Midnight's End: Raven Queen's Harem Part 6 Read online

  Midnight’s End

  The Raven Queen’s Harem Book 6

  Angel Lawson

  Contents

  Untitled

  Part I

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Epilogue

  Untitled

  Untitled

  Untitled

  Midnight’s End

  Raven Queen’s Harem

  By Angel Lawson

  Thank you for sharing this series with me. I’ve loved entering the world of Reverse Harem books and I’m hooked on the style, readers and amazing community.

  Thank you for giving me a place to tell the story of my ravens (or crows really, as we call them in the south.) For years I had five crows that followed me. Greeted me when I walked outside. Said hello and trailed me on walks. I had a million stories wound up in my head about these guys but I never knew how to do it…there were FIVE of them. A whole murder. None were better than the other.

  And that’s why I love reverse harem. The genre gave my birds a place to fly.

  Thank you.

  Please make sure to follow my Facebook group and mailing list for future projects! (including two announced at the back of this book!)

  Untitled

  One for sorrow,

  Two for mirth

  Three for a funeral,

  Four for birth

  Five for Heaven

  Six for Hell

  Seven for the devil, his own self

  1

  Dylan

  Dawn breaks over Central Park, bringing light after another sleepless night. The Raven Guard is nearly whole, but the impact of the events in the Otherside is worse than when Bunny lost use of his wing. We’re lame and incomplete, lacking a member that may never return, and painfully missing our queen.

  Our mission is clear: heal the sick, build an army. Both were directives Morgan declared before she abandoned us, slipping away in the Otherside’s core. None of us believe she was taken against her will. No, Morgan has a mind of her own, a plan she has chosen not to share with us, and as her loyal Guardians we have little choice but to do as we’re told.

  She needs us now more than ever.

  “How the hell are we going to find an army?” Damien asks across the room. I listen as my brothers bicker over the same argument. Who does she expect us to recruit? How do we know who to trust? How long can she wait? What if we’re too late?

  “I’ll make a list,” Sam says. “We have allies.”

  Clinton replies in a low growl. “Do we? People we trust?”

  I watch him closely. He’s been jaded since his time in the dungeons. Paranoid. If he hadn’t had healing time with Morgan…only the gods know what mental state he’d be in now. Unfortunately, he’s right. Now that the three parts of the Darkness are together, sides will be taken. Those who want the apocalypse on the Earth realm, and those who will fight with us to stop it.

  “Make a list of who we need to approach,” I tell Sam. “We’ll find enough warriors to return with us.”

  “And if we don’t?”

  A shadow passes by the door and all of us look toward it. We aren’t alone in the house. Hildi is here. Sue and Davis helped remove the corpse of her partner Andi moments before our return. We were too late with the cure, at least to spare her life. Adding another layer of grief in the house is hard to manage.

  Sam’s question still lingers, waiting to be answered.

  I take one last look out the window at the cloudless, blue sky outside. It’s the exact opposite of what Morgan will see from the Otherside. Turning to face my brothers, I declare, “Then we go back and fight alone.”

  2

  Morgan

  The strings tighten, pulling hard against my waist.

  “Ouch,” I say, grunting through the discomfort and pain jabbing into my ribs. “Is this really necessary?”

  “You’ve been invited to a formal dinner with the Morrigan and her court,” Nevis says, pushing her knee into my back for leverage. I buckle, but the corset doesn’t allow me to move far. “This is considered appropriate dress.”

  “She must plan to kill me in this. Because there’s no way I can defend myself while wearing this wretched thing.”

  Nevis replies with final hard yank.

  Truthfully, the gown is exquisite. The fabric is a dark blue silk, embroidered with tiny gold stitching. The hem grazes the floor and the skirt is fluffed out with thick crinoline. A glance down reveals that my breasts are an asset I’d never fully realized. Just seeing the whole outfit, along with my carefully arranged hair and makeup, in the mirror brings me to a halt.

  I’m not here to win beauty pageants or attend royal dinners. I’m here to kill the queen, destroy the three and go home with my Raven Guard to live happily ever after.

  That’s the only fairy tale I want.

  Nevis, on the other hand, has other plans.

  “Her primary weakness is your sexuality. The way you’ve embraced it and your harem of lovers, her former soldiers. Your connection with them drives her mad. But most of all, it gives you strength. And you must play to your strong points over the next three days.”

  The Morrigan announced that the binding ceremony will take place in three days. Apparently the best time to perform such magic is during the three full moons. Once the spell and ceremony take place, Anita, the Morrigan, and I will join together into one badass queen.

  Oh, and then we’ll conquer the Earth realm by spreading plague, death, and destruction, just like the Morrigan did in her own world all those years ago.

  At least, that’s her plan. I have another. Well, sort of. It’s being formulated and relies heavily on my guardians returning with an army, Nevis and her underground dwellers, and Bunny.

  Yes, I’m relying on Bunny, my conflicted and confused guardian, to take down the Morrigan. What possibly could go wrong?

  “So, what?” I ask Nevis, who can’t stop staring at my ample cleavage. “I’m supposed to flaunt my tits and she’ll back down?”

  “No,” the woman says, rolling her eyes. She’d been assigned to me when I first arrived, and she saved me from a violent assault from Casteel, the Morrigan’s commander. I learned soon after that she was part of an entire underground community that had lived and prospered after the Morrigan ravaged their world eons ago. Nevis is clever and knows the Queen well. She has spies everywhere, and although it’s uncomfortable to treat her as my slave, we both know it’s for a greater good. “It will unnerve her and reinforce the fact she can never get over the Cu’s rejection. That betrayal consumes her every moment and every deed.”

  “
Won’t that just make her angry?” The last thing I want is to end up in the dungeons. “And seriously, that girl needs to get over it.”

  “She’s already angry. Your strength—your sexuality—is something she desires more than anything else. Think of how strong she would be with the true love of her own lover, much less a harem? Her jealousy will keep her focused on the ceremony and taking that strength for herself while giving us time to get ourselves in order.”

  I nod, hoping she’s right. And I hope my Guardians return in time.

  Taking one last look at myself in the mirror, I tug up the bodice of my dress, hoping to cover my chest a little better. Nevis steps forward and yanks it right back down. I sigh and hope I can get through the meal without passing out from the tight corset.

  “Okay then, dinner. Anything else I should be prepared for?”

  Nevis looks like a young woman but is much older. The healing springs below the castle keep her youthful but she has the wisdom of decades of life. Her eyes are steel, holding mine steady as she delivers her final directive. “One small thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re going to have to forgive Bunny.”

  3

  Morgan

  “It’s not possible.” The words come out in a low hiss, as we’ve left my quarters and are walking down the hall. Nevis is three steps behind me, partially because of her height. The rest is due to the fact she’s my servant and shouldn’t walk near me anyway. At least, that’s what she says. I’m not well-versed in slave/prisoner etiquette.

  Nevis doesn’t reply and keeps her eyes trained on the ground. Two guards walk within striking distance and I know I should keep my mouth shut, but forgive Bunny?

  Hell. No.

  Just thinking about it makes my blood turn to a raging boil.

  We arrive at the main hall and the doors open wide, revealing two long tables down the side of the room and one up on a dais, overlooking the floor. Three ornate chairs wait in the middle. There’s little doubt one of those is for me.

  Although the soldiers are nearby, I’m not in shackles. There are no weapons pointed at me (at least that I can see) but a wave of panic rolls over me when I spot Anita coming down the hall toward us. I reach for my blade normally tucked by my side and come up with nothing but a handful of silk.

  “Oh here we go,” I mutter to myself, because only the gods know what kind of mindset she’s in today.

  “Hello, Morgan,” she says, swishing my way in a beautiful gown of her own. The fabric is in a similar cut to my own, but instead a deep emerald green that looks flattering with her blonde hair. We assess one another, physically as well as mentally. Despite her smile, I catch the tic in her left eye.

  I grunt in reply.

  The third piece of the Morrigan’s puzzle is Anita. Her twin, Xavier, was a sacrifice to the Morrigan when our bond allowed the plague to slip from me to him. After his death, Anita took the virus from me and passed it along the citizens of New York before I caught and imprisoned her. Her connection to the Morrigan gives her immunity, but it also simply makes her a pawn.

  She deserves death for what she’s done but neither the Morrigan nor I can take her life. Not yet. We need her for the ceremony. My only hope is once her usefulness is over, I can slit her throat myself.

  My murderous thoughts must be evident on my face,as a small cough and nudge from Nevis makes me snap my eyes to the room. All eyes are on the two of us and we line up, side by side, and walk down the black rug that leads to the main table.

  Four huge stone fireplaces sit against the walls with massive fires burning in them to take the chill off the room. Tapestries hang from the ceiling, each emblazoned with images from long ago battles. The one commonality is the dark raven flying across the sky in each and every one.

  “So they’re letting you walk around without chains?” Anita asks, glancing around at the dozens of soldiers that flank the walls of the room. She gives the one closest to us a flirtatious smile and he stands a little straighter. “I guess most of these guys have good aim.”

  “Seems like you’d be a little nicer to me since I got you a free ride back to this hellhole,” I reply. The men and women sitting at the tables lining the aisle watch us like celebrities on the red carpet. Many smile. A few narrow their eyes. I don’t understand these people and the world the Morrigan has built for herself. Do they even know what they’re missing?

  “I do appreciate that,” Anita whispers. “Although I do wonder how angry your little birds were when they realized you bailed on them.”

  I cut her a glance. We’re approaching the dais, where two servants in fine clothing each extend an arm, directing us to walk away from one another and around the back of the table. Before we part, I grab Anita by the arm and she stops, studying me.

  “Never speak of my Guardians again.”

  The smallest curve graces her lips and she nods, knowing she hit me on a sore spot. I push back my shoulders and walk up the steps, holding my hem from the ground. The instant we step behind our seats a call breaks through the crowd, echoing off the stone walls.

  “All stand for the Queen of Ravens,” the voice announces.

  The response is instant, something I’ve never seen outside of a movie. People scramble to their feet, dropping their drinks to the table, scuffing the floor with their chair legs. Soon the entire room is on their knees, everyone including Anita.

  A sharp jab to the back of my knees with the butt of the nearest soldier’s blade forces me down as well.

  She arrives in a wave of frigid air, magic in her every step. There’s a darkness, an ancient power that I have tasted more than once, and the link between us begs to drink from her well of energy once again.

  I swallow back the desire, seeking the peace and control my Guardians taught me to draw from. After my healing session with three of them at once and days of repeated fueling with Dylan before I arrived in the Otherside, I am strong, but just being in her presence makes me feel weaker.

  The Morrigan is a stunning woman. Her hair is long and sleek, her body curvy and strong. Her eyes are the darkest obsidian, filled with eons of wisdom, rage, and death. There’s evidence that she maintains her youth from the water that flows beneath the castle, and there is no doubt that everyone in the room worships her as much as they fear her.

  That’s when I spy the man behind her.

  Bunny.

  Sweet, sexy, kind, and artistic Bunny.

  My betrayer.

  My savior.

  My…I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-him-Guardian.

  As much as I hate the way the Morrigan makes me feel, dammit, Bunny makes me feel worse. Just seeing him standing there is like a punch in the gut, or really, like he’s reaching across the long table and ripping my heart out with his bare hands.

  “Forgive Bunny.” That’s what Nevis said back in the room. He watches me now, his copper eyes taking me in. Despite my anger with him, the spark flares between us—he is one of my mates, after all—which is why his betrayal cuts to the bone.

  There’s little to no chance I’m forgiving him. Not in this realm or any other. Not for what he did to me, the risk he exposed our world to, and certainly not for what he did to the other Guardians.

  The Morrigan slithers across the dais, her eyes gliding past Anita and then me. Her chair is held out and in moments she’s sitting above the rest of the room, waving her hands as an indication to sit.

  I stare at her, my jaw hanging because I cannot understand this world.

  The Morrigan glances at me and says, “Sit, and shut your mouth. A fly will get in there.”

  I regain my senses. “I doubt flies live in such an icy realm.”

  Her black eyes penetrate me and I feel the cold, not only on my skin, but in my heart. “It’s unfortunate you’re only here for the three days, Nemain, we could have had such fun together.”

  “Nemain?” I ask, hardly aware of the servants loading the table with food. The spicy scents fill my nostr
ils and my stomach rumbles with hunger. “What does that mean?”

  “Long ago, that was your name.” She cocks a smile at me. “Mine is Anand, by the way. I’m assuming that your Sentinel never told you. God forbid he humanize me in any way.” When I look confused, she laughs. “The Morrigan is my title.”

  “What about her?” I ask, looking over at Anita.

  “Macha,” the Queen replies. “Once upon a time, we were three strong.” She looks out the window at the rising moon. “Soon, it will happen again.”

  Wine is poured and I help myself to a full glass. I watch as our plates are filled and forgo paranoia over the strange meal and dig in. The meat is tasty although of a mystery origin, and I don’t dare ask what sort of animal it’s from.

  Bunny sits at the end of the table, just below ours. It’s obvious The Morrigan—or Anand—wants him in my line of vision. She watches us, small evil smiles gracing her lips as we avoid one another. I finally turn to her and say, “Why didn’t you kill him?”

  She looks down at Bunny with sad apathy. “I admit he’s useless as a warrior, but his skills in the magical arts are extraordinary. It would be a waste to dispose of him.”