25. Vix

Chapter 25

Vix

C lick-clack.

Click-clack .

The reel was turning and the moving pictures it showed her were on an endless loop.

Click-clack —CLICK-CLACK.

She jolted at the sound that was suddenly a thousand times louder than normal. Vix blinked and found herself back at the source.

Silence, insulated by thick snow and a forest deep in winter.

There was a scar in the center of the clearing and it was pumping—thumping that wildness through her entire body as she slid to a stop.

Had she been running? Must have since she was breathing hard, claws aching to rend and tear like she'd been on a hunt.

Bright light flashed, turning the night to day for a split second and when she could see again, a man larger than she'd ever seen in her life stared down at her – wings spread so far wide they took up the entire width of the clearing with his silver feathers.

Silver…

Reaching out to touch them, she felt it burn as it cut into her skin. Smoke rose in the frozen air and still she couldn't stop herself.

A massive hand wrapped around her throat and she looked up with sudden fear into a pair of eyes that were gray, not green. " Finders keepers ." His voice was emotionless—merciless, and his hair was as white as winter.

The scene shifted to somewhere that gleamed with silver. Nothing was alive in this place and it felt barren despite all the columns framing such a bright blue sky.

"Come here, little warrior."

Vix turned to see that same man striding towards her with his wings tucked against his back. "Gabriel?"

"It's time, Tauriel." That hand wrapped around her throat like a collar, and she closed her eyes in welcome submission.

When she opened them again, rose petals and feathers rained down on her like swirling snowflakes – so red they were nearly black.

One landed on her cheek and it was oddly warm.

Brushing it from her skin, she saw it wasn't a rose petal, but blood. She licked it from her skin and then watched as more blood and feathers rained down on her.

Snow crunched and she was standing before she could even process that her body was moving. Vix stared at the creature wrapped in sparkling darkness and tilted her head.

Red eyes glowed back at her and for whatever reason, she relaxed.

Looking down, she saw five bodies that had her particular brand of death all over them. Glyphs and tongues and ruined wings.

A blade dangled from her fingertips.

She slid her gaze up to the stars in the sky, oddly drawn to it even if she didn't know why. Someone had given her a name and a single piece of knowledge.

Hybrid— convergence .

"Do you have a pack or pride?" the raven asked, stepping out of the shadows to stand under the moonlight with her.

"I was abandoned here," she managed, matching the language she heard him speak, but it didn't feel familiar on her tongue.

"Do you have a name?" The raven had eyes like blood and the sight of it was oddly comforting.

"He took it from me." Her grip on the blade tightened. "He took everything."

"Okay," he murmured, reaching out for her as he stepped over the bodies without a single flicker of unease or disgust in his scent. "That's okay, little killer. We'll figure this out, all right?"

He stopped when she pointed her shiny blade at his throat, surprising him with her speed. "Why?"

"I'm a raven shifter," he told her, tilting his head as his eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight of her blade. "Do you know what that means?"

" Scavenger ." His blood hit the air when he slid the tip of his finger along the edge of her blade like he just couldn't help himself.

"Yes." Those red eyes found hers again. "We take in those who've been abandoned, little killer. You belong with us—with assassins, don't you?"

"I don't have wings." Her eyes darted down to the ones all around them. "But I could make some."

"How about we give you a name first?" He brushed her blade aside and stepped closer, absolutely massive as he towered over her. "Such a small thing to manage all this."

"He gave me a name," she whispered, eyes closing and blade dropping when his hand tousled the hair at the top of her head. "It means warrior."

"Fitting, I suppose." The raven gently took her chin and lifted it so she'd look at him. "Would you like another?"

"Are you claiming me?" It was impossible not to step closer to his cold that reminded her of stars.

"I suppose I am, but you're barely more than a child." He moved her head from one side to the other, inspecting her closely. "Would you like a guardian, little vixen?"

"Like an alpha?" she felt her eyes glowing and the gold gilded the raven's pale skin.

He chuckled. "I don't possess that kind of shifter dominance, but sure – I'll protect you just like an alpha would. I'll teach you everything I know and help you find someone to teach you what I can't."

"A pack?" The blade disappeared into her secret pocket and she grabbed his strange black clothes with both hands, yanking him closer. "I won't be abandoned anymore?"

"A flock," the raven corrected, his surprise at her strength obvious. "A collective."

"Like messengers of prophecy?"

He chuckled again. "Harbingers, actually."

"What name would you give me?" she asked, letting him pick her up and cradle her against his chest. It was nice when she wore nothing but this horrible human skin.

"Hmm…what about Vixen?" The raven eyed the carnage with a professional eye. "We'll call you Vix, for short. How did you kill them, little vixen? Even I don't know how to do that."

She purred and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "It's a secret."

"Keep your secrets then." The raven chuckled again. "My name is Kenji, but you can call me whatever you want."

"I like Kenji."

She fell asleep as he told her about his home, explaining what it would be like, but she didn't care because she wouldn't be alone anymore.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself somewhere else – somewhere dark.

A snarl had her whipping around.

Silver gleamed, making her heart race as she recognized the bars of a cage. An orange tiger slammed into it over and over and over again. The scent surrounding her was lemongrass and sunlight…Mylo.

Pain so thick and deep it choked her, suffusing every cell of her body as she tried to climb free of it before it drowned her in madness. She could only take so much and this was far more than she'd ever handled before.

Vix needed to get him out of that cage so he would stop making more pain rattle their bones. Silver burned her hands and she ignored it, yanking the bars apart until it was large enough for the tiger to slip through.

Click-clack . Click-clack .

No, the reel was slowing down. She had to get him free first.

Click-clack .

"I warned you, didn't I?" Suddenly she was the one in the silver cage and Gabriel was crouching before her, one hand wrapped around the bar that kept burning her.

Without any clothes, she couldn't get away from the burning.

"Let me in, and I'll make the pain stop," Gabriel told her, his gray eyes merciless and cold. "I'll give you back your fur, little warrior."

Curling up into a ball didn't help. She was so cold without clothes or fur, but at the same time she was burning, and the sensation of both at once shattered the delicate glass holding her together.

Centuries later, she opened her eyes and found him still crouching, just outside the cage.

"What if I don't want fur?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "What if I want wings?"

The psychotic grin that spread across Gabriel's face was a mirror of her own. "You don't deserve them."