White Raven

by J. L. Weil

  He had not made a peep, which made me wonder how long he had been awake. Then he shifted, and I was suddenly on my back with Zane’s body was covering every inch of me. Thought was not possible after that. Sweet babycakes. Cool breath danced over my skin as he nuzzled the sensitive spot between my shoulder and neck. My pulse became erratic. I bit my bottom lip to keep from making a sound. If he stopped touching me, I was going to cause him bodily harm.

  Gentle fingers inched across my belly, and I pressed myself against the length of him, shifting my knee between his legs. I traced the line of his jaw with my lips as he softly murmured something I didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter, because the lilt of his accent was lyrical. It made my heart patter.

  He lifted his head, staring down at me with winter blue eyes in confusion. There was so much depth in the deep hue of his irises. Regrettably, they cleared, and I knew my fantasy was over. Without saying a word, he disappeared from above me, the door squeaking open. I stayed motionless, staring at the white painted ceiling, my heart thumping. My body was on fire, cheeks flushed, and I was well on my way to frustrated.

  I tossed the covers aside, sitting up.

  Zoe popped her head in and did a double take, before a troublesome grin split across her lips. “I came to see if you were hungry. Did you two…?”

  “What? No.” I cleared my throat, running a hand through my hair. “I mean, we slept together, but just slept. Not together.”

  She laughed. “You’re cute flustered. Don’t let Zander find you in here.”

  “Does everyone know he was in here?”

  “It’s no secret that the two of you can’t stay out of trouble.” The door shut, her giggle echoing on the other side.

  I groaned, burying my face in the pillow. It smelled like him—cool, fresh, and complicated.

  Chapter 27

  “How did you sleep?” Mrs. Hunter asked me.

  Zoe giggled.

  Zach cleared his throat.

  Zane scowled.

  And I turned a horrible shade of pink. I hated pink. It felt like I was walking the morning-after shame, except nothing really happened. A few nibbles on the neck and some wandering hands didn’t constitute, in my book, as anything to feel guilty over, but it could have gone there.

  “Better than I thought possible,” I replied, pushing a piece of pancake around in my plate of syrup.

  “I just bet,” Zoe mumbled under her breath.

  I elbowed her under the table, keeping a polite smile on my lips. “Thank you again for letting me stay.”

  Ivy collected Zach and Zane’s empty plates. “Anytime. You had quite the ordeal last night.”

  “I’m sorry about involving Zane.” I risked a glance at him across the table. The frown lines around his mouth deepened.

  “There is no need to apologize. I would have been hurt if you had not called for help.”

  She was too forgiving. Her son almost died because of me. I didn’t think I would have had the hospitality that she was showing me if the roles had been reversed. It made me realize that I was carrying around guilt. I was angry with myself for putting him in such a tumultuous situation.

  Zander wasn’t around this morning, and secretly I was relieved, but I did wonder if he had left early because of me. Had he done so to absorb me of the awkwardness?

  If someone had told me I would be spending my summer with a group of reapers, I would have told them to go to rehab because they must be high. Yet, here I was, sitting at the dining room table, eating pancakes.

  Zane leaned back in his chair. We hadn’t spoken two words since he’d walked out on me this morning. And it was fine by me. I didn’t have squat to say to him anyway.

  Zoe, on the other hand, I had a mouthful to say to her—like making her take a vow of silence over what she’d seen. I didn’t want to hurt Zander any more than I already had. Him knowing that I’d spent the night with Zane would only make things harder.

  I had just grabbed my glass when my phone buzzed. Taking a swig of my OJ, I set the glass down and picked up my phone. The world dropped from under my feet. There were over a dozen missed calls and multiple texts from my brother. I could only think the worst.

  With trembling fingers, I dialed TJ’s number. He answered on the first ring, and I knew immediately that something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “Where have you been all night?” he rasped. “I’ve been trying to call you.” His voice was frantic, and his words were rushed and strung together. I knew TJ, and he had been crying.

  An ache started in my chest. “What is it, TJ? Tell me what happened.”

  “Oh God, Piper. She’s gone,” he said.

  “Who?” But I already knew.

  “Rose,” he croaked, a large lump in his throat.

  I flinched. “What do you mean gone?” But I was afraid I already knew. Every eye in the room was on me.

  “She’s dead.”

  The world stopped. “I’m on my way,” I said, paling.

  “Hurry, Piper,” TJ pleaded.

  Zane was at my side. I hadn’t even seen him move. “What’s wrong?” His sudden rush to my side was duly noted by everyone in the room.

  Zoe had a smug smirk seeing her brother hover over me like a guard dog, but it took one glance at my face to know that something had happened. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked.

  Fear burned in my chest, like hot coals. “It’s Rose. S-she’s—” I couldn’t say it. Not until I saw her for myself. “I’ve got to go.” I quickly stood, the blood rushing to my head. The room began to spin, and black spots danced behind my eyes.

  “I’m going with you,” Zane announced.

  There was a buzzing that started in my ears, and I wasn’t sure how I was still standing. I glanced down. Oh. That was how. Zane was holding me up.

  “Piper? Piper!” he said more forcefully.

  My eyes snapped up to his, and I nodded. “Let’s go.”

  I didn’t remember getting into the car or the drive to Raven Manor. My car door flew open before the wheels stopped rolling, and Zane cursed behind me. I rushed through the front door, screaming TJ’s name.

  He was sitting on the stairs, his arms wrapped around his knees and rocking. I took a seat next to my brother, my heart splintering. “TJ, hey. It’s me.”

  “Piper.” His voice cracked. There were circles under his bloodshot eyes. “What are we going to do now?”

  Placing an arm around his shoulders, I fought to find the right words. So many questions tumbled into my mind, but I didn’t want to press him. “Don’t worry about that. Are you okay?”

  He stared at the ground, doing everything he could not to break down in front of Zane. “I don’t think it will ever be okay again.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. “Where is she?”

  He nodded toward the winding staircase behind us. “Upstairs. In her room.”

  “And you didn’t call the cops?”

  “She made me promise to call only you. No one else,” he said. “Piper, I don’t understand. What the fuck is going on?”

  I started to scold him for cussing, but figured he deserved a break. “I wish I knew.” I hated lying to him, but I couldn’t tell him the truth. He had been through so much already, and telling him that grams was a supernatural banshee would no doubt push him straight over the edge.

  “She was fine. And then—”

  “I know. I know,” I crooned, rubbing my hand on his back. “Nothing about life makes sense.”

  “You don’t understand. She was killed. Like Mom.”

  My eyes narrowed. “How do you know that? Did you see someone?”

  “No. She told me. But she said there was no reason to be scared, that she had taken care of her attacker.”

  Zane and I shared a look. We both knew her assailant had been a reaper, and Rose had taken them down before passing on. But who had it been? How had they gotten into the house?

  “Did she say who did it?” I asked gently, hating that I sounded like a c
op. It brought back painful memories for both of us, being drilled by detectives. When a relative was murdered, the family was always the first ones under fire. Being interrogated sucked. Neither of us wanted to relive those moments.

  “No.” He sniffled. “What are we going to do?”

  “You are going to stay here. I need to see her. Okay?”

  “Don’t. You don’t want to go up there.”

  “I have to. Don’t worry about me.”

  My hand paused on the banister as I struggled with wanting Zane to come with me or asking him to stay with TJ. It only took one glance at the tight lines around his face to know he wasn’t going to leave my side. Sighing, I continued what felt like a ten-mile trek to Rose’s room.

  I pushed open one of the double doors, hinges squeaking like a siren in the quiet room. A horrible sense of dread shot through me, but I forced my eyes to look toward the bed. There she was. Her silver hair lying out around her, shiny and slick—

  I turned my head and hissed, a gasp of horror shattering my core. Nothing had prepared me for the sight that greeting me. A shudder rolled through my entire body, followed by a chilling scream. Zane had me in his arms, and I pressed my face to his chest, muffling my cries. Lead settled in the pit of my stomach.

  Blood soaked the strands of her hair, dripping down the sides of her face and neck. Her dress was more red than white. I couldn’t think, not with all the blood. It was worse than the dreams.

  She wasn’t moving. I didn’t really expect her to, but I had harbored a small splinter of hope that TJ had been mistaken. That Rose wasn’t dead, that she hadn’t left me here alone. I had only just found out what I was and the vast scope of what it meant to be a White Raven. Now she was gone, and the world was going to go down the crapper.

  “Zane.” My voice was hoarse. “What am I going to do? She left me alone, and I can’t take her place.”

  Tenderness filled his bright blue eyes. “You’ll never be alone, Piper.”

  I rubbed my eyes, chin trembling. “I don’t know the first thing about being the White Raven.”

  “You have me. When the Grand Matriarch dies, her powers go to her heir. To you,” he informed.

  “That’s how I was able to stop them.” It all made sense. Rose, she had sacrificed herself to save Zane and me. I didn’t know exactly what happened here, but I knew if Rose hadn’t given me her powers, Zane and I would probably be dead.

  Zane’s eyes glittered as he looked over my shoulder. “I was thinking the same thing. This had been planned. We had been the decoy and Rose the prime target.”

  Shock splashed across my face. “Oh my God.” I felt my eyes grow the size of saucers.

  His gaze snapped to mine, churning with anger, panic, and sorrow. “Which means you are in more danger than ever.”

  “Oh goodie.”

  “This is no joke, Princess. You must take her soul.”

  I gripped the front of his shirt. “What? Are you kidding?” Unbelievable. I couldn’t believe he’d suggested I take another soul. Rose’s soul.

  “Only then can she find true peace,” he rationed.

  My head moved back and forth. “I don’t want to, Zane.”

  He framed my face with kind hands. “I know this is difficult, but you must. For Rose.”

  I panicked. He expected me to lead an entire race of reapers. Yeah right. Was he smoking crack? I stayed in his arms for what felt like hours, and I didn’t want to leave his embrace. Wrapped in his strength I felt sheltered, cocooned from the world, because once I let go, nothing would be the same.

  “Okay.” I inhaled, stirring restlessly. After one long stare into Zane’s starry blue eyes, I turned around, facing Rose’s frilly snow white bed. There was not a bone in my body that wanted to do this. My feet felt like iron bars with each step I took closer. Pushing tangled waves out of my face, I glanced over my shoulder.

  Encouraging lines pulled at the corners of Zane’s mouth. “Just relax, Piper. Trust me. You can do this.”

  He was right. I sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb her still form. Lifting my hand, it shook as I placed it over her heart. My chest heaved. She was cold, so cold, her lips a shade of purple-blue. “I don’t think I can do this,” I uttered, an emotional wreck inside, tears rolling down my cheeks.

  “Close your eyes. Concentrate,” Zane’s smooth voice murmured near my temple.

  I did as he suggested, letting my lids flutter shut. As soon as I did, I felt his shadows slide over my skin, relaxing my soul, and for once, I was grateful. If there was ever a time I needed a dose of Zane to calm my nerves, it was now.

  When nothing happened at first, I felt a weird sense of disappointment, like I’d failed everyone who meant something to me. Mom. Rose. Zane. I was supposed to be this all-star banshee, yet I couldn’t even reap a soul, not when I really wanted to. But hell, when I didn’t know what I was doing, I could take out a whole pack of ghosts without lifting a pinky.

  I was going to be the worst Raven in history.

  Then, a bright light flared behind my eyes. It appeared I wasn’t a failure after all. Letting my lashes flutter open, my skin was glowing like a megawatt light bulb. I felt myself sinking, swarmed by this warm radiance filling me from the inside out. It was indescribable.

  I took a breath, a little dizzy, and leaned back against Zane’s chest. It was done. I was all that was left. I was the White Raven.

  God help us.

  Zane pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “You need to rest.”

  “I can’t. Not now. I need to go see TJ.”

  “Piper, I will use force if necessary.”

  I gave him a bland look. “Zane, don’t make me wish I hadn’t saved you.”

  “TJ should leave. He is not safe here. It’s too risky,” he said, pacing the room.

  “What? I can’t just send him away. Where would he go?” I snapped back.

  He shot me a “duh” glance. “To live with your father.”

  I snorted. “You don’t know the man. He isn’t capable of taking care of a cactus, let alone a fifteen-year-old boy.”

  “Look, we can argue about this until you’re blue in the face, but right now, we need to figure out what to tell him.”

  “Oh right. The body.” My lashes lifted. Rose, in true supernatural form, had disintegrated into nothing. Her body had erupted into light, giving one heck of a flashbang. “I’ll think of something.”

  I knew he was right about TJ, but it would break my heart to send him away. He was a pain in my butt, yes, but he was still my brother. It was my job to look out for him, to keep him safe, regardless of how much it hurt me.

  Chapter 28

  I sneezed.

  “How are you feeling?” Zane was kicked back on a chair in my room, his hands propped behind his head.

  If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question, I would be a millionaire. “Same as I was the last time you asked.”

  His brow arched.

  It wasn’t like I didn’t know I was damn lucky to be alive, or that I wasn’t grateful for those who sacrificed themselves for me. I was. And I should’ve been suffering from post-traumatic stress or depression, but I wasn’t. Physically, I’d never felt better in my entire life, and my mental state…well, it was working through some pretty deep shit.

  “Have you thought any about what you’re going to do with TJ?”

  I was sitting on the middle of my bed, thinking that it was far too sunny outside. Only two days had passed since Rose’s death, and it felt wrong for Mother Nature to be so cheery. “Yeah. And as much as I hate to admit it, you were right.”

  “Of course I was,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  I gave him a bland look. “Don’t make me hate you.”

  “It would be better if you did.”

  “For who? You?” I replied flatly.

  “Piper.”

  “Forget it.” Why the hell had I thought it was a good idea for him to stay at Raven Manor for a few day
s until I figured everything out? I was beginning to regret that decision…for many reasons, and not just because he was forcing me to deal with things I didn’t want to. Only Zane’s family was informed of Rose’s passing; they were the only ones who knew of my new role in life. And that was how it was going to stay for as long as possible.

  We all agreed we needed to keep Rose’s death on the down low. If it got out, the rebels would come at me hard and fast, and I was nowhere near ready to deal with the repercussions. This gave me time. And boy did I need time. It was a double-edged sword. I needed time to learn what others had a lifetime to hone. I needed time to decide what I was going to do. I needed time to ensure that TJ was safe. And I was out of time.

  I hated lying to TJ and sneaking around with Zane. No one knew Zane was spending his nights with me. Not in the same room, but in the same house. Well, maybe not the entire night. His arms were the only things that chased the nightmares away. My morals felt like they had vanished. My mom would not be proud, but that was what she got for leaving me to deal with this gargantuan mess on my own.

  I felt stuck.

  If I left Raven Hallow with TJ, I would be dragging my problems along with me. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that once I left this island, I would be safe. They wouldn’t stop hunting me, not until they got what they wanted.

  My power.

  A power I knew virtually nothing about. I didn’t know how to control it. I didn’t know how strong I was. I didn’t know if I could do this. Lead a race of supernaturals?

  And there was no telling who they’d hurt along the way. I had too many people I cared about back in Chicago to subject them to danger.

  “You know you can’t leave now.”

  I swear he could read my thoughts. “I know. It’s just a lot harder to send him away than I thought.”

  He scooted the chair across the room so he was directly in front of me. Then his hands shot out, grabbing my ankles and tugging me toward him. I didn’t even try to resist. It would have been pointless. If Zane wanted me closer, there was nothing that would stand in his way.

  “Is this your way of telling me you want my undivided attention?”