Page 294 of The Queen’s Shadow

I knew this, because I would never forgive anyone if they did what I had done to Elvira, to Raven. No matter what the reason.

Any offspring we may create would always come second to her. Everything would always come second to her. For this reason, I knew that there was a very high chance that Aleites would try to kill me the moment he learned the truth.

This had been a risk I had been willing to take, when Ash Nevra had still been at large, and I had first lost Bond Breaker to The Eye. Waking Aleites had seemed like the only choice.

Now, it felt like we were taking an unnecessary risk. It was not that I was afraid of death. I had already accepted and made peace with my fate in that filthy cell. It was what my death would do to Raven that concerned me. She had been through enough. I just wanted her to be safe and happy. It was the least she deserved, after all she had been through.

We entered the throne room and I looked up at The Origin and grimaced. Like all fully grown daemons, he looked somewhere between the age of twenty five and thirty years old. As he was currently frozen in stone, the dark color of his hair was not immediately apparent, but I knew when we woke him, his hair and eyes would be as black as Raven’s were. They had the same mouth but she had Elvira’s nose. Seeing her stand before these two beings from my past was unnerving. It had been hundreds of years since I had seen either of them move or speak, but I could remember them like it was yesterday.

Seeing them all together felt like two worlds colliding. Then and now, merging together in one horrifying, chaotic mess of trauma and suffering. I sighed.

I was so tired.

Raven pulled out The Flute eagerly, glancing back at me and Jeremy. I pursed my lips and surrounded her in more darkness, just in case. Jeremy gave me a nervous look, before frowning at his daughter.

“Raven. Your mate doesn’t seem to think this is a good idea.” He looked me up and down cautiously. “I may not like him, but if someone as scary as that guy is nervous I don’t know if this is such a good idea.” He jerked his thumb in my direction, indicating that I was the ‘scary guy’ in question.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged at me.

“No offense, man.”

I lifted a shoulder in return. “I have been called worse.”

“It’s going to be fine,” Raven said confidently. “Surely he would want us to wake him up, even if Elvira doesn’t make it.” She eyed the damage to her biological mother’s stomach skeptically. Suddenly, she seemed unsure.

I slid my hands into my pockets. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want that.”

Raven glanced at me. “You would rather be frozen in stone for eternity?”

“If the alternative meant waking up in a world without you in it, then yes.”

She frowned, as if she didn’t like hearing that I felt that way. Looking back up at The Origin’s face, she fingered The Flute nervously.

“What if he’s conscious in there?”

That thought had never occurred to me. Fuck The Origin… I hoped that wasn’t the case. He would likely be mad by now if he had been trapped in stone for centuries.

I stepped forward, sliding my hands around her hips and pulling her back into me. I rested my head against the side of hers and murmured into her ear.

“He will try to kill me, my love. Are you prepared to deal with the consequences if that happens?”

She snorted. “I won’t allow him to kill you.”

“He is very powerful.” I warned, and she glanced back at me.

“More powerful than me?”

“I am not sure.” I admitted, and she pursed her lips, mulling it over.

“I can’t leave him like this. I just can’t. It’s going to drive me insane not knowing if he’s awake in there or if he is actually just a statue. Even if he is stronger than me, between the two of us, I think we can take him.”

I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up. “So feisty.” I purred, kissing her temple. “If this is what you want to do, then we will do it.” I forced myself to step back to give her room to work. I glanced over at Jeremy, my expression tight.

‘I hope you know how to use that gun.’ I whispered into his mind and he jumped, his face paling. He cut me a glare but clicked off the safety on his Carbine.

Raven put The Flute to her mouth, shooting us one last glance before putting her fingers in position.

“Alright, Aleites. Time to meet your long lost daughter. You’ve got a lot of birthday cards to catch up on.” She giggled at her own joke, then played the notes that would unfreeze The Origin and his mate.

To be continued…