Page 273 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Rycon stop! What is your problem?”

I ignored her and snarled at Conrad. “You said you were going to fucking look out for her!”

He looked up at me, rubbing the side of his face where I had hit him. I expected him to be mad, to retaliate, but he just looked devastated.

“Mi know. Mi sorry.” He whispered, and I knew he meant it. I didn’t care.

“Sorry doesn’t fucking fix it, Conrad. I can’t feel her… why can’t I feel her?”

Jeremy fired a spray of bullets into the air, making all of us jump.

“Enough!” He shouted. “Fighting about this doesn’t fucking fix it either, Rycon. We have to go, we’re wasting time. If we’re going to get her back we need as many soldiers as possible on the backs of these sea drakes now.”

“Mi can explain on di way.” Conrad confirmed, getting up from where he had fallen. I noticed for the first time that he hadn’t used his water magick to defend himself. It shouldn’t have been that easy for me to get a shot in on him.

What the fuck was going on?

“I’ll go get recruits.” Kasha said, turning on her heel and jogging away. I watched her go, my heart hammering in my chest.

Wherever we were going, I didn’t want her to come. I knew no matter what I said, she would never stay back. I felt like history was repeating itself, and I didn’t know if I was strong enough to lose her again.

I had never had a panic attack before, but if I were to have one, I was pretty sure this is what it would feel like.

I grabbed Conrad by the shirt, snarling in his face. He didn’t even try to push me off of him, he just looked at me with understanding and regret painted across his face.

“If either Kasha or Raven dies I’m holding you personally responsible.” I snapped, and he nodded, not bothering to point out that if Raven died I wouldn’t be around to hold anyone responsible. I would die as well.

“Calm the fuck down, Rycon. It wasn’t his fault. The Princess of Envy drugged us. There was nothing he could have done.” Jeremy pulled me back, stepping between us.

“Nah, di cat right. Mi said mi nah let nothing happen to har. Mi let mi guard down.”

“Pointing fingers isn’t going to get my daughter back.” Jeremy snapped. “You two need to suck it up and work together or we’re going to lose her.”

I ground my teeth, too angry to speak, but Conrad nodded.

“Wi ‘gon get har back, Rycon. Wi have a plan. If everything go well, wi may even have a chance tuh kill Ash Nevra.”

“Fine.” I snapped, turning to look at the waiting sea drakes. They were huge, and scary as fuck up close. They hadn’t seemed this big when we had watched them from the beach that night in Aurora’s cove. How had they managed to get these animals to fly here? How had they travelled so far so quickly?

“Tell me what happened.” I demanded, forcing back my anger. Jeremy was right, getting mad at Conrad wasn’t productive, and I knew the Obeah Man loved Raven as much as I did. I suddenly had an unnerving moment of clarity. I wasn’t mad at Conrad.

I was scared. I was so fucking scared, and not for myself.

I was scared for Raven.

If that bitch touched one hair on that girl’s head I would kill her my fucking self.

Raven

Ifelt the first flicker of my powers return as the cage they had locked me in began to levitate. Rycon poked the bond to check on me the moment my powers came back, but I was so engrossed in the prospect of seeing Amon, that I was barely able to focus enough to open it for him.

He was screaming at me in my mind but I couldn’t hear him. Everything was moving in slow motion. They hadn’t given me any armor, or weapons. I was still in the white linen shirt and lambskin pants I had worn to dinner, but I didn’t care.

All I cared about was the feeling of velvet that immediately rushed over my body the second my aura quivered back into existence.

He was here.

My mate, my heart, my soul, my lover, my friend…