24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nox

W hen we got back after talking to Raevyn's mother, I was not expecting to walk into the scene that we did. I was still trying to make sense of it, despite the shouts of the other guys. I just couldn't understand it. Raevyn had Rook pinned to the floor by his throat, her wings spread wide behind her, and Rook was snarling and snapping his teeth at her. Both of them were stark naked and don't even get me started on the shadows that were bleeding out of her like a cloak. Or the fact that the giant raven of hers was stood on her shoulder, squawking like a maniac.

"The fuck?"

"I agree with the sentiment, Nox, but don't you think you should help?" Casimir asked as he tried to get Raevyn's attention. Not that it was doing any use. She was hyper focused on Rook, her face inches from his as he clawed at her hands trying to break free. It was like she was toying with the guy. Rook was powerful and strong, but she was holding him to the ground like he was nothing more than a little bug. If I were being honest, it was a little unsettling. I was used to being one of the most powerful beings when I walked into any room, but this… she didn't even look like she was exerting any kind of strength. At all.

Which begged the question, how powerful was she and what was she?

"Nox!" Casimir yelled. "Do something!"

Right. I approached the violent pair slowly, trying not to make matters worse. I wasn't usually one to take precautions, preferring to go in, kill and maim first and then ask questions, but something held me back. I didn't want to hurt Raevyn, or Rook.

Korbin and Hawk had managed to get around the other side of Raevyn and I was surprised Korbin was still keeping it together considering Raevyn seemed to be seconds from turning Rook into a snack for her Familiar.

The giant bird let out a shrill cry as I got closer, and Raevyn snapped her head towards me.

"Stay back," she hissed, but her voice was deeper. What the hell was happening here?

I held my hands up placatingly. "Okay, I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need help." Her eyes, which swirled like embers in oil, narrowed. "Leave."

Something was very wrong here. This wasn't Raevyn. Someone else was here and I could shake the feeling that they felt very familiar.

"Who are you?" Korbin asked, clearly sensing the same thing as me.

Raevyn smiled, but it was a twisted curl that I didn't like seeing on her beautiful face. "Someone long since lost."

"You need to let Rook go," I said.

Her eyes met mine again. "He was going feral. If it weren't for me, he'd have destroyed her."

"She can't be destroyed," I said. She was bound to us and therefore not able to be destroyed, wasn't she?

Raevyn barked a laugh. "She is not like you. Not bound by the same limits."

"What do you mean?" Hawk asked.

"Us Revenants can only be unmade by Hades," Casimir explained. "We can be damaged, but never destroyed."

"But she died. She was sacrificed," I said.

She curled her lip, a smugness marring her features. "Or did she merely return to where she was always meant to be?"

"What?" Korbin asked.

"Explain," I demanded.

"You know she has a darkness buried within her; I can feel it. It calls to me, a soft whisper at the back of my mind." Raevyn closed her eyes, and a hum left her lips. "Such power. Such… chaos."

"You're who she's been talking to," Korbin mused.

Her eyes flashed open and the embers burned brightly. It felt like looking at the entrance to Tartarus. "Yes. But soon, I will claim her, and she will set me free."

"Stop talking in riddles!" I yelled. "Tell us who you are."

She just laughed. "Soon, pretty boy. Soon."

She slammed Rook's head on the floor, knocking him out cold before her body went limp. She fell forwards, her wings wrapping her protectively before she hit the ground. The giant bird flew over to his perch and his beady little eyes looked at me with a knowing stare. This fucking bird knew something. Maybe knew everything. I had the sudden urge to rip his head from his neck to see if I could divine the answers that way.

"What the hell was that?" Casimir asked as he made his way over to Raevyn.

"I don't know," Korbin replied as he reached Rook. He placed his hand on his lover's chest, and I watched the soft glow of his fingers as he sent a healing energy into his core.

Rook's eyes flew open, and a startled gasp left his lips.

"Hush," Korbin said softly as he dragged him into his arms. "I've got you."

A sob burst from Rook's mouth as realisation hit him with what looked like a fierce punch to the gut. It threw me back to the last time we'd found him covered in blood when he'd turned feral and left a trail of destruction and murder for us to follow. He was so powerful after all the blood he'd consumed that the three of us had to bring him as close to the edge of being completely drained as we could. I don't think any of us had really got over that day. It was seared into my memory, stark and painful.

"I'm sorry," Rook mumbled into Korbin's chest over and over again.

"I know, baby boy. I know." Korbin rocked him and stroked his hair, humming some tune that seemed to keep Rook from turning into a complete mess.

Hawk wrapped a blanket around Rook and I almost blanched. Who knew the monolith could be so… human. Perhaps there was something decent buried beneath all the hair and tattoos and aggressive growl.

"Take him," the giant Moroi said softly. "We will look after Raevyn."

Korbin nodded and stood with Rook in his arms. "Let me know what happens."

Hawk nodded and adjusted the blanket over Rook. His sobs had quietened to whimpers but I knew it would take some time for him to settle. A hatred of Hades flashed in my core for a second. Why did he make us this way. Why give us gifts we couldn't use or make them so that if we did use them, it exacted a high cost. Korbin could see the future but couldn't see, Rook had a great power but could only use it if he was out of his mind with bloodlust, I could feed off sex, but cumming myself…? I wasn't so lucky. And Casimir was a whole other case of dark and tragic woes.

"Hey, snap out of it," Casimir barked. "Let's get her more comfortable."

I walked over to them and tucked her wings more tightly around her body before scooping her into my arms. I placed her back on the bed, which smelt like Raevyn and sex, and I tried desperately to ignore the scent because now was not the time to be sporting an erection. I was sure her wings would disappear eventually but for now, I bet they were aiding in healing her.

"Who do you think that was?" I asked as I settled in the space next to her on the bed, smiling as Hawk and Casimir did the same on her other side.

"I don't know," Casimir mused. "But I can't shake the feeling that it felt familiar."

I pulled the covers over Raevyn and curled into her side. Casimir grumbled as Hawk settled in behind him like a ginormous spoon but surprisingly didn't push the guy away. Interesting…

I knew what Casimir meant though. It was unsettling how familiar the person had felt. Like I'd sensed their magic before, their presence. It was disconcerting and somehow thrilling. Almost as if I was on the cusp of welcoming home an old friend. It was with that unsettling thought that I drifted off to sleep to dream of fiery eyes and dark feathered wings.