Page 38 of Faeling
Ravenna shot him a withering look. At least Asta cared to ask.
“We go back to how things were,” Ravenna said. “I resume my disguise—andmy chamber in the servants’ hall. This can all just be an…inconvenience.”
Perhaps it was a stubborn, even naïve, plan, but Ravenna held fast to it. While parts of her thrilled at the idea of havingVallek for her mate, she had to be practical. Her revenge became increasingly complicated if she was introduced as the mate and queen of the orc king. Eventually, Amaranthe would find out.
That could mean putting Balmirra under threat, and while she intended to utilize Vallek’s army to take on the hag on the faelands throne, she couldn’t stomach the thought of bringing misery to the whole city. She would take her battle to the faelands.
And…petty as it might be, Ravenna had already had most of her life decided for her by her father. She wasn’t about to let another male swoop in and decide what her life would now be. Even if that meant denying her heart and herazai.
Her life was hers. If she wanted to dedicate it to seeking revenge, well then, that was her right. Her father couldn’t stop her, and she’d be damned if she let her mate try.
Her suggestion, however, was met with utter silence. Even by Asta. A quick glance at all three siblings revealed that it had likely been the wrong thing to say.
“The mate-bond isn’t an inconvenience,” said Eydis. Her tone was calm, measured, but Ravenna immediately sensed she’d offended the orcess. “It’s a blessing. The timing may be inconvenient, perhaps, but never the bond.”
Vallek moved to stand before Ravenna. Seated as she was, he loomed even larger above her, and she had to crane her neck to meet his serious gaze. He lifted a hand to tip her chin even further up with his knuckle before running a feather-light touch down the length of her throat.
“What’s done is done,skala. The beast has decided. There’s no going back.”
That may be true, but it was also true that Ravenna refused to be anything to him just because he said it was so.
“Fae also feel a mate pull, do they not?” asked Eydis.
Ravenna swallowed hard. “They do.”
“And?” said Vallek, although his hard face told her he already knew.
Wetting her lower lip, she reluctantly admitted, “You areazai.”
His nostrils flared and his chest swelled, the prideful triumph obvious in his intense blue eyes.
“Then we must move forward, not back,” said Eydis, far too reasonably.
Leaning down, Vallek caught a lock of her hair to curl around his fingers. “That means you stay with me,skala.”
“Skala?” Asta laughed. “That’s the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard,breddah.”
“Yes, I’m sure your many paramours in the garrison are far more creative with their pet names.” Eydis rolled her eyes.
“Just because you’re old and married doesn’t mean the rest of us are dead and dusty.” Asta met Ravenna’s scandalized look with a wink.
Were all siblings this…antagonistic?
“Ravenna will stay within my quarters until a plan is formed,” said Vallek.
Eydis nodded. “We will need to deal with several matters before she’s introduced as your mate. Most of all, Ulrich. For now, we will say the soothsayer is ill and being tended at a hospital in the lower city.”
“Leave Ulrich to me,” Vallek said. Pointing at her full but untouched plate, he said, “Now you must eat.”
Ravenna’s eyes narrowed, but before she could say anythingcutting, Asta knocked her shoulder gently with her own. The orcess pulled a face at her brother’s order. “Best do what he says,” she teased, making a rude gesture at Vallek.
“Don’t test me, either of you. She’s my mate, I must know she’s cared for.”
Her soppy heart might want to flutter and swoon at such a statement, but Ravenna had locked away that heart long ago. It’d survived decades of living with the imminent death of her beloved parents, and then the devastating aftermath when their demise came to pass. Perhaps there might have been a romantic inside her once, but that person lay dead alongside her parents and whatever hopes she might’ve had for her life.
So instead, she glared at her bossy mate, telling him without words that she put an apple to her lips not for him but for her.
It was an awkward handful of moments as they all fell silent, the only sound Ravenna’s chewing. Whatever Vallek thought to gain, he seemed determined to stand there and watch her take every bite.
