Page 105 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Mhmm.” Everything was numb, my heart was barely beating anymore.

“Alright.” I heard him pop the cork of the vial and cool glass pressed against my mouth. “Welcome to the Fisher family, Rycon.” He said softly, tipping the bottle of hemoglo into my mouth. My eyes shot open at the statement. An unexpected explosion of elation erupted in my chest, as I swallowed back the life-saving potion.

As the medicine worked its way through my body, giving me back the strength I needed to regenerate, I sat up on my elbows.

His words sunk in, and I did my best not to gape at him. Had I heard him, right? Had he just welcomed me into his family?

I had felt like I had been alone for so long… even with Rhyalla, she had always sided with K’yen. I had never really felt like she was truly in my corner, at least not until recently.

The Ironclad Company wasn’t a family. They were mercenaries. There was no love there, only blood, violence, and the promise of getting laid and paid. There had been glory in that life, but no joy, no happiness. No sense of belonging.

To hear Jeremy use my name in the same sentence as his family name, meant more to me than I would have expected it to.

This was another new emotion for me. One that I had never felt before. I didn’t know how to categorize it, or what it meant, but a strange lump grew in my throat, and I tried to swallow past it roughly before speaking.

“Uhm. Thanks, Pops.” I said softly, my voice cracking past that painful tightness that had formed. He smirked at me and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Don’t mention it. Now, let’s get you some food and some rest so you can live to kill another day.” He said, getting heavily to his feet. He held out a hand to me. I eyed it warily for a moment before a shit-eating grin spread across my face. I grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull me up.

“So… Can cats really see in the dark?” He asked me, as we walked back to the suite. I chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, I can see in the dark right now.” I told him. He cocked his head to the side, mulling over that piece of information.

“Know what else I’ve been wondering about?”

“What’s that?”

“When you’re in your panther form, I’m assuming you lick yourself clean like most cats do.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yeah…”

“So, how do you clean your ass?”

Taken aback by the brazenness of the question, I burst out laughing, shoving him roughly in the shoulder. He grinned at me, his eyes shining with mirth.

“Shut the fuck up.” I chuckled.

He shrugged. “It would explain why you have such a shitty mouth.”

I threw my arms over my head to stretch, unable to keep myself from grinning.

“You’ll get used to it. Everyone always does.”

Cerenah

“I’m going after him.” Jeremy said, after the shifter left.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. It is dangerous out there, especially for a human.”

He patted the large gun that was strapped across his back.

“I’m armed. I won’t be long.” He said, brushing me off, before following Rycon out of the room.

Anxiety shot through me. I didn’t think Queen Raven would like the idea of her human father wandering around Greed’s palace alone. Though I couldn’t be sure. She did not behave the same way as any other royal I had ever met.

Raven was unpredictable, in the most refreshing way. It had taken me a while to truly believe that she was not going to hurt me or allow her followers to harm me. I had never in my life been treated with the kindness I had been privileged with these past few weeks. Raven and her court treated me as if I had value. As if I had rights.

Even as a small child, when I had still been under the protection of my mother, there had always been frequent pockets of abuse.