Chapter 243: They said
[ The Dark, Mysterious landscape where reign the Ravens]
"Damn, birds!"
Selene was dumped from the sky, like literal trash.
The flock screeched above her as though satisfied with their work, then scattered into the shadows, wings beating against the blackened sky.
Selene’s body hit the tar like liquid with a sickening splash.
The foul stench clung to her nostrils,coating her skin like a second, suffocating flesh. She gagged as she dragged herself forward,not bothering to get rid of the stench because by now she knew it was useless.
She scurried forward on all fours, leaving black trails in her wake.
"Get off me," she spat weakly at the sticky sludge, her words dissolving into ragged coughs.
At the base of the fortress door, her trembling hand scraped against the cold stone. She pulled herself up, dripping...her gown torn, hair plastered to her face.
She pushed one foot across the threshold.
And froze.
Two black boots blocked her path.
Selene’s eyes lifted.
Ravena stood there, arms folded neatly across her chest, a shadow painted in cruel elegance. Her lips curved into a mocking smirk.
"Well, well..." Ravena’s voice dripped with amusement, curling like smoke. "This isn’t the same face you painted on when you left. Not the same gown either. You look like you crawled out of a gutter." She tilted her head, feigning concern. "Tell me, Selene...how many men did you fuck on your way here? Why are you so wet?"
Selene’s teeth ground together, her crimson eyes burning with humiliation. She tried to step past, but Ravena’s hand shot out, cold fingers clamping around her arm like iron.
"You forget yourself," Ravena hissed, yanking her back. "You don’t waltz in dripping filth. How dare you walk away in silence? Did you forget that you need to report?Or did your tiny, rotted brain fail to recall your duty?"
Selene wrenched weakly, but her strength betrayed her. The tar weighed her down like chains. Her knees buckled, hitting the stone with a dull thud.
"They..." Her voice cracked. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "They threw me away. Like a dog. Said I wasn’t worthy. That the invitation wasn’t mine to wield."
Ravena’s eyes narrowed, but her smirk deepened. She crouched down, circling Selene slowly, deliberately, like a predator savoring its prey.
"And whose, then?" she pressed, each word slow, savoring. "Whose was it meant for?"
Selene’s nails scraped the stone, black tar oozing from her sleeves. "The Head of RavenAsh. That’s what they said."
Silence stretched.
Ravena rose to her full height, her cloak swishing like the beating of wings. She didn’t even glance at Selene now...her voice was thoughtful, low.
"Hmm. So... not only does this new force know we exist..." Her eyes gleamed with something dangerous. "...they know our leader."
Her boot nudged Selene’s slumped shoulder. "What else, worm?"
Selene shuddered, her breath rattling. "The ravens..." Her throat closed, but she forced the words out. "...they controlled the ravens. Made them drag me back. Against my will."
Ravena stopped dead.
Her head turned slowly...sharply. Her eyes widened, just slightly...but enough.
"What?" Her voice cracked like lightning across the stones.
Selene flinched, covering her head with her filthy hands. "It’s true! They bent the flock...made them obey!"
For the first time, Ravena’s composure slipped. Her spine stiffened, her lips curling back, breath shallow.
"That’s..." she whispered, barely to herself, "impossible.
Selene dragged her nails across the stone floor as she pushed herself upright, the tar still dripping,smudging the floor.Her head tilted, eyes gleaming spitefully as she noticed the first hairline crack in Ravena’s control.
Selene’s voice was low, sultry yet broken."They didn’t just throw me away, Ravena... they mocked us."
Ravena’s sharp gaze cut towards her, but she said nothing. Selene’s lips curled into the faintest smirk.
She pressed on. "They called the Ravens filthy scavengers. Said we were nothing but carrion feeders who peck on the scraps of others’ power."
Ravena’s jaw flexed, but still she stood silent, her fingers tapping against her arm.
Selene’s eyes narrowed, voice dripping with malice. "They laughed, Ravena. Laughed and said the great Head of RavenAsh would never...could never...step foot in their fortress. Said they are banning us for life. "
Ravena’s head snapped towards her now, a dangerous glimmer in her eyes.
She hissed. "Careful, Selene. Be careful with what you are reporting."
But Selene only took a step closer, dripping tar onto the ground like blood.
She whispered, savoring every word. "They spat on the ground, called you a whore in feathers. Said the fortress would burn each raven to ash before allowing them through its doors."
Ravena’s lips peeled back in a snarl, a sound somewhere between a laugh and a growl bubbling in her chest.
Then she snapped. "They dared? Those fucking little worms dared to say that?"
Selene bit down on her smile, pretending to tremble but her eyes never left Ravena’s face.
Selene piled on, voice shaking as if wounded.
"They said these birds were toys to them. That the fortress children could leash these ravens with string and parade them like dirty pets. That RavenAsh was..."
She gasped theatrically, covering her mouth, as though the words were too vile to repeat.Ravena roared. "Say it!"
Selene smirked slowly before spitting down."They said RavenAsh is nothing but a nest of rotting old cunts!"
The silence that followed was like the dip before the storm.
Ravena’s entire frame quivered, her nails digging so deep into her palms black blood trickled down her hands.
"I will gut them. I will fucking gut every last one of them. Fortress,my foot...I will tear their walls down stone by stone and hang their entrails from the ramparts." Ravena growled.
Selene, standing back in the corner, finally let the smirk blossom into full satisfaction.
"That’s the Ravena I know. The Ravena they should fear." She almost purred with satisfaction.
"I will drown that fortress in blood. Every occupant, every child, every stone will belong to me,begging for mercy,before I turn them to coal..."
Selene lowered her gaze demurely, hiding the wicked delight dancing in her eyes as she whispered to herself, "Good work, girl! "