Page 30 of The Crimson Princess (The Ravengale Chronicles #1)

My throat is thick, emotion welling in my chest with his understanding of how out of sorts I am right now, and I’m far too moved by his compliment to be as cautious as I should be with Toren.

I think I might say something to that effect, but as the words find my tongue, Toren steps to my side, facing the clearing, and the frostburns do the same, but they remain silent, lacking any sign of aggression.

The gale that appears in our sights is as familiar as a Ravengale sunrise, and as welcome as a new day after a night hunting werewolves, and I’m instantly smiling.

Raven is not the timid girl my mother saved on Challenge Day anymore.

She’s twenty-five now, two years past her maturity, a tiny thing with wild, curly red hair, and there’s an easy confidence in the way she wears her battle leathers, in how she moves.

“Satima!” Her gaze goes wide at the sight of me and she takes a step toward me but halts at the sight of the frostburns, her fingers closing around the blade at her hip. “What is this? Are they imprisoning you?”

“No,” I laugh. “Long story, but they’re with me now. They’re no threat, at least not to you.” As if they understand her fondness for me and me for her, the frostburns lay down, resting their heads on the ground before them.

She watches them a moment, as if not wholly sold on the idea of safety with them present, before her gaze snaps upward.

Only then, does her attention shift to Toren, her lips parting in shock.

“You’re the vampire king.” As if the words register warning, she reaches for the blade sheathed at her leg.

I hold up my hand. “No. He means you no harm.”

“Does he mean you harm?”

“I would never hurt Princess Satima,” Toren replies, and her gaze shifts from him back to me for confirmation.

“It’s true,” I say. “He’s here in peace, a guest of my father’s for the Challenge. King Toren sought me out to tell me a story about my mother that he knew was of consequence to me and my future throne. And it is. It was something I needed desperately to hear right now.”

Her fingers slide away from the hilt of her blade. “Your mother was an amazing woman and queen. She was gone too soon.”

“She was my best friend,” I say softly. “And Toren sharing stories of his encounters with her means the world to me. But not everyone would understand this the way you do. For this reason, I very much need this encounter to remain between the three of us.”

“I would never betray you, princess. That would be a betrayal of our years of friendship and equally to the sacrifice your mother made for me. If you want this between us, it’s between us.”

I sense the truth in her words and relief washes over me, but the reference to my mother’s sacrifice is not gentle. “Thank you, Raven.”

“Princess Satima,” Toren injects, a departure in his tone, that has me rotating to face him, as he adds, “please know I’m at your service should you need me.”

“Thank you, King Toren, for everything you have said and done today.” The implications of my statements are many and intimate, but for his understanding alone.

“My pleasure, I assure you.” His lips, those seductive lips of his, curve slightly telling me he is pleased with my response before he’s gone.

“What an incredible spectacle of any version of a male,” Raven murmurs .

I turn back to her, and don’t risk exposing what is between myself and Toren by commenting, “I need you to know what I was thinking of you this morning when I stopped by the arena.”

“Of me?” her brow furrows. “What were you thinking?” she asks, an earnest quality to her voice.

“My mother believed with all of her heart she was chosen as guardian for a reason, perhaps to stop what might have come through the portal in the Earth realm. Or maybe it was all about saving you, to fulfill a greater purpose. So you, Raven, have to go into the Challenge and kick butt.”

Tears brim her eyelashes and she nods forcefully. “I will. I will not let her or you down. I will do something magnificent for our people, to be worthy of her sacrifice.”

I will myself in front of her, and to my delight, and no doubt thanks to Toren’s blood, I blink, and a moment later, I’m pulling her into my arms. “I know you will.” I ease back, my hands on her shoulders. “Now train with me. Show me you’re ready.”

She nods again and we begin to spar, and I manage to shield myself for maybe one second, but it’s long enough to halt her blow.

This stuns us both, but she has no idea this is a new skill to me that Toren’s blood has fueled.

I don’t dwell on the new gift he’s given me but rather how to keep Raven alive.

“A shield is rare,” I say, explaining to her what my mother had to me at one point.

“But if you do face an opponent with the skill, a shield only lasts a mere few seconds. It requires extreme and unlikely skill to use it on repeat. The element of surprise, as well as an energized attack, become your best strategy.”

It’s advice I didn’t attempt when training with Toren. I didn’t want to fight him. And I don’t want my gales to fight his vampires.

A long time later, I invite Raven to help me hunt werewolves tonight, as a way to prepare for the Challenge, and she eagerly accepts.

When we part ways, and I blink back to the castle, a smile on my face at my ability to do so, and with Mikhail as my witness, he offers me a wink of approval.

Not much later, a tray of food is delivered to my room and I eat a big bowl of stew filled with the cama nuts native to Ravengale, a mix of vegetables, and a hefty amount of beef, a common food for us as well as the Earthly realm.

With a full belly, I lay down on my mattress to rest until the hunt, replaying the moment Toren kissed me, the hunger I’d felt for him.

My magic will feed your magic , he’d said to me.

I reach out to him, a whisper in my mind. Thank you.

And he replies with, You found your magic?

I blinked and shielded.

I knew you could.

I tuck my hands behind my head. How long will your magic last?

A few days, but now that you’ve awakened your own, you should hold onto the skills. Come to me tonight.

I would, I reply and I mean it. I want to see him. I even feel a need to see him. But I can’t. I’m leading a hunting party of our best men in the forest this evening. And you can’t show up. That would be dangerous for us both.

Come after .

I’ll try. My father is watching me.

Try hard , he presses.

I will , I promise.

We’re silent a moment but I can still feel him with me, as I know he can me with him. It’s him who breaks the silence. There is no one else I would share my magic with, princess. Don’t forget that.

Never , I vow, and then he’s gone. I feel him pull away.

I lay there and replay his words. Don’t forget. In hindsight, they hit me as peculiar. What reason would I have to forget such a thing?