Page 22 of Heart of the Raven
Rae dropped the empty basket she’d been carrying, and Maraini froze in the midst of unhooking the horse from the wagon. “How do you know that?” she asked, eyes wide, but whether with fright or astonishment, I could not tell.
Knowledge hummed within me and all the pieces of the puzzle fit. “The Queen of the Wildwood told me. . .”
The sisters exchanged glances as though they did not understand what I was talking about. “And the rise of the old Goddess.” I glanced from one to the other, waving my hands as though I could make them understand. “The rise of the Goddess of Death.”
Maraini’s eyes were as big as saucers. She gestured to the house. “You should come in and tell us more over dinner. I’m afraid that, although we are the lore keepers, I haven’t focused my studies on the old texts.”
I shook my head, a deep awareness rising in me as I realized what I’d missed. I’d been foolish in my haste to leave the wildwood and learn the truth, when it had been within me all this time. Mother Misha wasn’t just a fortune-teller, she caught glimpses of the future, and perhaps with her death the gift had risen stronger in me, until I couldn’t ignore it. And the Queen of the Wildwood had tried to tell me that I was the one who could save Raven from the rise of the Goddess of Death, a Goddess who might appear tonight or in a few years or decades. Regardless, she was coming, and perhaps everything I’d seen wove together.
“I can’t stay,” I told them. “But I need a horse. A fast one.”
“I’ll saddle a horse for you, but why?” Rae asked. “The night comes swiftly.”
I shook my head. Foolish as it was, I would ride through the dark if I had to. “I know, but I left someone behind, someone very important, and I want to find him before it is too late.”
They exchanged glances again, no doubt perplexed by what I’d just shared. “I have to warn you.” I turned to Rae and studied her. “A storm is coming. And with the storm will come a change. Make sure your heart is open to it.”
Rae’s jaw dropped and her eyes went glassy. “You are Mother Misha’s granddaughter, aren’t you? Will you not stay? There is a place here for those who see the future.”
“It’s only a glimpse,” I told her. “Destiny can change, based on your actions.”
“Thank you,” she said, then turned on her heel and ran toward the barn.
I did not know what she had to thank me for, but a panic rose in my heart as I thought of Raven, once again, alone in the wildwood, seeking his purpose. Would the Queen of the Wildwood relent and recall him to her services? Would my claim on his heart be enough to keep him from being torn away from me? I didn’t know why I felt the need to hurry, but it thrummed within me.
Maraini took a step toward me. “Who are you, truly?” she asked.
“My name is Lady Sasha,” I told her. “I used to be a noblewoman, but I have followed my heart, and that is a choice, I will never regret.”
Maraini studied me, and a soft light came to her eyes as she smiled.
“You shouldn’t travel after dark,” Rae cautioned when she returned with the horse. It was a beautiful black stallion, and my breath caught in my throat as I stared at the magnificent creature. I’d always had a soft spot in my heart for horses and just seeing it standing tall, tossing its head and snorting made me want to ride it all the more. “Will you stay? Just for the night? It’s better in daylight when the outlaws are gone.”
“Outlaws hunt in daylight too,” I replied. She was right, though, it would be wise to wait, but I didn’t want to. I had no ties here, nothing holding me back, and perhaps the wildwood would be dangerous at night too, but I was sure he would come. If I needed him.
Rae handed me the reins. “Be safe.”
Maraini raised a hand, as though in blessing, and suddenly I felt a kinship with the strange women. Lore keepers. I’d have to remember them.
“If I set your horse free, will it return?” I asked.
Rae rubbed the stallion’s nose. “They always come back.” A bit of sorrow clouded her eyes.
“Wait.” Maraini held up a hand. “If you’re intent on going tonight, at least let me grab a pack for you. Provisions for the road, food, light, water, a change of clothes.”
I opened my mouth to tell her she didn’t owe me anything and closed it again. Although I was above relying on the charity of strangers for my needs, I realized I had nothing left. Nothing to trade, no money to give, just the clothes on my back. I was lucky enough to have found the lore keepers on accident, and if they were giving gifts, I should gratefully accept them. Perhaps I could find a way to repay them, now I knew where they dwelt.
Maraini returned shortly and thrust a bundle toward me. “Tie it on the back and be safe. I don’t want to hear a tale about a woman waylaid by strangers.”
“You won’t,” I promised.
I raised my hand in farewell and nudged the horse to the road. We followed it until the farm was out of sight and I urged the stallion from a canter into a full gallop. The wind whipped by me, sending a thrill across my face. My hair tumbled out of its bun and spilled around my shoulders, and the bundle bounced on the saddle behind me. This was the closest thing to freedom.
Freedom. No regrets. Besides, my cousin had said I could always return. I had a home, if nothing else worked out.
I sent the horse around the village, not wanting to disturb the sleeping city. Soon we left it in the dust and the enchanted wildwood stretched before me. At the sight of it, dark and evil in the moon’s light, a fear came over me. What if he was long gone and the wolves and orcs found me first?
Chapter Twenty-One
