold back the anger building inside her. “This is beginning to feel like the quest that will never end,” she ground out through her teeth. “Every time we find one clue, another five pop up. And we don’t even know what this book can do. Why is it even necessary? Oh, aside from a dream I had that Circe won’t own up to that suggests that Hera wants it. What if Hera planted the dream? What if this is all some wild plan to get us to retrieve this grimoire so that she can steal it from us? What if it doesn’t even help the rebellion?”
Gabriel placed a hand on her back. “Raven…”
She buried her face in her hands.
“That’s not what I’ve seen,” Dianthe said, her voice loud and clear in the nearly silent room.
Raven lowered her hands and stared at the fairy whose toasted-cinnamon skin seemed to sparkle with gold, or maybe that was butter from her wings. They fluttered behind her, the same color as her eyes, and Raven wondered how she hadn’t noticed before how ethereal she looked. The fairy could never be mistaken for human.
“What have you seen?” Raven asked.
“I’ve seen Charlie, older, maybe six, playing with you in the gardens of the Obsidian Palace. Both of you are smiling. Red petals blow from the trees, filling the air with a heady perfume. They sprinkle you as you spin her around. You are dressed in the traditional Paragonian garb of a queen.”
Raven waited for her to say more. What about Gabriel? What about everyone else here? But Dianthe had stopped speaking.
“That’s it? That’s all you’ve seen.”
Sylas glared at her. “She can’t control what she sees, Raven. But as visions go, I’d think that one would give you a small measure of comfort.”
He was right. She was being a complete bitch. No one promised her thi
s would be easy. She’d faced Eleanor before. She’d seen the wickedness in the woman. Ever since she’d mated Gabriel, she’d known what she was signing up for. This relationship would never be a house in the suburbs with a fenced yard. Being married to the heir of Paragon meant taking risks and doing what was right. It meant trusting that she’d figure things out, whatever might come.
Charlie though had made all the difference. When she’d mated Gabriel, she hadn’t thought children were possible. And now she was trying to mother a dragon/witch hybrid. They didn’t write a “What to Expect” book on her situation. It was all too much. When Charlie’s hands had passed through the orbs, she’d realized that her baby girl was part of all this. She couldn’t hope to leave her safely on the sidelines of this war.
“I need some air.” Raven rushed from the tent and ran. She didn’t stop until her feet met sand and the ocean lapped toward her toes. She found a shady place next to the beach where she leaned against a palm tree and braced herself on her knees.
“I know you want to be alone, but I need to tell you more about what Aborella told me.” Avery’s tone left no room for delaying the conversation, and when Raven turned around, she was surprised to find Clarissa had come as well.
“Don’t look at me for answers,” Clarissa said. “Avery practically dragged me out here with her.”
“I thought there might be more to Aborella’s vision,” Raven said. “But I couldn’t figure out why you’d hesitate to tell the others.”
Avery dug the toe of her sandal into the sand. “Because it was about us. It was about the three sisters. It’s the type of thing I think we should decide how to handle before we tip our hand to the boys in charge.”
Clarissa crossed her arms. “Colin isn’t the boss of me.”
“Exactly.” Avery cracked her neck.
Raven exhaled and readied herself for whatever news was about to come out of Avery’s mouth. “Go ahead. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
Avery licked her lips. “Aborella didn’t just say that Medea assumed we’d have pieces of the tanglewood tree. She specifically said we can’t translate the scroll without it. We need pieces of the tree for the enchantment to recognize us as the three sisters.”
Raven groaned. “The tree is gone. Believe me, I know. I saw it burn under my feet when Crimson pulled me into the past.”
Avery shook her head. “I thought so too, but Aborella told me that the sisters saved some of it and left it behind for us. She confirmed that what we need has been carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation.”
“Oh no.” Raven’s head bent back, and she looked up at the sky, wishing she didn’t know exactly what Avery was about to say.
Clarissa cleared her throat. “Do you mind filling in the most recent Tanglewood sister on why you both look like you are going to die?”
Raven rubbed her face. “There is one thing that has been painstakingly preserved and passed down for generations in the Tanglewood family. One weirdly enforced thing that has been a constant in my life and Avery’s life since the day we were born and now is part of your life too. It is the one thing that existed when the original three sisters lived in New Orleans, and it is still there to this day.”
Clarissa’s eyes widened. “The Three Sisters Bar and Grill!”
Both Raven and Avery nodded their heads. “All the female descendants have had to keep the Tanglewood name, and the property has passed from matriarch to matriarch.”
“Which means…” Avery shook her head like she couldn’t quite believe it. “Somewhere in that bar, a part of the tanglewood tree remains, and it is exactly what we need to translate the scroll and open the tomb.”
A burst of laughter came from Clarissa’s mouth. She stopped, her lips straining, and then gave in to the urge and let it all out. She doubled over with body-shaking guffaws.
“What is so funny?” Raven asked.
Clarissa composed herself. “After all that mess with Avery basically telling your mother that she never wanted to work at the Three Sisters, you two have to come up with an excuse to go back to New Orleans and see our mom.” She laughed some more. “And let’s face it, you are going to have to ask for her help because she’s your best bet at determining what part of the bar might hold said tree parts. And…” Clarissa gave Raven a pitying look. “She’s going to want to see the baby.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Raven fell on her ass and beat the ground with her fists. “How am I going to disguise Charlie? She looks too old. She has wings for heaven’s sake!”
Avery groaned. “Mom is going to assume I’m considering coming back.” She plopped down beside Raven shaking her head. “You know she isn’t happy with how things went down.”
Still chuckling behind them, Clarissa said, “Oh, come on. It won’t be that bad. Sarah seemed completely reasonable when I met her.”
Raven gave her a withering stare. “You know you have to come too, right? We have to stay together.”
Clarissa stopped laughing. “Right. Sure.”
“And our mom is going to want to introduce you to our dad,” Avery added.
That sobered Clarissa directly. She sat down in the sand next to them, suddenly contemplative. She’d never met her real father. This would be quite a visit for all of them.
“Hey, look at that,” Raven said. She gestured toward a palm tree only a few yards from them.
“Look at what? It’s a palm tree. They’re all over the island,” Avery said.
“The falcon in the branches. Black head, gray feathers. I haven’t seen one of those on the island before, have you?” Raven squinted against the sun. The bird was definitely watching them.
Avery shook her head. “Isn’t that called a peregrine? I’ve never even seen one in real life. Just in the movies.”
Clarissa agreed. “It’s my first time too. It’s beautiful, but I think you’re right, Raven—it’s completely out of place. He belongs in the mountains, not the tropics. What are you doing here, sweet bird?” Clarissa made a kissing sound toward the branches.
“Hmm. I’ll have to ask Gabriel about it when we get back.” Raven leaned on her elbows and stared out over the water.
“Can we just stay here for a while?” Avery asked. “I am not looking forward to the conversations with our mates about how we have to go back to the realm we literally just escaped from.”
Clarissa shook her head. “No rush. Plenty of time to break the news, perhaps after a few drinks and a little soothing magic.”
Raven leaned her head on Avery’s shoulder. “I wish just one thing about all of this could be easy.”
Avery took her hand and joined it with Clarissa’s. “It may not be easy, but we can do this.”
“How are you so sure?” Clarissa asked with a laugh.
“Because we’re the three sisters,” Avery said. “We can do anything so long as we’re together.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Stretched out beside her husband, Dianthe admired his naked body in the sliver of moonlight that shone through the tent flaps. He lay on his stomach, barely conscious after a marathon session of lovemaking. She ran a nail along the golden skin of his shoulder, under his wing, along his spine to the top of his buttocks.
“You’re insatiable,” he murmured against the pillow.
She sighed. “I’m just relieved to have you back. It’s good to be home.”
His eyes opened wider. “Our home burned down. We’re in a tent on a benevolent goddess’s island.”
A lazy smile split her face. “It’s home if I’m with you.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re right. We’re home.”
“Besides, Aeaea is where we met and fell in love. If anyplace could be called home for us, it’s here, don’t you think?”
He ran his fingers over her hair as he pondered that question. “I’d lived here a long time before you and the other rebels made your camp here. Honestly, when I look back on that time, it feels like limbo, almost as if I were
in a state of suspended animation. I came alive the day I met you.”
She had to look away as her eyes pricked at the sweet sentiment. “I know the feeling. It’s hard to remember what life was like before you.”
He rolled onto his back, tucking his wings away and pulling her onto his chest. “I had a thought today when I saw you with Charlie.”
“She’s a sweet baby. Strange but sweet. When I saw her hands pass through that orb, I just kept thinking she was truly the one from the prophecy. She’s the baby destined to bring about Paragon’s fall.”
Sylas nodded. “I felt it too. But I felt something else as well.”
Dianthe propped herself up on her elbow. “Tell me.”
“I thought it suited you.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “What suited me?”
“A baby.”
A laugh cut through her throat like a bark. “If dragons could impregnate fairies, we’d have a dozen children by now. Goddess knows we’ve given it our best shot these many years.”
His expression remained serious. “It doesn’t have to be our natural child.”
Something in his eyes melted her heart. “You’re thinking about adopting.”
He nodded. “When we were in Everfield, there were many children orphaned by the raids. There are so many. They are going to need homes.”
She remembered their faces. The hungry look in their eyes. She’d wanted to do more for them at the time but couldn’t. “A tent on someone else’s island is no place to raise a child.”
He scooped an arm under her and pulled her on top of him. “I didn’t mean now.”
“No, I didn’t think you did.”
“It’s just that your vision of the future, Raven and her daughter playing in the garden, it made me think that one day this would be over. One day—maybe not this year, maybe not next year—but one day we are going to win this war. And when we do, it will be the first time since we met that we won’t have the resistance tugging at our corners. We can have a home with a yard. Maybe a dog. There will be no more missions. No more dungeons.”
Hidden Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon Book 7) Page 22
