Page 5 of Raven's Dawn

No time for a quickie then.

2

EZRA

It was strange how much I’d grown to love these people.

I had only known Laila and Jeremy for a couple months, but they already felt like family. Supposed, by technicality, they were. Only, not by technicality, because Warren and I were not married. We considered ourselves to be, but our government didn’t.

Regardless, the fact remained. Jeremy was my partner’s great-great-great-grandson, which made Laila his great-great-great-granddaughter-in-law. Which, in my book, made them mine as well.

Now we were taking orders from them. But in exchange, I was gathering eons of knowledge that I’d be forever grateful for.

After meeting Laila and Jeremy at Iliantha’s castle, a guard guided us into the dining hall. I marveled at its beauty, just as stunned as the first time I’d seen it. Although the room was made from Elvan ore, the black stone walls and ceiling weren’t oppressive. The whole space felt alive, like the Garden of Eden. And every inch of it was covered in fruit. Literally.

There were no decorations in this place aside from berries and fruits climbing every wall. Some that looked like grapes, others that looked like blueberries. Some pink and orange ones that didn’t look like anything I’d seen before. There were blackberries, and raspberries, and larger, grape-like versions of the two.

And set before each of us, a bowl with a mixture of them all. We were invited to eat it as we waited for everyone else to fan in.

Who were we waiting for? Everyone.

That was how it seemed, at least. Everyone currently around the table, I knew. Iliantha, the Queen of this land. Connor and Naomi. Our group: Rain, Graham, Warren, and myself. Laila, her sister Celena, and her brother Kai. Then there was Jeremy, his brothers—Brody and Chris, as well as Chris’s partner, Hya. Their sister, Hannah. Wyatt, Celena’s husband. Then finally, in the corner, Jeremy and Laila’s twins—Melody and Moses—sat on the floor playing with baby toys.

So many people.

Since I was an only child, I wasn’t accustomed to this. I was a social butterfly, however, so I’d started to form relationships with everyone here. No complaints about any of them, really.

It was odd, though, to go from having such a small family dynamic to such a massive one. The grand total just around this table, after all, was eighteen. I went from having three family members to having eighteen, seemingly overnight.

But I liked it. I especially liked them being here with us. Because I knew what was coming.

War meant things would get messy. But the power in this room was astronomical. This space was full of atom bombs, which made facing any threats that came before us just a bit less scary.

“There he is,” Laila said, looking at the doors a story high on the far right of the room. My gaze followed. And there came Luci.

Nineteen atom bombs, then.

Rolling up his sleeves, Luci gave Laila a smile. “How are you, esiasch?”

“Oh, you know. Living the dream.” She met him halfway down the table, and they embraced one another. If not for my Vampire hearing, I would have missed her whispered words. “I thought you said that you didn’t want anything to do with this.”

“I didn’t.” His voice was low, arms still wrapped around her. “But you’re bringing knives to gunfights.” Pulling away, he glanced at our group. “There’s a lot I can teach them.”

“They’re more like flaming swords,” she said.

I wasn’t sure if that was an insult or a compliment.

“One way or the other,” Laila continued, walking back to her seat at the table, “let’s get started.”

“And where are we starting, exactly?” Wyatt asked. “Because I don’t think we’re in agreement.”

“What about?” Graham asked.

“You,” Jeremy said. “The vote is fifty-fifty. That’s where we’re hoping Luci can help.”

Luci settled in beside Iliantha. “And what are you torn about?”

“Where to put them,” Naomi said, gesturing to our group. “I think they’re strong enough to join the rest of us who are taking on the air an tagadh.”

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