Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
With a pounding heart, I knock on the front door of the small house. Sweat trickles down my back as I strike harder against the wood.
Eventually, the door opens slowly, and the white-haired man with a bloodied face looks at me. His white clothes are stained with red blood, which gives me more reassurance than I'm willing to admit. I recognize him as Micca, although I've only seen him from a distance. One of his green-blue eyes has a bruise around it, there's a cut on his lip, and a trickle of blood still seems to run from his nose.
'Micca?' I ask to make sure I have the right person in front of me. I've been spying on him, but it was from too far away to be certain.
'Novak?' I nod before he steps aside.
I enter the narrow cottage and see that all the beautiful decorations and furniture are in ruins. Chairs are overturned, the table is upside down, and the once expensive paintings have cracks.
Micca says nothing as he walks through the devastated hallway towards another room. We exchange no words, but I hear whispers throughout the house.
As we enter the dining room, it becomes clear to me. A group of four men and two women stands around the only table that remains standing, the dining table. The wood is filled with papers, folders, old newspapers, and official documents.
The two women are completely dressed in black, and the men wear gray with dark blue cloaks. I don't recognize anyone from their faces as they look in my direction.
'Ladies and gentlemen, this is Novak,' Micca introduces me as he removes the bloodied handkerchief from his nose. The blonde lady smiles while the red-haired woman looks at me distantly. The men nod in my direction before focusing on the table again. Rita, the blonde woman, steps aside so I can stand next to her.
I become increasingly confused as my gaze falls on the table. Old newspaper headlines about the coronation of Nicolaas, the birth of Elien, and Celeste's wedding. A death certificate of the queen, an inventory of the Franders family's wealth, and all the announcements of the deceased night riders.
'What is this?' I ask in astonishment as I pick up the old newspaper headline of Celeste's wedding from the table. At the time this happened, I was with Asa and Alex. In my memories, it was an event that was talked about but quickly forgotten. Now, seeing the drawing of the wedding in front of me, a feeling of nausea grips my body.
'This, Novak, is the organization of the White Raven, the resistance against Nicolaas von Dira.' I look at the black-haired woman, Gwen, in disbelief. Her pointed ears unmistakably reveal her origin.
There has been speculation before about the existence of the resistance, but no one knew for sure if they truly existed. They were always kept secret until Nora was murdered. Asa mentioned it once back then, but it never went any further.
The White Raven is not a new name to me. It's been said to be the largest resistance since the king's coronation. I remember the tavern with the White Raven emblem and the occasional drunkard who would mention the name.
'Can someone catch me up? Where is Celeste? What happened? And what is this?' I ask rapidly, my mind working overtime.
Micca stands across from me at the table, sighing deeply before he begins his story.
'Celeste and I were sitting on the couch when there was a knock at the door. The Dawn Guard was at the doorstep. I sent Celeste upstairs while I tried to get rid of them. Apparently, they had heard from a source that she was here, and they were conducting a search. They couldn't find anything, so they beat me until I lost consciousness. I woke up in a completely devastated house, Celeste was gone, and there was a black feather.'
I can't help but berate myself for not securing Elien more tightly or staying with him. Even though he was asleep, I should have known better. The only five minutes I left the barn, he managed to break free and escape.
'Elien took her to the castle?' I ask, even though I already know the answer. Iven nods slowly.
'We had been afraid of this situation for a long time. We have spies in the castle who informed us that Prince Elien was becoming less and less present in the corridors until he seemed to have completely disappeared from the castle. A month ago, he was seen for the first time with black eyes, motionless and injured. From that moment, we knew for sure that she was using him to find Celeste and trap her.'
That information is not new, although somewhere deep down, I had hoped my conclusion was wrong.
'He can transform into a raven,' I inform the table. Micca nods before picking up the black feather from the table and holding it in my direction. I take the feather and let my bewildered gaze wander over it. I've seen ravens before, and even though it's been a while, this feather is larger than any I've ever seen.
'We don't know exactly what they did to the prince. But we do know that shapeshifting into a raven and the size of the feathers can be traced back to the ancient ravems.'
Ravems, mages who can transform into ravens and share the deepest connection with the bloodline. During the time of Yin and Yang, they were a dominant force, possessing great wealth and led by a kind man named Vyna Kinalis. The man knew that the magic within the bloodline was dark and powerful. He protected the ravems from themselves, controlled the flow of magic, and tried to maintain peace.
When Yin and Yang grew more powerful, many ravems disagreed with Vyna's approach. They demanded complete control over the bloodline. When he refused, a large group of rebels cut off his wings and burned his body.
From that moment on, the ravems became devoted followers of Yin and Yang. They fought, killed, and plundered everything they could find, completely under the influence of dark magic. They were hated, despised, and reviled by everyone.
After Yin and Yang were captured by the nymphs, many ravems fled and were never found again. A large part of them was killed for their actions or committed suicide.
'That can't be, none have been seen for 200 years.' That is the first time the red-haired woman, Gwen, takes a step forward. The pointed ears no doubt reflect her lineage
'You're right. We don't expect Prince Elien to be a full-fledged raven, but they have tried to mimic it as much as possible. It makes the prince a dangerous, unimaginable, and difficult-to-capture weapon.' I try to absorb all the information, even though it's a lot to take in at once.
'That king has gone mad,' I mutter, not understanding. The entire room falls silent, and all eyes are on me, except Micca's. Micca runs his hand over the table before slowly pulling out a document from under the other papers. His green-blue eyes gaze deeply into mine as he holds the paper in my direction. Doubtfully, I take it and look at its contents.
Dion Franders killed by a night rider.
With wide eyes, I look at Micca. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place.
'Dion Franders was Christiaan's father. He was known for his extreme ideas, his hatred for the night riders, and his desire to release Yin and Yang. When the night riders found out that he was planning an attack on the nymphs, they gave him a warning. Two weeks later, the man disappeared from Livas with a group of followers. Less than a day later, they killed him and the others. Christiaan was fourteen.'
I have to read the words again before I fully grasp what they mean. My gaze returns to Micca, who answers my silent question with a nod.
Christiaan knew what Celeste was when he married her, and he's using the king to seek revenge for his father's death.
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