The Raven Queen

by Emma Jayne Mills

  The warriors heard the whirring throttle of the motorcycle before anyone else. Their trained ears picked it up on a change in the wind direction, along with the scents of their queen and her mate. Looking up, they saw the dirt bike fly through the hole caused by the grenade and soar into the arena. Those who remained in their seats looked up and with mouths agape, following the bike’s path through the air. Aurora snapped out her wings to their full span, taking to the air, and Jax shifted. Aurora flew up and hovered over the bike, Jax’s black wolf leaped over the top of it. The bike crashed to the ground beneath them, bursting into flames. Teeth bared and snarling, Jax landed with a skid, in front of Connell, forcing him to back up towards the podium. Aurora came to land a step behind him, walking forwards and folding her wings back in as though they were never there. As entrances go, it was nothing less than phenomenal and would be told of for years to come.

  “Hey, Dad,” Aurora said. Connell looked with confusion between Aurora and the hologram on the podium. With a snap of Xander’s fingers, the vision flickered and disappeared. “I’ve got to say, I’m disappointed. Didn’t it occur to you that I wouldn’t just sit there and let this happen? It’s like you don’t even know me.”

  Connell, stupefied by his daughter’s presence and that of her mate, looked mutely between them. Jax continued to snarl, saliva dripping from his fangs. He would gladly have ended Connell right there, but Aurora and Marco had unfinished business with him. With Jax at her side and Lykos moving in with the sword in his hand, Aurora ascended the steps and pushed Connell into the chair she had been sitting in.

  “It’s your turn to watch,” she hissed, securing his hands, with the silver cuffs that were attached to her belt, to the arms of the chair. While some had paused their fighting when the motorcycle exploded, others continued. She turned to face the arena and pushed every ounce of power she could find into her command. “Stop!”

  Her warriors, Elouise, Aislinn and Caspian were unaffected by the order. Every other shifter in the arena came to an abrupt standstill. While some were powerful enough to merely submit to her command, others sank to their knees and whined, painfully. Aurora looked out over the crowd and assessed the carnage laid out by Connell. Her own warriors were well, the rest were not. Shifters lay, dead or close to death, on the ground. Many who lived were sporting horrific injuries. Few had gone unharmed. The fighting had spread to the seats and those who were merely there as spectators had been hurt. Several fires burned around the amphitheatre. The onlookers had no idea of the villainous scheming that had taken place.

  The crowd watched in silence as Zane and Jax shifted, each of them being magically clothed by Xander, as soon as their human formed. They joined Aurora on the podium, Jax and Lykos on either side of her and the others forming a wall behind them. At Marco’s request, Aurora instructed Darius to shift and join them, Xander clothed him too. As Aurora drew breath to speak, she caught sight of a dagger flying through the air towards her right side. She watched it, as though in slow motion, spin in the air. Once, twice, a third time. She thrust out a hand and caught it by the blade before it hit Lykos.

  -Silver. She sent through the link to her warriors.

  Lykos flew into action, a split before after Jax. Zane and Marco stepped in beside Aurora as the two men hurtled through the arena towards the shifter who had thrown the knife. Cole drew his weapon and aimed it at the shifter. Hunter closed in behind Aurora, leaving no way to reach her, should anyone choose to attack.

  Jax reached him first and secured his arms behind his back, turning him to face Lykos. Lykos slowed his approach, silently stalking, he enjoyed the fear in the man’s eyes.

  “You thought to assassinate me, with a throwing knife?” Lykos spoke calmly, his tone venomous and chilling. “Disappointing.”

  “I’ll take you whatever way I can,” the shifter sputtered. “Ambrosios was my alpha, I will see him avenged.”

  “Ah, in that case, it makes perfect sense,” Lykos drawled, lazily. “I would expect nothing less than such underhand techniques from my brother. You are his beta, I assume?”

  “I am.”

  “Even if my queen hadn’t been as quick as she is, I saw it coming. You were too slow. The pack will be better off without you both.”

  “Getting bored now, Lykos,” Jax feigned a yawn. “If you want to play with him, I’ll lock him in a cell and you can get to him later. Otherwise, finish it now.”

  “Release him.” Lykos bowed his head to Jax.

  Jax shoved the beta to his knees in front of Lykos and stepped back, arms folded across his chest. The beta got straight to his feet and lunged. Lykos caught him mid-attack and slammed his body to the ground. The beta clasped his hands and shot both fists into Lykos’s stomach, he doubled over long enough to allow the beta to stand. Lykos straightened and they circled, fists clenched.

  Jax began to whistle.

  Lykos ignored the goading from his teammate and moved in, sending a punch to the beta’s face. Blood spurted from the nose of the other man, obscuring his vision. Lykos punched him again, sending him to his knees and grabbed him by the throat.

  -Finally.

  -Do you have somewhere else you could be, little king?

  -Nah, I’m good here.

  Gripping the back of his neck, Lykos pulled the beta to his feet and expectantly held out his hand. After a few seconds of silence, the dagger came hurtling across the arena, slicing cleanly through the air, to be caught securely in Lykos’s hand.

  -Thank you, Koraki.

  -My pleasure, old man.

  Lykos swivelled the knife in his hand, it didn’t burn in the way it once would have. He moved his other hand to grip the beta’s hair. A flash of movement sent the beta to the ground, with a slash across his throat made by a silver blade. Lykos dropped the body and flung the dagger back to Aurora, careful not to touch the silver blade. Jax moved in and slapped Lykos on the back as the two warriors made their way back to the podium.

  There was a scurry of movement behind her and Aurora spun to see Connell, with Aislinn, free of the silver cuffs and standing. The warriors surrounded them, weapons raised and ready to fire at their queen’s order. Jax and Lykos appeared by her side and Aurora faced the people she had believed to be her parents.

  “She’s a witch!” Addie’s voice came from the side of the platform.

  Addie began to mutter low words and Aislinn threw her a startled look, realising she couldn’t move. Aurora sent a look of gratitude to her mother, thanking her for the invisible barrier that only a witch could see. It surrounded Aislinn, like a bubble, keeping her and her powers firmly caged inside.

  Marco stepped forward to face his father and Connell laughed. “You may be strong, son, but you cannot beat me.”

  “I’ll happily die trying,” Marco growled.

  “Explain yourself,” Aurora commanded.

  “Oh, Aurora, my beloved daughter,” Connell began.

  “I was never your daughter, only a pawn in your sick game.” Aurora’s hair lifted as her magic flowed into her. Jax hooked a finger in the waistband of her trousers and brushed the skin of her back with his thumb. Her power was only of use if she controlled it.

  “No, you weren’t my daughter, but you could have been,” Connell’s face contorted into a twisted smile. “I had intended for you to be Marco’s, you see. Sadly, he was too pure to be of use to me, he thought the sun rose and set with you.”

  “You twisted fuck!” Marco, having heard enough, lunged at his father, his fist connecting and throwing the man’s head backwards with a sickening crack.

  “Son of a monkey’s mother,” Hunter muttered under his breath.

  “What is it with you and monkeys today?” Cole side eyed him.

  Aislinn screamed as she watched her mate fall. Caught in a blind rage, she aimed her magic at her son through the shield Addie had put in place. The lightning bolt she sent smashed into the barrier and bounced back, hitting Aislinn in the stomach. The magic flew through her and van
ished, leaving a clear hole in her stomach that opened on the other side. The last look she gave her son was one of hatred as she fell to the ground.

  Connell made a grab for the sword that had been discarded at the podium steps and ran at Marco. Melaina screamed and threw herself between the two men. The three came together in a confusion of tangled limbs, pushing and shoving, fists flying, all three crying out in fury, until the unmistakeable sound of tearing flesh stalled them. Marco stepped back, attempting to pull Melaina with him. Stupid female always had to stick her oar in. She slumped, her head falling heavily to his shoulder.

  “Mel, get up,” he ground out, curling his fingers around her arms, and holding her at arms-length.

  Her head fell back at an awkward angle. Marco’s eyes travelled over her, moving down her body until they fell on the sword. The blade had passed straight through her torso. Connell pulled in the hilt of the sword and stepped back. Melaina’s blood drenched arms slipped through Marco’s grip and she fell to the floor, a pool of blood rapidly surrounding her.

  “No!” Aurora screamed, dropping to her knees next to Melaina and lifting the woman into her lap. She became blind to the events around her, focusing only on the woman in her arms. “You can’t go, you can’t go. I won’t let you! Remember when I told you how you keep me sane? I wasn’t fucking kidding, so don’t you dare go.”

  Tears streamed down Aurora’s cheeks. She could feel Jax nearby, desperate to lift her into his arms, but knowing she wouldn’t allow it. She wanted Xander. Looking around frantically with unseeing eyes, she screamed his name repeatedly. Aurora didn’t know how long it was, to her it seemed like hours, before Xander skidded to his knees beside her and leaned over Melaina.

  “She has to live. She’s a shifter, unbind her, wake her animal so she can shift, please. Undo the spell. You have to break Veronica’s magic. I can’t let her die. She’s done so much for me. She deserves better than this.” Aurora pressed on the wound as she sobbed, blood saturating her shaking hands.

  “Aurora, she’s weak,” Xander said, gently.

  “She’s the second queen!” Aurora wept hysterically, wiping at her tears with her arm and smearing Melaina’s blood across her face. “She has to live! Please, Dad.”

  Xander nodded and began to feel for the magic Veronica had put in place years earlier. Thankfully, he was familiar with the witch’s ways and her spells didn’t take much unravelling. Aurora felt the magic begin to lift with Xander’s whispered words. Addie moved in and placed a healing crystal over the wound in Melaina’s stomach. She joined her hands with Xander’s and together they chanted in a language nobody else recognised. Aurora saw the magic lift its hold on Melaina. Like vines unbinding themselves from her body and freeing her limbs. They slithered to the ground and liquified, soaking into the earth and disappearing.

  “Fuck,” Marco leaned down and whispered, looking first at Melaina then up at Aurora. “It’s her.”

  “What?” Aurora asked, watching Caspian and Darius move in. Finn’s wolf hovered in the background, watching, and whimpering quietly.

  “I feel something. I think I’m linked to her,” Darius said.

  “I feel it too,” Caspian agreed, miserably.

  “You’re her warriors,” Aurora told them and looked at her brother, could he have a warrior with both of them? No, she realised, what he was feeling for Melaina was more than that. “Marco?”

  “She’s my true mate,” he whispered, astounded. “How can that happen? She had a mate.”

  Melaina began to stir as the sound of beating wings overhead turned their eyes skyward. A winged man, his white wings just as eye catching as Aurora’s, with waist length black hair and dark skin, landed gracefully beside the podium.

  “I mean no harm,” the man said, folding away his wings and raising his empty palms.

  “You’re the eagle,” Aurora stood slowly, Jax and Lykos moving with her. “I’ve seen you. You’ve been watching us.”

  “I am. My name is Iolar and she is my queen,” his eyes moved to Melaina. Marco snarled. “I do not seek to claim her, wolf. If I am correct, you are her mate and I am the alpha of her warriors.”

  Before anyone had time to process anything that had happened, a blood curdling scream drew them all back to Melaina. She now stood, eyes wide and teeth bared. Aurora saw her animal surge to the surface and yelled for everyone to get out of the way. The panther leaped from the podium and took down Caspian on landing. Jax moved fast, kicking her away from his brother, the cat turned on him and lashed out. He dodged her claws and readied himself to shift, but the cat was uninterested in the fight. She singled out a man in the arena, a beta shifter who had been a contestant in the tournament and drawn Lykos’s blood. She ran, leapt into the air, and latched onto his neck with her mouth, taking him down and slashing open his throat with razor sharp teeth. The warriors, both her own and Aurora’s ran to stop her, as she moved and took down a second man in the same way. Not pausing to look back, she ran from the arena at speed, disappearing into the woods of Shadow Fen.

  Marco turned to Aurora, a question in his eyes. How could he have a warrior bond with her and be mated to another queen? And how could Melaina have two mate bonds?

  “Don’t worry,” Aurora said, gently laying her hands on his shoulders. “We’ll figure it out. She needs you. They need you.”

  He looked at Iolar, Darius and Caspian. They waited expectantly for him, with every intention of going after Melaina.

  “Go,” Aurora kissed his cheek. “We’ll find you.”

  Marco nodded once and looked at Jax, who had come to stand beside Aurora. “Take care of her.”

  “You know I will,” Jax replied and reached out to hug his friend. His eyes moved to his brother. “Watch your back.”

  “Always.” Marco nodded, picking up his meaning.

  “We’ll put a team on you as soon as we can,” Zane said, gripping Marco’s shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Marco pulled himself together.

  Many questions were unanswered. Not least, how had his mother been a witch without them knowing. Marco had faith that Aurora would find those answers. Even if she weren’t his mate, Melaina would still need to be found. She was the second queen and she had a part to play in the prophecy. Whether she was in any fit state to do that was a different matter. Melaina’s warriors left the arena with an uncertain and dangerous task ahead of them.

  A lull in the drama brought silence to the arena. Aurora turned to deal with Connell. He was gone. As was Finn and the silver sword. The attack on Melaina had supplied the distraction they needed to escape. Aurora felt her magic flowing under the surface and pushed it back down, she couldn’t lose control now. They had a fuck ton of shit to deal with and an out of control witch could not be added to that.

  “Aurora, you need to say something,” Zane pointed out that the crowd in the arena were waiting. For what, they didn’t know, but they believed something was about to happen.

  “Fuck,” Aurora whispered.

  -You’ve got this, wild thing. Time to be a queen.

  -You have our support, Koraki.

  The voices of Jax and Lykos, paired with the love she felt through the bond with the other warriors, gave her the fight she needed to bring an end to the horrors that had been seen in the arena. She moved to the front of the podium and looked out over the crowd. A sea of hopeful faces greeted her, faces that held an eagerness for change and she resolved to become what they needed her to become.

  “You have seen too much bloodshed here today. This is not the true nature of our race. This is not to be our future. That future is in your hands. You have choices. From this moment, you will always be free to choose. You may leave here today and live your lives in hiding, or you may join together and take back the peace you deserve.”

  A cheer went through the crowd, spurring her on.

  “I will not be a queen who sends you in to fight for her, while she sips wine in a tower. I will fight beside you because it is only when we com
e together that we can overcome. I will not ask you to fight for me. I will not ask you to fight with me. But I will expect you to fight for yourselves.”

  The crowd cheered again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Unity is only the beginning.

  The Laignach Faelad assigned a team to find Connell. He had last been spotted boarding a flight to Greece, possibly for the purpose of taking over Ambrosios’s pack. The team assigned to him were instructed to report his every move, so news of him came often. He was to be given enough rope to hang himself, but not enough to influence anyone too far over to his way of thinking. Jax and Aurora had both argued that his crimes were enough to bring him in at once. The organisation, while not disagreeing, were firm in their theory that he was not the top of the food chain in his schemes. They suspected he was in league with someone else and hoped he would lead them to whoever he was working with.

  The team assigned to Drake and the vampire queen had, as yet, found no trace of either of them. Drake had vanished and there was no hint of his charge ever having existed. Eldon and Ray were presumed to be in hiding, quite possibly under the vampire king’s protection. The Laignach Faelad were putting every resource they could spare on the case, but the paranormal world was in turmoil and they had to maintain the very fragile stability that Aurora had brought about. A new wave of shifters had begun to come forward for training since accepting Aurora as their queen, which while undoubtedly a good thing, also used up manpower they couldn’t spare.

  Although both Darius and Finn had been present during the tournament, neither of their parents had been seen. No longer knowing who could be trusted, Aurora appointed Jax’s mother as beta of the Shadow Pack and left the fen in his parent’s hands. Having ensured Aurora’s grandmother was safely ensconced in the elder sanctuary, the Raven Pack returned to Zane’s house in Spain. They all agreed that the solitude of the Valencian mountains was a good place to disappear behind, while they figured out their next move. They needed time to regroup, adjust to new revelations, and leave no page of the Morrigan prophecies book unturned. Less than a month remained until the full moon, it was not a long time when they had two queens and a king to find.