by Emma Dean
Then he sighed while she remained silent, still trying to process. Corbin crossed the space between them and placed one hand on her cheek, clearly not worried she might accidentally kill him, and something about that eased some of her internal panic.
“I don’t actually have an assignment,” he said quietly. “I’m no longer open for contracts because you are my assignment.”
“What?” she breathed. This was all so overwhelming. “Then where do you go off to?”
Corbin looked slightly embarrassed, but he answered her anyway. “I’ve been clearing the area, looking into the coven members. Your safety is my priority.”
It was too much. Mika pushed away his hand. “Why? I never asked you to. I never asked for a raven to tie themselves to me. What if I demanded you leave?”
“Then I would leave, but another raven would take my place.”
“But you would have to tell them about me.” Mika pressed the heel of her hands to her eyes. “I don’t understand why they need to know about me at all. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
Corbin took her wrists and pulled her hands away. The look on his face was apologetic but determined. “No one else would be told, but Armad would come down from the eyrie for the first time in fifty years to guard you and he isn’t as good as I am.”
The silence between them was heavy. Mika had known there would be some bullshit thanks to what everyone had told her and everything she’d read, but honestly, she’d really hoped that if she ignored it, it would all go away.
“Dove, I’m here because I want to be. Because I choose this life. We can do a trial year if you like just like in the old days. Or you can tell me to leave, but would you tell me why? Why you don’t want me here?”
Tears pricked her eyes. Mika really wasn’t ready to have this conversation. She’d seen it coming to some degree but having feelings for the raven had somehow felt separate. Corbin wanting to be her actual blood bound raven though…
“I do want you here,” she finally admitted, looking up into his vibrant green eyes.
He searched her face, clearly trying to understand. “Then what is it?”
“I don’t even know how you really feel about me,” Mika whispered. “I’m still trying to figure out my own feelings. A blood bond Corbin? That’s more binding than marriage.”
His eyes started to glow. “What do you feel for me then, dove?” he asked, wrapping her arms around his waist so she was pulled closer. “Tell me.”
“Exasperation.”
Corbin chuckled and Mika rested her head against his chest, feeling some of the panic drain away.
Somehow contact with the raven helped her focus.
“That’s an emotion I can relate to,” Corbin admitted. “You’re the stubbornest thing.” He tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear. “But I also love you.”
Mika pulled back to stare up at the raven in shock. She’d suspected he felt something, but she had never expected him to say that.
“I don’t expect you to love me,” Corbin said quietly, softly tapping her bottom lip. “But I’m telling you because I want you to understand that it’s no burden for me to be by your side. I want you to pick me of course, but if you asked me to leave I would. If you feel anything at all for me though…maybe it can work out over time.”
When the Morrigan had asked Mika why she hadn’t taken the raven as hers, Mika had panicked. It was a conversation she hadn’t had the opportunity to have with Corbin.
Because obviously she had feelings for him and was clearly attracted to him. Somehow, he fit into her life even though she wouldn’t have thought it possible just a few weeks ago.
“What about Ethan and Lucien?” Mika asked.
Corbin smirked, as if this was where he’d hoped the conversation would turn. “They’ve done a good job so far, but they’re not assassins. I’ll have to train them too.”
Mika blinked. “What?”
Then his hands were on her waist, sliding under her shirt to skim across her ribs. Corbin’s red eyes lit the dark space as the mist amplified the color until the flowers were painted in his red glow.
“I know they’re part of the package,” Corbin told her, voice gravelly and dark as he leaned down to press a kiss to her bare shoulder. “I’m not stupid. I’ll play nice with them and all that. I don’t care about any of it – the fox, the witch. They were here first, but we all have our roles to play.”
Then his thumb skimmed the bottom of her breast and she gasped. Corbin covered her mouth with his, tasting her shock and desire before sliding his tongue in her mouth. Mika wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to resist the urge to touch and taste him.
She supposed a trial year was a good start. It wasn’t soul-binding and permanent. A year would give them all time to adjust to see if this was going to work out. And it wasn’t like she didn’t have feelings for him.
Mika would never forget the way the Morrigan looked at Helle.
Pressing up against Corbin the water trickled down her spine, between her breasts, mixing with her sweat and his. The droplets felt just as delicious as his rough hands on her skin, pressing into her back, gripping her hips.
Kissing him was like stepping into a separate world where everything was dark and glittering and full of shadows upon shadows. Everything was sharp and defined yet softened and muted. Mika sighed into him.
“We can do a trial year,” she told him. “But only you. I don’t want your entire flock following me around.”
Corbin nipped the soft part of her ear. “I might be able to satisfy Armad with that, but if we ever need their help…” He pulled back to look in her eyes. “If I need them to save you, I’m telling them whether you want me to or not. I’m not going to play games with your life.”
Mika studied him, trying to figure out how to think again. “Only if I would actually die without their help – not including the challenge.”
“Not including the challenge,” Corbin gritted out.
Clearly, he was not pleased about that.
“Why challenge her?” he asked, sliding both hands up her back, underneath the shirt.
It was so hard to think with him pressed up against her like this, but Mika wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to touch him. She mirrored his movements, sliding her hands under his shirt and up his chest. Mika smiled when his muscles quivered at her touch.
“I’m not going to be able to hide what I am forever,” Mika admitted. “And I can’t protect Audrey from her – not in the witch world. Audrey has no other real family. Not only that, what if she doesn’t like what Lucien is, what you are? She could disown me, and I would be clanless.”
Mika slid Corbin’s shirt over his head, so he was wearing nothing from the waist up once more. Then the raven did the same to her – nothing between them but her sports bra.
“Claire has the law on her side. I cannot protect myself or Audrey from her and after everything that’s happened, who knows what else she has planned.” Mika traced the lines of his tattoos.
“If you want Matthew, you should take him,” Corbin told her, slipping his finger under the strap of her bra and sliding it off her shoulder. “He’s one of the good ones.”
What a strange thing to say. “We’re just friends,” Mika said. “I can no longer be his princess and Matthew is a prince – a knight in shining armor. I’m too dark for him.”
Corbin pulled the other strap off as well and Mika was fascinated by his intense concentration. Her nipples hardened under his scrutiny and the way he licked his lips at that…Fates help her.
“No, you’re not a princess,” Corbin agreed, leaning down to kiss the top of her breast. “You’re a queen.”
Then he pulled down the bra, exposing her completely and Mika gripped him tight, digging her nails into his shoulders when she felt his breath against her nipple. But he didn’t touch her there. Corbin licked the water trickling down her chest instead and Mika was speechless.
Her knees were little more than j
elly and she would never get used to how muscled and just powerful Corbin was. He was living Death and he treated her like something precious.
“Knowing what happened to you explains a lot,” Corbin admitted, trailing his fingers down her chest and between her breasts. “And I’ve never been angrier I missed out on a kill. I promise though, nothing like that will ever happen to you again.”
Mika watched as he simply admired her and then pulled her bra back up to cover everything. Corbin’s control was like nothing she’d ever seen before.
The raven grinned at her then, pulling her hands from his shoulders so he could lick his blood from her fingertips. “If this is something you want,” he said, placing her other hand on his hard cock. “You should talk to your boys about it. Being your raven doesn’t require love or a relationship. So, think about it and talk to them.”
Mika almost stumbled as she pulled away, hands shaking from the searing desire flowing through her entire body at that statement. “You don’t mind sharing?”
Corbin readjusted himself and Mika couldn’t not look. Fates, he was massive.
“Sharing isn’t an issue for me, dove. I knew the situation from the beginning.” Corbin grinned at her. “I’m a big boy.”
Yes, he certainly was.
Mika cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her soaking wet hair. “I’ll talk to them. Is there some kind of contract for the other thing?”
He tilted his head at her and grinned wider. “Would you like one?”
“Yes.” Mika wanted to make sure Corbin was truly choosing this, and to make sure he could leave at any time, that at the end of it, a blood bond wasn’t required if he still wanted to stay.
“We could just seal the deal with a kiss,” Corbin teased, but he didn’t come closer this time.
“If you want to add that in.” Mika smiled. “I’m going to bed though.”
His eyes went from red to green to red again and Mika almost laughed. “Sleep well, dove. I’ll be back in a day or so.”
Mika turned and left before she lost her resolve. Why did he have to be so damn pretty?
Leaving the greenhouse was like stepping into a separate reality.
The moon shone down on her and Mika took a deep breath, enjoying the cooler air.
An entire flock wanted to pledge themselves to her.
And she hadn’t missed what Corbin had called her.
If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up with a whole lot more on her plate than she wanted.
Mika walked back into the house, hoping Audrey was still up so she could tell her everything Corbin had said.
At least she had one real sister.
17
“Are you paying attention?” Hunter demanded.
Mika flinched at the tone in his voice. “Sorry.”
“You could die,” he reminded her.
“Yes, I know,” Mika snapped, glaring at the alpha fox. Which was stupid. He wouldn’t hesitate to smack some sense into her. “It’s hard to forget when everyone keeps reminding me.”
“Then listen and learn something.”
Audrey glanced over at her and Mika waved her hand dismissively. She was fine, just annoyed. The other witch smirked and went back to training with Finnick and Ash.
They were going to turn Audrey into the biggest, baddest dodgeball player ever known to witch-kind. She heard them laughing about it enough. A human witch trained by foxes takes over the most beloved witch sport. Mika thought it was amusing as hell.
The summer training session for the Morgana Marauders started August 5th. Audrey would have just enough time to stay for Mika’s challenge before she had to leave.
Watching her best friend spar with the two foxes, Mika imagined that’s what she looked like trying to land a hit on the raven, or Lucien. Shifters were just so damn fast.
“If you die it’s your own fault,” Hunter said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. He could tell she was still distracted.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements,” Mika murmured, watching Audrey nearly land a hit on Ash.
Both foxes laughed and then switched places.
Each of them had their own teaching method and Audrey thrived with them. She’d improved so much Mika was going to have to ask her for help making the tryouts next spring.
But Audrey didn’t have a clan. There was no one to protect her and if Mika died there was no doubt Claire would cast Audrey out of their house in a heartbeat. Mika wasn’t even sure she’d let Audrey stay if Mika lost and yielded.
She’d spoken to Selene and Selene had agreed to take Audrey in, even make her a part of the Kavanagh clan if that’s what Audrey wanted. Mika didn’t know what her best friend would choose, but she wanted there to be options for her.
Any of her blood magic items would stay with Corbin. She had a note she’d given Selene just in case, asking him to find any other blood witches that might be out there in the world and give the books to them.
Ethan and Lucien would be fine without her after some time.
The rest of the world would easily go on without her. It had been a strange realization when she’d started getting her affairs in order. But after she’d hid the blood rubies with real power in them for the next Marshall blood witch, she’d written one note for Eisheth asking him to direct her future clan member to the right spot, and then letters to Ethan and Lucien that Selene had grimly accepted…
That was it – the last thing she’d been responsible for.
“Stop moping,” Hunter told her. “It won’t help.”
“I’m not moping.” Mika turned back to the book he’d brought out. Hunter liked to bring a new one every week. “I’m reflecting.”
“Whatever you want to tell yourself. Now look here, this is a spell that can slice through anything with a distance of one hundred meters. That’s a good spell to have memorized.”
Mika sighed and focused on the words that morphed into English thanks to her charm. “You sound jealous.”
Hunter scoffed. “Of a witch? Never.”
“I’ll memorize this spell, but I don’t want to kill my sister.”
And that was the biggest issue Mika was running into. She had powerful magic at her disposal. She herself was powerful even aside from her blood magic. Claire hadn’t sparred since she’d quit the hunter training years ago. The gym wasn’t exactly the same thing – and as a witch Claire didn’t really need to go to the gym to stay fit thanks to their crazy metabolism.
Mika had to beat Claire and get her to yield, without accidentally killing her.
“It would make your life easier just to kill her,” Hunter muttered. “But I don’t have to live in your house. Try this one.”
He flipped to another page.
It was a complex spell that taught how to morph pure energy into weapons. So her ball of energy could be broken into a thousand tiny pieces and shot forward like bullets. Or it could take the shape of a war hammer, a cannon – literally anything she could come up with.
Killing a witch with pure energy wasn’t easy. As long as the forms it took weren’t sharp enough to cut, or fast enough that blunt force trauma occurred, it would work well enough without killing Claire.
Mika flipped the page and studied the forms drawn in the book. It was a warrior witch going through the physical motions of a punch and a kick, but with magic laced around them – adding force and energy to each strike.
This was what she wanted to learn.
No physical weapons allowed in the challenge either, only what they could conjure.
“Ready to practice?” Hunter asked, peering at the spell she was reading.
“Not on you,” Mika murmured, closing the book. “Why do you think blood witches were scrubbed from the earth everywhere but the fox and raven libraries?”
Hunter snorted and leaned back in his chair, turning so he could watch Finnick and Ash show Audrey one of their favorite moves – some kind of barrel roll kick Mika planned to learn when she got the chan
ce.
“Fox libraries are protected—warded, like the raven eyries,” Hunter told her. “They say even a god-like being can’t get into one without invitation.”
“But how?”
“Supposedly there’s a fox god,” Hunter said with a shrug. “Each library is under his protection. I assume a stronger god could theoretically destroy those wards. Power is drawn from sigils carved into the stone. If someone could find those sigils and ruin those physically, I assume that would work too.”
Eisheth still owed her the infernal copy of that book. How up to date would it be?
“You’re distracted today,” Hunter stated. “More so than usual.”
Mika nodded and picked up the book on battle magic. “I have a lot to think about. Too much isn’t adding up. The blood crystals have two centuries missing. Books are being censored and now I have these blood crystals and the beasts I’m supposed to eventually try and tame…”
Thank the Fates it was nearly the weekend. Lucien and Ethan would be back to visit. She could train with them and Corbin. Lucien had gotten permission from his pack and they were planning a road trip since they couldn’t use the portal in the coven building without raising suspicions.
Maybe Eisheth could take them.
Lucien’s library could have the battle magic books the Morrigan had recommended as well as possible answers to all her questions. Mika wasn’t ready to visit Corbin’s eyrie yet, but if she couldn’t find what she was looking for in a fox library she would be desperate enough to try the eyrie even if she wasn’t ready for them all to know she existed yet.
“Kenzie received a visit from Jessica,” Hunter told her. “They’re working together now, downstairs.”
“Jessica James?”
“Yes, the demon witch.” Hunter stood and slipped his hands in his pockets. “You don’t need me anymore, Mika. You have your own people to help you now.”
The finality in the alpha fox’s words struck a chord and Mika looked up at him. “Maybe, but I’ll never forget what you did for me.”
Hunter shrugged a shoulder as if it meant nothing, but they both knew the truth.