Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen #1)(22)
Nodding understandingly, my mom then turns to a taller man with the greenest eyes I've ever seen. "Clear everyone out for a minute, will you? Let this be a family thing."
The man steps forward with wariness written all over his face. "I don't think that's such a good idea right now. Not with what's going on in the streets-"
My mom raises her hand, silencing him. "That wasn't a request, Cam."
He-Cam-presses his lips together and nods. Then he strides for the door. Everyone except for my family and Rhyland's files after him.
Once the room is cleared out, Kingsley takes a seat, and my dad walks over and closes the door.
"Thank God," my dad mumbles. "It was getting way too stuffy in here."
"Yes, it was," Mr. Midnitegale agrees, slumping down into a leather chair. "I know they mean well and that they're here to protect, but I'm already starting to get a blood ache from them being around, and it hasn't even been a day yet."
"Everything's going to be okay." His wife takes a seat beside him and places her hand over his. Then she offers me a tiny smile. "Raven, you look lovely tonight."
"Thanks?" I say more as a question because the statement feels strangely out of place right now.
She gives me an anxious smile in return, a nervous edge creeping into her features.
Nervous, nervous, nervous. Everyone is so nervous.
I settle my gaze on my mom. "Will you please just tell me what's going on? Everyone's acting like the apocalypse is about to happen, and I'm starting to get really worried because I don't have my apocalypse emergency kit with me."
"It's not something bad," my mom attempts to reassure me. "What we need to tell you … it's not … bad … It's just going to be hard for you to hear." Her grip on my hand tightens. "Earlier tonight, before dinner, I was informed that an unexpected reading was told during Rhyland's reading of him becoming king. During his reading, a queen's name was announced. I wasn't told who she was yet. Just that she'd been announced. But when Rhyland-the king-showed up at our house tonight, I-all of us-were informed of who she was."
I frown. "Well, that doesn't seem very fair. Shouldn't the reading be told to the queen, and not passed along through a message? I mean, she's going to be the more powerful one. If anyone should get told directly from Fate, it should be her."
My mom's lips quirk with mild amusement. "Unfortunately, that's not always how it works. But I do agree with you."
Rhyland blows out a deafening exhale. "So do I."
The sound of his voice has me leaning even closer to my mom. "So, who's the unlucky girl?"
"Hey," Rhyland protests, though a smile threatens to turn upward on his lips. "I take that as an insult."
"Good. That's how I meant it." I roll my tongue in my mouth to stop from saying anything else that might piss the king off. Although, it takes a hell of a lot of effort.
Instead of getting upset, though, amusement glitters in his eyes.
"Well, it really sucks that you see it like that."
And just like that, reality is no longer smacking me across the face. It's crushing me into the ground, into thousands of pieces, like the coffee table scattered across the floor.
"Wait a minute … It's not … I'm not." I shake my head in denial. "Nope. There's no way."
My mom holds on to me for dear life. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you are. You're the queen."
7
The words replay in my mind like a scratched record.
You're the queen.
You're the queen.
You're the queen.
The words make no sense. None of this does.
"Are you sure it's not a mistake?" My voice cracks. "Maybe the reading meant another Raven Olliviord."
My mom is still grasping my hand. "Honey, Fate, the readings, they don't make mistakes. Not with this."
"But you told me earlier tonight that Nadine might not become an empress, even though the reading told her so." I'm panicking and latching on to any excuse, any alternative that will get me out of this situation.
A sneer twists at Nadine's lips and she opens her mouth to say who knows what, but my dad shoots her a don't-even-think-about-it look. Strangely, for once, Nadine listens.
"No, I said that the reading said she'd probably become an empress." My mom's tone is soft and cautious, like she's talking to a spooked bat. "It never said she definitely would, so we won't know for sure until training invites get sent out. But this … " She stares up at the glass ceiling, at the stars, as if cursing the heavens. I question if I'm not the only one upset about this. "There are no maybes with this." When she looks at me, her eyes are watery. "You are the queen. The first queen in over a century."