Raven Song: Shifters Bewitched #4 by Tasha Black

Author:Tasha Black [Black, Tasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 13th Story Press
Published: 2021-08-02T18:30:00+00:00

20

Anya

I wrenched my gaze from the king’s as I scrambled to my feet, rushing across the meadow to find poor Hobbes.

I knew he was a bird, and I knew the king of the world beyond the veil was infinitely more important.

But Hobbes was like family to me. And knowing he was dying alone in the cold was too much to bear. I had to at least hold him close and comfort him in his final moments.

I found him right away, crumpled, snow-white wings splayed flat on the grass.

“Hobbes,” I murmured, scooping him up as tenderly as I could manage. The delicate thrum of his terrified heartbeat vibrated against my palms.

“Stay with me a little while more,” I begged him.

Above us, Calvin circled madly, crying out again and again for his brother.

Bring him to me.

The king’s words echoed in my ears, and I ran for him, uncertain whether I really thought he could help, or if I only wanted the comfort of his company.

“Put him on my chest,” the king said the moment I was close enough to hear his throaty whisper.

“Are you going to…?” The words stuck in my throat.

“I have healing powers,” the king said. “But the iron weakened me greatly.”

Wordlessly, I placed the pale feathered body on the king’s chest.

The king closed his eyes, and his lips began to move.

I watched in awe as Hobbes ruffled his feathers once and then settled.

The king whispered on, and Hobbes lifted his head and blinked at me.

My heart leapt in my chest.

But I could see the king’s face had gone pale and drawn. Bruise-like purple circles had appeared beneath his eyes - eyes that were no longer pale electric blue, but a dull, flat gray.

“Stop,” I said softly.

But the king murmured on until Hobbes stretched his wings out fully, the mangled one good as new.

In a single, beautiful movement, the raven lifted from the king’s chest and joined his brother in the sky.

The two rocketed joyfully around the meadow, as if they knew how close they had come to losing one another. I had tears in my eyes watching them.

But when I looked down at the king again, his face was ashen.

His entire body was covered in tiny, diamond-shaped blisters from the iron, but he had chosen to use the last of his strength to save Hobbes.

I fell to my knees beside him, tears blurring my vision.

“Anya?” he murmured.

“Thank you for saving my boy,” I told him. “But now who will save you?”

“You will,” he told me with a weak smile.

“How?” I asked. I would do anything to save him, I knew that now. All that had been said about the king beyond the veil’s cruelty was false. He was kind and good. I was proud to be one of his subjects.

“Love me,” he whispered with a wicked half smile.

My eyebrows shot up.

“Tell me you love me,” he clarified.

“I love you,” I told him plainly.

His smile was as sunny as a child’s.

“Put your hands on my chest and tell me again,” he instructed.

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