“Eew,” Legacy responded, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Momma never gives me oatmeal,” he added with a quick shake of his head.
Chuckling quietly, Zoelyn shook her head at him. “You are so smart for your age, Legacy. I shudder to think of trying to outwit you later,” Her gaze traveled around the room and settled on a small bookshelf. Moving forward slowly she tilted her head quickly scanning over the titles. “How about a story?” she asked, glancing back at him. His expression lightened at once and he nodded quickly. She knew how well he loved stories from listening to Jala nightly. She also knew they always put him to sleep before the end. She doubted the poor kid knew how a single one of his books ended. “Crawl into bed then and tell me which one you want to hear.”
“A knight story,” Legacy responded quickly as he picked his wooden knight up once more and crawled into his bed. Within a breath he was tucked under his blankets with only his small face showing as he watched her select a book from the shelf.
Carefully, she scooted the majority of the toys from beside the bed and sat down close enough that he could hear her clearly if she spoke quietly, but not close enough that he could reach her. The idea of Legacy accidently touching her was almost enough to keep her from going near the child. In all honesty, though, he was the single person in the house that she felt comfortable around. Legacy wasn’t a typical child. He was quiet and thoughtful, with more intelligence than most adults she had met. He was always smiling and she never felt out of place around him. There was no judgment in his eyes, simply acceptance and kindness. It wasn’t that the others in the house were judgmental or cruel, well, aside from Neph. It was that they were all intimidating in their various ways. Legacy wasn’t.
Legacy shifted in the bed and propped his head up on the pillow, more to peer over her shoulder to look at the cover of the book. Smiling, she held it up so he could see the picture. With a grin, he snuggled farther down into his blankets with his toy clutched close to his chest.
“You are going to regret choosing to sleep with that if you roll on it tonight,” Zoelyn informed him with a grin as she opened the book and began to read in a soft voice. She heard him toss and turn a few times behind her, but by the time she had read five pages into the story, it was silent behind her. Closing the book partway, she glanced behind her to find him sound asleep.
Smiling, she leaned back against the end of the bed and opened the book once more. The artwork inside was beautiful and she skipped through the pages admiring each of the carefully inked illustrations. She couldn’t remember if she had ever owned books such as this as a child. All memories before Dominic were lost in a fog.
A scratch at the window drew her attention from the pages and she froze, listening carefully. There were no trees near Legacy’s room, so it hadn’t been a branch against the glass. The noise came again and the window creaked open slowly. Breath held, Zoelyn stared hard into the inky darkness, desperately trying to locate the intruder. A ruffle of feathers sounded and she stared in confusion as a crow hopped off the window ledge and into the room. It settled on the floor quietly and stretched its wings as its form slowly shifted to a man. Hearth-stories flooded her mind as she realized who she was seeing. The black feathered cloak was unmistakable. It was what he wrapped around the children before he carried them off to the Darklands. Zoelyn swallowed heavily as she tried to rationalize what she was seeing. He wasn’t supposed to be real. He was a figure from the stories to frighten the children of Glis into behaving. Slowly she stood on legs that didn’t want to support her and straightened her back as she turned to face the Crow King.
He had been distracted with closing the window, but at the sound of her movement he turned and stared at her with curiosity. His gold eyes trailed across her and then to the door. With a sigh, he smiled and raised a slender dark eyebrow at her in question.
“You can’t have him,” Zoelyn whispered, the words tight in her throat.
“Really?” he asked in amusement. “I think that I can,” he added as he took a step closer to the bed. He moved with a predator’s grace and in utter silence.
“You claim children that sin and Legacy is innocent. You can’t have him,” Zoelyn said in a louder voice as she quickly unbuckled her glove. The realization of why Jala was wary of crows hit her full force and the memory of the High lady’s sadness banished her fear. She could do this. With one touch she could destroy the creature haunting Jala. She could drain him and save Legacy. All she had to do was touch him and the curse would do the rest.
The Crow King watched her pull the glove free and his head cocked to one side. With slow measured steps he moved from the child’s bed toward her. “Are you going to stop me then?” he asked in a low voice that would have been seductive coming from any lips but his.
Swallowing heavily, Zoelyn nodded and held her ground. He stopped just inches from her, so close she could feel his breath. “Just go away and leave him alone. I don’t want to hurt you,” Zoelyn gasped, as her fear came creeping back in. She could smell the blood on his armor and the intensity of his gold eyes made her want to bolt for the door. She wouldn’t abandon Legacy, though. She couldn’t.
“How sweet of you. I’m afraid I can’t do that, though,” he purred as he smiled down at her. His breath smelled of mint and spices, far more pleasant than she had expected from a creature of nightmares.