Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen #1)(2)

"God, I'm so gorgeous," Nadine continues to prattle on as she smacks her lips, making a stupid duck face. "Imagine how gorgeous I'm going to be after I turn into an empress. I'll probably blind the entire town with my beauty."

"Which means you'd probably have to move." I pop a piece of chicken into my mouth and smile when she stares at me in confusion. "Since no one in the town would want to go blind, they'd more than likely kick you out. I guess that's the price you pay for being so gorgeous."

I'm all jokes and sarcasm. The truth is, my sister is pretty with her long, blonde hair, curves, and day sky-blue eyes. She's what most vampires consider the ideal vampire in terms of looks. Her vanity, however, taints her beauty. Well, I think so. Not everyone shares my feeling, and Nadine is very popular.

She snaps the compact mirror shut and sneers at me. "You're just jealous because you're an ugly beast."

"Nadine," my father warns, looking up from his phone for the first time since we sat down for dinner as he prepares for tonight's council meeting.

Nadine gives my dad an innocent look. "I'm sorry, Daddy, but she started it."

My dad looks at me and sighs. "Raven, please be nice to your sister. Your witty sarcasm is a little too much for her." He makes an over-the-head gesture.

I bite back a smile and nod. My sister may be the beauty of the family, but I've always been my dad's favorite.

Nadine being Nadine doesn't catch on to my dad's underlying meaning and shoots me a smirk. "Ha! I won this one. Again."

"If you say so," I mumble then pop another piece of chicken into my mouth, fighting back a gag.

I love my mom and love that she still cooks for us, even though we're old enough to take care of ourselves, but this meat tastes like the chicken's ass. Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I still continue choking down bites.



       
         
       
        

"What's wrong?" my mom asks me. "You look like you're about to throw up."

"I'm fine," I lie, stuffing another slice of chicken into my mouth.

My mom only scrutinizes me more. "You're not fine. You look a little sick and pale, and your lips are redder than normal  …  You've looked this way for about a week now, but you seem worse tonight."

Okay, that has nothing to do with the chicken.

"It's not a big deal," I tell her. "I've just been feeling a little tired lately, probably because I haven't been sleeping well."

She frowns. "Why haven't you been sleeping well?"

I shrug. "Every time I close my eyes, I feel wired. Then I end up feeling tired all night. Yet, when sunrise comes, I can't go to sleep. It's a vicious, contradicting cycle. Plus, I feel cold all the time, like I have an ice fever."

She places her palm to my forehead. "You do feel a little cold, but not enough to have ice fever." She lowers her hand, a pucker forming at her brow. "How long has this been going on?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Like, maybe a week or two."

Her and my father exchange a concerned look that happens so quickly the human eye would never catch it.

"What's going on?" My gaze dances back and forth between the two of them. "You're acting squirrely. Did you overdo it on the top shelf blood or something?"

My mom shakes her head as she scoops up a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "We're just thinking about how your nineteenth birthday is coming up in less than a week and how you'll be getting your reading. We don't want you sick for it."

"Yeah, I know." My lack of enthusiasm shows through my deflated tone.

Why the deflation? Well, for starters, I, in no way, shape, or vampire fang, believe I'm going to be told I possibly carry empress power in my veins, and for several reasons. One being that most empresses are blonde-haired beauties like my mom and Nadine. Also, future empresses typically show signs of above average power at a very early age, either with super speed, super hearing, or some other extraordinary rare gift. Since I'm a raven-haired vampire who couldn't use her super speed until the age of twelve, I arrived at the conclusion a long time ago that my reading isn't going to reveal anything miraculous hiding inside me. I'll simply be told that I'll carry out my life as a normal vampire. And that's okay. At least I have a family who loves me. Well, my father and mother do. Nadine never has, something she's proven time and time again.

For as long as I can remember, her and her two close friends, Rhyland and Kingsley Midnitegale-vampire twins who aren't identical-have been torturing me. And they still do. Or, well, they did up until a little over a year ago, when they left to go to emperor's training.