Tears of Raven

4

Zeus' head tilted to an impossible angle as he stared at Raven intensively. She pressed a finger in between her lips and returned to stare at the soldiers.

"Are you positive he fell this way?" one of the maroon cloaks asks caressing his short beard.

"Oh sure, because I can possibly miss a 20-feet-flying-beast knocking up a three hundred old tree in the falling? Do me a favor, Bay and just shut up."

20 feet? If Raven's calculation were in order and they were, the dragon's tail only, was 20 feet long, let alone his entire body.

"I hit him on the back, he was not suppose to fly as long as the harpoon stayed inside."

"Yeah, because a dragon can use his hands to pull stuff out of himself? C'mon Marken. What side of the bed have you rolled off today? The Ridiculous one?"

The bearded guy stopped massaging his face and his eyes sharpened but before he could answer with something feisty, the whole clearing fall deadly silent as steps halted next to the party.

There he was. The shadow prince. The eternal umbra always following her one step behind. He had gotten twice as big as she recalled, his hair was no longer falling on his forehead, they were perfectly cut, almost maniacally so, and now his uniform was decorated in a rainbow of badges. It had been what? 8 years? And yet it seemed as if decades had passed in a flash. She was an entirely different person and so was he. There was no trace of doubt in his eyes, no hesitation. Just pure strength and terrible annoyance.

As if this work was a waste of time for his skills.

Raven's jaw clenched. She would gladly punch his straight brows off his face but she cared for her life and even if she was in her own territory, she could never take out 20 soldiers, let alone the shadow Prince. She barely managed the last time and only because she caught him off guard.

"If you two are done with quibbling I would point out that the harpoon was extracted from the dragon before the poison could work." He looked at the long large harrow bathed in the blood the dragon lost when she had pulled it out.

She didn't have time to check if the poison had worked and what damaged could have done to the beast but if they thought it didn't absorb, the dragon must be fine.

Were they trying to kill it? It makes no sense, it's been almost one thousand years since the last one visited this forgotten land, since the shadow prince's family has reign which is not a coincidence. the royal family had every intention of keeping him alive you know, for the prophecy.

But her thoughts are cut short when the prince spoke again.

"It's clear someone must have pulled it out." He points to the hole raven made to use the rope. One of the guards retrieved it soon after. Shit, she knew she wasn't supposed to leave trace and that is a freaking flyer that might as well have her signature on it. "I know exactly who would be foolish enough to approach a distressed dragon."

His eyes rose, scrutinizing every inch of the forest. Raven moves closer to the trunk; sure, her hood will cover her from his glare. She had used many times to camouflage away from even more experts stares.

For just a heartbeat, his musk always angry eyes res on her direction but she refused to gave in fear and stood perfectly still. As if her own life depended on it because it did.

"The boy? We haven't seen him in eight years your highness. I doubt he's even alive." The guard whose name is Baylor attempts but the prince clicks his tongue not convinced.

"Oh he's alive and when I get my hands on him, he pay with blood the food he stole from that honest man."

Well, at least we know he's not a forgive and forget kind of guy. Raven has to bite her lips not to laugh. The thought of being his primary options for probably everything that goes wrong in his kingdom fills her with pride.

She definitely left a mark on him and no, she is not thinking about the long scratch on his cheek definitely scared after all those years and barely visible.

"The poison was supposed to knock him off for the required time to collocate it in the palace walls so we could attempt to talk sense into him and ask him about the prophecy."

Yeah, because I dragon will reason with humans who drugged him and chained it to a fucking wall?

Raven scoffed and turned to slide on the next branches. She had heard enough.

"He couldn't be far. He might be an old creature but the poison I used was strong and he's hurt. We would need to just follow the blood-"

Raven's foot barely hit the third brough, when one of the twigs broke under her bare skin. She felt in on her skin before she could even think. The senses alerting as the wind moved and she jumped to the next three, barely making as the large harpoon she had took out of the 60 feet dragon crushed right where she stood.

Her eyes found the prince's. his arm still stretched, the only sign he lifted a 40-pound arrow from the ground and throw it as if it was just a toothpick made of straw.

She never understood the extent of his strength till now and if she hadn't faced a full-grown dragon only moments before, she probably would be terrified. But her black tailed friend had put everything into prospective and the prince, even if powerful, was just a human as she was.

No one was gifted with magic in Roylat not after the dragon had abandoned it to never return and he was not excuse.

But that didn't mean he couldn't kill her. he just needed to catch her first.

She smiled as the adrenaline filled her lungs and her limbs moved, Zeus hooted a little too fast.

"No, it can't be." Baylor's eyes are wide with excitement. "You're still alive? For Merya's heart!"

"Don't just stand there!" the other soldier screams as the whole squad makes a motion to follow his order but the prince rose one arm and everybody simply stops. Like they were an extension of his will. No, an extension of his mind.

"He's mine."

Raven bit her tongue no to laugh out loud. She was fast as a monkey, sliding up and down the branches like she spent her whole life doing just that.

The prince seems awfully calm, not that she dared to turn to check. Carefully reaches for his sword and patiently looks at it.

"I almost feel sorry for you, boy."

Raven, caught in the moment, spins on a brough as if she was simply dancing and before she could answer to the offence, the sword is no longer in the prince's hold. The silent whistle of the wind caresses her cheek, missing her by very little. Her back touches the trunk, reassuringly. Her breath comes back and life pours inside her veins in reliving waves.

Her lips quirked up as she bows theatrically, exactly like she did when they first met and takes a step but her mantel pulls back and she fell losing the ground under her feet.

She hanged in the air for a moment before the knot under her chin threatening to chock her, loosens causing her to free fall.