I twist my neck, cracking it even as I flick my wrist. With a quick sizzle and pop, the bird explodes into the form of a slight female.
I leap onto the bed as her human squawking begins. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Raven squeals. “A bird? A BIRD!?”
My lips curl into a smile. “Hello, Raven. It’s so good to see you again.”
“I asked you to bring me to the fae realm, but I didn’t mean as a flipping BIRD.”
“It was the only way.” I shrug. “I couldn’t just bring a human along for the ride. Do you know how many people want me dead? Anything attached to me is in danger, which is why you need to stay away from me in public. And for God’s sake stop squawking everywhere you go!”
I couldn’t leave Raven behind, not when she looked at me with those big puppy-dog eyes, begging me to take her along. When her bottom lip trembled, I was reminded of the last time her mother relapsed. She nearly died from the overdose.
Raven found her mother unconscious, called 911, then me. I can’t unsee the state she was in. Curled into a ball, shivering. Eyes red.
I vowed I’d do anything to stop her from feeling that way again.
So, when I told her I was going to the fae realm she begged me not to leave her—I couldn’t do it.
“You couldn’t even make me araven?” she shakes her head. “My name is Raven, and you turn me into an OWL? What the hell is that about?”
“Quiet your voice,” I scold her, attempting to hide a grin. “No one can know you’re here. Humans aren’t allowed to return to the human world—ever—once they see this place. So, if you still want a regular life, you’ll remain quiet.”
She opens her mouth to respond, but I beat her to it. “Unless you’d rather go back home now. I can’t promise you’ll be completely safe here, there are dangers everywhere. So just say the word, and I’ll take you back.”
She heaves a huge, dramatic sigh. “I don’t want to go home.”
“Even if it means being a bird during the day?”
She purses her lips in a silly pout. “Fine. But seriously, can I be an actual raven instead? Those things are socool.”
I smile, warmth growing in my chest. “I chose an owl because it’s less likely to be linked to me. Ravens are the bird of my people. If they see you as a raven, they may think you’re my spy, and you’d become a target.”
Raven stumbles over to the bed and flops down on her back, hair flying.
“Maybe I’ll change you into a raven later. Changing your form so no one notices a pattern isn’t a bad idea. But you’re going to have to wait until at least after the first trial.”
“Fine.” She sighs.
“Do you forgive me for turning your into an owl?” I roll to face her.
“At least you didn’t leave me behind.” There she goes, looking at me like that again. Adoration that awakens me and terrifies me at the same time.
“As long as you want to be with me, I won’t leave you.” I’m desperate for friends as much as she is. “Unless... unless you’ll inevitably die if you stay. This place is... harsh. And if I win, you cannot enter the Schorchedlands with me.”
“Why?” she whispers, turning her dark brown eyes to me. Our faces are only inches apart. I smile as I meet her soft eyes. I’m quiet for a long while. She’s nearly an adult in the human world, but she’s still so young. Innocent. Lovely. She deserves so much more from life than she’s been given.
“Besides the fact that it’s basically fae hell? Full of decay and evil spirits of ancient and powerful fae?” I turn my gaze back to the ceiling.
“Yes, besides that.”
“Because only one person can enter and return. That would include a human masquerading as an owl.”
“So, if I followed you, I’d never be able to leave that place?”
I pause. “No, you would.”
I watch her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.
“Iwouldn’t,” I clarify. “I wouldn’t leave you there.”
