Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen #1)
Author: Jessica Sorensen
1
While sitting in a room, surrounded by powerful vampires, do you ever get the feeling that you're completely out of place? That at any moment one of them would drink your blood? That at any moment one of them will drink your blood? And there's not a damn thing you can do about it because you're not a powerful vampire. You're just a plain, old-well, maybe not old since I'm only eighteen-average vampire, which basically means I'm an eighteen-year-old girl with slightly above average pale skin, super pointy teeth, and a thirst for blood.
That's never happened to you before? Huh, strange. Then again, maybe you don't live in Mystic Willow Bay, a town that's resident to practically every paranormal creature, from vampires to demons to werewolves.
If you don't, consider yourself lucky. Not that you don't live in a weird-ass magical town, but because you're not just an average vampire born into a family of very powerful, very successful vampires.
Take my father for instance. He's head of the Mystic Willow Bay Vampire Council, and helps run and keep order in the vampire kingdom. He's also more powerful and more ancient than most of the vampires in town-a few hundred years old, at least-but looks about thirty due to vampires' sluggish aging process that starts when we reach our twenties. Until then, we age normally. At least, we do if we're born a vampire. If we're changed into one, that's another story altogether. But those species of vampires are a rare occurrence.
My mom isn't as old as my father, but she has more power zipping through her veins. She also owns one of the snazziest blood clubs in the entire town. Any vampire who's any vampire goes there to let loose, feasting on blood and partying. Or, if you're wealthy enough, you get the luxury of drinking Vampire Emperor or Empresses' blood straight from the vein. And their blood not only carries a lot of power, but gives the taster a drop of their power temporarily.
My mom's club is the only place in town that offers such a luxury, since most emperors and empresses don't let average vampires taste their precious blood. How does she manage to get them to do it? She's an empress herself and has all sorts of connections. So is my older sister, Nadine. Or, she will be in a few short weeks, on her twentieth birthday. At least, according to the Eternal Reading she got on her nineteenth birthday, something every vampire is required to get.
An Eternal Reading is basically a fortune telling to see if you're going to be a badass emperor or empress vampire who harbors a lot of power and fights to keep order amongst the vampires. Nadine was stoked when her reading revealed there was a good chance she'd become an empress. I, however, didn't share her squealing enthusiasm. Not out of jealousy, but because the last thing Nadine needs is an extra ego boost, something she proves every time she opens her mouth.
"I wasn't planning on going out tonight," she announces as she checks her reflection in a compact mirror. "But I look too amazing for the whole town not to get the privilege of seeing me. Imagine how pretty I'll look when I become an empress. Or, if I end up being the queen."
Me, my mom, my dad, and her are sitting at the table, eating our dinner and sipping on blood, listening to Nadine ramble on about how amazing she is, which is basically an every night occurrence. Nadine has this belief that she'll become the next vampire queen, not just an empress, even though her reading didn't reveal she would. But, I guess she has a dreamer side and hopes she'll somehow get chosen, anyway.
Becoming queen means she'd be the most powerful vampire in all the world. Same goes for the vampire king. Although, from what I've heard, the queen is supposed to be more powerful than the king. Her main job is to rule over all the vampires and help keep order amongst our kind, which we desperately need right now with all the riots, rebellions, and chaos consuming our town.
The problem is, a king and queen aren't voted into office. They're chosen by Fate through an Eternal Reading. Apparently, Fate has been a bit lazy because we haven't had a queen or king in over a century. Because of that, the vampire population has gone way, way down due to the growing number of murders.
Yes, we definitely need a queen. But not Nadine.
I cringe at the idea of how awful life would be if she did become queen. Talk about mad chaos in the streets.
Stop thinking about it. There's no way it will happen. She didn't get told that in her reading.
Shoving my worried thoughts aside, I cut into my bland chicken and take a bite. The blandness means my mom has been dabbling in blood tasting recently and her taste buds have gotten a little wonky.