Raven's eyes flew open. She was naked. Why am I naked? She then felt an arm snake around her waist. For a split second, she panicked, thinking it was Slaede. Turning her head, she breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't Slaede, it was Damyan.
The moon shone through the tent flap, its beam landing perfectly on Damyan. Raven smiled as she thought back to what had happened earlier. Raven's breathing became labored as Damyan moved over her, in her. This feeling was foreign. A strange warmth coiled in her lower stomach as something in her tightened, begging to be released. "Damyan," she breathed nervously.
"It's okay, you're okay," he paused before gently kissing her, caressing her face. "Do you trust me?" he asked again.
"I trust you," Raven breathed. He kissed her one more time as he resumed.
Raven blushed. What had followed was the strangest, most intense sensation she'd ever felt. She even called out Damyan's name. Called out, Raven scoffed inwardly, more like screamed. Raven blushed at the memory. She had no clue what came over her, but it had felt good. She never thought sex could feel good, but tonight had proven her wrong. It felt great! She wanted to feel that way again, with Damyan. She frowned. I can't. She shifted onto her back and sighed. She was content and safe…but her family was not. Her smile left her face as she remembered her talk with Maya and the vision of Damyan dying. "I can't stay here," she whispered.
Raven needed to be careful. She had to move very slowly and very quietly. She slowly removed Damyan's arm from around her waist and crawled away.
"Raven," Damyan breathed. Raven froze, staring back at the assassin. She breathed a sigh of relief. Dreaming. "Jhon, you're an idiot," Damyan muttered in his sleep again. Raven nearly laughed at that as tears gathered in her eyes. She would miss him.
Blindly feeling around, she found the prostitute dress and Damyan's tunic. She quickly dressed. "Bye, Damyan," she whispered, kissing his cheek. She then slowly left the tent.
The gods must be on her side. Not one person saw her, and those who did didn't spare her anything other than a glance. She sneaked her way into the makeshift stable and found Aelfred the camel – saddled and everything. Yeah, the gods are definitely on my side. "Will you help me?" she asked the camel, reaching out with her hand, letting her powers flow through. Aelfred slowly lowered herself to the ground. Raven smiled.
Raven gingerly climbed on the camel, grasping the reins tightly when Aelfred stood to her feet. "Woah," Raven gasped. "Hyah," she urged the camel like she'd seen Damyan do.
Sneaking past the night sentries, amazingly, and out of the city, she urged the camel into a gentle gait. After walking a couple of miles, Raven turned back to look at Themyscira one last time. It looked so tiny from where she sat atop a dune. Her heart broke knowing this would be the last time she saw it. "Goodbye, Themyscira," she said brokenly as tears ran down her face. "Goodbye, Damyan." She then turned towards Slaede's city and never once looked back.
"Goodbye, Damyan." Damyan's eyes flew open. What? What? "What?" He shot straight up. "Raven," he turned to her, only to find the space empty. "Raven?" He looked around. Her clothes were gone. "Crap." Where was she? Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. Damyan quickly dressed and then sprinted to the stable. "Aelfred!" he yelled, looking around desperately. "Damn it!" he swore. She'd gone back. Damyan's heart raced in his chest as he tried to come up with a plan. The queen. Damyan needed to alert the queen.
"Of course, she went back," Jason rolled his eyes. He was annoyed at having been woken from his deep slumber to discuss the disappearance of a girl he didn't care about. "Even you must have seen this coming." He turned his attention to Queen Hippolyta. "Obviously, she's returning to Slaede's warm embrace now that she's found us. We need to leave quickly."
"She went back to save her family," Damyan said.
"What are you talking about?" Cassie asked, stepping forward. "She doesn't have a family."
"Uh, yeah she does," Jhon came to Raven's defense. "They're in dungeons." Damyan gave him a questioning look. "I eavesdropped earlier," he answered Damyan's unspoken question.
"What? Did you fuck her or something?" Jason glared at Damyan. Protestations followed that statement.
"Jason!"
"Language."
"No need to be crass."
Damyan clenched his jaw but said nothing.
"Oh my gods!" Jason scoffed. "You did! You fu-"
"Jason," Queen Hippolyta glared.
"She's scared," Damyan pleaded with Queen Hippolyta, "she's going back to protect her family because she believes she's the only one who can." Queen Hippolyta looked at the young man understandingly.
"We're not going to war with Slaede over her," Jason spat.
"So, we just stay hidden forever – until he dies?" Damyan asked. "I don't know if you know this, but his predecessor – Graent – is much worse. He's unpredictable, deranged, and violent."
"Did your sorceress friend tell you that?" Cassie asked.
"Enough," the queen held up a hand. "Damyan is right." Surprised gasps followed that statement. "It's time to stop running; it's time to stop hiding."
"I agree," Princess Diana stepped forward. "We owe her."
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, voicing the question everyone else was thinking.
"We'll explain later," Queen Hippolyta answered. "For now, prepare the warriors. We leave at morning twilight."
"You know," Viktor stepped forward before anyone could move, "I've been working on something that may be of great help to us."
"What is it?" Kal-el asked.
"I don't know what to call it," Viktor answered, "but I do know it's very…explosive."