บท 165: Chapter 165: The Forgotten Inn
Jude POV
He stood under a swirling, stormy sky, his feet freezing in leather boots on the snow-covered ground. In front of him, an inn with a high tower dominated the landscape. What he found peculiar was that bare, gnarled branches grew out of the tower and the spire on top, which had a cross affixed to it. The whole scene seemed eerie.
Hades, beside him, whispered, "I know this place."
That couldn't be comforting.
Jude turned back the way they came. Stretching down into mists, the mountain slope looked fraught with danger for any traveler who ventured out in this wintry world.
Turning back to the inn, he noticed with relief that yellow light spilled out of the windows, at least. The faint smell of roasting meat indicated life within the wooden walls. Several exits and small rooms protruded from the inn's front section. Steep stone steps led up to the well-lit wooden front door of the inn.
"Should we go inside?" Jude asked.
Hades looked at him, baffled. "Of course. It's a dream, and we're clearly meant to go inside. I don't fancy the path behind us, do you?"
Jude looked down, noticing his clothes. He wore a heavy woolen cloak and his merchant outfit from posing as a human businessman. Hades was dressed similarly. His golden eyes held a look of impatience.
"Alright, alright, have it your way." Jude strode up the steps, eager to get out of the cold.
The inn door didn't budge, locked by a large iron clasp with a red ruby set in it.
Jude tried opening it, but he couldn't find any knob or latch. He pressed the red ruby, and a faint glow flickered, then faded. "You try," he encouraged Hades.
Hades pressed the stone as well, and the same thing happened. The lock didn't budge, however. Jude looked at Hades. "Maybe if we both try?" he suggested.
They both pushed the ruby, and it lit up with an unearthly glow. The lock clicked open, and the door swung open as well, yellow light spilling out onto the steps.
Jude and Hades entered the inn ...
And Jude sat up, wide awake.
Pale yellow shafts of sun shone down on him as he lay in the soft, fresh morning air outside the hills near Graywolf City. Ravyn lay on her side next to him, her cheek resting on her arm, her back to him.
Hades whispered inside his head, "Our mate looks mighty fine in the morning, doesn't she?"
Jude privately agreed, rolling over and spooning Ravyn. Surrounding her with the warmth of his body. Quietly, Ravyn slept, her soft breathing the best sound in the world.
Jude's lips brushed her cheek. Which meant Hades kissed her there as well. It felt unusually intimate, sharing Ravyn like this in a novel way. Unsettling.
"I like it," Hades responded in his mind.
Jude's wolf Arcturus seemed to agree, howling softly.
Rubbing his nose against Ravyn's hair, he kissed her cheek. Cuddling and kissing her like this was the perfect antidote to the unsettling dream last night.
"I have no desire to see that place again," Hades thought, with a flicker of fear.
"Let's not think about it," Jude suggested.
Hades' voice held a note of warning. "But I'm afraid we don't have that luxury, unfortunately. We didn't have that dream by accident. The Inn at the Crossroads only appears at a time of great upheaval."
"Never heard of it." Jude felt a shiver ripple over him that had nothing to do with lying in the grass naked in the early morning. "Is it something that witches and wizards know about?"
"Not sure. You'd have to ask our mate." Hades sounded peeved that he didn't know more about the ominous inn. "I've only been there once."
"Evidently, it made an impression," Jude coaxed him to reveal more. "Where is it?"
Hades paused. "It's in Caden Wolfbane's territory. Wolfspeaker Pack territory."
That interested Jude. "Why would such a mysterious inn appear there?"
Hades seemed baffled, too. "Moon Goddess only knows--maybe because it's a completely frozen wasteland?"
Jude inhaled Ravyn's hair, which smelled of wet grass, and nuzzled her neck. In her slumber, she mumbled and pressed against him, curling up.
"This is the life," Hades proclaimed, with a note of awe.
"You didn't have this before?" Jude tentatively asked. "With Morgana? Are you still ..."
"NO. Not mated to her. If the bond wasn't broken before, it is now."
Jude breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good, one complication we don't have to worry about ... But with any of your other lovers, you didn't ..."
"Ego, Jude. Ego, and convenience, and power. And lust. I suppose with a few of them, there was affection involved. And NO, Cyran wasn't one of them. I'm not that depraved. He's my blood, after all." A flicker of guilt appeared in Hades' voice. "Even though what I did to him was even worse than incest. I'm just grateful the Dark Goddess thought of Garnet as a threat and I ignored her ..."
Ravyn stirred, and mumbled out loud, "Will you two keep it down? I can hear you, and I'm trying to sleep, thank you very much. Last night was a rough night."
* * * * *
Ravyn POV
Hades' remorse felt like a dozen tiny pinpricks. If someone had asked her whether Hades could repent, she'd have laughed. But now ... he sounded deeply offended by the idea that he'd ever commit an unnatural act with Cyran.
It wasn't news to her that the Dark Goddess feared Garnet more. Garnet was always the stronger of the twins, at least outwardly. But Garnet often maintained that she thought of Cyran as the tougher one, given what he'd endured, coming back from utter ruin and rebuilding his life. Not to mention delivering a knockout blow to the Dark Goddess, even temporarily. Cyran's support of Hades weakened the fiend's power even further.
Jude nuzzled Ravyn. "We're both sorry, love."
She lay contentedly, enjoying his efforts to literally kiss up to her. "Hades has paid for what he did and then some."
Jude kissed her temple. "He says not nearly enough, but he'll strive every day to deserve the fresh start he's been given."
Ravyn could smell a cooking fire and the mouthwatering scent of roasting boar. "Looks like Cyran has been busy this morning."
Jude sighed, clasping her in his arms. "We shouldn't let such a succulent boar go to waste."
"No, that would be ungrateful."
She leaned in, savoring the feel of Jude and Hades surrounding her. Now that she had time to get used to the idea, having two mates in one didn't seem like the worst situation in the world. In fact, she rather suspected they'd spoil her rotten. And she'd give them both all the love in her heart.
Take that, Dark Goddess.
Jude laughed, low and deep, signifying that Hades had seized the spotlight. "I love the way you think, Ravyn. And I quite agree. She's unprepared for basic love, kindness, and decency." A remorseful note in his voice. "I don't know how you can forgive me after Lilia's pain ..."
Ravyn stroked Jude's masterful hands. "Did you ever think that your schemes led her to her destiny? I'm not saying that I won't try to expel you into the void if you do it again--"
"I expect no less. But thank you. She was destined to be Dane's Luna. To change the shifters and the witches forever."
He kissed her shoulder in a way that made her eyes roll back in her head. Jude Faolan did NOT know how to hit that pleasure spot.
"Careful," she murmured, breathless. "We don't want that boar to burn, and both Jude and I are eating for two."
His dark, rich laughter rippled in the air. "Hmmm, I suppose not. It smells delicious."
He rose to his feet and helped her up. Hand in hand, they strolled over to the orange-and-yellow cooking fire leaping merrily in a fire pit that Cyran had dug. The Crimsontail Regent Alpha sat cross-legged, turning the massive boar on a spit. His good morning smile looked brighter than the fire.
"It's almost ready," he said, gesturing to a spot by the fire. "Come and eat breakfast. If there's anything left, we'll take it back for the family."
Jude smirked. "I'm technically eating for two, and so is Ravyn. Taking scraps back to the family would be an insult. Besides, the cooks overdid the food for the feast--there's plenty left over."
Cyran returned the smile. "Yes, with all the excitement, the Crestas and Sinsworths and Faolans were a bit too occupied to eat. Breakfast this morning will be different. I imagine there'll be nothing left by the time we stroll into Faolan Castle ... and then some of us will have to think about going home to our packs."
Ravyn felt a pang. "Of course. You can't leave Evenhide and the Crimsontail Shadows and the Wolfspeaker Pack leaderless for long ... but Jude, what about your dream? You dreamed about the Forgotten Inn."
Jude bit back a curse. "Ravyn ..."
"He's Hades' blood," she defended, turning a delicate pink. "And he's experienced the same visions as Hades in the past."
Cyran's eyes widened. "The Forgotten Inn? That's what my dream was about?"
Jude sighed. "I think we have a lot to talk about ... and to bring to the family's attention. Are you ever going to give us some of that boar?"
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AmandaMadden
AmandaMadden Forgotten Inn inspiration by @FrancesFantasy on NightCafe, where I generated this cover and a lot of my concept art for my books (I'm KWriter there...)
Hades is becoming such a deep character...
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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