Ravenborne Read online

  Kavin looked at her longingly before sighing and turning to face Jar. “Who would be a threat tonight? Tomorrow’s the Harvest Festival.”

  “And if raiders picked tonight to strike…”

  Kavin’s eyes showed the true depth of his fear. “It would be beyond disastrous.” He turned back to her, regret mixing with still lit desire in his eye. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what? I’m going with you,” she insisted.

  “No, not this time. You’re safer inside the keep, as far away from the trouble as possible. Besides, you’ve got a job to do tomorrow. That’s what you need to focus on. I’ll come to your quarters when we’ve got this straightened out, though.”

  “You mean your quarters, don’t you?” she teased.

  “Always were a smart one.” His wink made her smile. “I’ll see you later, then.”

  “Careful, Right, that sounds dangerously close to a promise,” Sara teased.

  She watched him leave before hastily making her way back to her room. She needed to be alone. She needed to think.

  It was quiet and dark in her quarters, but she didn’t need noise or light to alert her to the presence of another. Unsheathing a dagger, she tried to back out of the room but it was too late. Cold steel pressed against the side of her neck before she could even call out for help.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Panic enveloped her, clouded her mind and threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought against it. Throwing her head back, she made contact with her attacker’s nose. A sharp crack and curse of pain was all she was waiting for. Before he could react, she slammed her heel onto the top of his foot. But her plans of escape came to an end when he leaned forward and dragged his knife along her skin. It was just a small cut—a warning. But the sharp pain made her freeze. She wasn’t going to be able to fight her way out of this one. She would have to come up with another means of escape.

  Pushing her consciousness into her attacker’s, she took a deep breath and started looking for ways to stall until she could come up with a plan. “Good evening, Lord Quince. I didn’t expect to see you so soon. And most certainly didn’t expect to be seeing you in my quarters late at night.”

  “Where is she? What have you done with her?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you’ve taken her.”

  She pushed deeper into his mind looking for answers.

  The Oracle. He thought she had the Oracle hidden somewhere? “I only just arrived today. Do you really think I’ve had time to kidnap someone?”

  “You could have had someone loyal to you do it for you.”

  Her laugh was hollow. “Have you heard of any loyal to the Ravens? Besides, I can barely keep track of myself, I couldn’t possibly be responsible for another.”

  “But it has to be you. You benefit the greatest from her disappearance, especially with the baby on the way.”

  She stood in stunned silence for a moment. The Oracle was pregnant. She’d never heard of the Oracle having a child. She didn’t even know that was a possibility. A twitch of his wrist brought her mind back to the man holding her captive.

  “How would I benefit from your friend’s disappearance, baby or no?”

  “I’m not an idiot, Raven. You made no secret about your affair with the oldest Hunter. Lord he may not be, but any child your children might have could be strong enough to challenge for the throne if something were to happen to her.”

  “I assure you, I have no design on the throne—for myself or my grandchildren. Why don’t you put down the dagger and tell me how long the Or—this lady friend of yours has been missing.” She couldn’t believe she almost slipped. She couldn’t let on she knew more than he had told her.

  “You’re saying you know nothing about the Oracle’s disappearance and had nothing to do with it?”

  Her head throbbed at the question as if he was pushing in on her skull from every direction. She would love to know what his ability was. From the pain she was experiencing, though, she was willing to bet it was some form of compulsion. “No. I know nothing of her disappearance nor did I have anything to do with it.”

  He lowered his dagger slowly and, as soon as she was able, she took a quick step away from him.

  “I’m going to light my lanterns. That’s all.”

  “Fine.”

  She lit the first torch to discover he had moved to sit on the bed. His whole body was slumped and his hands cupped his face in a dejected pose. “She disappeared three days ago. We’d had a fight. At first I assumed she was punishing me.”

  “Three days?” It didn’t seem like a long enough absence to cause concern.

  “She hasn’t been to confession or services. Nor has she been in the temple or the library.”

  “You said you had fought just before she disappeared. Is it possible she’s gone somewhere to think?” Sara used to leave for weeks at a time after her and her father fought.

  “She’s sworn to the king. She can’t leave King’s Keep until the baby’s born and declared the heir apparent.” Now that his anger had drained, his mind was wrapped in a fog of consuming depression. It was a choking chill that tugged at her soul.

  What would she do if Kavin suddenly disappeared? Anything it took to find him. She didn’t like having a knife placed to her throat, but she understood the madness that prompted him to do it.

  “Have you heard anything that would make you think she’s in danger?”

  “Of course. I heard it from her own lips. She knew something was going to happen. She told me not to mention the baby in front of anyone, but I didn’t think…” He stopped and looked up at her. “I didn’t think anything could threaten her. She’s the Oracle. Who can touch her?” He shook his head as another wave of grief crashed inside him. “She tried to tell me and I didn’t listen.”

  “Why did you think I had something to do with this?”

  “I told you, you had the most to gain.” He paused for a moment but then looked away from her before continuing. “And she had become obsessed with your visit. It was all she could talk of. She was certain you would know about the baby, about our plan, and would report us to the king.”

  Sara had no doubts she would’ve done just that. “The king couldn’t have done anything. The baby is protected. And he would find out eventually. Pregnancies aren’t something one can keep a secret forever.” It wasn’t logical to keep pregnancies secret. People would notice a baby. Especially a baby with the Oracle’s blood strength.

  “The child has to be viable for the protection of the law. It’s not yet.” He stopped for a moment, his gaze searching hers out. “She just wants to have the baby.”

  “The baby who would inherit the throne?” The pieces were starting to make a scary picture as they slid into place.

  “Yes.”

  “I would never have hurt a mother and child.”

  “Maybe not intentionally, but your allegiance is to the king.”

  She hadn’t thought about it like that. But as far as she knew, the king would react honorably. Kavin believed in him.

  “You honestly believe the king capable of something that would hurt her or the baby?” Her stomach turned at the thought.

  “No…yes…I don’t know. But she was terrified of him and I’ve never known her to be scared of anything.” He paused for a moment, his gaze flickering toward the door. “Damn it. And after you, he’s got the most to gain by her disappearance. After all, it is his son our child would be taking the crown from.”

  Before she knew what he was planning, he was off the bed and out the door.

  She stared at the corridor for a moment, thinking about what he had said. It was surely the rant of a heartbroken man. Just as his accusations against her were false, his charges against the king must be untrue as well. The crown had been possessed by many of the lines over the years. Relinquishing it was a part of their culture.

  But it hadn’t been relinquished in three generations. It was the longest any lin
e had ever held it consecutively. And it couldn’t hurt to look into the Oracle’s disappearance. If it turned out she was just punishing Lord Quince and Sara helped discover her whereabouts, everyone would sleep better that night.

  If he was right, though. Well, if he was right he could very well be the threat she had been brought here to find. Either way, she needed to go with him.

  Her mind made up, she rushed out into the corridor to find the lovesick man and help him find his missing heart.

  It took a few minutes for her to find him, but she did finally spot him as he started down the stairs that lead to the dungeons. “Lord Quince.”

  He turned to look over his shoulder at her but then continued as if he hadn’t heard her.

  “Lord Quince.”

  He stopped with an exaggerated sigh. “What?”

  She was breathing hard with exertion when she caught up to him. “I could help.”

  “And why would you want to do that?”

  Would he believe her if she told the truth? “Because I’ll sleep better once she’s found.”

  “I just told you that I think the king is involved in this and yet you expect me to believe you would help because this is affecting your sleep? Nobody’s that noble.”

  Guess not. “And the Oracle would owe me if I helped her.”

  “Now that, I believe. But word of warning, if you betray me—warn the guards in any way…” He didn’t have to finish the statement. The cold glint in his eyes was warning enough.

  “I said I would help and I meant it. The word of a Raven has never been suspect.” It was what so much of their reputation had been staked on, back when they’d had a reputation.

  He nodded solemnly before looking down the stairs. “Can you get past the dungeon guard?”

  “I’ve got some sleeping weed in my quarters, I could go back and—”

  “Or you could tell them you’re on official business of the king.” he said, looking pointedly at her uniform.

  “Oh. Yes. That could work too.”

  They made their way down into the oppressively dank dungeons in silence. She did her best to appear calm, but her heart was beating so fast, she was sure he could hear it. When they approached the check point, the room swayed gently around her. But she took a deep breath to steady herself.

  “Ho there.” The guard’s voice was cautious as he examined them. “What business do you have in the dungeons?”

  “We’re here to question one of the captives,” she answered. It seemed plausible, yet vague enough that it might work.

  “And which captive might that be?”

  Damn. She didn’t know how to answer that one.

  But Lord Quince, apparently, did. “Anneleissa Dawnsfall, the Oracle.”

  “My chart says she’s not to be questioned until tomorrow.”

  Sara’s stomach knotted painfully at the words. The Oracle was being held in the dungeons. Lord Quince was at least partially right. “I arrived earlier than expected. Captain Bellick wants me to question her right away.”

  “And you would be?”

  “Lady Guard Raven.”

  He looked at the chart again, then back at her. “It does say you’re to be the one interrogating her.”

  The second part of his story was correct as well. It was enough to convince her to press on. She wasn’t going anywhere until she figured out exactly what was going on.

  “You could go ask Captain Bellick, if that would help. We can wait until you have his assurances,” Sara said.

  “I would appreciate that.”

  She smiled warmly. “We’ll be waiting for your return, then.”

  He looked at them cautiously before nodding. “I’ll be right back.”

  Elleum only waited for him to round the first corner before grabbing the keys and unlocking the door. “You were to question Leissa?”

  “I was to question a traitor. They didn’t tell me who it was.”

  “And now do you believe me?”

  “The moment I sent that guard to question Bellick, I became a conspirator. Isn’t that testament enough?”

  They raced down the corridor, glancing in each cell as they went. But the Oracle’s was one of the last in the row.

  “Leissa.” Elleum’s voice glowed with relief as he spotted her, but it didn’t last. As she sat up on the cot, the bruising and dried blood on her face chased away all of his joy. “What did they do to you?”

  Sara felt her own blood heat with anger. Looking at the woman’s face, she could feel the pain of her own scar as if it were new. There wasn’t time for righteous indignation, though. Soon, the guard would be returning—with reinforcements. “She can be healed once we get her out of here.”

  But as Elleum put the key in the door, Sara stopped him.

  “Wait.” Her gaze caught the Oracle’s. “I have to know. Are you a traitor?”

  “You don’t need me to answer that, child.”

  Closing her eyes, Sara pushed her way into the Oracle’s mind but it was like jumping into an ocean. There was so much history, too much, lifetimes of it. And pain—raw and angry—it consumed Sara, threatening to pull her deep and never let her go.

  She took a deep breath as she forced her consciousness to the surface of the Oracle’s. Maybe if she just skimmed the memories, she would be okay. If she just viewed what led up to her imprisonment, she wouldn’t get lost in the woman’s lifetimes.

  Steadying herself, she tried again, only wading through the surface of the woman’s mind this time, though. Lord Quince had been right. Though she had no love for the crown, the Oracle wasn’t a traitor. In the strictest definition of the law, at least.

  The rules that governed Sara, however, were different. She was a guard and answered to the king. And this was something he would want to know. Keeping the information from him was insubordination. And the insubordination of a guard was treason. Lord Quince had been right. She was either going to have to tell the king and hope he was honorable. Something that seemed improbable seeing as he had imprisoned the Oracle without allowing her a trial, and without any evidence of her guilt. Or Sara was going to have to knowingly commit treason.

  And then there was the other thing she had discovered while in the Oracle’s mind. Yes, Oracle only wanted to have the child—well, to have the child and to die. But she was willing to do anything to make sure she got what she wanted.

  “You tried to have me killed.” Her voice was cold with rage.

  The Oracle’s smile was bitter. “Ironic, isn’t it? I almost killed my only chance at salvation.”

  “Life’s just full of ironies, but this isn’t one of them. I’m not your salvation.” If the Oracle believed for one second that she was going to help her, the woman was as crazy as she was diabolical. She may not have actually held the knife or poisoned her wine, but she had ordered another to do it and surely that was the same thing.

  “Why? Because the ideal of justice only applies to those you deem worthy?” she asked.

  “You tried to have me killed,” Sara repeated.

  “This is ridiculous.” Elleum unlocked and opened the door, but the Oracle didn’t move.

  “And you tried to kill a Livingston,” the Oracle argued.

  “That was different.”

  “I’m sure it was. It was you.” The Oracle lay back down on the cot. “Leave me here. She’s no different than the others.”

  The words haunted her with their truth. Was she no better than the rest of the royals? Was she capable of leaving a pregnant woman alone to be tortured and killed in a dark prison? She sighed as she accepted what she was about to do.

  Damn the woman for being right and damn her for caring. “We aren’t going to leave you here. Let’s go before we get caught.”

  The Oracle sat up but didn’t get off the bed. “Why?”

  “Because you’re right. Because you’re not a traitor. Because you shouldn’t have had to pick between my life and the life of your child. Take your pick, but do it quickly.”


  The Oracle smiled. “I always like being right.”

  “I would never have guessed,” Sara returned dryly.

  She had just saved the woman who’d tried to strip her of her magic and kill her. And, in doing so, had just committed treason herself. But every fiber of her being told her she had done the right thing. It didn’t seem right or fair for the universe to ask for something of this magnitude from her, not after everything it had already taken. But a belief isn’t worth anything if it isn’t worth sacrificing everything.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sara’s heart raced with fear and anger as they ran down the corridor. There was no possible victory for her in this. She was going to die this evening. She could feel it in the damp air of the dungeon that clung to her. And, even if they managed to get out of the dungeons and hide until the baby was born, Kavin would never trust her again. He was sworn to the king, the king she had just betrayed. She had lost everything.

  Her heart stopped at the inevitability, and for one moment the pain was too much for her to keep running. Her legs just wouldn’t listen to the command any longer.

  The dungeon floor was cold and hard when she hit. It happened so quickly she hadn’t even thought to brace herself.

  “Raven, what happened? Are you okay?” It was Lord Quince. He was looking back at her.

  “I don’t…” Sara sat up only to discover that her head throbbed with each movement. “I don’t know. I was just thinking and…must have stumbled.”

  The Oracle had stopped and was looking back at her as well. “Get up, then. We have to get out of here.”

  When she didn’t move, the Oracle came back and held out her hand. “What were you thinking of when you stumbled, child?”

  “He’s never going to trust me. I’ve lost everything. Again.” She took the hand and stood slowly. Moving her head slowly from side to side, she waited for the residual pain to die away before giving in to the self-effacing humor of the moment. “I am rather careless with my life, aren’t I?”

  The Oracle smiled sadly before shaking her head. “No, you’re very insistent upon directing its course. Unfortunately, so is every other royal with hopes of increasing their odds at the crown. You and I have more in common that I would have ever imagined.” The Oracle started down the corridor again, this time holding her arm to bring Sara with her. “Trust me, you will have plenty of time to ask if it was all worth it later. That damn question will never leave you. But all of this is for nothing if we don’t make it out.”