*Ryatt*
Rain pours over the glistening cobblestone street as I follow behind an anxious Ella. She’s wringing her hands beneath the floor-length cloak I draped over her head and shoulders before I hurried her out of the house and into the downpour.
I debated letting her sleep. I paced for nearly ten minutes after Ravenna sent one of her minions to alert me of the change in Ella’s maid, waking me up from the first night of sleep I’d had in weeks.
I’d gone to check on Ella after returning from my meeting with Ravenna. I had no right to go into that bedroom and stand there in the dark watching her silently cry in her sleep. Not after what I’d said to her.
I should have left, but I sat on the edge of the bed, my body trembling from being flayed open by the hellhounds–wounds I refused to allow Ravenna’s healers to tend to–and laid back. I only shut my eyes for a moment, and woke up cradling Ella like an infant while someone banged on the door downstairs.
Now, we walk a few feet apart, our boots splashing through puddles while lightning turns the sky a fiery blue. Thunder cracks overhead, but Ella keeps her eyes down, her gaze on the toes of her boots.
I’m guiding her with a hand on her shoulder through the narrow streets of Moonrise, a place I know so well yet promised myself I’d never see again.
This place… It only reminds of me of my mother, and when I think of her, the only memories that come to mind are that of her torture by my father’s hands.
An ache spreads through my chest. It tightens around my heart as I slide my hand down Ella’s back and mumble for her to grab the railing of the stone steps that lead up to the castle that casts us in a hazy shadow. Amber hued street lamps light our way, flickering, as the storm rages overhead.
Ella can barely manage the climb to Ravenna’s castle. The rain makes it that much harder, yes, but she’s exhausted. My hand curls into a fist against her lower back, and I briefly close my eyes against the emotional anguish radiating off of her. She’s lost her home, her family, her life as she knew it, and she looked to me for support.
I pulled away when I felt her getting too close.
I regret it.
“Stop, just stop,” I say over the rain.
Ella turns her face toward me, rain spilling down her cheeks. She shivers as I sweep her into my arms and start to jog up the steps, ignoring the sharp pain of my healing wounds as I press her body against mine. She’s so light. Far too light. She hasn’t been eating, nothing to sustain her anyway. None of this went to plan. She should be in the Veiled Valley right now, safe, not in a fucking witch coven half-starved and soaking wet.
I hiss through my teeth as we reach the top of the stairs and are immediately met by two witches donned in shimmering white cloaks and their hellhounds–two massive, silver direwolves. The reincarnated forms of the ancient beasts look nothing like us. Their heads are three times as large, teeth twice as long and filed to a jagged edge. But it’s their bodies that send a chill down my spine. Large, lumbering, and stocky. Bred long ago by whatever long-lost race our kind descended from to mow through battlefields and guard castles and temples.
I can see my reflection in the glowing eyes of the hounds as I pass, glaring at the two witches who stand unnaturally still as I move toward the giant wooden doors that serve as a front entrance to Ravenna’s domain.
Fucking witches. I keep my eyes on them knowing neither of the cloaked female figures are going to open the door for me even though my hands are full. One of them turns their head to the door, which opens as if on command. I scowl, and slip inside, and we’re immediately met by an intense warm, dry heat that instantly dries out our clothes and skin.
It’s like we hadn’t just walked through a storm to get here.
I set Ella down but keep my arm around her waist. Her eyes go wide with shock and apprehension as she clutches her dry cloak tighter around her body.
But her eyes are on the staircase in the center of the foyer, and the ethereal dark-haired witch queen standing on the bottom step.
“I didn’t think you’d come until the storm passed,” Ravenna says, resting a dainty hand on the banister.
Ella pants beside me, “Where is she?”
Ravenna eyes us both, curiosity blooming behind her narrowed eyes. She motions toward the top of the stairs. “She’s being tended to by our healers. You may see her in a moment, when she’s well–”
“She’ll see her now,” I cut in, losing my patience.
Ravenna heaves a breath and steps down onto the shining white tile. This whole castle is a temple of white–white walls, white floors, everything glittering like crystals. The castle is made of crystal, in fact, but it looks totally different in the storm plagued darkness. Instead of the usual golden glow from the sunlight, it’s now dark and shimmering with the lightning crackling overhead.
A testament to Ravenna’s powers, truly. “Fine. Petra will escort her upstairs–”
“I will escort her,” I grind out, my fingers curling protectively into Ella’s side. “Alone.”
Ravenna stares at me, unblinking. “Very well. She’s in one of our guest rooms. You know the way.”
I walk past her, dragging Ella along beside me up the curved staircase into the shadows of the second floor. The domed ceiling in the foyer stretches five stories high, and the crystal ceiling glows a muted blue in the storm. I hear Ravenna following behind us. Another set of near silent footsteps come from the shadows, and I catch a glimpse of white-blonde hair and know in a second that Petra is now following close behind.
An open door down a long, darkened hallway spills light across the floor tiles. A shadow moves across it, followed by the sound of a mortar grinding in a pestle. I’ve barely opened the door before Ella rushes past me, discarding her cloak on the floor behind her and falling to her knees beside the bed.
Her maid gapes, choking on sobs, as Ella wraps her arms around the sickly young woman and squeezes her tight.
“Leave us,” Ravenna says quietly to the three healers tending to Hannah. They bob their heads at her command and quickly leave the room, shutting the door behind them. Ravenna turns to Petra then, who is standing against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face as she watches Ella. “You as well, Petra.”
Petra turns to her queen with a look that conveys how little she agrees, and turns to leave. Her eyes meet mine, and she drops that ice-cold expression, letting it melt into something heady and seductive.
I glare at her until the door shuts firmly behind her. My attention snaps back to Ella and her maid as Hannah’s soft, almost childlike voice asks, “Where are we, Ella?”
“Oh, Hannah, I’m so sorry,” Ella whimpers, tears gliding down her face. She smooths Hannah’s light blonde curls away from her face as she whispers reassurances to the woman.
I know little about Hannah other than that she is Ella’s maid. But their relationship goes beyond that of a loyal servant. Hannah is Ella’s friend, and beside King Isaac's mate, Maddy, I don’t think Ella has many friends.
I swallow past the lump in my throat as I watch them.
“What happened? Where are we?”
“What do you remember?” Ella takes Hannah’s hands and squeezes them.
“I remember the ball. And–” Hannah closes her eyes, her skin so pale I can see every vein. “You looked so scared. I–you we’re going to leave with–with him–” Hannah opens her eyes and looks right at me. “I tried to stop you. I tried to grab your arm to pull you back to us.”
“She needs to rest,” Ravenna says sharply from behind me, her voice deep, commanding, and echoing throughout the room.
As if in answer, Hannah begins to cough, and her eyes water as she struggles to catch her breath. Ravenna snaps her fingers, and the healers return, almost as if they’ve been waiting outside the door this entire time. Ella’s panicked expression reaches new heights as she steps out of their way and watches the healers pour glowing tonics into Hannah’s parted, cracked lips.
“What’s wrong with her now?” Ella asks, her voice strained. “Why is she sick?”
Ravenna keeps her eyes on Hannah and says softly, her voice a gravely whisper, “She’s not like us. Her body couldn’t withstand the forces that hold our kingdoms apart during her unintended journey.”
“Obviously,” Ella snaps, baring her teeth. “What are you giving her? What are those potions? Why is she–why is she gray, like that?” Her words tremble. She turns her gaze to me, desperation and grief lining her eyes. “Is she dying?”
I dread Ravenna’s answer.
“She will die unless she’s returned to her mate. That’s what this–” She waves a hand in Hannah’s direction, “is all about. The mate bond, even one that hasn’t been made official, is the strongest magic in our universe. It defies the laws of space and time. That’s why the act of rejection is such a painful process.”
“Rejection?” Ella and I say at the same time. I turn to face Ravenna fully. “You’re saying this woman has been rejected by her mate?”
“No.” Ravenna shakes her head then looks over at Hannah again.
Hannah’s eyes are closed, tears still sliding down her cheeks and along her jaw, but she’s no longer coughing. One of the healers places her hands on Hannah’s chest, a pale glow radiating from the witches touch into Hannah’s chest. “She’s asleep,” the healer whispers to the room.
Ravenna nods. “Keep her that way for a time.”
“Wait!” Ella croaks, whirling on Ravenna. “She’s been asleep for–”
“That wasn’t sleep, sister,” Ravenna interrupts. “Come with me, there is much you need to know. Much you need to see, and then you’ll understand.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Ella protests. She turns pleading eyes on mine. “Please, Ryatt. I don’t want to leave her, not yet.”
I want nothing more than to reach out to her and wipe those tears away from her face, but I keep my hands at my sides and tilt my head toward Ravenna. “Whatever you need to say, you say it here.”
Ravenna looks more than annoyed, but tilts her chin toward the ceiling and closes her eyes for a moment before saying, “This woman is separated from her mate. It’s like a rejection, in a way. With the veil between them, their bond has been severed by magic, and she is dying from the effects of it. She will continue to deteriorate unless she’s returned to her mate. But that isn’t an option right now, is it, Your Highness?” Her glowing eyes swirl with ether as they meet mine with a sharp, knowing look.
“Ryatt,” Ella snaps. “What does she mean? Why can’t we take Hannah back?”
“I believe it’s time to tell her the truth,” Ravenna says in a cool, calm tone. “She needs to know who she is, and who her father was.”