Page 15 of Heart of the Raven
“Only to keep me from harming others. He found me on the road where knights killed those I traveled with. If nothing else, will you send word to my cousin, let him know of the attack and that I am alive and well?”
“That I can do. But as for the Raven, well, I will watch him. For I cannot be sure. There may come a time when I need him, and then I will call. And you, if you are near.”
I watched her pace, and my dream came back to me. The words were out of my mouth before I could halt them. “Because of the rise of the old Goddess?”
Her eyes flashed. “How do you know that?”
“I know. I’ve seen it in dark dreams.”
“A family of lore keepers keep her from rising,” the queen explained. “But I fear what will happen, should their land become compromised. She will gain power and the ultimate battle will begin. I shall call all keepers of power to my side when that day comes. Raven will have a part to play. Tell him I shall watch his deeds and determine whether he shall be a knight of the Queen of the Wildwood once more.”
“I will tell him. But what of my power? I cannot control it.”
“There was a time when rage was all that controlled my power. You will have to learn, and the best way to learn is to use it.”
I frowned and crossed my arms. “Rage will not help me,” I told her bluntly. “The problem is the visions, the nightmares, I don’t want them.”
The queen stood in front of me and held up her hands. “May I?”
I licked my lips and nodded, although I was unsure what she intended.
Stepping close to me, she placed her hands on either side of my head and closed her eyes, as though listening to the thoughts in my mind. Her brow creased. She dropped her hands and opened her eyes again. “You have suppressed your magic to the point it spills over. Right now the dreams run through your mind, twisting with your inner thoughts. If you can control the nightmares, you can call them to yourself, when you are ready to see them. Know this, you have to read your dreams. They are important, key, but what you see is not absolute truth. They are shadows of the future, what could happen if something stronger does not stop it.”
My thoughts flickered back to my cousin, the sensation I’d felt when the shield-maiden, Mariel, had entered the castle. But my fearful vision hadn’t come true, because. . . I understood. Love was the catalyst, the power stronger than evil. “The power of love can’t save everyone,” I told her.
She cocked her head at me and turned. I followed her gaze back to the waterfalls where the knight stood alone on the ledge, reading. The queen drew herself up to her full height. “It’s your choice. If you stay in the wildwood, I can help you control your visions. But you intend to move on?”
“My destination is Capern,” I told her, fingers of panic clawing up my throat at the thought of staying in the wildwood. Beautiful as it was, it varied from day to day and I was unsure if I could handle it long term.
“Capern. Where the lore keepers dwell,” she confirmed.
“There is more than one?”
“I thought you knew. There was trouble a few years ago. Two lore keepers survived and live on a farm on the outskirts of Capern. You might seek their help should it prove difficult to find the one you seek in Capern.”
My blood ran cold at her cryptic words. Had something happened to Mother Misha?
“The wildwood is not, exactly, safe in that direction,” she said with decisive calmness. “The tribes of the trees war with each other, and I haven’t decided if interfering will be for better or worse. If the Raven is who you say he is, he will protect you, unless he turns on you.”
Her words grated on my nerves and I stepped back. “I will let him know your decision.”
She looked over my shoulder, as though she could see Raven hiding far below the falls. “Tell him I shall be watching. But I will find him, should I change my mind.”
Chapter Fourteen
Raven did not seemsurprised when I related the queen’s decision, omitting the part about how she could help me with my visions if I stayed in the wildwood. “Thank you,” Raven studied me. “You’re quiet again. Where does your mind go?”
The fact that I was leaving seemed more real than it had ever been. Tearing my eyes away from the butterflies flitting about us, I took a breath when I realized how close he stood.
He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek ever so gently, brushing stray curls off my face. My heart swelled at his touch and every inch of me hummed with pleasure. I wanted to take another step, to bury myself in his warmth, feel his skin against mine, the heat of his lips consuming me. Whoever he’d once been, he wasn’t anymore. I could see it, plain and clear, and after speaking with the Queen of the Wildwood, I did not understand why she wouldn’t give him a chance. She had to, before the Goddess of Death rose and claimed him as her own. But perhaps even that was a fate he could escape. Only, I did not know how.
I stepped back even though it took all of my strength to do so.
Disappointment flashed across his face and was gone just as quickly.
“The queen mentioned we would have to travel through the territory where the tribes fight against each other.”
A smirk came to his face. “Does it frighten you?”
