Page 39

Chapter 38

The Sun Would Rise

Raiden

“C an you hear me, my ice queen?” I spoke through the bond.

I was sitting in a chair out front of the house they’d been holding me prisoner in. I knew the sun would rise soon, and I was trying to focus on the bond to find my female, but I was having a hard time concentrating. I could still feel some of the venom in my system and there were quite a few males guarding me.

Twelve, to be exact. Clearly, that wasn’t enough.

The house was shockingly ordinary. A small two-bedroom with the basement where I was being kept. There was wood paneling on the outside that looked like logs created the outer walls. It would be warm and inviting, if not for the fact that I’d been stuck there for some unknown length of time.

I’d left Viktor tied up in the basement, trying and failing to escape my shadows. It would be funny if I had more energy to laugh at him.

“Raiden?” a soft voice came back to me.

My heart squeezed at the sound of her voice, nervous and unsure. I simultaneously hated the tone of it and loved to hear it.

“Hello, darling. Do you think the bond is clear enough for you to use it and find me?” I looked around the landscape in front of me, noting the small amount of snow sticking to the ground and the scattered tall pine trees. “I think I’m in the Court of Ravens, maybe at the edge of the Court of Ice? Not completely sure,” I told her.

The bond was quiet for a moment before her voice came back through. This time sounding more like herself. The sureness and fire coming back to life.

“Absolutely, I’ll make it work. Just… don’t stop talking to me, please. I’m on my way.” The sound of her voice made my cock twitch, which was a feat given how worn down I felt at the moment.

“For you? Absolutely. Anything in particular you want to hear about? My cock aches to be buried inside of you again — this time for real, and not just in the dream landscape. Viktor is currently stuck in the basement of this place, patiently waiting to watch us fuck in a puddle of his blood.” I continued talking, my eyes closed, and my head leaned back in the chair. Rambling about nothing and everything. How I missed the way her eyes glowed when she was angry with me. The way I’d had dreams about her while I was asleep. How I couldn’t wait to smack her ass. The normal things.

I felt her before I was able to see her. Her magic ran up my arms, leaving goosebumps behind in its wake. Then she was there, standing in the middle of two overreaching trees. She looked so small compared to the nature she was surrounded by. Her eyes met mine, and I felt like the world around us could implode and neither of us would care.

Before I could rise from the chair I was seated in, she was in my lap. Arms wrapped tightly around me, and her face buried in my neck. I wrapped my arms around her back and just held her. Inhaling the fresh raspberry and honey scent that was all her own.

“Tell me this is real,” she whispered against my neck before pulling away and looking me in the eye. Her hands ran through my hair and tears lined the crystal blue peering back at me. I reached up, running my thumb under her eye to catch the tears before licking the salty liquid from my finger.

“It’s always been real, Silvana, and it always will be,” I replied softly. I wrapped my hand around the base of her neck and pulled her lips to mine in a bruising kiss. Our lips fought for the dominance and assurance we both desperately needed after so much time apart. Truly not knowing when I’d have her back in my arms again to finally having her there had me feral with the need to claim her again. To remind her exactly who she belonged to. To remind her that no one and nothing could keep me from her. But I knew I couldn’t—not yet. I had so much to tell her, things she needed to know as soon as possible.

A grunt from nearby broke the moment. Silvana pulled away enough to look down at me, a small smile curving her lips.

“You’re really here,” she whispered as she ran her fingers over her swollen lips. “I started feeling your shadows before, but I couldn’t get a clear read until you called for me.”

“Yes, he’s here. Now, are we torching this place or staying? Because the sun is getting closer and closer to crisping us all up,” Cedar said from behind her.

I tilted my head to the side to peer around my female to see both Cedar and Bastian standing at the base of the steps staring up at us. Instant relief hit me to see Bastian standing and seemingly okay. I dipped my chin at him.

“Happy to see you up and well, brother,” I said.

Bastian frowned. “Thank you, My Lord.”

Confused, I looked over to Silvana for help and she shook her head slightly, as if telling me to wait till later to speak to him. I could wait.

“I’d like to stay here for the day, we can take shifts keeping an eye out and I’ll cover the windows easily enough. Viktor is downstairs waiting, which is where he’ll remain for now,” I told the three of them.

Bastian and Cedar nodded in agreement, but Silvana frowned.

“You need to rest,” she stated.

“I need to be buried to the hilt inside of you, feasting on your blood, and ensuring I never leave your side again. All of which can be done from here, My Queen,” I said.

A deep blush overtook her face and Bastian snickered.

“Well, that’s more than I needed to hear. Bastian, want to take a crack at the piece of shit downstairs while these two… yeah?” Cedar asked.

Bastian nodded and they headed into the house together.

“I guess that leaves the two of us,” Silvana said. She wiggled on my lap and bit her bottom lip.

I groaned, wanting nothing more than to give in to her impatience, but I knew this talk was more important. I settled my hands on her hips and squeezed for a moment.

“Let’s head inside so we can talk, darling,” I pleaded.

“Oh… uhm, sure.”

I stood quickly, my arms still wrapped around her so she couldn’t detach from my embrace. I wasn’t ready for her to be out of reach. She wrapped her legs around my waist and leaned her head into the crook of my shoulder as I carried her to one of the two back bedrooms.

Pushing one of the doors open with my foot, I strolled inside and set her on the bed. The room was simple, small with one window. It had a small wooden nightstand that held a few books and a bed just big enough for the two of us. The white blankets looked clean, and there were a few pillows on both sides. I sat beside her and pushed myself back to lean on the headboard, lifting my arm so she could come closer to me. She scooted in, her head on my chest, and we both were quiet for a moment.

“What did you want to talk about, Raiden?” she asked quietly.

I ran my fingers over her arm for a moment, trying to choose my words carefully. I knew this would be hard, but I wasn’t sure how she’d take it all. I decided to start at the beginning.

“What do you know about born vampires?” I asked.

She looked up at me. “Probably not as much as you do, of course. I know they’re rare and normally powerful. The original four had children with their mates and the family lines have been protected ever since.”

I nodded my head. “All of that is true, but do you know how one has a born child? A vampire?” She shook her head, her eyes giving way to her confusion. “When the Fates bless a vampire with a soul-bonded mate, they are gifting you someone who is… your other half. The one who completes you and empowers you on every level. There are legends from before the original four rulers, that vampires were able to procreate with anyone they wished. But it made the vampire population unstable and hard to manage. Many vampires were known to abuse the gift of children, especially when Cyprian ruled over Kostbare. He would impregnate vampires and humans alike. The vampires having powerful born vampire children, the humans giving birth to hybrids that we came to know as witches.” I let out a breath and looked down into her beautiful icy blue eyes.

“Legend goes, that when Cyprian angered the Fates and they blessed the original four with their gifts, they also took away a gift in exchange. They took away our ability to have a child with just anyone. When the four took over and divided Kostbare into the courts, the Fates in turn blessed them each again. This time with their soul-bonded mates. The perfect partner, and with them and only them could they create life together. It’s still… abundantly rare, of course. But these children are powerful, magically gifted, and meant to be seen as such.”

“Okay, so what does this have to do with what we’re talking about?” she asked.

“Well, you, Silvana. It has to do with you and your sister,” I said.

She sat up in the middle of the bed, staring at me for a moment. “Raiden, what are you saying exactly? No more riddles. Just speak.”

“Do you remember before everything, I told you about the strange dreams I’d been having? About you?” Silvana’s face paled the more I spoke, and I hesitated after a moment.

“They weren’t dreams… were they?” she whispered. I shook my head, unsure what else to say. “I had one… about you. About when you… when you found your family. I saw you when you were human. You talked to a pretty girl at the docks and walked home afterward. Your beautiful golden-brown eyes were shining in the middle of the day. I saw… I saw them, Raiden. I saw what they did to your family.” The more she spoke, the tighter my throat felt. But the tears rolling down her cheeks as she told me she’d seen one of the most painful moments of my life nearly broke me.

I leaned forward, wiping her face and gently pressing kisses to her cheeks.

“Shh, I know. You don’t have to explain.” I pulled her back in my arms.

“You saw me, didn’t you? My past. My sister,” she whispered against my chest.

“Yes, I did.”

“And what? Cora and I? We’re born vampires?” She was quiet for a moment and I didn’t press her. “That means our parents were mates… that they were in love.”

“That’s how it would seem, yes. But that wasn’t everything I needed to tell you,” I said as I started running my hand up and down her back in an attempt to relax her as much as I could.

“We’re going to have to take Viktor back to the Court of Ice, which is who… Where you were, Silvana.”

I felt her freeze against me, her breath hitching. “Keres… that’s who took Cora and I? That’s who killed my parents?”

“I’m not sure what seeing him will do to your memory, so I needed you to be prepared for anything, darling. He can’t take you, though, or harm you. You aren’t that person anymore, and as my mate, he can’t take you either way. We belong to each other and that rules above all. The Fates rule above all else.” I tried to reassure her quickly before she could spiral. I wasn’t sure what exactly she remembered, but I knew what I saw. None of it was good.

“He made us call him Master,” she whispered, her eyes distant as she stared across the room. “I remember not being allowed to look at him and always being so… so cold. I— What if Cora is still there, Raiden? I can’t just leave her there.” The tears were rolling down her cheeks again and I gently took her face into my hands, forcing her to look me in the eye.

“We will do whatever it is you want us to do, Silvana. I told you before, and I meant it. I would burn down the entire court for you—mine or his. I would take the Court of Shadows to war for you if that is what you desired. You say the word, and it is yours. Always.” My voice was stern and sure. I’d never meant anything in my existence more than I did this. I would go to war for the next five hundred years if it meant she slept better every night and her abuser could never come near her again.

We laid in that bed for a while together. I just held her and reminded her of how valuable and strong she was. I didn’t know what Keres had done to her memories or how he’d managed to make it so she only remembered fragmented pieces. But I knew why he did it.

My ice queen knew more than she should about the male, and I had no problem getting dirty to figure it out.

Starting with Viktor.