Page 3 of The Crimson Princess (The Ravengale Chronicles #1)
Chapter two
I dress for the Challenge in my royal battle gear, black leather pants with a matching vest, combat boots on my feet.
The magical Ravengale royal emblem etched into my shoulder that only our king may bestow on any gale.
I can feel the pulse of magic inside me, activated by the edginess of my mood, as if I’m headed into battle, as if I will be the one to soon defend myself and my people.
I’m standing at the window overlooking the gardens again, willing my magic deep below my surface when the door opens.
I rotate to find Killian entering the room, looking magnificently handsome in his own battle uniform, power crackling off of him as much.
In a few agile strides, he’s in front of me, his hands solid and warm on my shoulders as he walks me to him, studying me with the intensity of a beast who wishes to own his maiden.
“Don’t be angry with me,” he compels, his voice silk along my frazzled nerve endings.
“I don’t want Satima to go today.”
“I do not like to overrule you, my queen, but on this I must. It’s done. She’s attending.”
I draw in a breath and turn my head. He catches my chin and forces my gaze to his. “I do nothing that is not to protect you and her. I need you to trust me on this. I love you. If I could give you what you want, you know I would. You are my everything.”
There is no winning this battle so I manage an inconsequential nod. He captures my hand and settles it on his arm at his elbow.
I force myself to accept his offering, but as we begin walking toward the door, my bottled emotions threaten my composure.
He reaches for the knob, and I yank my arm back and rotate on him.
“In the garden you said you’ll do anything for me.
I guess that means anything but staying out of other women’s beds. ”
His magic slashes through the air at the shock of the words I’ve never spoken to him, but his voice is soft, and his response is without delay. “It’s not like that. You are the only woman who matters to me.”
My laughter is barely my own, bitter as I am inside.
“I need a purpose that isn’t being your eye candy, and it seems the role of queen is nothing but that.
” I try to move away from him, reaching for the door.
He catches me to him, turns my body to his, his hand on the back of my head a moment before he kisses me with such passion and desperation that I can hardly breathe.
And when his lips part mine, he vows, “We’ll talk when this is over. I’ll make this right.”
He’ll make it right , I repeat in my mind.
The way he makes everything right for everyone, including his other women, but I let it go.
He’s already gripping my hand, guiding me out of the room and down the stairs.
Wordlessly we reach the exit of the elegant Ravengale castle, built for the original King Lares, thousands of years before our time.
A guard opens the door for us and we exit to find Satima and Marion waiting on us, and I am not pleased to find my daughter in royal battle gear rather than the princess gown I set out for her.
My eyes meet Marion’s, and her only reply is a bow and a formal greeting. “Your highnesses.”
I know then that Killian forced her hand, and I don’t bother to object, not with guards on either side of us and waiting by our limousine, a version of transportation similar to that of the humans, only ours are powered by magic, not fuel or electricity.
There are many gale influences within humanity, and vice versa, all originating from a time when Killian sent our kind to mingle with humans, to understand why the book demands we protect them.
Then one of those gales did the forbidden and mated with a human.
He was exiled and the gales were called home .
Satima runs toward Killian and flings her arms around him. “Raven’s competing,” she announces, her words bleeding from her, a plea in the depths of what becomes nearly incoherent rambling. “She’s my best friend. She’s only fifteen. She’s not a fighter. She’s going to die. I don’t want her to die.”
Killian doesn’t dare look at me, his gaze fixed on Satima. “She was born with the skills to win her battle. Magic is inherent. You know this.”
Satima’s rejection is instant. “But she doesn’t know how to control her magic. She’s afraid of it.”
“It comes to you as naturally as does a lift of a finger. And her parents should have trained her to control her emotions. Emotions kill.”
“She’s young, too young,” Satima argues. “And if she competes, I should be competing as well.”
He catches her arms and kneels in front of her, his jaw hard, his grip obviously firm. “You are not like her. You are the future queen. And the book did not name you to compete. Therefore, you will not compete. We follow its guidance or there are consequences.”
“Killian,” I snap, but he ignores me. Of course, he ignores me.
“Your duty is to protect our gales,” he continues, “and if you die over a portal, you can’t do that.”
“If I’m too weak to protect a portal, I will never face an enemy as powerful as Macklemore and win.”
Surprise at her boldness steals my breath and I know my daughter’s childhood ends today, and while it’s not what I want, I believe it’s exactly what Killian demands. He might even want Raven to fall, because I know him, and he believes pain breeds strength.
“You train for your throne and your duty,” he instructs her, and pushes to his feet, turning her toward the car. “Let’s go.”
She digs her heels in, a silent stubbornness radiating from her, defiance knotted in her shoulders.
The crackle of Killian’s temper lances the air, hot with the promise of punishment.
I draw in a heavy breath and will Satima to remember what I have taught her and accept that her convictions sit with her on the throne with her rule.
Finally, with a glance in her father’s direction, Satima charges toward the car and with biting relief, I follow, ensuring I claim the seat next to my daughter, but Killian is closing in on my heels.
A guard seals us inside the vehicle, and while the sunlight glints yellow and orange, there is nothing but darkness and silence between us.
Satima doesn’t lean on me as she often does.
She doesn’t chat about what is to come. She knows. Death is what comes next.