Page 46 of Of Nightmares & Fire (Elusive Umbra #1)
Chapter thirty-six
Kyros
Drabek’s caw makes my lips curl up as I reach the far end of the water’s edge.
His shadow brushes over me like a welcomed hello as he flies overhead.
The enormous black bird lands on my shoulder while his low grunts of adoration sound off in my ear.
I chuckle back, giving him a piece of raw meat I snagged on the way out here.
“Hello to you too, old friend.” I say, and the raven blinks, nearly purring with excitement upon my return.
“I need you to carry a message for me.” He clicks, his maw opening and closing quickly, urging me on.
Drabek was my father’s raven, and though my father, my birth father, is gone…
I feel as though sometimes his lingering magick lives on with Drabek.
He found me after we were bo th displaced by the war.
It's as though the Creshian forest’s magick sent the creature to watch over me from afar until I was old enough to support the weight of his presence.
Not only physically but emotionally too.
Drabek serves both myself and Mavros, but we both know he is in service of the older twin.
Even if my being born minutes earlier deems me worthy of something more.
Drabek chitters, awaiting the kiss of my magick, and I smile as I run my fingers over his sun-warmed feathers.
Closing my eyes only for a moment, I let my magick dance from my fingers.
The glimmering shadow swirls along his body before he bristles and absorbs the black tendrils with a shrill cry. It’s a joyous sound.
“Give Mavros hell. Find me once the message is delivered.” I grin before lifting my arm and watching as his powerful wings splay wide and thrust down, giving him momentum to launch into the sun-drenched sky.
He circles overhead, cawing once more before he takes off in the direction of wherever Mavros is.
“The Hawk returns?” My shoulders stiffen as I hear a crackly voice call out behind me. “Didn’t think I would see you around here for a while… Not after what you did.”
“Karnnen.” I say, not turning toward him.
It was a risk I knew I was taking coming here, but I needed to rest, and I needed to get a message out to Mavros.
This is one of the only areas I felt safe enough doing both.
Because that little bit of magick I just gave with sending the message was even too much after everything I had expelled on Astraea’s behalf.
Karnnen has magick, but it's not much… nothing compared to what lies dormant under my skin. He doesn’t know I can’t access it right now, though.
It’s probably th e only reason he hasn’t taken full advantage of the situation that will likely never happen again.
“You don’t even have enough respect to address me while looking at me in the eyes!
?” He bellows from behind me, and slowly I turn to face him.
He looks different than before. His face is harder.
Eyes sharp with rage cutting through them.
His once long hair, similar to mine, is now shaved close to the skin.
A show of loss to his people. I don’t show any emotion as I regard him; even though his brother was not my mark, I killed him nonetheless.
I would do it again. Especially now that I have gotten to know the woman he so clearly disrespected.
After his hands assaulted what is mine, even before I knew she was.
“His twin flame felt the magick of their bond extinguish like cold water dousing a flame. Do you know the kind of pain that causes? The unimaginable agony?” He walks forward, tilting his head to the side as he leers up at me. “Knowing the only way that has happened is by death?”
“You know that when you are a mercenary, there are risks. Death being high on that list.” I finally say, crossing my arms over my chest.
“He was with you! You were supposed to protect him! The infamous Hawk is deadly beyond measure. Loyal to the people he chooses and those who choose to follow him. You let him die.” He bellows as my teeth threaten to crumble from the pressure I grind them.
I recall his brother's last moments on this plane.
“It's all a lie, isn't it? What the people are saying? Your plans for the—” His words are cut off as my hand takes his breath in a vise-like grip. His brown eyes flashing just like his brother’s did in the end.
The vision of him in my grip is so eerily the same.
His skin darkens with the whites of his eyes, redness crawling into both with his lack of oxygen, and whatever he sees on my face causes more panic to enter his already erratic gaze.
“You know the rules, Karnnen. We do not speak of my plans, that is, unless one wants to lose their tongue. Is that what you want?” He attempts to shake his head.
“Leoric was a leech and a menace. He served whatever purpose Queen Phaedra wanted and nothing else. His death was a blessing to the living, and his twin flame is better off with none.” I release his throat with a push, and he stumbles backward, falling to his ass and clawing at his throat as though doing so will allow more air into his lungs.
He gasps and struggles to do anything, but through it all, his outrage has only deepened the scowl on his face.
“You. Killed. Him.” He chokes out, and I crouch down in front of him, lifting his chin so he sees the reflection of his pitiful form in my eyes.
“I did, and I would do it again,” I say in a low, guttural growl as I drop his chin and stand.
“Keep your distance, Karnnen. If you come at me like that again, you’re next,” I say as I walk away.
I don’t wait for him to acknowledge my words or respond.
Nothing he can say matters anyway. I keep my eyes on the tavern at the other side of the water and make my way back to where Astraea waits.
I don’t need this, but I will deal with him the same way I dealt with his brother if I must. I don’t need magick to kill a man .
“I SEE IT, HAWK! It’s just a flicker, but it burns.
” He calls out after me, but I can tell that he is still where I left him.
I don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing his words caused something inside me to stir.
It’s not the right time to acknowledge what I know is inevitable, and if it's a threat he is trying to send, I would like to see him try.
I crossed the expanse of land to the tavern in much less time than it took me to get out there. The door bangs open as I begin up the stairs, and Mortala steps out.
“The girl ya brought with ya is an ungrateful twat if I ever knew one. Ya best be leaving that one somewhere she can learn some manners.” Mortala barks in greeting.
“She don't deserve it… should just make’r walk back to’er room naked for that fit she threw.
” She shakes her head, and I narrow my eyes on the old woman.
“Mortala, what are you rambling about? Where is—Sienna?” I ask, almost calling her by her actual name.
The name that would certainly be recognized here even if her face is not.
Her father keeping her coddled in the palace actually works in our advantage on these stops because no one really knows what the princess looks like.
Sure, she fits the general description, but that could just be coincidence.
She huffs, turning around without answering my question and letting the door swing shut behind her. I roll my eyes as I follow.
“Here. Found a old night dress from some of the past hussies. Should fit’er perfect.
Yer twit is in the bath house. Made all kinds of demands.
Girl needs a lesson, that’s what she needs.
” She continues complaining as she walks away, through the door to the kitchen, and I can hear her still rambling as that door shuts between us too. I shake my head and leave her to stew.
To get to the pool, I take the stairs back outside and head around the tavern, where I know the only entrance is.
This time of day there likely won't be anyone around. Most like to bathe at night when the sun's unrelenting blaze has cooled enough to enjoy the heat of the natural bath. I’ve been here many times, but I’ve never had any interest in utilizing the communal bathhouse.
Mavros, on the other hand, I’ve found down here too many times to count.
The entrance is like walking into a hole in the ground.
The steps leading into the carved-out wide tunnel are rough, natural sandstone, uneven and jagged, with small daylight holes allowing the sun to shine in spotlights along the way.
The short tunnel opens up to reveal a shadowed cave, with one side an open window where water falls over the ledge into the round bath, curtained with lush green plants, and a much larger daylight hole above the waterfall, giving the room a peaceful ambiance.
I stop at the bottom of the stairs when I hear her.
Soft whimpering cries eaten up by the moving water, so quiet if I had not been listening for her, I likely wouldn’t have heard it at all.
As I get closer, I finally see her. At the far end, away from the waterfall and hidden in the shadow, Astraea lays her upper body over a boulder, arms crossed and holding her head as she cries into them.
Her dark hair twisted up and held in place by the pin she gave me as a favor for the first competition.
It’s a sight and sound that has everything in me sharpening into a blade for only her to wield.
I think of nothing else as I step into the water fully clothed and wade over to her .
She doesn’t hear me approaching, too overwhelmed by her own emotions. Whatever it is that has her upset doesn’t tell her of the danger lurking over her shoulder. Or perhaps, maybe her soul recognizes mine and knows what I am only coming to realize.