Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

RAVEN

As the humans say, the cat is out of the bag. I wanted to wait until we were at the home I procured for us, but it looks as if this is a conversation we need to have at this moment.

Glancing at him from the corner of my eye—though I could look squarely at him and still keep us safely on the road—I say, “I am.”

“I thought you left me,” Everest whispers, wrapping his arms around himself. I am not sure if it is a comfort thing or because he is hurting from the injuries his father inflicted upon him. “You didn’t say anything after … after my dad …”

My blood boils when I see the state that my Everest is in. When he set me free, he did not look this bad. He had suffered a terrible beating before he summoned me, but I was not expecting this level of brutality. The injuries have set and he looks terrible. I have half a mind to turn this car around to rip his father’s fucking head off, but I cannot. Not until he gives me permission. He has to tell me it is what he wants before I act on it. I would hate for him to regret it after the act is done. Once I take a life, there is no going back.

“We can talk more when I get you home and cleaned up,” I tell him in a soft tone.

“Home?”

Sighing, I reach out and grab Everest’s hand. I suspected, but I know for sure once my hand is in contact with his. Everest really is my mate. I would not have been allowed access to his mind so I could communicate with him if I were not, but having his small, warm hand in mine solidifies it. Everest will not know yet. Not until I have knotted him, claiming him in the most absolute way.

“Yes, home. I will explain everything when we get there. Do not be afraid.”

“I’m not,” Everest mutters, though I can sense a small sliver of fear. I figure it is more about the unknown than about me, but I will not know his true feelings and emotions in this form until we are properly mated.

I have been in his head since he was eighteen, old enough to be considered an adult in human years. It is strange not to know what he is thinking now. Especially after knowing his every thought and move for the past seven years.

Soon.

We get to the accommodations I secured for us, a nice townhome in the nicer part of town. Though this town is not really that nice. As soon as he is ready, we will leave this place. Hopefully it is after he has his vengeance.

I help him out of the car, my arm tight around his waist as he climbs the two steps to the door. Everest leans heavily against me, grunting with almost every step. My anger flows through me, sparking the need to go back to that decrepit home and kill the one that did this to him. If I did not have to take care of him and make sure he was safe, that is what I would do.

Once inside, I lead him to the couch, removing his tattered shoes that are practically falling apart and his too-small jacket. Everest drags a blanket that is thrown over the back of the couch onto his frail and battered body, and he looks at me with questioning eyes. My gaze roams over him, taking in the state of his body. My hearts hurt and vengeance sings in my veins.

The right side of his face is so swollen, the skin looks shiny and stretched too thin. Now the injury is a dark red, sure to be black and blue if I allow the injuries to further set. His lips are swollen, a split down the middle of the lower. Dried blood sticks to the split, even though fresh blood peeks through the gash. There is a cut above his nose that is slowly trickling blood, even though his attack was hours ago. How he is angling his body tells me he has something broken in there, but I do not know what.

I have to swallow several times to keep my displeasure at bay. Displeasure is putting it mildly. I am positively feral as I look down at the state of my mate. He is always beautiful, but right now, he looks awful. He looks fragile and easily breakable and I cannot have that.

It takes another moment or two to get my anger under control enough to trust myself to be near Everest. After blowing out a long breath, I sit on the floor beside Everest, gingerly running my finger over his face. The bruising makes me wish I had not left his father alive.

I try to give him a small smile, one that he returns before he hisses, his bottom lip splitting. I frown, handing him a tissue from the table. “What is it you want to know?”

He dabs his mouth, looking at me with wide eyes. “How are you real? How were you in my head, but you’re here now? I don’t understand,” Everest says, a tear dropping from his eye. He searches my face, snagging on my features like he is trying to memorize them. In a voice so soft I would not have heard him if I weren’t sitting next to him, he asks, “Am I going crazy?”

Grabbing his hand, I put it against my face so he can feel my warm skin. “You are not going crazy, my sweet Everest. I am real. I am flesh and blood. I am yours just as you are mine.”

“What does that mean? I don’t even know you.” I am thankful he does not try to retract his hand.

Pressing his hand more firmly to my face, I ask, “Would you like me to heal you first, so you are not just thinking of your pain while we talk? Your lip is leaking like a sieve.” I cannot even pretend to joke to make him feel better. He is dabbing at his lip at every other word. It is a hard fight, but I manage to suppress my growl of frustration at his abusive father. I cannot wait to kill that man.

“You can do that?” he asks with wide eyes.

Smirking, I kiss the inside of his wrist. “That, and so much more. Would you like me to?”

He nods jerkily, hissing when he moves too quickly. He gives me a shaky smile and waves me away when I reach out for him.

Sighing, I kiss his hand once more, then kneel near his chest. Slowly, I raise his shirt, his cry of pain sending a pang through my chest. I will rip his father’s fucking head off. “Be as still as possible and do not be afraid. I will never hurt you.”

Just as I suspected, at least two of his ribs are broken. The skin around them is bruised and mottled, broken in some places where it drips blood. That fucking asshole will die for this.

I meet Everest’s eyes, asking for permission. He nods slowly, not making the same mistake he did before. Snapping my fingers, I summon a paring knife sharp enough to lop off a finger if I were so inclined. Everest gasps but does not otherwise move. I raise an eyebrow at him and after several beats, he blows out a shaky breath and dips his head again. I slash the blade across the meaty flesh of my palm, deep enough for blood to pool in the center. Everest jumps in concern, but I just shake my head, silently telling him that I am alright.

Speaking the language of my legion, I call forth the power of healing and drag my bloodied palm over his broken ribs. Even though the pain will dissipate quickly, I am gentle as I spread my blood over his injured side. Everest closes his eyes and sighs in pleasure as I heal his wounds, the bones knitting back together under my palm. Then I drag my hand up to his face, leaving a trail of my black blood behind. When I reach his face, Everest turns, pressing into where the healing energy is coming from. I smile down at him as I watch the black eye disappear, the swelling in his cheek and lips go down and the discoloration fade. The split above his nose draws in until the skin is uniform, leaving a faint red mark behind.

Once I am sure all his injuries are remedied, I call forth a damp cloth and clean my blood from him. Humans have red blood. Even though I just used magic to summon a knife and again to heal him, I think seeing that my life’s essence does not match his would scare him.

Peering down at Everest’s face, I admire his delicate features. He is pretty, with his small nose, plump bottom lip and wide, guileless eyes. Even though they are closed, I can imagine his soulful brown eyes, how bright they are even when he was beaten down to almost nothing. He is so fucking beautiful. And he is mine.

After I have completed the healing ritual, I sit back on the floor beside Everest. His hands roam over his ribs, then timidly touch his face. “It’s better.” His eyes meet mine and he smiles softly. “What did you do? How did you do it? Are you something … otherworldly?”

I nod. “Yes. Would you like to eat first or do you want to talk?”

“Talk. I don’t want to be left in the dark. And I’m not really hungry.” I can practically feel his hunger, but I cannot force him to eat when he does not wish to.

“So be it.” Standing to my full height, I remove my shoes and roll my sleeves up to the elbows, getting myself comfortable. Shoes and shirts are a novelty. I’m used to wearing pants only. My dimension of hell is always a comfortable temperature and does not require much clothing.

Once I am comfortable, I pull Everest legs from the couch and sit, draping them across my lap. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” he says as he nods, deep brown eyes pinned to my face.

I flex my weird human fingers—I am used to having three knuckles instead of the two this body has, along with retractable claws meant for slashing and killing—and take one of his feet in my hands. He sighs gratefully when I begin my massage. “What I am about to tell you may sound fantastical, but it is all true. I would never lie to you, my Everest.”

A sweet laugh drifts from his lips. “You just healed my injuries with your blood. Blood that’s black, not red like mine. Nothing you say can be more fantastical than that.” Huh, even through his pain and fear, he was paying attention.

I smile at him, glad he is not afraid like I expected him to be. Maybe it is because we have been talking for years already, even though we have only just met.

“I am a demon,” I tell him plainly, wanting to get the worst out of the way. Humans have a warped perception of demons from what they consume through their entertainment and wild tales about so called exorcisms. None of it is true, but there is no way to change the mind of millions, let alone billions of humans.

Everest does not even bat an eye at my pronouncement, so I continue. “My real name cannot be translated to this tongue, though it can be loosely translated to Raven.”

“I like Raven,” he mutters, groaning in delight as I get deeper into the soles of his feet.

“I am glad you like it. I am from the third dimension of hell, a more temperate climate than this one. My father is a greater demon, a lofty position. Almost like a prince in our dimension, though there are dozens of other greater demons.”

Everest raises his hand shyly, interrupting me. “Does that make you a prince too?”

I shake my head. “It does not work that way.” I search around to find the words to explain it to him. “Being a greater demon is what you are born as. If a human is born a peasant, they could marry into the aristocracy and become royalty.” I smile when Everest mutters, “Not likely.”

“A greater demon,” I continue, “is born that way and nothing else can make you a greater demon. I am the son of a greater demon, so I do have powers, more than a demon who is not born with a greater demon parent. My power of focus is healing, though I am also adept at summoning.” To prove my point, I snap my finger and massage oil appears. I drizzle some on my hands and start rubbing his feet anew. “There may be other powers I have not tapped into, but those are the powers that manifested with me most strongly as I aged.”

Everest sighs happily, wiggling his toes as I drag my hands over his feet. “How old are you?”

I search his face to see if he can handle that answer. He meets my eyes evenly, so I nod once and say, “Almost eight hundred. Quite the age gap, no?” I ask with a smile.

He snickers behind his hand, nodding in agreement. “Okay, so you’re the son of a greater demon. That explains what you are. But it doesn’t explain why you’re here. Why were you in my head all that time? Did you come to me because I got beat up so bad?”

The effort it takes to tamp down a growl and the desire to snap his father out of existence is herculean. My hearts thunder in my chest as I flush hot with anger. If I were not wary of how Everest would take it, I would go to his father and break his fucking neck.

But I cannot. Not yet. I will bide my time until he gives me the go. In the meantime, I answer his questions. “No, Everest. That is not why I came. Though he will answer for that,” I say with vehemence. I am thrilled when Everest just blinks at me. “I came because you summoned me.”

“With the stuff Danae told me?”

I incline my head. “Yes. That brought me forth to you. But let me go back to the beginning. To how I came to be in your head.” Everest nods, looking at me with wide, earnest eyes. “One day, around four hundred years ago, your great great great great grandfather wanted your great, great, great great grandmother’s hand in marriage. Unfortunately for him, he had no home and no riches to be a proper suitor by the standards of the time. But he had to have her. So he, along with a sorcerer from his village, summoned my father. As a greater demon, my father has the ability to alter free will, but he does not do so without a price. Your great great great great grandfather promised him his fourth male descendant for me.”

“So I had no choice in the matter?” he asks, though not with anger.

“You did,” I tell him. “Our connection was growing weaker by the year since you did not summon me forth when you turned eighteen. If you had reached the age of thirty, I would have vanished from your mind and your great great great great grandfather’s soul would have been stuck in the fifth dimension, the dimension of servants. He did that to himself anyhow. He is punished to work for another greater demon, since he tried to undo what he had wrought when his marriage only last three years before the death of your great great great great grandmother in child birth. My father took offense to his underhanded attempt and punished him to a millenia of servitude.”

Everest blows out a long breath. “What happens if I send you away? Will I have to be a servant?”

A pang of unease settles in my chest. He is mine. Everest belongs to me. I do not think I can handle him sending me away. “You summoned me, but only because you belong to me. Not because you made a pact with a demon. You will not be sentenced to any servitude if I must return to Xendail.”

“Xendail,” Everest mutters, tasting how the name rolls on his tongue. He looks at me with a curious expression. “I don’t have to send you away, right? I can keep you?”

I grin. “You can keep me. If you want.”

“Is it weird that I want to? We don’t know each other, but I don’t want you to leave me.” His voice is small and unsure and I despise it. Everest should never feel less than, and I will eliminate all the people that made him feel that way. As soon as he lets me off my proverbial leash, that is. That is something I will have to broach with him tomorrow. He has had enough for tonight.

“Nothing is weird about us, sweet Everest.”

“What happens now?”

It is on the tip of this strangely shaped tongue to tell him now I will kill those that wronged him, but he needs rest. He has been through enough today, and it is not even that late. I do not think he can handle making that kind of drastic decision when exhaustion is coming off him in waves. We have time to get to my other purpose here, besides claiming him of course. It can wait until morning.

“Now,” I say, “you get some sleep.” Moving his legs, I stand and hold my arms out. “May I?” Everest nods and I scoop him up, his light weight barely registering.

“You’re strong,” he murmurs in a tired voice, leaning his head against my chest. “Will you always carry me around?”

I bark a laugh. “If you would like me to. I am yours to command.”

He sighs and squirms in my arms. “I don’t want to command you, Raven. I want … I don’t know what I want. But I know that I don’t want to command anything of you. That’s unkind.”

How is this human still so sweet after he has been through so much? How does he even have an ounce of kindness in him when others have tried to beat it out of him?

I vow to keep his gentleness intact. I will be the one to seek vengeance on Everest’s abusers. Even if he gives me the command to do his bidding, I will keep his soul pure. He deserves so much in life after not having anything for so long.

Before putting him in bed, I strip him of his soiled shirt and torn jeans. I frown at the state of his clothing. I will have to buy him more. He cannot keep wearing these tattered clothes. I know it was all he could afford, but he has me now. All these years, Everest has done the best he could, keeping himself clean, fed and clothed. Now it is my turn to take up that mantle. He is off work tomorrow, so we can spend the day shopping and getting to know each other more.

When he is undressed, I pull the blanket back and tuck him in, sitting beside him. I rub his hair and watch his eyes flutter shut. I smile, hoping he will get some uninterrupted and peaceful sleep for the first time in years. Nothing and no one will hurt him here. They would have to go through me and that would be a death sentence for whoever tried to hurt my sweet Everest.

“Lie down with me,” he says sleepily. “I haven’t slept beside anyone before, but you’re warm.”

Because of my demon blood, I run hotter than humans. “Anything you want, Everest.”

He opens his eyes. “You have a choice in this too, Raven. Like I said, I won’t command you to do anything. If I have to do that, it means you don’t really want to do it.” Again, his voice takes on that small, sad quality. It is like a gut punch and anger sizzles through my veins. No one should make him feel like he is a burden. Everything I do with Everest will be because I want to. And there is a lot I want to do with and for him. But we can start with him feeling my warmth near him.

“I want to lie down with you,” I say earnestly, putting as much conviction in my words so he knows it is my choice too. Everest searches my face, then nods. “Can I hold you?”

“Please,” he murmurs, sliding over to give me space.

My shirt and pants are quickly shucked, and I slide under the sheets with him, clad only in a pair of boxer briefs. These are as restricting as shoes, as we do not bother with underwear in Xendail. We wear limited clothing, maybe a pair of pants, but we are usually very scantily clad. For reasons I cannot broach with Everest right now.

Everest immediately pastes himself to me, and we both sigh in contentment. “Good night, Raven. Thank you for today,” he mutters, yawning around the words.

“You are welcome, baby,” I whisper, but Everest is already fast asleep.