Tempting Raven (Curse of the Vampire Queen #1)(40)

"Was she not a very good queen?"

"That all depends on who you ask."

"I'm asking you."

"Well, then I'll tell you-and only because you requested-that she wasn't that terrible of a queen. She just made a few bad decisions and mistakes that may have led to a century break from Fate declaring another queen."

"What sort of mistakes?"

"She refused to admit that she was in love with the king when she was, which led to the destruction of our royalty system."

My breath hitches in my throat as my blood runs warm. "Is the queen supposed to fall in love with the king?" 

"She is." He pulls a whoopsie face. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing you didn't know that. And if I had to guess, some people were probably keeping that secret from you on purpose, to avoid you freaking out."

"No one told me  …  I don't  … " I have no words. No words at all. Only walls closing in.

Trapped, trapped, trapped!

"I'm sure it won't be that bad." He attempts to offer me a reassuring smile. "Your Rhyland already seems like a fine king, and he's only just begun."

"He also tormented me for decades and may have perhaps tried to get me killed by a demon once," I say flatly. "I've hated him since I was a kid."

"Hate seems like a strong word," Kingsley's voice floats over my shoulder, startling me so badly I nearly drop the books I'm holding.

"No, hate seems like the perfect word." I face him. "Are you done with your weird little chant?"

He fights back a smile. "You mean my oath?"

"You say oath. I say chant." I set the books down on the table. "It's all the same, if you ask me."

He steps in front of me, his voice deepening an octave. "Except one is just words and another is a promise to lay down my life for you."

I hoist myself onto the table and sit with my legs dangling over the edge. "That seems like a pretty crazy thing to do for a girl you dislike equally as much as she dislikes you."

"Yep, I must be completely insane." He rolls his eyes. "You really don't have a clue. But, I guess that was the point." He plops down into a chair near the fireplace and kicks his feet up onto the coffee table. "Wake me up when you're done."

"Done with what?" I ask.

He just tips his head back and shuts his eyes.

"Done with getting ready." Dex appears in front of me with his head tilted to the side.

"Are you really going to style me?" I ask, fidgeting with a leather bracelet on my wrist.

He nods, running his fingers through strands of my hair. "And I think you're going to be my favorite queen to dress yet."

"Why's that?"

"Other than you're gorgeous, you're also different from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed queens who came before you." He crosses his arms with his head slanted to the side. "And those eyes  …  I've never seen that color before. They're beautiful."

"My grandma had the same color eyes."

"I bet she was almost as beautiful as you, then." He says it as if stating a simple fact, like how the stars shine every night.

All this beautiful talk is making me uncomfortable, and he more than notices.

"You're not used to being called beautiful, are you?" he questions.

I shake my head. "Only by my parents, but that doesn't really count."

He drums a finger against his bottom lip. "I have a feeling a lot of people feel the same way. They're just too afraid to tell you."

"And I have a feeling you might be delusional."

"That I may be, but I never say a truth I don't fully believe myself." He winds around the table and throws open the armoire.

Inside are lavish necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and even a crown spun with metallic stars and lavender.

I hop off the table and move up beside him. "Who does all this belong to?"

He begins sorting through the necklaces. "It belongs to the castle, which means, while you're queen, all of it belongs to you."



       
         
       
        

Without looking up at me, he snaps his fingers, and the dresser drawers shoot open, revealing stacks of clothing inside. Another snap of his finger, and the racks in the closet become lined with shirts, skirts, and dresses, while the shelves with shoes, hats, and bags.

"How did you do that?" I whisper in shock.

"I didn't. The castle did." He selects a red velvet choker and twists around to face me. "It's enchanted. Ask the right way, and it'll give you almost anything your heart truly desires."