Lilith & Hunter: The Raven's Nest

Realization

Ugh, this didn’t make sense. If the Golden Guard was Hunter’s father and he died before Hunter was born then who had been taking care of Hunter those three months before I adopted him? What happened to his mother? Had she been the one to hurt him? Or was there something else I was missing?

I remember the night I met Hunter very vividly. I remember how his wounds looked like they had been inflicted rather recently. I could tell very powerful magic had been used to try to heal him. Something did happen to him that day.  But who would hurt him? And why would emperor Belos lie to me?

A thought crossed my mind that I wish I could take back but it was too late. How I wished I could take it back but the more  I thought about it the more it made sense. What if everything emperor Belos had said was the truth? What if the Golden Guard was the emperor’s brother? What if he had told the emperor he wanted to leave the coven to start a life of his own with his partner? What if he was murdered along with his wife? What if the murderer hadn’t known about Hunter until after the deed was done? Emperor had known about the Golden Guards' death long before the attack on Hunter. What if emperor Belos had taken Hunter right after the death of his parents? That would mean he would have had him for three months. He would have had him the night he was hurt. 

Hunter wouldn’t have been with his parents the night I adopted him because his parents had long since been dead. This was why he hadn’t wanted me to look into the deaths. Because then I would have learned the truth. Hunter had been with emperor Belos all that time. He was the one that hurt him.  The moment I realized that I sat up on my bed consumed by an immense feeling of dread. I wanted to do something. I had to do something but what? If I were to confront emperor Belos now I would risk losing my life. If that happened what would become of Hunter? I looked over at him and saw him sleeping in his crib. 

Trying my best to not make a sound I got out of bed and walked over to his crib and watched him sleep for a moment. He looks so peaceful. Very carefully lifted him out of his crib and held him close to me. He didn’t wake up and instead, he nestled closer to me trying to get more comfortable. Whenever I hold him like this I always get filled with overwhelming warmth. It always makes me remember that he is my son and I am his mother.  This moment now reminds me of that first night we spent together. Recalling that little bundle I had held that night I felt myself start to cry. It has almost been a year since that day and  I still can’t believe how something so small could give me so much happiness. My love for this child has only grown more and more with each passing day since and I would do anything to keep him safe and happy. Even if that meant taking down the emperor. 

I know that the emperor lied to me and there is a chance that he killed Hunter’s parents. There wasn’t much I could do about that since there was no way to prove it but what I could do was keep my son safe. I don’t know for sure if he really was the one that hurt Hunter. As of right now, the emperor doesn't appear to have any interest in him. As long as nothing changes I will continue to handle my duties as head of the coven without question. That being said I won’t let my guard down around him ever again. My son comes first and I will do what I have to to ensure his safety. Even if that means starting a rebellion and overthrowing the emperor. I will do what I must. 

That last thought took me by surprise but it was something that I must take into consideration. Just the thought of Belos hurting my son was all the motivation I needed to try to rise up against him. I need to gain more power and influence in case that day ever came. I need to be able to call upon an army at a moment's notice.

“I need to get some sleep before I run out of the house in my pajamas ready for battle,” I said to myself. I then turned around to go back to bed bringing Hunter along with me. I wanted to keep him close tonight and so I laid him next to me on my bed. He didn’t stir in the slightest and instead kept sleeping peacefully. I cuddled close to him and then kissed his forehead before drifting to sleep myself. 

The following morning I was awoken by the touch of Hunter's hand on my face. Well, it was more of a slap than a touch. When I opened my eyes I saw he was still laying next to me and he was staring at me with those big eyes of his. When he saw my eyes open he immediately smiled and reached out to me with both hands. 

I wrapped him in my arms and brought him closer to me nuzzling against his cheek. He tried to get away but he was laughing too much to move. I don't think I will ever get tired of that sound. 

"Mama," he said in between giggles. I stopped nuzzling him and waited to see if he would say anything else. Instead, he pressed his face against my forehead in an attempt to try to nuzzle me back. 

I let out a laugh which caused him to stop. He looked triumphant for being able to make me laugh as I had him. I kissed his cheek and then looked at his happy face. 

“I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do if I ever lost you.” He didn’t understand what I was saying yet he still scooted closer to me and hugged me. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

We laid there for a few more moments before I decided it was time to get out of bed. I couldn't just lay in bed all day doing nothing. So I got up carrying Hunter with me. 

“So what would you like to do today?” I asked not expecting an answer. I ask Hunter questions like this often and even asked Eda to do the same. I read in a book that doing so encourages children to start speaking. 

“Hooot…,” I stopped walking and stared at him for a moment not believing what I just heard. 

“Could you say that again?” I asked still looking at him. 

It took him a moment but he said it again “...Hooot.” I felt a big grin across my face and upon seeing that Hunter started hooting happily. 

“So you want to go visit Hooty and your aunt Eda?” I asked playfully.  Hunter continued to hoot and started thrashing his legs happily. “Okay okay settle down. It has been a while since we last saw them. It’s still rather early so if we leave now we can go surprise Edalyn with breakfast and you can surprise Hooty with a hoot. “

“Hooot…Hooot.”

“Alright then let’s get ready to go,” I said smiling. Visiting Edalyn did sound like a great idea. Even though it had only been a few days since the last time we saw each other it felt like an eternity, especially after yesterday. I suppose we have become very accustomed to seeing her and hooty regularly. Even though we have been keeping in touch daily it's still not the same. I can also take this as my chance to tell her what I learned and pick her brain a bit. 

If I have learned anything since I got reunited with my sister it's that I can always rely on her. Things are just easier with her around. It would also be good to have a backup plan in case something were to happen to me. There’s a chance that Belos might have killed his own brother, the Golden Guard. If that’s true there’s nothing that would stop him from going after me. If that day ever came I know that Hunter would be safe at the owl house. If worse came to worse Edalyn could always escape to the human world with Hunter. Of course, for that to happen she needed to be aware of the potential danger we were in.  

I finished getting myself and Hunter ready and started to pack a to-go bag when I heard a knocking at the door. “That’s odd. Who could that be?” My home is located outside of the city so we don’t get any visitors apart from the Blights and they normally call ahead. Perhaps it was Darius he might have found some additional information. If that was the case I could tell him about the timeline.  

Still carrying Hunter in my arms I went to open the door and what I saw almost made me lose my balance. 

“...Mom…Dad…”