Page 33 of Reaper’s Curse

His grandmother huffed in a clear response of disbelief. She resumed her departure with Valen at her side. Neither the servants nor Winter moved until the queen was beyond earshot.

The two servants stood tall, their backs straight and chins high. Perfect form despite their years of service and ease in Winter’s presence. He considered them friends, or as close to friends as he would get among the staff.

Especially angelic-faced Neive, considering the handful of times she had shared more than conversation with him. And Lucas, who was smart, easy-going, and didn’t put up with Valen’s rude nature. For that reason alone, Winter wanted the man assigned to Raven.

“You understand what I am asking of you?” He glanced between them. “If anyone tries to reassign you, you come find me. Got it? Not Valen. Me.”

“Understood, Your Highness.” They both bowed.

Winter released a heavy sigh. And with the breath, the weight upon his chest lightened. “Thank you. I know you won’t let me down. You are dismissed.”

To the sound of Lucas and Neive’s retreating footfalls, he turned and headed for his own collection of rooms.

Leave Raven be to rest, his grandmother had said.

Leave her alone to freeze was more like it. If the queen’s magic had failed to pull the infection from Raven the first time, he held little faith this time around had been more successful.

The queen’s ability to modify and reroute magic was unquestioned, but something about Raven’s case was unusual. Just as she was unusual. He considered how his normal effect on the specters appeared nullified when in the tunnels with her.

Such a curious puzzle.

She had to have pulled his magic from the mystical cocoon he’d wrapped himself within after the specter attack. But how had she been able to take and retain any?

He’d awoken with access to far more magic than he’d had since the onset of the curse. But he remembered collecting the supernatural strength to his body at the time, and for him, his magic was as natural as breathing. In no way should his magic be the same for Raven.

And yet she had clearly managed to pilfer a fair amount.

The effects upon her person hadn’t appeared obvious until he brought up Mr. Aldine’s condition. Dear gods. He had brought this upon her, with his words, his actions, his magic. And he hadn’t even told her about Chace’s current condition.

Not that he cared about the irritating ass. But she did. Her reaction to his earlier news regarding Chace’s freedom from the prison cell was a clear indication, whether she welcomed her unacknowledged feelings or not.

He tilted his head in greeting to the guards stationed beside his chamber doors and then stepped into the solitude of his rooms.

Life and death situations had a tendency to draw people together. Heighten a relationship. He and Raven had shared two. The likelihood that she shared anything similar or near as intense with Chace had to be near a probability of zero. Had to be.

And now that she lay huddled and freezing on the bed in her guest rooms, she could be slipping into her next near-death situation.

At least, that’s what Winter told himself as he sneaked through the door hidden in the back wall of his chamber and made his way through the secret halls connecting his rooms with all the guest chambers within his section of the palace.

Unseen passageways wedged between the walls littered the palace. The concealed corridors were ancient, dating far beyond Winter’s existence, and he rarely utilized them. But from time to time…such as now…they were an asset.

If Raven was freezing to death, it was his duty to save her.

At the end of the dark, narrow hall, Winter paused and stared at a charcoal door. It was the backside of the full-length mirror situated at the far side of Raven’s apartment receiving area. A small peephole to the side of the mirror, hidden behind a gemstone in the frame, allowed anyone within the tunnel to verify a clear room before entering, while rendering the passageway undetectable to guests and servants not in the know.

Sight through the gemstone tinted the scene a soft blue, but Raven’s rooms were quiet, the lights dimmed.

With a slight push, the mirror swung like a well-oiled door on hinges to a full open. He stepped into Raven’s room, the palace personnel and guards none the wiser.

At the sight of the crimson-tinted raven beauty, Winter sucked back a sharp breath. His grandmother had spent what felt like endless hours with the woman, but any improvement on Raven’s side was hardly noticeable.

How much of his magic had she syphoned?

“Raven?” His voice was soft, a barely audible whisper on a breeze.

Her response came in the form of an unintelligible whimper.

“Oh, Raven.” His muscles slackened even as his chest clenched, and he beelined for the bed. Took a seat at her side.