by Tasha Black
“I don’t regret it,” she said, with a defiant tilt of her chin.
I half-expected him to seal her mouth shut, but he merely nodded back with an expression of respect.
I glanced at the clock, wondering whether I should even go to my next class.
Against the wall, the teachers were still chattering madly.
It was one thing to be amazed that the Raven King was here. But there was something in their expressions that I didn’t like - something I would have called suspicious, if I didn’t know any better. Like they were up to something no good.
Which was ridiculous, of course. All Primrose faculty members had to take an oath of ethics. They might be concerned, even gossipy. But I was sure that was the end of it.
I tried to focus on my meal, but the French toast seemed to have lost its sweetness.
8
Anya
A few hours later, the Raven King followed me up an endless spiral stairway to the East Wing tower.
The headmistress had invited him to come up to the tower, or to relax in the teachers’ lounge while I finished my classes, but His Majesty had insisted on shadowing me.
His choice had resulted in a very odd afternoon watching my professors try to teach, while simultaneously watching the king peel an apple with a mother-of-pearl knife, browse through the classroom books, or enchant a kaleidoscope of butterflies into swirling in through an open window and orbiting around his head.
Now he followed me quietly to the space that Headmistress Hart had allotted to him for as long as he remained on this side of the veil.
The West tower where Cori’s mate, Reed, had stayed while keeping an eye on Primrose was very modest. I assumed the East tower would be the same and I wondered what the Raven King would make of the cold stone floor and mattress on the ground. He didn’t strike me as someone used to roughing it, and I wasn’t sure he would stay in such a place.
For some reason, the idea of him leaving upset me more than it should have. He was visiting royalty, dangerous, ancient, and different from me. I had no idea why he suddenly felt like home.
At last, we reached the heavy wooden door at the top of the steps. I turned the ornate key in the lock and swung the door open, then froze there, gaping for a moment.
The West tower had been cold and damp with dark stone walls and floors.
The East Wing tower was its polar opposite. The floor was a pale finished pine and the scant walls that existed were snowy-white painted stucco.
For the most part though, the tower was made up of massive banks of floor to ceiling glass windows, allowing us views over the campus and trees. The ceiling was a dome of copper and glass.
Outside, the sky had taken on the deep blue of evening’s approach, and the moon formed a swollen ball above us that peeked through the clouds.
“Acceptable,” the king said politely. “Is your room much like this one, Anya?”
“Uh, no,” I said. “It’s… smaller. And I share with another girl. Or at least I did.”
He frowned at me.
“It’s still very nice though,” I added. And it was. In fact, it was the nicest room I’d ever had.
“This is still not fit for royalty,” the king said, raising his hands. “Open the window.”
Without a thought, I dashed over to the nearest window and opened it.
Something came sailing in immediately. It took me a moment to realize that it was a cloud. It moved almost like an eager sheepdog, barreling toward the king and then circling his knees excitedly.
“Up there,” he told it, with an indulgent smile.
The cloud sailed up to the domed ceiling, where it gathered itself into an artful collection of fluff, illuminated by moonlight.
“Come, come,” he called out and a trail of lightning bugs floated in and busied themselves among the clouds that circled the ceiling.
“Flowers,” he said carelessly.
The small bouquet of flowers on the counter of the little kitchenette sprang to life, sending out vines that crawled up the back wall of the room, tiny buds bursting into bloom in unimaginable colors until the space was filled with their fragrance.
“That’s better,” he said, nodding. “Is there refreshment?”
“Let’s take a look,” I suggested, though all I wanted was to gawk at the clouds and the fireflies and the flowers, and ask him how he’d done it so carelessly.
Unfortunately, the only things in the kitchen were a gallon of orange juice in the fridge, and a tub of no-frills animal crackers in one of the cabinets.
“What are these?” the king asked, examining the little figures through the clear tub.
“They’re cookies,” I explained. “They’re shaped like animals for children to eat.”
“Excellent,” he declared, opening the tub.
Instead of eating one, he sat cross-legged on the floor and tilted the tub onto its side.
There was a single moment of stillness.
And then a tiny, shortbread lion came marching out of the tub. He stopped once to stretch himself dramatically, before strutting straight up to the Raven King.
“Where are your friends?” the Raven King asked him sternly.
The lion turned and leapt back to the tub.
The moment he was inside, the whole thing seemed to come to life. Tiny animals stretched and scrambled and poured out of the mouth of the container to greet the Raven King.
I stared openly, completely frozen to the spot.
“Do you not wish to greet your snacks?” the king asked, looking up at me with one eyebrow raised.
“You can’t eat them now,” I whispered in horror.
“No, I won’t eat them,” he said sadly. “They are stale. But they’re fun to play with.”
I tiptoed over, not wanting to startle the tiny menagerie. But they paid me no mind when I curled up on the floor beside the king.
After a moment, a tiny horse galloped up to me, pausing to sniff at my knee in a casual manner.
“Hello,” I whispered to it, placing my hand on the ground, palm-up.
It cantered onto my hand with a little whinny of greeting, stamping with its tiny hooves.
I lifted it to my face in wonder. It was the same wheat color it had been before the king brought it to life, but it wore a fierce and winsome expression that I knew it had never displayed before.
“Wonderful,” I breathed.
“Not too close to your face,” the king warned. “It’s still a wild animal. Or a wild cookie, at least.”
As if to demonstrate, the little creature suddenly reared up and snorted.
“Okay, okay,” I said quickly. “I’m putting you down.”
The Raven King laughed, the rich sound filling the room and sending shivers down my spine.
It was a rare sound, one I didn’t think many had the privilege of hearing. I had heard his quiet chuckle, and I knew he was capable of a sarcastic snort.
But this the warmest, happiest sound I had ever heard.
I meant to glance up at him, but I instantly lost myself in pale blue eyes that crinkled with mirth.
His gaze turned intense, and I felt him lean toward me.
“Back in your home,” he whispered. “Sleep.”
I heard the clatter of tiny hooves and paws on the wooden floor and then silence, but didn’t bother to look down.
Who could resist the commands of the Raven King?
I knew I couldn’t.
“Anya,” he breathed.
I expected him to kiss me, but I didn’t expect to feel myself being lifted into the air before he even touched me.
My robes and hair lifted, billowing around me as if I were underwater.
He was still gazing into my eyes, but he had raised his left hand and was moving his fingers in a slow, mesmerizing circle.
And my helpless body obeyed, denying the rules of physics, lifting farther off the ground, my robes twining around him in a slow pirouette as we rose toward the cloud-adorned ceiling.
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He reached out his right hand to touch my cheek.
The sensation was whisper soft, but it sent a symphony of need through my blood. I gazed into his eyes, wanting to beg, but unable to speak.
He leaned closer still, and I closed my eyes and tilted my chin up for his kiss.
Suddenly, we were tumbling back to the wooden floor.
I landed hard on my bottom. The king managed to land in a crouch.
Blinking back tears, I avoided his gaze. Whatever had been happening, I had obviously misinterpreted. The Raven King didn’t want to kiss a stupid schoolgirl.
Before we could begin an awkward conversation, the sound of a loud explosion echoed from outside.
“What was that?” the king asked.
But I was already flinging open the door and taking the stairs down two at a time.
While I had been distracted, mooning over a man who didn’t want me, my friends might be in danger. The Order was still out there, and they were furious with us.
How could I have let my stupid crush stop me from being there for my friends?
“Wait, Anya,” the king cried.
And I found that maybe I could resist his orders after all as I continued down the stairs.
Behind me, I heard the thunder of his footsteps, followed by a rush of wings.
9
The Raven King
I melted into a conspiracy of ravens to follow Anya more quickly down the endless staircase.
To her credit, she didn’t hesitate, but continued to run, even as my multiplied selves sailed ahead of her, out the open windows in the staircase and into the night sky.
Wind caught in our wings, and we almost forgot our purpose as the delirium of the nearly full moon bathed us in maddening light.
But the largest part of myself inhabited the alpha of the group and he rocketed like an arrow toward the source of the sound we had heard above, dragging the others behind him in loose formation.
The smoking remains of something burned in the Primrose courtyard. The sky above contained a fading flare in the shape of a broken blade.
My blade.
I needed my whole self to incorporate what was happening. Wings flapped and then stilled as I melted too quickly back into my own form.
Teachers had begun pouring out of the school, robes flapping in the winter wind.
In the distance, pairs of yellow eyes observed us, unblinking. Soon they would draw closer, I was certain of it. They were only waiting for the vulnerable students to wander out onto the courtyard, and then blood would spill.
I ran for the door to the East Wing tower, Anya could not join her professors here. I had to keep her safe.
But when I turned, she was already in the courtyard, her friends spread out behind her in a phalanx. I was reminded suddenly of my ravens and a tingle of pride went through me, though I did not know why. She was nothing to me - a mystery to solve - no more.
“There’s something in the woods,” I announced, striding up to them.
“Hellhounds,” Anya said. “And nightmares in the distance.”
I glanced up again to see flaming horses getting larger as they approached.
“Cori,” Kendall said.
“On it,” Cori told her, lifting her arms to the heavens. “I’ll go easy at first.”
“Save some for when they get closer,” Kendall agreed.
“You all need to get back inside,” I demanded.
Not one of them so much as blinked.
A blanket of rain descended out of nowhere. The girl called Cori let out a tremulous breath, her eyes closed, hands still upraised.
“Did she do that?” I asked Anya.
Anya gave a subtle nod.
I stared at the other girl, stupefied. Mortals seldom wielded such power. Its price must be unfathomable.
But the hounds were approaching, I could see their wasted bodies lunging into the courtyard already.
I swiped my hand toward one and it flew into the grass, yelping in fear. It should have exploded, but something was draining my power.
I needed time to focus my energy, but they were coming from all around us.
I turned to take out another one, but Bella was already looping vines around its twisting form, holding it fast.
Anya stood beside me, weaving her arms in the air.
A rabbit made of pure light leapt into the courtyard and two of the hounds forgot their mission and gave chase.
I swiped them down with a flick of the wrist and they ran away with their tails between their legs.
Anya looked over at me and winked, smiling with an expression of pure battle joy I had never seen on a woman’s face.
We addressed another set of hounds as Cori’s magical rainstorm extinguished the nightmares’ fiery manes and tails, sending them retreating back to the trees.
By the time I had turned back to my original position, all the intruders were on the run.
“Enough,” Headmistress Hart cried out. “Students, back to your dorms immediately.”
Before anyone had a chance to respond, three guardian shifters came thundering down the courtyard toward Anya and their friends.
“Are you okay?” one of them demanded, falling to his knees in front of Bella.
“We’re fine,” she said, trying to pull him to his feet.
But he buried his face in her belly for a moment before standing.
“We would have been here way sooner, but someone seems to have bumped up the difficulty on the labyrinth,” an even burlier guardian grumbled.
It was probably best to leave that as a mystery, for now.
Cori embraced the big man as Kendall went to the third, and quietest shifter. He studied her intently with his jade green eyes, as if trying to be sure she was real.
“Hey,” I said to him. “I remember you.”
He nodded once, looking wary.
I couldn’t blame him. The Order had drained him dry trying to get to me. He shouldn’t even be alive.
“Inside, students,” Hart bellowed. “Now.”
I felt a begrudging respect for her concern. Her charges needed protection, in spite of their surprisingly considerable powers.
Our group filed in quietly after the others. No one spoke until we reached the great staircase.
“Bellwether Lounge,” Anya said quietly to the others.
Cori nodded and the others followed suit.
I trailed behind them on the stairs, and we entered a student dorm area at the far end of the corridor.
Bella closed the door behind us, and it was just our group, along with two other young women who were already waiting in the seating area.
“What is he doing here?” Bella’s mate demanded, pointing at me.
“He’s stuck on this side, unless we help him, Luke,” Anya said fiercely. “He didn’t ask to come here.”
Luke frowned.
“You messed with the labyrinth, didn’t you?” the burliest guy asked, with a twinkle in his eyes.
I nodded once in assent. It was a testament to their skill that they had been able to navigate it at all. But I wasn’t about to tell them that.
“Luke, Reed, Jared,” Anya said in a businesslike way, pointing to each man in turn. “This is the Raven King.”
If I had expected anyone to bow, I would have been disappointed. Fortunately, I was all too well-versed in shifter pride from my own side of the veil.
I found it was best to ignore their lack of manners, rather than reward bad behavior with unearned attention.
“Nina, and Lark,” Anya added, pointed to the women on the sofa.
They gazed at me with wide, respectful eyes.
That was better.
“What happened out there?” Cori asked, her eyes narrowed. “It was too easy.”
Reed nodded.
“Maybe it felt that way because we’ve battled hellhounds and nightmares before,” Anya offered.
“No,” I told her. “It was too easy because it wasn’t meant to be a r
eal attack.”
“What do you mean?” Bella demanded.
“Think about it,” I told her. “They have probably always wanted to enter Primrose.”
“It’s true,” Kendall said. “Think what they would have done, what they did do, just trying to get their hands on one book.”
“But until you got here, they didn’t have the power to summon more than one beast at a time,” Bella said, glancing over at me. Her eyes were strangely hazy, and she was blinking more than usual. I suspected she was paying some price for the magic she’d been forced to unexpectedly wield a few moments ago.
“And to do that, they had to drain Jared’s blood,” Kendall said, her voice bitter.
“Today, they had a whole pack,” Anya said softly.
“And several nightmares to boot,” I agreed. “And probably even more than that waiting in the wings.”
“So what do you think they were doing?” Reed asked me point blank.
I glanced around the group, knowing I was about to scare them. But they deserved the truth. They had just proven themselves in battle. Perhaps if they knew what they were up against, they could be prepared for a real fight.
“This was just a quick check of the castle’s protections,” I told him. “They were testing your defenses.”
“And next time?” Bella asked, her hands over her belly.
“Next time, they rain down hell.”
10
Anya
I blinked at the Raven King in utter horror. He was right - I was sure of it. The Order would never give up so easily. Desperation was their hallmark.
When they came back, their new level of power might mean the end of Primrose as we knew it. And that was unacceptable. Primrose was my home.
Someone pounded on the door to our suite, and Reed jogged over to open it.
“School gathering in the great hall,” one of the head girls panted, turning on her heel and dashing off, presumably to the next house lounge.
“Wow, last time we had one of those at night was when Brenna and Tish ran away,” Kendall said.
How could anyone run away from Primrose? I wondered. I felt like I’d spent my whole life running toward this place, and now that I was here, I wanted nothing more than to hold on with both hands.
