Chapter 9

Raven POV

I think I am dying. What else could explain my racing heart recently? Lately just having Amon near me sets my heart off. Thinking about him makes my chest tighten and I swear my heart is flying. But whenever he's near me, or start kissing me, I feel like my heart is about to explode. I'm afraid to tell him about the feeling. I don't want him to leave me.

It's been a month since we first kissed. Since then, kissing Amon became second nature. But since then, I noticed a few changes with both Ami and the village chief and head priest. The chief and the priest seemed to be a little weary of me. I kept even further away from them.

Amon on the other hand, couldn't stay away from me. We would spend even longer hours together. The cave we once stayed in, became the newest addition to our meeting spots. When we met there, we would often stay the night. I didn't have to worry about the cold. The heat pushing off Ami kept me warm.

"Little Raven?" His deep voice broke through my thoughts.

Looking up at him, I saw he was leaning against the cave walls. Strange. I didn't feel the tremors I usually feel when he's near. Actually, the tremors were becoming less violent. Back to the slight shaking of my bones and that's it.

Amon walked into the cave and sat next to me. Leaning against his side, he raised his arm and draped it around my shoulders. An image of the swamp popped into my head suddenly. Why did I just see that?

"What's wrong little Raven?"

"Nothing.... Ami can we go for a walk?"

"Of course. Where to?"

"The swamp. There's something I want to see." He looked a little baffled by my request but he obliged. He stood up, helping me up with him. Amon linked his fingers with mine as we walked out the cave. We headed East. While walking, I noticed Ami frequently looking over his shoulder. It was like he was expecting someone to follow us.

Or was he making sure that no one did follow us? At a few points in our walk, he would stop and turn around. I pulled him to a stop after what was the thousandth time. He looked down at me confused.

"What's wrong Ami?"

He tilted his head to the side and smiled. He bent and caught me off guard, kissing me. I blinked several times before wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. I stood on my toes to get closer to him.

Chuckling against my lips, he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up. I laughed. We eventually pulled apart when I needed to breathe. Amon leaned his forehead against mine.

"I'm okay. I'm just..."

He trailed off. He looked over my head. His eyes darkened and a low growl emitted from him. Tugging on his hand, I forced him to look at me.

"What is the matter Ami?"

"Nothing. Let's head to the swamp." He started pulling me. I wanted to stop the walk now. Something was wrong with Ami and I wanted to know what. But Amon didn't give me a chance. His strides got longer and I was jogging to keep up.

Just as I was about to complain, he came to a halt and I walked into his back. I smacked his arm and he looked down at me. I didn't answer him. Instead I looked out at the swamp. I call it a swamp but it was anything but. The waters were clear. The trees growing in the water were lush green. I called it a swamp because I got a marshy feel from it.

What made it unique were the tiny island like shapes dotting the water. It had a total of five. One was easily accessible while the others were further out. Moving away from Ami, I took a running start and jumped onto the first island. The others were to far away to jump. Exhaling through my nose, I leaned against a nearby tree. I watched as the light filtered through the mangrove and shone on the furthest island.

On that island there was a man made structure. It looked like a small building. Wait was that a cross carved into the wall? Oh my god! Amon had joined me by then.

"Ami, is that a tomb?"

"It is."

Amon's POV (The beginning takes place 10 hours before he meets up with Raven)

What the hell am I going to do?! In a few weeks Raven will be eighteen. She is the rightful heir to the throne. I don't care if my power is stolen from me and given to her. But her body will be racked with pain for days after maybe even weeks. When I took the oath to become king, I was weaken for an entire day. The pain I got was like my skin was being peeled from my flesh. My flesh felt like it was being dug into and ripped apart by harpies. And literally every bone in my body snapped and broke only to reform. That was the most excruciating pain I have ever gone through. I don't want Raven to go through that pain. "Your majesty. Are you alright?" Marax asked opening my chambers door. This must look utterly weird for him. Before he had walked in, I was pacing the room while I mentally spoke to myself. I had paused mid stride when he called me. But I do believe that he had seen me pacing like a mad demon before he called out to me. "I'm fine." I replied. Who can help me with this? Only one person I could think of and I'm most certain that he would kill me after. "Alright! I'm going to do it!" I shouted aloud. Marax jumped back and stared at me in confusion. "Sire?" "Nothing Marax. I'm going to the dungeons." With that I walked out, leaving a very confused Marax in my chambers. Making my way down to the dungeons, there was only one thought in my mind. How was I going to tell him about his daughter? I'm just going to wing it. Throwing open his dungeon door, I locked it shut behind me. "Well if it isn't King Amon. How can I help you on this lovely morning?" Ronove asked sarcastically. Ignoring him, I walked up to him, stopping in front of him. "Would you like to see your daughter Ronove?" He narrowed his eyes at me. "She's dead. How can I see the dead? Or did you suddenly learn the art of necromancy?" He arched his brow at the assumption. "I have not learned necromancy nor is your daughter dead. She lives in the village. I have seen her. She..." I didn't get to finish my words. Before I knew it, I was being thrown back and pinned to the wall by an invisible force. Ronove was standing and stalking towards me. His eyes glowing crimson red. Oh crap. Remember when I said he was the last king and he was extremely powerful. Well when I ascended the throne, I never sealed his powers. He gave up willingly so I never saw him as a threat. Now I'm regretting my decision. I used my own powers the shatter the force. Before I could completely break free, Ronove's fist connected with my nose. I felt the crunch of the bone seconds before blood streamed down onto my lips. I kicked him back sending him across the room. Wiping the blood from my mouth, I stalked over to him. He rushed me again. This time he grabbed my face and sent me back, slamming my head into the ground. A crater actually formed where my head hit. "You knew my daughter was alive for a month and you never told me!" He applied pressure to my skull. I felt the bones compress and heard the snap. "Ronove if you kill me, you will be killed as well and you will never meet you daughter!" Those words caused him to pause. Removing his hand, he straightened up. "What do you mean by those words?" "I will take you to see her. You will be able to leave the dungeons with me when I am going to the human realm." Sitting up, I felt the bones heal and snap back into place. I shook my head. He had the intention of killing me. He could actually kill me and regain his throne if he wanted to. So then why doesn't he? "Can I trust you Amon?" "Yes." No. Because I am in love with your daughter. "Ronove, why did you fall in love with a human?" He blink at my question. "What the hell are you asking me?" "Just answer me. Please." He sighed. "I didn't mean to fall in love with her. I was actually going to kill her. But from the moment I saw her I felt as though time stopped. She looked at me with those light brown eyes of hers. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman I ever saw. "Since then I started to leave the castle to see her. It didn't take long for me to get to know her and fall even deeper in love with her. I felt as though I knew her my entire life. She was nineteen when we met. One thing led to another and we found out she was pregnant. That was two years after. "Our baby grew at an alarming rate within her. Human pregnancies last nine months. Demon pregnancies last two months. Her pregnancy lasted five months. It wasn't like we could talk to anyone about it. We had a forbidden love for each other. On the night of the lunar eclipse, she birthed our beautiful baby girl, Raven. It was the most terrifying yet exciting experience for me. For almost a year I spent with them. I never thought of Raven as my heir, but as my daughter. "Eventually reality caught up to me. I spent so much time with her and Raven that I actually forgot that I was King. It was because of that, that I was able to get caught. I don't regret falling in love with her Amon. I do regret her loosing her life because of me." Ronove looked sad after he told me that. I shouldn't have asked. But I needed to know. Unlike him, it wasn't love at first sight for me. I grew to love her after being with her for years. I may have loved her before I even realized it. "She didn't die because of you." I said breaking a long silence that had followed. "What do you mean?" "She was killed because she had refused the advances of the village head. After I had you imprisoned, I followed her around for a while. She kept her baby hidden, that's why I didn't know. But the village chief kept making advances towards her. And she kept refusing him. He killed her for that. I didn't care what happened at the time. But I did bury her because she was once the woman my king had loved." Ronove looked at me before slowly walking towards me. Thinking he was about to attack me again, I braced myself for the impact. Only to have him pull me into an embrace. My body froze when his arms encircled around me. "Thank you. Thank you for telling me that. And for letting me at least see my daughter." He said. "Oh... well... umm....." He moved back laughing. I never had stuttered speech. Yet I think I just did. Damn it. What is the time any way? Oh shit. I have to meet Raven. "I have to go. Ronove I will send down clothes for you. Take a shower by the time." With those words I left him. I needed to shower as well. I was meeting Raven at the cave and I knew just how I was going to let Ronove see her. In order for him to leave the castle without drawing attention to him being gone, I would have to cast the invisibility spell on him. That would also tie our lives together for the period he is invisible. After I had showered and dressed, I returned to the dungeons with a dress shirt and jeans for Ronove. He was seated on the bed with the towel wrapped around his lean waist. He stood up when he saw me, dropping the towel when I handed out the clothes. I don't think I've ever seen someone dressed that quickly. In less than thirty seconds he was fully dressed. He shrugged when I looked at him. "Oh leave me alone. This is the first time I will be out of the dungeons in almost eighteen years." "Let me just do this invisibility spell." Closing my eyes, I quickly chanted in demon language. We both gasped when we literally felt a part of our soul slip out of our body and intertwined with each other. Once it was over, we were both on panting for air. That was the first time I did the invisibility spell. It was more painful than I thought it would have been. The best part about this spell was even though Ronove was invisible to everyone, as the caster, only I could see him. "How long do you plan on resting Amon? Get up and open the portal" Was this man seriously bossing me around? He was. Rolling my eyes I opened the portal and we stepped through. I opened it not too far from the cave. After instructing Ronove to follow behind me silently, I walked into the cave. Raven was sitting on the steps that led to the river. She looked deep in thought. Her long dark hair trailing behind her while she twisted locks around her fingers. I don't think she was even aware that she was doing it. I leaned against the wall of the cave entrance just looking at her. She really was beautiful. "Little Raven." I called to her. She turned at the sound of my voice, a slow smile spread across her face. I walked towards her, sitting down with her. I needed her to see the tomb of her mother. There's only one way for me to do that. While our shoulders were touching, I implanted a suggestion into her mind. The image I let her see was the swamp. I saw her brows frown. Did it work? "What's wrong little Raven?" "Nothing.... Ami can we go for a walk?" "Of course. Where to?" "The swamp. There's something I want to see." Perfect. It worked. Standing up, I helped her up. Linking our fingers together, we walked out the cave. We headed East, in the direction of the swamp. Where was Ronove? Since I linked his life with mine, I could sense where he was. And he wasn't any where near me right now. I kept glancing back in case I spotted him. This didn't go unnoticed by Raven. I think what made it obvious were the constant stops I kept doing. I think she eventually had enough. She had pulled me to a stop. "What's wrong Ami?" She asked so sweetly. I tilted my head to the side before bending and kissing her. Her lips were just so inviting. She was caught off guard but eventually melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I chuckled against her lips when she stood on her toes trying to get closer to me. In turn, I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up. She laughed. We would have kissed longer but she needed to breathe. Pulling apart, I leaned my forehead against hers, while we calmed our ragged breathing. "I'm okay. I'm just..." I trailed off as I finally felt Ronove's presence. Lifting my head, I saw he was standing a few feet behind her. His eyes were locked on my arms around her waist. Shit. Well I have some explaining to do. Ronove made a move to walk away. I growled low, but loud enough for him to hear. He immediately stopped. Raven tugged on my hand. I looked down at her. She looked worried. "What's the matter Amon?" "Nothing. Let's just head to the swamp." I started to pull her. I was pissed now all because of Ronove. I sensed Raven's spirits dampened. I knew she didn't want to go to the swamp again. But it was necessary. Why the hell did her dad piss me off? But I am the one at fault. I mean, I'm the one who's in love with the man's daughter. I came to an abrupt halt causing Raven to walk into my back. I heard her grumbling complains to herself. She smacked my arm but ignored me. Focusing her attention on the swamp, she took in the scenery before her. Pulling away from me, she took a running start and jumped onto the island closest to us. She landed perfectly in the middle. I couldn't help but smile. While Raven was distracted, I quickly turned to Ronove and signaled him to jump the island with us. He rolled his eyes but did it, keeping his distance from Raven. When I joined them, they were both concentrating on the furthest island in the swamp. There was a man made tomb located in the middle of it. It was her mother's tomb. Did either of them notice it? Ronove's eyes widen slowly. He figured it out. He looked at me but my attention was on Raven. Why hadn't she seen the tomb as yet? Just as I thought those words, she turned to me. "Ami, is that a tomb?" "It is."