1. Raven

ONE

RAVEN

I’m frozen in place, my breathing labored and my heart beating so fast my rib cage rattles.

Everything is too much and not enough all at once.

I can hear the sound of dripping water echoing in my ears over the insistent ringing of my pulse, but I can’t turn to look. I can feel the floor beneath my feet rumbling slightly, but I’m still glued to the spot.

Brax squeezes my shoulder, my name on his lips, but it’s not penetrating my mind deep enough to get a response from me.

I can’t.

I can’t take my eyes off them.

I can’t bring myself to blink.

I can’t.

My world is divided. Split by a barrier that refuses to budge. Everything I know is crumbling around me as I gape helplessly while it continues to unfold.

“Raven,” Brax repeats, and I shake my head slightly. Doesn’t he see? Can’t he understand? He knows what’s happening right now just as well as I do.

“Raven!” My name is called again, but this time, it comes from Zane. He can’t reach out and squeeze my shoulder, hold my hand, or even kiss my forehead.

No.

He can’t do any of those things.

Neither can Eldon or Creed, who flank his sides.

“Raven, you need to go,” Eldon declares, a solemn look in his eyes that burns my soul, threatening to melt me on the spot.

“Go where?” I rasp, my voice hoarse as my whole body pulses with pent-up adrenaline.

“Anywhere but here, Little Bird,” he replies, my nickname warming my heart a whole degree before I remember what he’s saying.

If I leave, they can’t come with me. Not if they’re still standing on the other side of the gateway, which leads to the Realm of Shadows. That won’t be possible, and it’s certainly not on my agenda.

“I’m not going anywhere without you. Any of you,” I clarify, looking from Eldon to Zane, then taking in Creed.

Too much has happened too fast, and once again, I’m left gaping in horror at my reality. I need time, a moment to fucking think, a damn time machine so we never step through the gate to begin with.

Fuck.

“Raven, right now, you don’t really have a choice,” Creed mutters. I almost don’t hear him, but my brain picks up on every painful syllable that parts his lips.

“How can you say that? How can you just ask me to leave?” I snap, my anger not actually aimed at him, but he takes the brunt of it anyway. Creed doesn’t reply at first. His gaze drifts to my left, and I know he’s turning to Brax to take control of the situation. Fuck that. “We haven’t even tried to find a way through. We haven’t attempted a damn thing. First, we do that, then, if there’s no option, we’ll come back in there to you.”

My nostrils flare as my spine stiffens, ready for any kind of argument they may throw back at me, but to my surprise, none of them seem ready to reach my level of anger quite yet.

“Dove,” Zane starts, and I instantly give him a pointed look. He better have some kind of positivity to add to the situation or he’s going on my shit list too. “I’m not sure what we can try. The veil that hangs between the arches of this door isn’t moving a single inch.” He lifts his hands and presses with all his might, even turning his arm invisible to see if it will make a difference, but it doesn’t.

“Fire,” I mumble, glancing at Eldon as my body still trembles. Thankfully, my fireball appeases me and lifts a ball of flames to the veil hanging between us, but it’s not a surprise when nothing happens. “Where’s Brax’s mother? Please, ask her,” I beg, taking the smallest step toward them before I’m quickly stopped by the invisible barrier separating us. “Why can’t I get back in?” I snap, anger burning through me as I wave my hand through the air, only to be met with a solid wall of nothing.

“There must be people nearby who aren’t permitted entry.” I turn to Brax’s mother, who appears a step behind my men, a deep frown settling between her eyes.

“What does that mean? It shouldn’t have let Zane, Creed, and Eldon through to begin with,” Brax grunts, looming from behind me as he stares at his mother.

She shakes her head softly, her gaze dropping to the floor for a moment before she seeks out her son once again. “Brax, I wish all of this was as easy as that, but it’s not.”

“Then explain it to us. Please,” I beg, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind my ear.

“I don’t know where to even begin,” she replies, the weight of the words tightening my chest.

“Anywhere, please, just help us.”

She glances to her side, presumably looking at Brax’s father for reassurance, but I can’t quite see him. “The gate only opens to those it deems worthy. It touches the magic of all those in its vicinity, and if it doesn’t like what it senses, it will tighten the veil or disappear entirely.”

“How does it exist?” Brax asks as I simply gape at his mother.

“I’m not sure of its exact origins, but there’s so much to this life I don’t have the answers to, son, and I’ve been searching for a long time.”

“What does that mean?” he snaps back, his eyebrows furrowing as he plants a hand on my waist, pinning me to him in a protective stance.

“That’s what our assignment has always been at The Monarchy, Brax. Even now, on the other side of the veil, hidden in the Realm of Shadows. There’s information everywhere, and we are researchers.”

Something in her words makes me pause.

“Researchers?” I blurt, staring into her eyes.

“I’m sorry?”

“You said you are researchers, not past tense, not previously: are. What are we missing? What aren’t you saying?” I feel Brax stiffen behind me, tension building to new heights as his mother once again looks to her husband for reassurance.

“We were researching the gateway to the Realm of Shadows.”

Her words hang in the air, dancing over my body like the feel of the sun beating down on me while a light drizzle peppers my skin, but I know this time there’s no rainbow coming.

“You’re not dead. You’re trapped too.”

Her gaze drops to the floor, and to my surprise, Zane turns to look at her, rubbing a hand between her shoulder blades in comfort as reality continues to set in.

“Mother,” Brax whispers, completely breathless, and my heart aches for him.

“We’ve been trapped in here this entire time, trying to find a way back to you,” she admits, her voice cracking at the end as her emotions get the better of her.

“Fuck,” Brax rasps, and I blindly grab his hand as he remains behind me. I squeeze as tight as I can, letting him know that I’m here, sure that this is hard for him to swallow right now.

A long time has passed. A long time without his parents, and I can’t bear to think about the possibility of being away from Creed, Eldon, and Zane for that long.

“So, they can’t get back in here because the magic in the veil senses something in its surroundings that it doesn’t like,” Zane reiterates, and Brax’s mother nods, confirming another painful truth.

“Why were they able to pass back through then?” Eldon asks, while I glance around Brax to check if anyone is with us, but there’s nothing but shimmering rubies and dripping water in the depths of the Ashdale caves.

“Brax has been before, as if he died and…” His mother slaps a hand over her mouth, choking on the reality of what she just said.

“I did,” Brax murmurs, digging his fingers deeper into my waist. “I died and Raven brought me back.”

Her eyes widen in surprise before she nods in understanding. “That explains it then,” she manages, swiping at the tears tracking down her face. “If Raven is a necromancer, then her connection with the shadows is strong, and the fact that you’ve crossed the veil before makes it easier for you, too,” she adds.

My instant thought guts me as I consider how much easier life would be in this very moment if all four of my men had fallen at some point leading up to now, then I could have brought them all back. This would no longer be an issue then.

“Can she come to revive us on this side?” Eldon asks, taking my thoughts to the next level. We all spin in unison to look at Brax’s mother, but the solemn look on her face already gives us our answer.

“We’ve tried a thousand different ways to find death on this side, but it’s impossible. Besides, she can’t get back through again right now. The veil isn’t safe.”

The ground beneath my feet rumbles at her words and murmurs in the distance mix with footsteps that begin to get louder as they head our way.

“They’re coming,” Brax states, and I follow his line of sight. I still come up empty-handed, but he’s right; we’re not going to be alone for much longer.

“You need to leave, Dove. Now,” Zane states, firmer this time, as my heart tightens in my chest.

I know I have to, I know I do, but fuck… saying it and doing it are two completely different things. I don’t know if I’m capable of it.

“Raven, we need to move,” Brax declares, like it wasn’t already hard enough to hear the words come from Zane.

My eyes fall closed, the world drifting to darkness around me as my soul bleeds out where I stand. Searching deep for strength that I know I don’t have right now hurts, but I find a semblance of something and I tug at it with all of my abilities.

I have to go. I have to say goodbye. Only for now. Not for forever. Never for forever.

Blinking my eyes open, I scan over my three men who are just out of arm’s reach.

“It’s going to be okay, Dove. We’re going to figure this all out,” Zane murmurs, warming my heart, and I nod.

“I need you to keep each other safe and keep a tally going for every time he’s an asshole so I can pay him back eventually,” Eldon states, wagging his finger between Brax and me, and the corner of my mouth tips up.

“Be strong, Raven. Be who you are, and we will work from both ends to try and figure this out as quickly as possible,” Creed adds, and as much as my heart breaks at the distance between us, I take the strength they’re offering and bask in it.

With a nod, I relax my shoulders and take a step back with Brax, who moves to my side. The words that have burned the tip of my tongue for so long need to be known, need to be heard, need to be tasted.

My lips part. “I⁠—”

Movement flickers and green swoops before my very eyes before I find myself staring at the cave wall. It takes a second for me to realize the doorway has closed between us. My men are gone. I reach for the handle, just like last time, but it’s no longer there. All that greets my palm is the stone wall of the cold, damp cave.

No green. No shimmering emeralds. No glimpse of hope.

Ripped away in an instant, my heart shatters into a million pieces as my knees give out and I fall to the floor. I don’t meet the ground, though, not on Brax’s watch. His arm bands around my waist, holding me off the dirt in one swift move.

I curl into his hold as he turns me so I can tuck my face into his neck, but it doesn’t stop the sound of others approaching.

I need to pull myself together and quickly. I can’t give anything away. But I’m sure the absence of Eldon, Zane, and Creed will be noted instantly.

Fuck.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” I rasp, clinging to Brax like my life depends on it.

“Of course you do, Shadow. You’re the glue holding everything together, even now. Your strength is incomparable, and for Eldon, Creed, and Zane, I know you will do everything in your power to keep them safe.”

“And you,” I breathe, leaning back to meet his gaze. One brown. One green. One smile.

“And me,” he repeats, lowering me to the ground when he’s certain I’m not going to fall again.

The moment the soles of my shoes hit the floor, noise erupts around us. Erikel and his men appear through a darkened tunnel that forms in midair. I gape in surprise at the fact that they’re bypassing the way we got in here and manipulating everything around them.

My anger is instantly at the forefront of my mind again, desperate to be unleashed on this motherfucker and his damn followers. His dark eyes settle on me and I force myself to remain as calm and collected as possible.

“Where is it?” he snaps, wagging a finger in my direction as he prowls toward me, his fur cloak dragging behind him.

“Where’s what?”

“Don’t play games with me, Raven.” My eyebrows pinch in confusion as I try to understand what game he’s referring to. “Where. Is. It?” he repeats, coming to a stop a few yards away. Brax adjusts his stance slightly so he’s in front of me without blocking my view of the enemy.

“You’re really going to have to spit it out, Erikel. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The Potens Ruby. I want it. Now.”

Understanding washes over me. The mention of what we were actually summoned here for comes flooding back to me.

The Potens Ruby.

We found it, and now he wants it. Yet… I don’t have it, and neither does Brax.

Eldon does.

“I haven’t found it,” I grumble, wetting my bottom lip as I watch Erikel’s gaze darken further. “Search me if you have to,” I goad, and Brax scoffs.

“Like fuck will any of these men search you to find out.” The cords in his arms coil tight, his veins protruding as he stares every single one of Erikel’s men down. Including the big guy himself.

My heart races as a part of me pleads for Erikel to make a move and give me a final excuse to let off some steam, but despite my hopes, he turns his back on me with a shake of his head and a wave of his arm.

“Keep searching, men. There’s nothing of use to me here right now.”