The Crow King's Wife (24 page)

She looked up at Grim once more once they
were well beyond the earshot of those behind them and her frown
deepened at his expression. His grey eyes were narrowed with
thought and his lips were drawn into a thin line. For the first
time since she had met him she could see where his nickname had
spawned.

Grim noticed her attention and his eyes met
hers for a moment before he returned to studying the grounds before
him. He was still searching for Dray she had no doubts on that, but
his mind was pondering something else entirely; something not very
pleasant at all if his expression was any indication.

“What did you mean back there? When you said
you understood why I avoided crowds now?” Zoelyn asked hesitantly.
There was a quaver in her voice that she wished hadn’t been there,
but the set of his jaw and the dark look on his face had her
nervous.

“Zoe-Lyn.” Grim said quietly, breaking her
name into two syllables as if he were just hearing it for the first
time. His steps slowed and then paused as they passed under a
massive oak. With a sigh he leaned back against it and his eyes
settled on her with such weight that for a moment she felt the urge
to retreat. “You know even when the subject is changed my mind does
not release the previous topic if it held my interest. I mull it
over silently and turn it around in my mind until I am satisfied
that I understand it.”

“Well what have you been pondering then?
Surely you aren’t still worrying yourself over who I dreamed
about?” She tried to force a lighter tone to her voice, but the
effect seemed more nervous than casual to her ears.

“House Delvayon actually.” Grim began and his
jaw clenched on the words. He let out a heavy breath and rubbed the
back of his neck. His gaze lifted from her to study the darkened
sky to the north as he began to speak again. “RenDelvayon’s wife
died over ten years ago. He had two sons and a daughter. Ren killed
his daughter himself during the barbaric ritual of testing their
children’s worth. Kadan as I understand died fighting Rivana as did
Kes the supposed adopted daughter of his house. That leaves
NephonDelvayon and his Aunt KayDelvayon as the sole surviving
members of house Delvayon. Only now you are telling me that Neph is
your family.” His voice trailed off for a moment and she swallowed
heavily at his words. She hadn’t expected him to be so well
informed. His gaze drifted back down to her and he shook his head
slowly as if seeing her for the first time. “You know when they
called you Undrae I thought they were being cruel. I never once
considered they were speaking the truth about you.”

“Grim, I…” Zoelyn began but he held up a hand
to stop her before she could say more. Hesitantly she took a step
back and his expression seemed to darken further.

“You don’t have to explain why you didn’t
tell me. I can fully understand why you didn’t. Honestly I still
had doubts until I saw that look of fear blossom on your face. I
was testing the water so to speak, just voicing a theory. If you
would have laughed and called me a fool I would have let it go, but
you look terrified and ready to bolt so I know I’m right. You are
truly Undrae, and Zoelyn should be Zyi Delvayon. Shade told me of
the last battle in Arovan. He described the magic NephonDelvayon
used to kill Nerath. It’s the same sort of magic used to create
your kind. Neph was too young for such magic when his mother died.
So that leaves only his sister as a possibility, if he truly is
your family that is.” Grim said in a flat level voice. He crossed
his arms over his chest and let out another heavy breath as if
bracing himself.

Silence stretched between them as he studied
her and in that moment her ears caught the faint sound of feathers.
Zoelyn felt her breath slow further as she slowly turned her gaze
to stare up at the large black bird perched in the branches above
Grim. The crow’s attention was fixated on the man, as if it too
held its breath while it waited to see what would happen next.

The few times she had glimpsed a crow in the
past few days she had been unsure if it was truly Seth’s messenger.
This time she was certain the crow above her was Seth’s, and if
Grim moved against her the demon would appear and Grim would die.
That knowledge was both reassuring and terrifying in the same
breath. To have a guardian as powerful as Seth was a security she
had never known before, but the knowledge that he would kill
someone she considered friend as readily as he killed her enemies
left her feeling sickened. Grim was angry, that much was obvious,
but he was a logical man and once the anger passed he would realize
she was the same person he had always known. She was certain of
that.

“I can’t let this pass. I hope you realize
that.” Grim said at last. He seemed completely unaware of her
interest in the crow and she felt a small relief at that. If he had
managed to work through who she truly was taking the sight of a
crow and deducing that Seth was the Crow king wouldn’t be a
difficult matter for him.

“You can’t let what pass?” Zoelyn asked in
confusion. She wasn’t sure if he meant her existence, but she
couldn’t think of much else he could be talking about. Grim was
Glis born and Arovan raised, he knew all of the legends and he had
a druid’s hatred for anything that threatened life…like an
Undrae.

“Neph. Your creation. The magic is forbidden
for a reason.” Grim explained in a quiet voice and his words were
stilted as if he was still forming the thoughts behind them. “I may
have to kill him.” He added in almost an afterthought.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to kill me?”
Zoelyn asked and there was an edge to her voice that drew his
attention instantly.

His expression shifted and he looked almost
shocked at her words. “Kill you?” he stammered incredulously and
shook his head sharply at her as he pushed off the tree. “Do you
even realize what I’m angry about?” he asked in the same tone. He
took two steps toward her and locked his eyes on her. “Zoey he
stole your life from you. He ripped you from the life stream and
forced this unnatural existence on you. If not for him you would
have been reborn. He is the one that cursed you and left you to
suffer alone.” His voice rose with his words and she could see the
full measure of his anger now. Had he been another man, blood would
have already spilled, but Grim wasn’t rash. He only delivered
punishment where he believed it was due, and at the present it was
her brother’s blood he was craving.

“I would have been reborn, possibly in Glis
or maybe in Arovan.” Zoelyn agreed quietly. “Both of which are
ravaged by war and most of the folk there are dead. I might have
been spared death and kept as a breeder in Eldagar when the
Blight’s took the city.” She continued in a sharper voice. “Or I
might have been born in Rivana and learned to wield a sword rather
than my mind. Just think along those lines and maybe you will see
why I don’t hate Neph. He raised me out of love not malice.”

“Everything has a purpose and every twist of
fate has a reason. What may seem like a catastrophe today will be a
blessing tomorrow.” Shade’s light voice broke through the tension
in the air like water dousing a fire.

It was clear by the expression on Grim’s face
that he hadn’t heard Shade approaching either. Shade smiled at them
both then to her dismay he bowed his head in greeting to the crow.
Zoelyn glanced quickly at Grim and watched as the Arovan’s eyes
narrowed.

“Foster says we will find Dray working at
Archery. He also says that Jala will be there as well. Apparently
Lady Merrodin went seeking him at first light.” Shade sighed and
chewed on his lip for a moment as he considered Grim’s dark
expression and then looked to Zoelyn’s pale face. He rubbed his jaw
and stared at them both for a long moment. “Why is it that I seem
to be the only one that realizes we have too many enemies already?”
he spoke the question softly as if addressing himself rather than
either of them. His blue eyes dropped to Grim once more and he
shook his head slowly. “No one can punish Neph more than he is
already punishing himself I’m sure. We don’t have the strength or
the time to fight amongst ourselves. Let it go Caleb.” His words
were spoken gently, but each syllable was laced with command.

Zoelyn braced herself for Grim’s tirade. She
expected him to put Shade in his place either verbally or
physically if it came to that, but to her surprise he did neither.
Shade was already walking away from them, and the look on Grim’s
face was one of acceptance. She had never seen him take an order
from anyone but Micah Arovan and the shock of it left her standing
in stunned silence.

With a grudging nod Grim pushed off the tree
and glanced to Zoelyn. His eyes rose to rest on the crow for a
moment and then he looked back to her with anger still showing on
his face. “You were right. I don’t approve, but then who am I to
say anything about a demon courting an Undrae. It could be
perfectly natural for your kind I suppose.”

The words cut deep, but she did her best to
keep the hurt from her face. He had as much called her a monster.
Grim, her friend, one of the few that had never judged her by the
curse was walking away from her with a look of distaste on his face
that burned deeper than any insult that had ever been thrown at
her. Her chest tightened and she felt the sting of tears in her
eyes. With a slow breath she forced them back and bowed her head.
He hadn’t insulted her, she realized dimly. He had spoken the
truth. She knew how he detested liars, and that was likely why he
had phrased it so harshly. He thought she was a liar and he was
angry. It wasn’t that he hated her for what she was. Once she
explained that she had only just found out what she was Undrae
everything would be right between them again. She seized on that
thought and steadied her breath as she lifted her eyes and followed
silently after the two men. They were a good distance ahead of her,
but that suited her fine. It would give her more time to compose
herself.

Even before she had closed the distance she
could hear Jala’s raised voice. Dray stood back several feet from
everyone and had a pensive look on his face. Shade was rubbing his
neck and staring up at the sky with an expression of complete
exasperation. It was Grim that Jala was addressing in anger Zoelyn
realized as she drew closer. The two of them were facing each other
in what was apparently a heated debate. Both wore stubbornness
plainly and neither looked ready to back down.

Zoelyn glanced past them to Valor who was
frowning deeply and then looked to Shade. They were the most
rational ones as far as she could tell, aside from Dray, but she
knew Dray wouldn’t be willing to speak up amongst so many. Silently
she moved closer to Shade and tugged on his arm lightly. His blue
eyes settled on her and he smiled faintly.

“He is spoiling for a fight today isn’t he?”
Shade sighed and shook his head slowly.

“What started it?” Zoelyn asked softly. From
what she could tell Jala was tearing into Grim about doing what was
right, but she wasn’t sure exactly what Jala was referring to.

“Jala wants to take Dray to Arovan. Caleb
isn’t having it.” Shade explained simply and his faint smile faded
into a frown. “How exactly do you break up a fight between the two
most frightening people you know?” he mused softly but she didn’t
think he was actually speaking to her.

Zoelyn snorted faintly and gave him a bitter
smile. “Like this.” She informed him as she strode forward toward
her friends with a look of determination on her face. Grim was
angry with her and lashing out at Jala because of it. She wasn’t
about to let a fight occur because of it either.

“And it isn’t your decision!” Jala bellowed
in her High Lady voice as Zoelyn calmly walked between the two of
them.

“Well it certainly isn’t yours!” Grim snarled
back and she could see his fist clenching as she looked up between
them. Neither appeared to spare her the slightest bit of attention
as they glowered at each other and both of them looked on the brink
of violence. “How would you know what is best for Arovan?” he
demanded.

“I happen to be betrothed to an Arovan if you
hadn’t noticed. I have discussed this with Valor and this is the
way it should be.” Jala’s voice held the whip of command that sent
everyone in Merro scurrying, but Grim didn’t even flinch at her
tone.

“And have Micah remembered in this fashion? I
don’t think so.” Grim growled.

Zoelyn sighed heavily and braced herself.
Turning sideways she glanced up at both of their faces and then
placed a hand on both of their chests and shoved them away from
each other. Despite the force of her push Grim simply rocked under
her hand while Jala staggered back several steps. “Shut up both of
you.” Zoelyn snapped loudly. “It isn’t either of your choices. It’s
Dray’s choice.” She informed them in a quieter voice as they both
stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.

“Zoey is right.” Shade spoke up loudly before
either of them could recover from their shock. He moved forward
quickly and took a place beside Zoelyn. “Both of you have valid
reasons and both of you have skulls like rocks. You wouldn’t find a
mutual agreement even if it were up to you to decide.” He faced
Jala as he spoke, but glanced back toward Grim as if to assure the
man he was speaking to both of them.

“This isn’t fair to Dray.” Jala protested her
violet eyes flashing with anger. “Caleb acts as if he is the shame
of his family and in truth he could be their salvation.” She added
in what Zoelyn was sure was an attempt at a rational voice.

Grim snorted with disgust. “A Blight the
salvation of Arovan?” he asked in clear disgust. “Do you want to
throw civil war on top of the problems Arovan already faces, Lady
Merrodin? That’s what it would come to if you take him to Elijah.
He will be recognized by the High Lord because Elijah is an
honorable man, and not even General Hai’dia will be able to keep
order after that.”