Dusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  We needed Ash for this part to lure in the darkness. I hated that we did, but as we had seen before, the darkness was attracted to Ash. Therefore, we would use him. We’d use all of us to get to Oriel so we could take him out. If we couldn’t find him, we would make him find us. And we would be ready.

  “Let’s do this. Be prepared!” Rowen called out.

  “With perfect love and perfect trust we cast this spell for what we must. Like to like and intentions clear, we conjure the strength to bring darkness near. Our safety paramount, our hearts all pure, we seek the evil that we endure. We call to he who wishes us ill, beckoning thee despite free will. For the good of all, and harm ye none, this is our will, so it will be done!”

  Ash stumbled next to me, and I looked up at Rowen as she nodded quickly. I broke the circle to pick up my brother. Jaxton was on his other side, and Ash pushed us off. “I’m fine. Just caught me by surprise is all.”

  Whatever it was, we didn’t have time to go into it, and I didn’t think my brother would let us anyway.

  I turned at the first sound of a growl, Rome having shifted to his bear form.

  They were here. It had worked.

  At least, I hoped it had.

  “You called for us?” Renee asked as she fluttered her eyelashes. She had pulled her red curls back from her face, her mate standing next to her. I felt more than saw Jaxton tense next to me at the sight of his cousin. Jaxton’s aunt wasn’t here, she was back home protecting the hatchlings, and I was glad for that. Because there was no hope for William now, not given what he had done and what we had to do. I wouldn’t want his mother to see this.

  “What is it you want? To take us down? I don’t think so.”

  “It’s time to stop playing around. You say you want this town, but all you do is cause small skirmishes that damage a few buildings. We always rebuild. We always come back.” I hadn’t meant to say the words since this was supposed to be Rowen’s time, but she turned to me and nodded.

  So, I kept going.

  “Where is your master? You wouldn’t be here without his permission. Or would you? Are you like Faith? That stupid where you think you know what you’re doing, but you always end up in different situations?”

  Renee’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to pay for what you did to the sister of my heart.”

  “And Faith wasn’t as strong as my mate,” William added, and I had to wonder how stupid the hawk was. He rarely spoke. He was only a good fighter, but Renee had lured him to whatever dark side she was on, and we would have to find a way to change that.

  “My revenants are here. You called, and now you have to deal with the ramifications. Just remember, you asked for this. Oh, and Oriel? It’s not his time yet. You’ll know, honey, when it’s time.”

  “Then I guess it’s your time, isn’t it?” I asked, flames dancing over my sword.

  Renee just snorted. “You’re so cute. Still not strong enough. But we’ll see.”

  And then she shot out her hands, and fire flew into the middle of the field. My fire pushed it back, as Ash’s earth assisted. People moved out of the way, and the fight began.

  Revenants slowly crawled out from everywhere, the smoky darkness doing its best to surround us. But Rowen used her air magic to push it back so we weren’t cut off from outside forces we may need for help.

  The bears and hawks were fighting alongside the coven. Aspen and Nelle were with us, even though the other fae protected the other side of town. The teenage tourist wolves and their mother were with the bears, protecting their young and anyone else they could. We were protecting this town as a unit, many of our forces here doing their best to fight the revenants we’d lured.

  And from the sheer numbers, it looked to be hundreds of them. It seemed the spell worked.

  Fear spiraled up my spine, but I ignored it and went at Renee. She pulled out a sword of her own, and I rolled my eyes.

  “You don’t even know how to use that correctly.”

  “But I know my flame. Battle on, bitch.”

  Once again, I rolled my eyes at the cliché and went at her. Jaxton flew above me in his hawk form, far bigger than any of the other birds in the air. He went at the revenants, clawing out their eyes and doing his best to take them down as quickly as possible. He was aiming for William, but Renee’s mate did his best to push the revenants towards us.

  Ash fought a revenant of his own, watching Rowen’s flank so she could use her magic against the smoke that brought in the revenants. I stabbed my sword into the closest revenant, then went at Renee again. Our swords clanged, fire dancing around us. Suddenly, Sage was there, Rome at her side as she used her water magic to douse any flames that got too close to the forest or anyone else.

  We had practiced this. We could do this. But Renee was mine.

  It was sword against sword, fire against fire as the others fought around us. Rome tackled another revenant, ripping off its head before going for another. Finally, William and Jaxton got closer, claws and talons in the air as they fought one another. But I couldn’t focus on them. I had to focus on Renee.

  “Your mate is going to die. My mate is much stronger.”

  “You’re delusional. Why are you fighting for a man we don’t even know? Does Oriel even exist?”

  “Of course, my master exists. He’s the one who will win this town and its magic. And that little air bitch over there.” She shot her finger in Rowen’s direction. “You really think you’re strong enough for this? You never were. You might have come back as a phoenix, but you don’t even know how to tap into that power. You would be so much stronger as a necromancer.”

  “I will never fight for your side.”

  “Then you’re not going to fight at all. But first, there’s something my master asked of me.”

  She pulled out a dagger, set it aflame, and threw it into the air.

  I reached out with my flame, trying to stop it, but I couldn’t. Instead, Renee’s sword slammed into my side, cutting through the flesh and searing it as I screamed, falling to my knees. Jaxton turned to me, pushing William off him. And then I couldn’t breathe. Not through the pain. Not through the shock.

  Almost as soon as I hit the ground, Nelle let out a shocked gasp and looked down at the fiery dagger in her heart, then she fell, too.

  There was a scream, another shout. And it felt as if the world had ended.

  The beautiful goth mermaid with her kohl-rimmed eyes, her chainmail leathers, and her dark, flowing hair lay on the ground, blood pooling around her as the fae king screamed, and the hawk wing leader swooped in.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  Jaxton

  My talons slashed into William. This couldn’t be happening. I could not believe this was happening. I should have left her with her father. I should have hidden her back in the water with the other mermaids. They would have been able to protect her. Instead... Dear God. Not now.

  The ground shook, the air pulsed, and I looked down to see Aspen kneeling over Nelle, his entire body shaking as he grieved. He screamed, and trees uprooted, other revenants dissolved and burst into a thousand pieces.

  The shifters were unhurt, as was the coven. Even in grief, the fae king didn’t harm his allies. No, Aspen was using too much power too quickly in his misery and hurting those who had hurt his mate.

  Because that’s who Nelle was to him. His mate.

  And now she was gone. I had lost my sister.

  I flew closer, trying to get through whatever magic was coming forward, attempting to get to my sibling.

  Instead, she stared up at me with lifeless gray eyes, her mouth parted, blood pooling around her. A small trickle of blood trickled out of her mouth, and then I screamed.

  A collective of shrieks echoed back at me, my hawks grieving with me.

  She was ours. She was mine. And now, she was gone.

  I looked down at Laurel as she fought Renee, my mate bleeding from her side from a wound tha
t had been licked with fire. Renee had cut her, injured her, but Laurel was giving back just as strong. Slash slash slash. Clang clang clang.

  Sword against sword, fire against fire, the two were equally matched. Only my phoenix needed to catch the dark witch in order to dig into her new powers and fight back. I didn’t know if we knew how. I needed to get to Nelle, to my baby sister, but first, I needed to make Renee hurt.

  I whirled in the air, my talons outstretched as I clawed at William. My cousin was my size, maybe slightly smaller in the wingspan, but whatever magic pounded through him thanks to Renee’s darkness, made him stronger.

  Somehow, he was stronger than me. But he would not win this. I refused to let this traitor, this asshole who mated my sister’s killer, get the upper hand.

  William flipped around me and latched his talons to my chest. I did the same with him, and we whirled in the air, spiraling down to the ground. Others scattered for me, and I saw Rome try to move to catch us, but I shouted at him with a screech to not come closer.

  The bear seemed to understand and went to guard his mate, fighting alongside the new witch with all of their combined strength.

  William and I unlatched from each other at the last instant before hitting the ground and shifting to human.

  It didn’t matter that we were naked. Shifters didn’t care. I needed to stop William.

  “That stupid bitch of a sister of yours didn’t deserve to live. She wasn’t even a pureblood. She shifted into a fish. We eat fish. Don’t you understand that? Your mother was a traitor for opening her legs to the mermaid king. And now your sister’s where she should be.”

  Vengeance coursed through me. I needed to stop this. I needed to end this man. I needed to destroy everything he held dear before I turned to the darkness that threatened us all.

  “What happened to you?” I needed to know. I needed to know where my sweet cousin had gone and why this man was here in his place, a traitor to us all.

  “You treated me like I was nothing. Now, you deserve what you get. Nelle is gone. And soon, we’ll kill your bitch of a mate. And then we’re going after the wing. I will be the wing leader. What I should’ve always been.”

  “You’ve always been delusional.”

  “No more than you.”

  We shifted back to hawk form, our talons outstretched. William went for my eyes, and I twisted, earning a claw in the ribs instead. I snapped and clawed at him, both of us fighting for our lives.

  We weren’t like bears or wolves that could fight on the ground. We needed to be up in the air, but our talons were deadly. The strength of our beaks enough to break bone. We could kill, maim, torture.

  But I wanted William gone fast. I wanted vengeance.

  I wanted my little sister back.

  William twisted, going after Laurel this time, angling his wings to shoot like a bullet. And that was it. I couldn’t let him live.

  I moved down, angling myself, and raked my talons down his back. I twisted in the air and slammed him into the ground as we both tumbled and shifted back to human. Blood coated our bodies, and still I went after him, my fingers shifting to talons as I clawed and swiped. William did the same, catching me in my shoulder. I got his hip. He punched me in the face, and I kneed him in the gut.

  I looked at him then, saw how Renee kept fighting Laurel, flames dancing all around us. Magic pulsed through me, and I pulled on the strength of the wing. I felt their hope, their fear, their passion as shifters.

  Aiden, my mother, everyone. They were all a part of me. William wasn’t. Our bonds had been broken. He was lost to us forever.

  I looked at my cousin and knew he saw the moment I had gained in power. The moment I became the true wing leader. I dug my talons into his chest, gripping his heart. Then, I twisted it.

  The light in his eyes dimmed, and for a moment, I saw the young boy who had once trailed after us. The one who had once been my friend. But then, he was gone.

  Only a traitor remained, the darkness seeping into his eyes as his mate called out for him.

  My cousin was dead, his blood on my hands, but the battle wasn’t over.

  “No! How dare you?” Renee screamed. I shifted back, going after Renee and helping Laurel. But Laurel seemed to have the upper hand, even before more magic filled the field. Something unknown that I had never felt before.

  I turned, shifting back to human and knowing I would exhaust myself if I weren’t careful. Aiden tossed me a pair of sweats that I pulled on quickly and gripped a sword that had fallen in battle. I cut off a revenant’s head and moved towards Aspen, wondering what the hell was going on.

  The fae king looked at me, his eyes glowing green swirls. “She was sacrificed with a spell of fire, it’s not true death. That spell was meant only for her. That blade dipped in a poison just for her. That means she’s mine now.”

  I frowned, confused as everyone continued fighting around us. I needed to get back to Laurel, and yet as Aspen stood there, holding my sister in his arms, I had to wonder what the hell the fae was doing. What had he meant?

  “What’s going on?” I called out over the shouts.

  “The dagger was spell-soaked. It’s not a true death. I can bring her back.”

  Alarm flooded me, and I swallowed hard. “Not as a revenant. Not if she’s a shade.”

  “No, I can still feel the bonds. She’s like you were, caught in the In Between. I can bring her back.”

  Aspen’s gaze narrowed, even as his body glowed. “What will that do to her?” I asked, hope and a kernel of joy in me mixing with the fear.

  “She’ll be mine. Forever. She will be a mermaid, still a hawk, but she will also be the fae queen. She will be mine.”

  Did I have the right to allow him to make that choice for her? Then again, I didn’t think I could stop Aspen.

  So, instead, I leaned forward, kissed my sister on the forehead, and met the fae king’s eyes. “Save her. I need to help my mate.”

  “It is done.”

  Magic so old it tasted of the beginnings of time coated my tongue and my body and everywhere else. Everybody froze as they turned as one towards the fae king, my sister in his arms.

  The pair lit up like a beacon, magic I didn’t understand coming towards us. Even Rowen looked surprised, her mouth parting as she held onto the magic that kept the shadows at bay, Ash at her side, protecting her.

  “She is mine,” Aspen repeated. The magic pulsed again, and again and again, faster and faster until my heartbeat raced with it.

  Nelle arched in Aspen’s hold, her body convulsing for a moment as a shout echoed. I wanted to stop this, I needed to ease her pain, but I didn’t know what exactly was happening.

  Suddenly, sea-foam green tattoos appeared all over her arms, her chest, and her hips, matching those on Aspen, and I knew that he had created a mating bond to protect her.

  That was the spell.

  His mate was alive, just like mine fought behind me.

  Aspen met my gaze and nodded. “I will protect her.” And then they were gone, leaving a trail of sea-foam green glitter where they had both been standing. I had to wonder what the hell I had just seen.

  As if someone had popped a balloon in a vacuum, the fighting continued as if none of that had happened at all. Maybe I was just losing my mind. I turned towards Laurel, saw her battling Renee, and knew that I needed to protect her. My mate. My future.

  And damn anyone who got in my way.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  Laurel

  I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I couldn’t focus on the others. I needed to focus on the bitch in front of me. Renee screamed, grief pouring off her in waves, and yet I couldn’t feel sorry for her. She had used her mate and his connections. It was clear that while she might have loved him in her own way, their darkness had twisted each of them, and I didn’t know what any of that meant. I didn’t know if she could actually love him. Not the way she should. Not in a way that mattered.

&nb
sp; I could barely even breathe through the pain of possibly losing my mate again, and yet she had used William. And she was trying to kill those I loved. Again and again and again.

  I shouted, doing my best to breathe and focus on the magic within me. My wings pulsated, ripping from my back as flame arched over me.

  Renee tossed her sword down, and I did the same, only magic between us. The swords got in our way, at least when it came to her.

  “You’re going to pay for that!” she screamed as she tossed fire towards Jaxton as he ran towards me. I threw myself in front of her, not realizing that my feet were off the ground. I was flying towards her. I staggered in the air for a bit, unused to these wings of mine. When Jaxton shifted into a hawk, flying at my side, I knew this was what I needed to do. I let the fire within me take control. Finally, I just let go.

  I had been holding back with the curse, keeping the power within me tethered for so long. Now, I could push. I moved my hands forward, palms outstretched as fire slid through my pores and out towards Renee. She opened her mouth and screamed, throwing fire at me once again.

  Somehow, she was still maintaining her power over the revenants. Suddenly, I knew it wasn’t just her this time. Oriel must be near, or at least watching or doing something, because this was not only her necromancer power. This was something else. Someone else. Someone far stronger, much darker. He was using his power alongside Renee’s, even if he wasn’t standing in the field with us. He was somewhere. I knew it. Maybe we were a distraction. But I didn’t know. All I knew was that I needed to take out Renee. I needed to stop her before she hurt anyone else I loved.

  I couldn’t focus on the fact that Nelle might be gone. I couldn’t think about anything but trying to get Renee. The witch planted both feet in the ground as I moved towards her, and then she screamed, pouring a wave of fire at me. My wings fluttered, and I stopped the flames before they came, shouting. When I lowered to the ground, my wings aching, I looked at my friends, at my coven, and saw all their eyes wide.