20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Raevyn

I came to with a jolt and a gasp. My heart lurched uncomfortably in my chest and my knees trembled.

Korbin stepped back, a look of fear flickering across his features.

"What was that?" I asked once I'd got my panic under control.

"I don't know," he replied, but he wouldn't look at me. He just stood there, rubbing the spot over his heart as if it was in pain.

"What did you see?"

His head snapped around towards me. "You didn't see anything?"

"No."

"Nothing at all?"

Why was he panicked? What had he seen that had caused a Revenant to look scared?

"Should I have seen something?" There had only been darkness that ended with a feeling of fear.

"Yes," Korbin said, his hand trembling. "Normally we'd see the same thing, but I think your memories have been tampered with."

"Korbin!" Rook shouted as he ran up to his side, his eyes wide with worry. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, waving Rook's hands away. "Just a little shaken."

"I'm sorry." Guilt flooded me. I'd hurt him without even meaning to. How had my memories been tampered with? And why? Would my coven know? Perhaps we could go and see them after collecting Nissa's soul.

"You're not to blame, Raevyn," Korbin said softly as the rest of the guys joined us. "This isn't your fault."

Sure felt like it though. Even Rook was eyeing me warily.

"Come on," Rook said. "Let's get this over with and then we can figure out what to do next."

I nodded, hoping that we could figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I didn't like the idea that someone had tampered with my memories. It made me think that someone was trying to hide something.

N issa's house was quiet. Too quiet. And there was a distinct lack of wards that made me feel on edge.

"Something isn't right," I muttered.

"Agreed," Rook said as he strode further down the corridor towards the kitchen. I remembered this place, even though I'd only been to it once before, but my memory of the rooms was a little hazy. Almost like I knew what rooms came off the downstairs corridor but not what was in them. Very strange.

A mark on the archway into the kitchen caught my eye. There was something familiar about it. A circle with infernal runes carved at five points on its diameter. Shit. What did it mean? What did it—

Wait. Oh, fuck.

To pass is to die.

"Stop!" I yelled, but I was too late. Casimir crossed the threshold beneath the arch and a cacophony of cackles echoed around the room. The candles that littered every surface room burst to life and faceless white robes emerged from the shadows. I immediately recognised my coven. A low chanting hummed but I could barely hear it over Casimir's cries of pain.

"Stop it!" I screamed, stepping towards him. Agony sliced through my chest as I watched him crumple to the ground, our connection going haywire.

"Raevyn? Is that you?"

One of the hooded figures stepped forwards, her belly round with an unborn child.

"Mum?"

She threw the hood back and took off her mask. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was pale. My heart lurched for her. What the hell was my grandmother doing?

"How?" she whispered, shock and awe etched into her face.

I went to answer but a sharp hiss had me looking at my feet where Casimir was curled in on himself, clutching his chest.

I knelt in front of him, cupping his face and tipping his gaze to meet mine.

"I can't hold him back," he whispered.

"Who?"

His eyes flashed, and that silver ring I thought I'd imagined before flared around his irises. "Run, Raevyn."

Sweat peppered his brow and his body trembled beneath my touch. He seemed to be at war with himself, keeping something at bay, but what? Was this the darkness the others had referred to?

I stood back up and took my knife from my belt, scoring through the charm on the wood so that it wouldn't harm any of the others. But Casimir had already crossed the threshold, he'd be stuck in the Coven's clutches until we could reverse the spell.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." I didn't need to look up to know who spoke those words, her tone dry and scratched, like an old piece of paper.

"Hello, grandmother." I instantly felt the temperature in the room drop. The low chanting ceased, and an uneasiness seeped in. I could feel Hawk and the Revenants' power curling around my limbs, almost as if they were lending me aid and comfort as I faced the woman who had murdered me.

"You're looking very alive for a dead woman," she said coldly.

I stood up and faced her. She didn't look any different. Still had the same wiry hair and wild eyes. I thought my sacrifice might have marked her somehow, like it had my mother. But no. She hadn't changed a bit. "And you're looking quite calm for a murderer."

She barked a laugh, a wet a raspy sound that had a shudder rolling over my spine. "You were sacrificed for the greater good, child. You had no other worth."

"Lies," Nox spat as he came to stand next to me. "She is worth more than all of you put together."

She gave another laugh. "And who are you to know such a thing?"

I felt the others stand in a line behind my back.

"We are the Deathwatch Revenants," they said in unison – which was a little eerie, "and we're here for Nissa Crowley."

"Except for me," Hawk said with a smirk. "I'm a Moroi and I'm just here for the maiming."

Nox snorted at his words, and I had a sudden wonder what the pair of them would be like if this little gathering took a violent turn. Oh gods, they'd be manic together.

"And how's my sacrifice working out for you?" I asked, a little smug. "Got your necromancer?"

She sneered at me. "No, and now I know why. How did you do it? How did you take all that power for yourself?"

"Guess I just got lucky. Now, release Casimir or you're going learn what it means to feel pain."

My grandmother huffed. "You have no idea the power you're dealing with, no idea how to use it. I mean, look at you. You're supposed to be a mighty necromancer." She stepped forwards, inching closer to me and I had the urge to curl in on myself. "But all I see is a scared little girl."

She was right. I was scared and I also had no clue what I was doing when it came to my new powers. I had no chance against her. No chance at all.

"See," she sneered. "No more backbone than a slug."

Shame soured my stomach and I flinched at her words. For all my grand revenge schemes I was nothing more than a pathetic, weak thing. I couldn't do this.

"Give us Nissa, and we'll leave peacefully," Korbin said calmly, coming to my aid.

What must they all think of me? Stupid . I was stupid to think I could take down my coven.

"You are none of those things, Draguta." Hawk's deep rumble echoed in my mind, his words so strong and confident, I almost believed them. "Look at me."

I did as he asked and saw a world of warmth pouring from his honey-coloured eyes. It was so at odds with his dark, wicked looks. His long hair was hanging loose, wild and untamed, and he was in a similar get up to the Revenants, except he'd ripped the sleeves off the long black coat letting me feast on his delicious arms and all those wondrous tattoos.

"You are stronger than you think and, whatever the ugly crone says, you are worthy. Otherwise, the power wouldn't have chosen you."

His words sparked something in me. It was warm and felt a lot like hope. "Thank you."

I turned my attention back to the others in the room and found my grandmother squaring off with Korbin whilst Rook and Nox held Nissa between them. She looked pissed.

It was only then I became aware that Casimir had stopped whimpering. I looked at the spot where he'd been curled and found nothing but the wooden floor.

"Where's Casimir?" I asked, panic flooding through me. Had he vanished? Portalled somewhere? Was he in pain? Was he—

"Fuck," Korbin exhaled.

"What?" I looked for any trace of Casimir. "What is it?"

"We need to leave. Now." Korbin signalled something to the others, and they all started to leave, Nissa being dragged behind them.

I grabbed Korbin's arm, making him flinch. I'd have to feel guilty about that later. "No, what about the coven?"

He clutched my hand, eyes pleading. "We don't have time. We need to leave before—"

The candles blew out and darkness flooded the room.

"—that," Korbin finished.

Shadows bled from the walls, thick and black, submerging the room into darkness. It was so thick that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

A manic laugh echoed around the space, dark and wild, an evilness in every cackle and it clicked that this what Casimir was warning me about. This was why he told us to run.

Fear gripped my spine with an icy claw.

"Little bird, little bird. Will you sing sweetly for me?"

The words were low, nothing more than a whisper but they vibrated against my very soul. It didn't sound like Casimir. The voice was deeper with more of a rasp, a rumble wrapped in smoke. Like it came from the depths of hell.

The room erupted into chaos. Shouts and screams bounced around the room, and flashes of magic illuminated the darkness intermittently. I couldn't make sense of anything. It was so much noise. So much confusion.

So much chaos.

I lost track of everyone in the darkness and my senses were going haywire. Magic fizzled and sputtered beneath my skin, like it was trying to do something, but I didn't know enough about it to understand what.

I started to walk cautiously through the darkness, my hands out in front of me.

"Raevyn!" Someone shouted, but it sounded miles away.

Flashes of white robes moved past me as they escaped whatever this darkness was. I could still hear screams, and panic was getting a firm grip as I worried about the other guys. Were they okay? Had they portalled out of here?

Had they left me behind?

No.

They wouldn't have done that. I was sure of it. I could still feel their connection to me pulling strongly.

I kept moving slowly, in what I hoped was the way to the front door, but my foot caught on something and I fell to the floor. Pain jarred my knees and my hands landed on something soft. Something that felt like – gulp — a body.

I felt along the limbs, going up her arms until I reached her shoulders.

Damn it, I wish I could see!

I'd no sooner finished the thought when a soft glow erupted from my fingertips.

Holy fuck!

Maybe my magic was more instinctual than anything else. But I'd think about that later. When I was far away from the corpses that littered the floor.

Using my glowing fingers, I brought my hand up to the body and flinched. It was Elara, one of my sisters, and her face was twisted in terror. Her mouth was wide open in a perpetual scream, her hair bleached white. What could have cause this? She looked like she'd died of fright. My heart was now racing uncomfortably, beating a wild rhythm in my chest as I stared at her face. Oh, gods. I had to get out of here.

I scrambled backwards and skirted around her, using my glowing hand to light my way in the pitch black. There were still screams all around me and I could hear a low hum, like a satisfied purr. It made my skin shiver, not just in fear, but with something like anticipation as well.

I headed for the front door, hoping that whatever this pitch-black shit was, it was confined to the house. I reached for the doorknob, grabbed it and turned. Yes, I was going to make it. I was going to—

A hand slammed on the door above my head, holding it shut. My heart jumped in my throat, anticipation bubbling in my gut and my knees trembled as I felt someone crowd in behind me. There was an undertone of Casimir's magic, but this wasn't Casimir. It was darker, malevolent and something much more ancient than even Casimir had felt. The light from my fingers instantly snuffed out, my magic scurrying away as my fear grew.

"Hello, little bird." The whisper was dusky, twisted. And something inside me clenched with need. "Are you trying to escape?"

"Casimir?"

He laughed and rubbed his forehead against the back of my neck, like he was coating me in his scent. Something about that made me feel owned and… I didn't hate it. The shadows pulled back far enough that I could see my hands on the wood of the door.

"He's not here right now." He slotted his fingers into the crevices between mine and held my hands captive above my head.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice a whisper. "What do you want?"

He ghosted his lips along the side of my neck, and I shivered.

"So many questions, little bird." He ground his hips against my ass, digging his erection into me.

A whimper clawed its way out of my throat.

"Can you feel it?" he purred, his lips pressed against my skin, teeth nipping at my neck.

"Feel what?" I whispered.

"The connection between us. Casimir tried to push you away. The silly boy." A moan caressed my ear. "But you're mine, as much as his."

He trailed his hands down my forearms, his touch featherlight and leaving goosebumps in their wake. I tilted my head back, succumbing to the need growing inside of me. A need that came from a dark place. Something that I think the Revenants were waking up.

A hand wrapped around my throat and my head landed on his shoulders. It was then that I caught my first glimpse of the creature inside Casimir. His face still had the same lines, but they were harsher, sharper, like you knew you'd lose a finger if you traced his jaw, but it'd be worth it because he was so goddamn beautiful.

Thick, dark runes, like the ones on his chest, ran in lines beneath his eyes and over the apples of his cheeks and his eyes were silver with streaks of red, almost like Casimir was trying to bleed through.

His fingers pinched my jaw, holding me in place. "I can't wait to own you, little bird." He swiped his rough tongue from my chin, over my mouth and all the way across my cheek to my ear. "But before then, I'm going to break you. I'm going to make you run. Will you run for me?"

My breath hitched in excitement and fear. "Who are you?"

His smile stretched against my cheek. "Your worst nightmare."

Fear flooded my veins, and I had the urge to run. I wanted to escape, but I also wanted to stay. Just to see what he would do to me. I could feel a violence lingering in the air and I wanted to feel its bite against my skin. I shouldn't. I knew it wasn't a normal thing to crave, but, as he stood there, rocking his erection against me and ghosting his mouth over my exposed skin, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to give in to the darkness.

"What's your name?" I asked again.

"Why? Do you want to scream it for me?"

Holy fuck.

My core clenched and dripped with pure need, his words sending a jolt of pure electricity sparking in my core.

"Yes," I said on an exhale.

He moaned, deep and guttural. "So fucking perfect."

Then he stepped away and I instantly felt his loss. But he only took one step. I could still feel the heat of his body behind me. There, just within reach. I could take a step back and I'd feel him against me again, but I didn't. I stood there, knowing he was watching every breath I took, and I let him. I waited, the sensation of him watching me making my knees tremble.

"My name is Deimos. Now, run little bird. Run fast, because I'm coming for you."

I didn't need telling twice. I grabbed the handle and ripped the door open, stumbling across the threshold into the cool night beyond.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the low light, but someone was shouting my name. Hands grabbed my arms, and I was suddenly looking at a very pissed off, very angry Moroi .