3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Raevyn

M y mind was sluggish, and my thoughts drifted through the mud of the sleepiness that clung to me. What a nightmare. The horror of it still lingered and images flashed through the forefront of my mind as I tried to remember what had happened. My mother crying, my grandmother coated in blood. The coven chanting and singing right before—

I opened my eyes as a gasp rushed from me. An unknown night sky stared back at me. I was dead. Shit. Where was I? Heaven? Or… I gulped. Was I in Hell?

They'd done it. They'd killed me and now I was dead. I'd left everything behind. True, it wasn't much of a life, but it was mine. I'd never see my friends, never sit under the giant weeping willow, and hide away from the world with my nose buried in a book. At twenty-one I'd died, and I'd barely even lived.

Tears slid down my cheeks as I cried for the life I'd left behind.

"Get up."

I tried to move, my body obeying the sharply whispered command before my mind had a chance to catch up. Not that I managed to move. My arms buckled beneath my weight and my elbows scraped along a stone surface.

Where on earth was I?

I spread my fingers and felt the surface beneath me. A shudder passed through me as I found the edge of the slab not too far away. I whimpered. Fuck, I was on a stone altar. Great. Just fucking peachy. Not only did I die on a stone slab I seemed to be starting my afterlife on one too.

"Get up," the deep voice said again, this time with more of a snap. But I couldn't move. I couldn't find the strength within me to even bother. Why should I?

A face appeared upside down above me and I gasped. His skin was pale, and his hair was dark but had this blue shimmer to it. His eyes held mine and they were impossibly blue orbs filled with manic glee. I could feel it pouring from him like a torrent.

"Hello pretty girl," he said, a crooked grin on his face. There were piercings up the length of both his ears and he had a snake bite piercing. Two black hoops ran through his plump bottom lip, and I had the insane desire to tug one into my mouth just to see what his reaction would be.

Gods, he was gorgeous. His grin widened. Fuck, I'd said that out loud. I was such an idiot.

"Thanks. But I still need you to get up."

"I can't," I replied, my voice weak and thready.

Arms instantly surrounded me, and I realised there were more people here than this dark angel above me. I lifted my head and saw dark green hair, bright green eyes, and a warm smile. Maybe I was delirious. That could happen in death, right? I mean, I'd never died before so this was all new territory for me, but I guess hallucinations could be a thing.

My eyes were heavy, and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was on a sofa staring at a crackling fire. How… quaint.

I looked down at my limbs, grateful they all seemed to be intact. I was in an oversized Motionless in White tee and some black leggings and fuck, those were the clothes I'd died in. I knew my coven had been planning something when they said I was banned from the Blood Moon ritual. I just didn't think they'd banned me so that they could kidnap me. I'd been quietly studying and then somehow, I'd fallen asleep. Those motherfuckers! They must have poisoned my tea. The next thing I knew I was strapped to the altar and about to die.

The light from the fire crackled and illuminated the room I was in. It was nice. Modern but very plain. Everything was clean cut, simple and clad in dark colours. Man, this place could use an injection of colour. I looked at the black sofa I was sprawled out on. Maybe some sunshine yellow cushions to brighten the place up.

A low rumble grabbed my attention and my gaze focused on the large frame sat in the chair next to me. How could I forget those insane blue eyes?

He was tall, judging by the way he struggled to fit into the armchair, and he had broad shoulders that barely fit into the wingback.

Who was this guy? I could feel the power radiating from him. It was like thunder and lightning rolling through the air, destructive but beautiful at the same time. He was more powerful than any witch I'd ever met.

"Pretty girl, you need to calm down." He placed a hand on my chest and warmth radiated through my bones.

At first, I thought he was trying to control my heartbeat but then panic ran through me.

Gods, I didn't have a heartbeat!

I was dead. I was actually fucking dead.

"Look at me."

I stared into the intense blue eyes and a calmness immediately flooded me. Then, under the warmth of his fingers, my heart gave an undeniable, horrifying lurch.

"You're okay, pretty girl."

I whimpered and shook my head. "I'm so far from okay."

"Fuck," he snarled before scooping me into his arms and cradling me in his lap. I buried my head into the crook of his neck and breathed deeply. "Just concentrate on breathing."

Fuck, even that felt odd. Like I was consciously having to make the effort to remind my body to do it. Something was very wrong here.

I wasn't sure how long I remained there, my face buried in this stranger's neck, but all too soon he was placing me back on the sofa. I rubbed at my eyes, trying to rub away the tears that were threatening to escape over the whole being sacrificed thing. I knew I'd need to analyse the whole thing at some point, but I was just going to ignore it in favour of staring at the beautiful man who'd just had me wrapped in his arms.

"Tell me where I am." I tried to put some authority in my tone, but I barely managed to stop my voice from quaking.

He tilted his head and something dark and predatory rolled through his eyes. "Issuing commands now? Are you sure that's wise? I could overpower you, you know? If I wanted to."

The way he pulled one of his snake bite piercings between his teeth suggested he'd very much like to do that.

"You won't," I whispered.

A low rumble left his throat. "But I'm sure you want me to. And I'm sure you'd fucking love it."

"Stop tormenting the poor thing."

I snapped my head to the left and found a red headed man staring at me with something akin to boredom in his red eyes. Eyes that seemed to glow impossibly bright in the dark corner where he'd positioned himself. He was wearing a black shirt that was opened slightly and I could see a handful of ancient runes that marked his pale skin. They spoke of old magic. Again, like with the other man, I could feel his power and it was nothing like I'd ever felt before. It was dark and twisted. Like a nightmare you couldn't escape and for some reason, I didn't want to. I guess death had made me crazy.

The red headed guy leant forward, a snarl curling his lip. "Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to tell us why you're here?"

I flinched. This guy needed to improve his bedside manner.

"You must forgive Casimir. He doesn't get much social interaction," a man with silver white hair said as he entered the room followed by the guy I'd seen with green hair already. He sat down next to me and the guy with the green hair sat in his lap as if it was completely normal. "I'm Korbin and this is Rook. The grumpy redhead is Casimir and the manic goth over there is Nox."

I kept my focus on Korbin. It was a bit overwhelming how much power was sitting in the room. It felt oppressive and stifling. Dangerous and explosive. A little thrill shivered through me at the thought.

"I'm Raevyn," I said while fidgeting with the hem of my tee.

"Nice to meet you, Raevyn. Do you know what happened?" Korbin asked, his voice soft and smooth, almost like he was deliberately trying not to frighten me which I appreciated. I was already on edge with this much dark power in the room.

"Bits. But it doesn't seem to make any sense. I think…" I swallowed, trying to gather the courage to put my thoughts into words but I couldn't. Sadness overwhelmed me and a sob wrenched itself out of my throat.

I was once again wrapped in powerful arms and the scent of Nox invaded my senses instantly, bringing with it a sense of calm. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Who hurt you, pretty girl?"

"My grandmother. She sacrificed me."

The temperature in the room instantly dropped and tension snapped taught. Nox's hands tightened in my hair as he held me close to his chest. It was insane, but I felt protected. I'd just met this guy, but here he was, angry on my behalf. I could feel the violence and chaos building in him and that caused something to flutter to life inside me.

"Why were you sacrificed?" Rook asked.

Nox growled at the question and pulled me in closer, almost like he was trying to shield me from it. How did someone who seemed so scary actually be so sweet.

I sat up and pulled away from Nox a little, which he grumbled at, and I had a hard time not finding that adorable. "I was born a Null and as such, had no use to my coven. Well, other than being a sacrifice for my unborn sister."

"You can't be a Null," Korbin said with a frown, his completely white eyes focussed on a spot above my head. He grabbed Rook's hand and threaded their fingers together. "Can you feel it? Her power?"

"Hmm," Rook mumbled as he sank further into Korbin's embrace. They made a gorgeous couple and damn, thinking about them together was making me hot under the collar.

Wait. Power? "I don't have any power."

Nox hummed by my ear. "You do. I can feel it swirling deep inside you. Begging for release."

Gods, my face flushed, and my skin heated as his lips brushed my ear. And shit, did I just moan? If I wasn't already dead, I think I was about to die of embarrassment right there.

"Maybe you were never a Null," Korbin mused.

"What?" The thought was ridiculous. "I've never had magic."

"Not even once? Not even a flutter or a random fluke?" Casimir asked. He'd been so quiet I'd forgotten he was even in the room. That wasn't a bad thing, he still didn't look happy that I was here.

"No, never. I—"

A memory jumped to the front of my mind. A raven had flown into a tree, snapping its neck, and falling to the ground. I'd felt such a pang of sorrow for it that I'd wanted to bury it. I picked it up and I remembered there was a funny tingle in my fingertips and a surge of something beneath my solar plexus and the bird twitched before flying out of my hands. The feeling had been so fleeting I'd thought nothing of it. It had been easier to think the bird hadn't really died than I'd somehow brought it back to life.

"Maybe once," I breathed. "But it's not possible."

Casimir snorted a laugh and shook his head before sinking back into the shadows.

"We need to figure out what's going on with her magic," Nox said from above my head. "I don't think she was sacrificed because she was a Null."

"No," Korbin replied, concern lacing his tone. "What coven were you in?"

"Raathmore."

"Fuck," the guys all said at once.

Why did my coven matter?

"We have to send her back," Casimir growled.

"She's not something you can return because you're unhappy with your purchase," Rook snapped.

"But she's one of them ," Casimir spat.

One of who? I didn't understand.

They all started arguing amongst themselves, but I just buried my head deeper into Nox's chest, dragging his scent deep into my lungs. I wanted it to be enough to ground me, but panic was building in me. The sounds of the guys arguing was grating over my skin and my spine was tensing with all the aggravation. Something dark blossomed behind my chest and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hide from all the sensations threatening to eclipse me.

Was that my magic trying to break free? Whatever this darkness unfurling was, it felt like it was choking me. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't—

Hands immediately wrapped around my throat from behind and my gaze met Rook's emerald one.

"Relax. Your magic is about to explode and I'm not sure we'll survive that," Rook said with a lopsided smile.

My panic dissipated under Rook's watchful gaze. His thumb stroked across my pulse and the repetitive touch brought my swirling thoughts back into some kind of order.

"Are you real?" I blurted. I really wasn't sure. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe I was still alive, sleeping in my bed in the attic and dreaming all this weird shit up.

"I'm real, Lilac."

I huffed a laugh. Wait… "Lilac?"

"Yeah…," he said slowly, as if I were the crazy one. "Because your hair is purple."

What? My hand flew to my hair, and I ripped the scrunchie out that had been holding it up in a messy bun. Curls of lavender, violet and lilac tumbled around my face, and I screamed. What had happened to my hair? It was supposed to be a boring mousy brown. I mean, all the different shades of purple were gorgeous, but still… what the actual fuck?!

That was my last thought before I passed out. Maybe this time I'd wake up for real.

M y eyes flashed open and nope. I was still in the Underworld. A sense of dread pooled in my stomach as the events came tumbling back to me.

I was dead.

My grandmother sacrificed me.

I was in the Underworld.

My hair was purple.

I had magic.

That last one was a doozy. Why was it that it took my dying to unleash my magic? Now that I thought about it, I could feel it churning behind my solar plexus, like some kind of parasite burrowing deeper into my bones. It was uncomfortable and alien. It didn't feel like a part of me so how on earth was I going to tap into it?

And that wasn't even my biggest problem. Nope, that title went to the state of my mortality, or well, my lack of it.

I was dead. But was I like dead dead or only a bit dead? Could I go back? If I was dead, was my sacrifice even worth it?

The sound of arguing voices grabbed my attention. I opened my eyes and saw the four men in a huddle on the far side of the room.

"How did this happen?" Rook asked.

"Never mind how it happened, how do we get rid of her?" Casimir grumbled.

"Stop being such a dick," Nox snapped before slapping Casimir around the back of his head. That would totally made Nox my favourite right now. The tender way he had held me earlier also won him Brownie points. He might look intimidating, with his wild and impossibly blue eyes, shaggy black hair, but I bet he was just a teddy bear underneath all that mania. Did crazy teddies cuddle?

"Nox is right, Cass. For whatever reason, the Fates brought her to us. It would be unwise to be disrespectful and shun such a gift." That was Korbin, his voice soft and smooth.

Casimir scoffed. "Gift? You think she's a gift?"

"Dude, she was dropped on the altar in front of us, during a Blood Moon. How else would you describe her?"

"Rook, I know you're blinded by lover boy over here, but there is no way she's a fucking gift. She's probably a curse or trial for us to endure."

"Cass, that is out of line," Rook hissed. "My love for Korbin doesn't change how I view the fucking world. I say she was sent to us for a reason, we just need to figure out what."

Casimir's words cut deep. Seemed like I was just becoming someone else's problem here. Well, fuck that. I'd had enough of being kept to the sidelines, if I had a purpose here, I was going to find it my fucking self.