The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

Ties of Venom

Mourning on behalf of Apollo and the heartbreaking experiences he will forever carry on his shoulders, and a longing for my family, whom I hadn't seen in far too long.

"However, those days are long behind me," Apollo added with a smile that didn't seem to quite fit the rigid features of his face. "The golden warriors and our dragons are my family now. So, I am sorry if I overstepped in my excitement to welcome another member. I thought that ring of hers might have been an heirloom, but I guess she must've won that alleged competition of yours. Curious choice, though. I thought Pangea said you mastered the ocean—not the earth like the king."

Caiden's mask cracked, leaving the fractured pieces to slip off his perplexed face as he turned to look at me with eyes open wide. They dropped to my hand before I'd even had a chance to consider Apollo's notion.

A ring. Caiden hadn't given me a ring. Besides, I'd tossed—

Realization hit me like a bolt of lightning, charring every nerve it came across as it traveled through the center of my body. My breath became like inhaling the ashes of a rousing volcano as I forced my gaze to drop. The sight calcinated my bones and joints, turning me as rigid as stone.

Right there, clamping firmly around my left ring finger, was a soft hoop of the purest glass with an opaque jewel carved into the surface—the same ring I saw in the mist facing Tarkan.

I could barely feel it against my skin, so I had no way of telling how long it had been there. Due to its polished glass structure, it was barely visible unless one knew to look for it.

"Willow," Caiden whispered, reaching out to grab my hand, but I was faster.

Before Caiden had the chance to touch me, I stepped back and arranged my fingers to firmly surround the cursed thing.

I pulled, but my fingers immediately slipped. Desperate, I clamped my entire hand around the ring and pulled again. It didn't budge.

"It won't let go," I hissed, digging my nails deeper until I pierced my skin. "I can't get it off!"

Golden blood gushed from the wounds, making the already slippery surface even slicker. It was as if the ring had been etched into my skin and taken root in my bones. It wasn't budging, but I wasn't giving up either.

"Willow!"

Warm fingers clasped around my wrist, forcing my hands apart. Caiden pressed my palm against his chest, the scrappy fabric fervently drinking my blood.

"Calm down," he whispered, gently resting his other hand against my cheek. "Take a deep breath."

I looked up, gazing with wide eyes into calm ponds of solace. He didn't look mad or flustered like me.

"I-I can't get it off," I muttered, my breath still ragged and troubled. "I don't know when he did it, but it has to be Tarkan's work. Caiden, I can't get it off."

Caiden didn't scowl at the mention of his brother, nor did he smile. Worry kept his lips tense, and his damp brow creased. "I know," he said, stroking his thumb across my puffed cheeks to wipe away the rage-filled tears. "We'll figure it out. For now, I need you to calm down. It is merely a ring—nothing more."

I gritted my teeth, clenching my jaw tight. This revolting accessory clinging to my finger was not merely a ring. It was a piece of Tarkan still remaining, like the severed head of a leech—a symbol that I had yet to be rid of him, even here, even now.

Caiden wrapped his hand around my fingers when my eyes dropped to frown at the ring, futilely hoping my spiteful gaze would melt the glass into liquid.

"Don't let him get to you, Will," Caiden said right before I felt the cool relief of his healing powers enter the wounds my chipped nails had carved around the ring. "We'll find a way to get it off. For now, it's just a ring."