Page 29 of A Court of Ravens
I step closer, slow and deliberate. She could gut you with a look and leave you bleeding just to make a point and then some, especially if those shadows that trashed the bedroom at the cottage are any indication. “Oh, love, this isn’t about me. It’s about us.”
Her jaw tightens, her gaze darting away like she’s trying to find an escape route. Smart. She should run. Hell, I should let her, but that’s not really an option, now is it? I wait. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, Felicity doesn’t like being cornered.
She closes her eyes and mutters something under her breath, like she’s counting to ten to keep from throttling me. It shouldn’t be endearing. It shouldn’t claw through centuries of perfectly constructed walls, but it does. This pull—this goddamn hunger—it’s theceangal. Twisting, tightening, locking us together in ways I don’t even understand yet.
When she looks up at me, her eyes glinting in the half-light, she pins me in place like she’s about to set my entire world on fire. “Tell me I’m not crazy,” she whispers, her voice barely audible over the wind. “Tell me I’m not the only one who feels whateverthisis.”
It’s a crack in her defences, and for a second, I see the fear she’s trying to bury. “You’re not crazy. And you’re not imagining it either. It’s real. It’s dangerous.”
Her brow furrows. “Dangerous, how?”
“Has anything like the shadows—what happened tonight—ever happened to you before?” I ask, lowering my voice. If she’s encountered this before, it could mean something I’m not ready to say aloud.
She hesitates, her hand rising instinctively to touch the mark on her chest. “Not exactly,” she admits, her voice strained. “But there’s been other things. Things I can’t explain. Why? Is that not normal for—” She falters, her gaze snapping to mine. “For whatever the hell is happening between us?”
It’s the answer I expected but still hits like a punch to the gut. She doesn’t realise it yet—the enormity of what she’s just admitted—but I do. It confirms something I’ve been trying to push aside, and it’s worse than I thought.
“It’s not common,” I say, keeping my tone level, careful not to spook her. “Not among my court.”
What I don’t tell her is that my people can wield mist and wraith-like tendrils—illusions meant to trick, ensnare, and drive men to madness—but we are far from limited to them. We twist nature to our will—vines that strangle, frost that burns, illusions that whisper lies until they become truth. We are tricksters given flesh, shapeshifters honed for deception and war. But whatever crawled out of her skin tonight? That wasn’t ours. That reeked of the Crimson Court. Or maybe even the Obsidian.
Our marks should match. She marked me, branding me as hers, but mine should have been ours—her raven and my púca, together. Just like the one over her heart.
Which means Felicity is no ordinary mortal. She might not even be human. How she doesn’t already know that? That’s a mystery in itself.
“There’s something about you,” I say, stepping closer. Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t back away. “Something powerful. We need to figure it out before it’s too late.”
Her gaze locks on mine, fierce despite the flicker of uncertainty I catch in her eyes. “Before it’s too late for what? You keep saying things like that, like this is all some cosmic disaster waiting to happen. But you’re not telling me anything I can actually use. If there’s something wrong with me, if I’m not…” She hesitates, her voice catching. “If I’m not who I think I am, then you need to stop dancing around it and tell me. What’s so powerful about me, Niall? Because I don’t feel powerful. I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of shit I didn’t ask for, and you’re the only one with answers. So spill it.”
She stirs a fierce protectiveness I haven’t felt in my life for any lover. Whatever is happening to her, whatever the hell she is, it’s not something she has to face alone. She doesn’t realise it yet, but we’re bound in ways deeper than magic. Her well-being is more than a concern for me now. It’s my ass on the line too. And I’ll be damned if I let her drown in shadows and secrets without me.
I move in, until there’s no space left to steal. “You want answers? Fine. You’re not some mortal caught up in fae bullshit. That mark on your chest? We’re bound, and it doesn’t affect only you. Those shadows? The magic that’s been clawing at you from the inside out? It’s a part ofyou.” I pause, letting the words sink in. “And it’s not going anywhere. Not until we figure out what you are and why every dark thing in this world is starting to notice.”
Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t back down. Not my Felicity. Instead of breaking, I see the flicker of determination in her eyes. She’s not running from this, even if it terrifies her.
“And I’ll stand with you,” I add, softer this time. “No matter how dark this gets. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
“This scares the hell out of me,” she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. “But so do the shadows. And if you’re saying we can face them together, then…I need you to mean it. Don’t say it if you don’t.”
Lie to her? That’s not so easy, not with that damn bond humming between us like a live wire. “I don’t say things I don’t mean, Shadow Witch.”
Her breath catches. She looks at me like I’m some kind of lifeline she doesn’t want to grab but can’t help reaching for. Her hand moves almost on its own, brushing against my chest.
“Good,” she says, and then she grabs the front of my shirt, pulling me toward her. Then, with a shaky breath, she rises on her toes, her hands sliding up to my shoulders as her lips brush mine. Soft, tentative, like she’s testing the waters of something she can’t undo.
I don’t hesitate. My arms wrap around her, one hand threading into her hair while the other grips her waist. The kiss is wild and everything I didn’t know I needed until now. Her nails scrape against my chest, and I feel our bond flare.
Shadows flicker at the edges of my vision. They’re not subtle. She’s not mortal, not entirely. Beneath that fragile exterior lies a power that could tip the scales between light and dark, and I’m the fool who pulled the trigger by getting close to her.
By connecting, we woke up something in her. Power that’s connected to the fae that’s only starting to stir. The bond between us is a loaded gun, and I’ve got no clue where it’s aimed.
Time? That’s a luxury I don’t have. Not when every second brings us closer to something I can’t name but feel in my bones. It feels like I’ve been here before. Whatever this is, whateverweare, it’s bigger than us. And it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down.
When she finally breaks away, her forehead resting against mine, she exhales. “You’re the most frustrating man I’ve ever met.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “And you’re the most stubborn godsdamned woman I’ve ever known.”
Her laugh is soft, almost bitter. “Guess that makes us a terrible idea.”
