The Raven Series 2 (22 page)

Chapter 24

“Here’s the dealio, girlfriend,” a tall, blond-haired man with green spikes said. He stood behind my chair, his fingers lifting my hair off my neck. “We need to talk about your image.”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “My image?”
You’re looking at it buddy
. This was me in all my glory.

“You know, how you want people to perceive you. With those eyes and hair, you could be sophisticated or quite the temptress. But it’s all up to you,” he said matter-of-factly.

When Trevor showed up at the manor this morning, my first thought was I was going to kill Zoe. A stylist? Did I really need one?

Apparently I did.

My mom’s words echoed in my head. I knew who I was, and it wasn’t a temptress or a prestigious bitch. “I’m not changing everything about me to cater to some stuffy assholes.”

“Rawr. Ladies and gents, we’ve got a feisty one on our hands.”

“Self-assured for the first time. And a little bit of spunk.”

“Have it your way, luv. We’ll just enhance your natural beauty. And you’re quite the thing.” He stuck a comb in between his teeth. “We’re going to polish you up a bit. Hang on to your twinkle toes, sweetheart. It’s going to get crazy in here.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but it didn’t take me long to figure out. A swarm of women ascended upon me, and before I knew it, I’d been ushered into the bathroom, stripped down to my birthday suit, and literally “polished” until my skin was glowing from oils and vanilla bean scented lotions.

No one other than my mom and God had seen me fully naked before. I cross my arms over my shoulders, frowning. After the team finished making me smooth and luminous, I was slipped into a soft white robe. Attention was turned to nails, hair, and makeup. One tackled my horrendous cuticles and bitten tips, while another smoothed and hydrated my long hair, and the third applied my makeup. She was a pretty-looking girl who I instructed was under no circumstance to give me false lashes. I could never see out of those things, and they bugged the hell out of me.

Three hours later I was finished. Grumpy and hungry, I studied myself in the mirror relieved to see I still looked like myself. Some girls looked twice their age with makeup. I just looked nice.

Trevor had piled my hair on top of my head, letting loose pieces dangle over the nape of my neck and framing my face. There were soft caramel highlights in my hair that caught the light in interesting ways.

Once I was all fixed up, it was time to get out of the robe. The black dress left one shoulder exposed, fit snugly at the waist, and hit mid-thigh. It was probably the sexiest thing I’d ever worn or owned. Sexy wasn’t my style, but as I stared at myself, I could see the appeal. There was something empowering about feeling comfortable in my own skin, knowing who I was, what I stood for, and who I wanted to be. Sexy, not skanky. There was a huge difference.

“You’re going to really shake things up. About damn time,” Trevor said, standing behind me.

“You have no idea.” I’d come to some important decisions since my meeting with Roarke. He was right. Things were going to change, and I was going to be the one to make those changes.

A different sensation warmed inside me.

Zane. He was here.

I felt the familiar tingles, like a cool breath on the back of my neck, and my heart rate spiked. For a moment I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. I caught a glimpse of Zane coming through the bedroom doorway, and I focused on Trevor as if he were my lifeline. I knew once Zane and I made eye contact, the world would cease to exist.

But it was only a matter of time. I couldn’t avoid the pull for long, or the desire to fling myself across the room and into his arms. I took a breath and slowly lifted my head.

Our eyes locked. There was such intensity between us I felt faint. The air between us seemed to stretch with an electric current, sparkling and crackling. The last time I’d seen him, we’d been kissing and I’d confessed my love. And now looking at him, I wasn’t sure where that left us.

His eyes…so burdened. It was a small consolation knowing he had suffered as I had, but it unlocked my heart.

I couldn’t take it. Without thinking, I pushed to my feet and raced across the room. I rushed him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his shirt. I didn’t think about all the people in my room.

He seemed stunned for a moment before his arms swept around me and squeezed. I felt him exhale. For several moments, neither of us said a thing. Maybe it was the connection, or maybe it was something infinitely deeper. I didn’t care. All that mattered was he was here, holding me and I didn’t want him to let go.

“Everyone out,” he said in a low voice. He put me on my feet, but his arms were still around me, keeping me close.

An unbelievable giddiness swept through me. The coronation was the furthest thing from my mind.

“Piper is on a tight schedule,” Trevor said.

When no one moved and only stared at Zane, he roared, “Get out!”

Trevor jumped, but that did it. Zane suddenly had everyone’s attention, and they all scrambled as fast as they could down the hall.

“What are you doing?” I squealed, my common sense returning.

Zane had no regard for anyone else. His lips curved into a troublesome grin, revealing a dimple deep in his cheek. “Shush.” And like that, he ruined a tender moment.

I felt a flicker of annoyance. “Did you just shush me? I haven’t seen you in weeks and you come busting in here, demanding everyone leave.”

His grin grew as he shook his head.

I glowered. “How about I shush it right up your ass—?”

His finger pressed to my lips, promptly shutting me up. “Let me just look at you for a moment without you getting your panties in a wad. You’re wearing them, right?”

“What? Yes, I wearing them.”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“About my underwear?”

He laughed, deep and throaty. “Dear God, princess, I missed you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” I muttered. “You know today is the coronation.”

“I know. But it was worth it. You’re worth it. I don’t want you to marry Zander.”

Holy Houdini.

I stared at him, his striking features highlighted in the waning light from the window. I’d been waiting the entire summer for him to say those words. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t you?” In less than thirty minutes, I was supposed to accept my
crown
and announce my engagement.

His eyes sparkled as deep and endless as the star strewn sky. “I know.”

“What took you so long?”

“I needed to see you one last time before you officially became the queenie of reapers.”

I scrunched my nose. “Don’t even think about calling me that.” Princess was bad enough. “I still can’t believe it.”

The smugness stretched across his lips. “It suits you.”

“I’m glad you came back. You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say those words.”
The three other big words would be nice too
.

“You misunderstood.”

My eyes snapped to his. “But, I thought—” My voice caught.

“I don’t
want
you to marry him, but it doesn’t change the fact that you
will
marry him.”

This was not how I thought our reunion would go. Sure he’d swept me off my feet, but only to crash to the ground. “What makes you so sure I will?”

“There is no other choice.”

“That’s because you’re not willing to believe, to take a chance. I know the truth. About you. Do you think it matters to me that you’re not a pureblood? I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’re a goddamn zombie. I love you.”

He took one step forward, which put him in the same breathing space as me. “It does matter, princess. If it didn’t, you’d already be mine.”

I wanted to hurt him, to obliterate him into space, hoping when he fell back down from the sky, he’d hit his head hard enough to realize what a jackass he was being. “Why are you here then? To torment me?”

“It feels that way. And I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Piper, but no matter what I do, someone gets hurt.”

“I don’t want to marry Zander. I don’t want to run away with Parker. I should want to do both of those, but I want—”

Zane’s hand flashed over my mouth, silencing me. He was shaking his head, eyes pleading with me. “Don’t, Piper. Don’t do this.”

He was a step ahead of me, knowing what I was thinking before I did. By the time I caught up with him, I knew what I wanted, what I was going to do. Although, I had no idea how it was going to turn out, it was worth a shot. I’d been flying blind through this banshee business. Why stop now?

I placed a kiss on the inside of his palm and watched the heat ignite in his dark eyes, mirroring what I was feeling throughout my body. “I know you want this.”

“It changes nothing.”

The house could crumble around us, but neither of us would notice or care. “It changes everything.” I’d been told over and over again that my voice was a power of its own. Time to test the theory. If there was a chance I could change my destiny, I had to try, or I would always wonder. I wanted to live from this point forward with no regrets.

“Piper…” His voice faded, losing some of his resistance.

With my mind made up, I took a step back and let my blood fill with white bolts of power. It sizzled off my skin, and the room was washed in light. I thought he might try to stop me, tackle me to the ground or something, and when he didn’t, I knew this was what I wanted. A relief went through me. Deep down, whether he admitted it, Zane wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him.

In a voice steadier than what was happening inside me, I said the words I hoped would dissolve the contract and give me my freedom back. “I renounce my oath to Zander, for he is not my match. Not in my heart or my soul.” Thunder cracked outside the window, and my skin glowed as bright as a full moon. I took it as a sign—though I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it worked.

But it felt good, finally making a choice. In my mind, there was no going back, and I wanted Zane to know it.

Standing in the middle of my room, he was watching me with a mixture of awe and disbelief. I froze for only a moment, and then his hand caught mine, fingers tightening as he pulled me forward.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I rose on my toes and brushed a kiss to his mouth. He crushed me close, and his lips were cool against mine. I weaved my fingers through his silky hair. “I love you, Zane,” I whispered.

His hands shook slightly as he framed my face, softly brushing his thumbs along my cheeks. Expression guarded, he said, “That was so stupid, Piper. The consequences—”

“Screw the consequences,” I interrupted. I was sick of worrying about everyone else. For once in my life, I put my wants first. Truthfully, I hadn’t been thinking about anyone else but Zane.

Screw them all.

He must have had the same sentiments, for he was kissing me, meshing our lips together in a toe-curling kiss. A burst of light erupted across the room.

Softly he pulled back, and my gaze was drawn to our joined hands. Our marks were interlaced—his crow with my raven—one black as night, and the other as white as clouds.

“Now what?” I asked, mesmerized.

“You tell me, princess. This was your play. And if it weren’t for the merger of our marks, I wouldn’t have believed it possible. I only hope one day you don’t look back at this moment and regret your choice. There are so many things I can never give you.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “This isn’t good,” he murmured, curiously shaken.

I leaned my hands on his chest, feeling the steely muscles under his shirt tremble. “I know.”

“The sectors are going to flip a lid.”

I glanced away. “I can’t go down there now.”

His fingers slipped under my chin, tipping my face upward. “Yes, you can. And you will.”

“What if they know? I can’t embarrass Zander that way. What do I say?”

The pad of his thumb rubbed alongside my cheek. “The truth. We owe him that. We’ll tell him. Now. Before the coronation.”

He was right. I did owe Zander that much. My guess was he wouldn’t be surprised. My feelings for his brother hadn’t been a secret. “No. It should be me. I’ll do it. Alone.” It was going to be awkward enough. I didn’t need Zane adding to the tangled mess I’d made.

He tapped on his bottom lip, a lip I was well familiar with, and unfolded his arm from around me. “You’re about to get the chance. He’s on his way up.”

My eyes flicked toward the open door. A lump formed in my throat and my body went numb. I wasn’t ready. Not only did I not want to let Zane out of my sight, I was still glowing from his kisses. I needed a few minutes to collect myself, but it was time I didn’t have.

Zane paused at the doorway, twilight shadowing half of his face. “I came here to wish you well and tell you good-bye, but I think inherently, I wanted this—wanted you all along. You look beautiful by the way.” Then he was gone.