Chapter 33

Slow, steady waves of light washed over Raven’s body, like a lazy tide rolling onto the shore before sliding back out again. His breaths steadied, became less labored each time Tayla’s distant voice echoed in his mind.

He was hallucinating. The last thing he remembered was the fight at the club before a sheet of darkness fell over his consciousness. He didn’t have enough faith to survive. This was the calm before the storm. Any minute now, his soul would arrive at the fiery pits of Hell.

Unless the venom killed him before he turned. If that was the case, he didn’t want to face the storm.

The agony in his chest eased a notch as another wave washed over him.

He squinted when a glowing light intensified in the far distance.

The darkness in his mind retreated as the light brightened. It expanded faster, like a massive star on the cusp of one last catastrophic explosion. He covered his eyes with his forearm as the brightness stung, until…

Raven peeled open his heavy lids to find himself in his room, stretched out on his bed. Tayla lay curled up asleep beside him, her head resting against his shoulder.

Had he been dreaming?

Bright lasers of light beamed through the windows, stretching over his body, the glare burned a hole through his retinas into the back of his skull. He shielded his eyes with one hand and rolled onto his side, facing Tayla, and placed his back to the lasers.

Slicing pain ripped through his arm, and the events of the battle came rushing back.

He peered down and inspected the bandage wrapped around his stomach and the dark red/brown stains. And whaddaya know, he had matching gauze on the top of his bicep.

The warm sun streamed into the room and heated his bare back, rejuvenating his body and numbing some of the pain. The familiar tingling of his body healing spread through his veins and focused on his wounds.

He leaned his head forward and lightly kissed Tayla’s temple.

“Good morn…” He swallowed, moistening his dry throat. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Her eyes opened, and a smile filled her face. “Raven, you’re okay.” Tayla placed the back of her hand against his cheek. “And the fever broke. Oh, thank god.”

He frowned. “It was just a scratch, there’s no need to worry.”

Her eyes watered. “Just a scratch? Raven, you nearly died.”

He jerked his head back. “What?”

“You’ve been unconscious for almost five days. Your body wasn’t healing.”

What? He’d been out for five days? He hadn’t been dreaming. If that was the case, why was he rapidly healing now?

Wincing, he sat up, taking a moment to adjust to the pain in his arm before he unraveled the bandage around his abdomen. He peeled back the gauze and inspected the fifteen or so sutures running in a straight line down one side. His faith must’ve been lower than he thought. He brushed his thumb over one of the sutures and it fell from his flesh. The pink skin underneath closed and healed.

He turned his attention to the matching gauze around his bicep. No sutures there. All that remained underneath was a nasty, thick, jagged grey line where the talon had gouged his skin, deeper than he thought.

At least it had healed, and those foul black veins vanished. Fuck, he was lucky.

He glanced over his shoulder at Tayla sitting beside him, her brows knitted together as she inspected his wounds.

“It’s kind of you to be here,” he muttered.

She took his hand in hers. “I want to be here with you, Raven. I’m sorry I left.”

He exhaled and kissed her forehead. “Not that I’m not ecstatic, because I am, but what changed your mind?”

“Let’s just say I realized what was really important.”

He slowly shook his head. “But it doesn’t change the fact I’m still becoming one of them.”

“No, but we’ll get through it, together. Whatever it takes. I’m not going anywhere.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He lowered his head. “I wanted to, I really did but I was so scared of losing you I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I hadn’t even told the others.”

She was quiet for a moment. “What happened to cause you to lose your faith? No more secrets,” she whispered.

He took a deep breath. No more secrets. “Blaine happened.”

There. The dam had broken, and the words he’d held in gushed out. “I couldn’t stop him from falling, losing his faith, and severing his connection to the Heavens. I’ve spent the past centuries on Earth trying to save him, trying to convince him he made a mistake and should return to the Heavens. ’Cause every goddamn year he's a Fallen, the guilt of failing him and the others, chips away at me.”

“Did he have something to do with the deal you made?”

He nodded. “Return Blaine to the Heavens or be banished forever.”

Tayla lightly kissed his shoulder. “I'll help you. I believe in you, Raven, I see the good in you. We can do this together, and then we’ll kick some ass and save Blaine.”

She smiled up at him, melting his fucking heart, chipping away more blackness, letting the light seep in through the cracks.

“Show me the crimson feathers,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to scare you.”

“I’ve faced the Big Bad Wolf and survived. I can handle it,” she chuckled.

What did he do to deserve the remarkable, strong woman sitting beside him? Raven inched off the bed and rose to face her. He’d spent the last few decades hiding the growing number of crimson feathers on his wings; it felt strange to show them off. But at the same time, a weight lifted off his shoulders.

As slowly as he could, he unfurled his wings and extended his right wing straight out to the side to reveal the damning evidence.

Tayla sucked in a breath. “Raven…”

“I know, but there’s only a handful.”

“There aren’t any.”

Wait. “What did you say?”

She frowned. “See for yourself. There are no red feathers, only black.”

Raven peered under his arm, where the path of crimson feathers were just days before. Tayla was right; they were gone. How could that have happened?

He glanced over at Tayla and the realization struck him. All this time, he’d been holding back, closing off his heart, balancing on a tightrope to avoid making a wrong move and putting his brothers in danger. Instead, he’d focused on trying to restore his faith before he became a Fallen. This whole time, the answer, the key to restoring it had been right in front of him. Gabe had told him to listen to his instincts, to stop fighting his path.

Being with Tayla had been his path all along. Gabe had been fucking right, again.

She brushed his cheek. “What are you thinking about?”

He cupped her face in his hands and softly kissed her lips. “It was you. You restored my faith, restored the light in my soul. That must’ve been your Chosen path.”

She smiled. “Maybe it was our path?”

“God, Tayla, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Raven. Now kiss me already.”

****

Raven refused help from Tayla, even though she hovered like he might collapse at any minute, and changed into fresh clothes successfully without passing out. The pain in his stomach had subsided, though a smoldering fire still burned along his biceps with each twist or lift of his arm.

He padded to the bathroom to freshen up. “You sure I can’t convince you to spend the day in bed with me, instead?” he called out.

Tayla appeared in the doorway and his heart skipped a beat. “Not until you’re fully healed, Raven, I mean it. There’s plenty of time, I’m not going anywhere, remember?”

He drew her in for a quick kiss, to hide the new pain growing in his chest. By the time he’d figured out Tayla’s Chosen path, she’d already completed it. No telling at what moment Fate would take her life and recall her soul to the Heavens. The future was yet again in Fate’s hands.

Worry about that later, Raven.

He entwined one hand with Tayla’s and used the other to grip the banister as they descended the stairs together in search of the others. He silently winced each time his foot pressed against the ground and the vibration shook through his body. They followed the trail of voices to the entertainment room and entered the room.

Raine nodded from beside the pool table, chalking the cue gripped in her hand.

River crossed from the bar and gave Raven’s shoulder a squeeze before handing him a bourbon. “You had us worried there, boss.”

“I know. Thanks, River.”

“Next time you decide to black out, man, I'm dumping your ass in a spare room on the ground floor. Three fucking flights of stairs is ridiculous,” Aric grumbled from the couch.

Raven crossed to Aric. “Nice to see you, too. Thanks for the patch-up and…I’m sorry, man.”

Aric rose and slapped palms with him. “It’s good to have you back. It might be wise to catch some rays today, while it’s sunny.” Aric peered around him. “Appreciate you bringing him back, Tayla.”

She smiled and gave Raven’s hand a light squeeze.

Bracing his weight on one hand, Raven eased his aching body onto the couch and held out his arm, motioning for Tayla to curl up beside him, which she did, right where she belonged.

The smell of freshly baked bread drifted into the room a moment before EJ strolled in carrying a tray.

“De-li-very!” EJ announced with Ellen hot on his heels, no doubt having an aneurysm. EJ peered over at Raven. “He lives.”

Did EJ just wink at Tayla?

Tayla chuckled beside him. What the hell?

“Anyone for coffee?” EJ asked, in a high-pitched voice while he placed the platter of bread and cold meats on the mahogany coffee table.

“I think you’ve already had enough,” River teased.

EJ tapped his chin with one finger. “Quite possibly. We’ll be right back,” he chuckled.

“Don't you dare. I can manage.” Ellen shooed EJ away before gliding out of the room.

EJ slumped on the couch beside Aric and exploded in a fit of laughter.

Aric rolled his eyes.

Raven reached forward, swallowing the stinging pain in his arm, and grabbed a plate, piling it with a selection and passed it to Tayla.

“Thank you.” She smiled.

Repeating the process for himself, he piled the plate high to avoid leaning forward again unless absolutely necessary. Like if the house was burning down or something. Even then, maybe he'd reconsider.

He turned to Aric. “Catch me up on what’s been happening.”

“EJ reviewed the chatter while you've been in holiday mode. It seems there's been a large increase in the numbers of Fallen arriving in the area.”

“Over the past few months,” EJ added. “Whoever’s creating them must’ve been planning it, for the numbers to increase so suddenly.”

Raven nudged Tayla closer.

Before he spoke again, Ellen returned with a pitcher of sweet black nectar.

“Thanks, Ellen.”

“You’re welcome, Raven. I'm glad you're up and about again.” She smiled. “Let me know if you need anything else,” she added over her shoulder as she exited.

EJ shuffled forward to the edge of the couch and took charge of filling mugs of steaming java, offering the first one to Tayla.

Raven passed. He couldn’t stand that bitter shit.

“Thanks, EJ.” Tayla cradled the cup between her hands.

“EJ and I think it's all connected,” River said from over by the pool table. “Blaine showing up after being MIA for a decade or so, the increase in Fallen activity in the area, and the frequency of EJ's visions.”

Shit. He’d forgotten all about EJ visions.

“Has Gabe given any hints?” Aric asked, glancing at Raven.

“No, but that's not unusual. Since we've been here, he hasn't been forthcoming with much information, Fate's probably got a tight leash around his neck. I'll ask him, though, when I see him next. If he’s not still pissed at me.”

The conversation effortlessly slipped to casual as they chowed down, sipped hot coffee—or bourbon—and chatted about random topics. Like the fact EJ was finally getting his ass whipped at pool. By Raine.

Sporadically, River leaned over the couch and stuffed some food in his mouth before returning to the pool table. At some point, Ellen refilled the coffee pot and food.

Raven reclined on the couch and peered around the room. The sight made his heart swell. This was it. What he’d longed for. A room filled with family. Guardians he trusted with his life, those he could not imagine living without, and a woman by his side, a soulmate whom he loved more than the Heavens itself.

All of a sudden, his dreary, bleak existence filled with light and, for the first time in millennia, hope.

And he had Tayla to thank for bringing it all together.

Raven sucked in a breath and forced down the shooting pain in his arm as he leaned forward to return his glass and empty plate to the table. Using the chair to brace his weight, he rose to his feet.

The whole room froze, tracking his movements as if he were a frail mortal who might kick the bucket any minute.

“We’re gonna go catch some sun,” he grunted. He held his hand out for Tayla.

“Remind me not to peek out the windows.” EJ smirked.

Raven ignored the dig and wrapped his arm around Tayla’s waist. “I wanna meet before anyone goes out at sundown.”

A chorus of “yeps” and “copy that’s” sounded behind them.

“Take it easy, man,” Aric warned.

Raven nodded before strolling out of the room with Tayla nestled beside him and one destination in mind.

Where the sun was shining, and clothes were optional.