Enchanting Raven

  I need answers.

  What I need is to talk to Anders and Effie.

  Since the magical desk isn’t around, calling is my only other option. When I search my pockets for my phone, though, I find them all empty and realize the holster around my leg is also missing.

  “Great, so not only is my phone gone, but so is my weapon.” I press my fingers to the brim of my nose. “And I have no clue where I am or what’s on the other side of this tent. For all I know, a war could be happening.” Lifting my head, I strain my ears to listen for voices, for noises, for any signs of what might be outside.

  Wind chimes, the wind, the soft whisper of snowflakes drifting to the frozen ground.

  Wait, snow?

  I hurry and untie the ribbons then step outside. “Holy crap.”

  Snow flurries from the iridescent clouds, coating the land before me. Tents dot the frosted area, along with towering, leafless trees and star-shaped ice sculptures. Rolling mountains tower in the distance, and center stage is a massive, silvery white sign that reads:

  Welcome to the Land of Moonlight.

  Please enjoy your time here, but as a precaution, stay within the walls of the mountains unless you want to die a torturous death. Thank you.

  “That’s … welcoming.” Fog willows from my lips.

  Luckily, being a vampire comes with the perk of having a low body temperature, so the chilly air doesn’t bother me. What is troubling is that I have no idea where Rhyland is or how I got to the Land of Moonlight.

  Reality suddenly hits me. The Land of Moonlight. I’m in the Land of Moonlight. The land where the most powerful creatures—from fey, to witches, to vampires—live together, creating the light of the moon. A land which my blood is allegedly connected to, just like my father’s. A blood which has been known to cause madness in creatures.

  Maybe I’m just crazy.

  Maybe I’m insane and imagining everything.

  I’m not sure if I like that idea more or less than being cursed to live the same life over and over again.

  “How can this be real?” I wonder. “How can any of this be real?”

  Even though I just woke up, I question if I’m dreaming. Testing the theory, I pinch my arm to double-check.

  “Ouch. Yep, definitely awake.” I step forward, my boots crunching against the snow. “So, where is everyone?”

  “Hello.” A short girl, maybe a couple of years younger than me and wearing leather pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, pops up in front of me.

  She has flowing white hair, glittery skin, and pointy ears. The latter means she’s either fey, pixie, or elf. Considering how glittery and tiny she is, my bet is a pixie. I can’t be sure. And if she’s fey … that makes me nervous.

  “Um … Hey …”

  She smiles, her liquid silver eyes shimmering brightly. “I’m Harper. I’m so glad you finally woke up. Everyone’s been a bit worried that perhaps the smoke killed you.”

  I eye her over suspiciously. “What do you know about the smoke?”

  Her smile falters. “Dammit, I forgot I wasn’t supposed to mention that.” She smacks the heel of her hand to her forehead. “You had one rule to follow, Harper, and you couldn’t even do it right.” She continues to thump her forehead.

  “It’s fine,” I try to assure her, hoping she’ll stop smacking herself. “I already knew about the smoke, anyway.”

  Her hand falls to her side and her eyes brighten. “Really?”

  I nod. “Yeah, really.”

  “Well, good.” She claps her hands together. “Let me officially welcome you to the Land of Moonlight. Like I said before, I’m Harper. I’m half-pixie, half-fey, which I know is rare. My faerie father had a fetish for sleeping with pixie whores and accidentally knocked my mom up.” She crinkles her nose. “Which might have been too much information for someone I just met, right?”

  I shrug. “You’re fine.”

  She sighs. “I’m kind of socially awkward.”

  “So am I.”

  “Really?”

  I nod. “I’m not so terrible anymore, but I used to be really, really bad.”

  “Huh. I always imagined the queen of the vampires would be confident and perhaps a bit bitchy.”

  Sounds like she’s describing Nadine. And according to my memories, Nadine was once queen. So, how did I end up in this position, about to be crowned yet never make it there?

  “So, you’ve never met me before?”

  Her lips twitch, and she gives a sharp head bob. “No.”

  Yeah, that looked convincing.

  “Okay, so, do you know how I got here?”

  “Your king brought you here. And we’re so glad he did. It’s not every day we get a visit from the soon-to-be vampire queen who also has moonlight blood in her. It’s such an honor.”

  All the attention is making me squirmy. “Um, do you by chance know where the king is?” I scratch my neck then cringe as flakes of singed flesh flutter to the ground with the snowflakes.

  Crappity, crap, crap. Since I haven’t drunk any of Rhyland’s blood in who knows how long, I’m betting the dragon burns look awful.

  “In the meeting tent with the rest of your team.” When she eyeballs my neck, I give her mad props for not mentioning my growing molten skin.

  I flick a piece of charred flesh off my arm. “My team?”

  “Yes, your king, your Blood Protector, your mom, your witches, and your father.”

  “My witches …?” Then I perk up. “Wait, my father’s here? I thought he was banished?” Still, I’m relieved he’s here.

  The journals never specifically mentioned much about my father. Part of me hopes he’s unaware of the curse. That could be wishful thinking, though. How I’m supposed to figure out if he does is beyond me since no one seems to be able to speak of it.

  “He is, but technically, we’re not in the boundaries of the Land of Moonlight yet.” She snatches ahold of my hand, her skin warm against mine, then tugs me down the path. “Everyone’s been waiting for you to wake up. I think some of them were worried …” She bites down on her lip.

  “Worried about what?” I put my free hand out to my side to keep my balance as I slip around the icy path.

  Everyone keeps speaking of this awesome queen powers I’ll possess, but so far, my klutziness seems to have only worsened. Maybe because I’m not drinking from Rhyland’s vein?

  My fangs throb at the reminder of how I once did. I tell them to chill the hell out. That we are so not going there.

  Ha, yeah right. You know deep down you want to.

  I mentally flip off my inner thoughts.

  “I … I can’t tell you.” She stares at the mountains in the distance.

  “Why not?” My grip on her hand constricts as I glide across a slippery patch of ice. “Because you’ll get in trouble?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then why not just tell me? I mean, you already told me about your parents and you didn’t really want to tell me that, right?”

  “You’re misunderstanding me.” She looks me in the eye, snowflakes dotting her eyelashes. “Even if I want to tell you, I can’t.”

  She knows something about the curse; is part of it. “Maybe if you just tried, you might—”

  “Oh, look. Here we are.” She stops us in front of a massive tent with a high-arched roof. “Your team is waiting for you inside.” With a snap of her fingers, she dissipates into a poof of snowy mist.

  I throw a glance over my shoulder. Not a single other creature is in sight, making me wonder if the campsite is abandoned. Everyone said the Land of Moonlight is dangerous, so perhaps that’s why we’re staying in a vacated area. Who really knows since no one will tell me anything.

  Twisting back around, I reach to open the flap, but pause at the very last blood drop of a second, deciding to eavesdrop first. Pressing my ear to the fabric wall, I scrounge up all my vampire super hearing and listen.

  “So, any theories on why she’s already sending the smoke,
then?” Rhyland’s voice is laced with tension. “She usually waits until the crowning ceremony.”

  “She’s trying to end things sooner. Obviously.” The female voice is unfamiliar, but has a hint of a magical tone that can only belong to a witch.

  Perhaps it’s the Ava witch who was back at the castle. Why would she be here?

  “I understand that, but it’s not part of the rules,” Rhyland snaps. “The rules are that she has to wait until the crowning ceremony to see if she passes the test. The test hasn’t even happened yet and she’s already trying to reset things. It’s not fucking fair that she can do whatever the hell she wants when she feels like it.”

  “Rhyland, careful with your temper,” my father warns. “Your emotions are starting to get a little out of whack. I think you really need to feed.”

  “I know I do, but I … I don’t want to do it anymore.” He blows out an exasperated sigh. “I just want to feed off her. That’s how things should’ve been.”

  My fingers travel to my neck as the memory of Rhyland grazing his teeth along my skin vibrantly floods my mind. Once upon a time, I wanted Rhyland to devour my blood while I feasted on his, back when I was unaware of how terrible Rhyland can be.

  Where does that leave me? Confused. Completely and utterly confused. Which, I guess, has been the story of my life.

  “How things should be and how things are, are beside the point,” my father replies sympathetically. “Besides, nothing will ever be as they once were unless we can figure out a way to break this curse. And to do that, we need to keep up our strength. It’s the only chance we have.”

  I swallow hard. So, he knows about the curse, too?

  There goes my shot at having someone to confide in.

  “It might be about more than just breaking the curse now,” my mom utters quietly. “Things are different this time—she’s trying to end things sooner. I’m not even sure the real curse is in play anymore. Perhaps this is the end. Perhaps we’re all doomed.”

  “Don’t say that, sweetheart,” my dad tries to comfort her. “We can’t give up yet, especially not when things are different—when she’s different. It could actually mean we stand a chance this time.”

  “But Raven still doesn’t remember anything,” Rhyland mumbles. “So, at least part of the original curse still exists.”

  If he doesn’t think I remember anything, then he must not have been the culprit who stole my journal. If he did take it, he’d understand that I’ve had my suspicions about the curse for at least a few life cycles.

  “Does she really not remember anything?” my mom questions. “Sometimes I wonder if she does.”

  Did she take my journal?

  “Has she said something to you that’s led you to believe otherwise?” my dad asks with hope. “Please tell me she has.”

  “It’s not anything she said, but more the way she acts.” My mom gives a lengthy pause. “She’s not the same lost, confused vampire she’s been in past lives.”

  “She definitely acts different this time around,” Rhyland agrees. “She’s been asking more questions, getting bolder, and doing crazy things like drinking blood boosts.” A clipped edge creeps into his tone at the mention of the blood boost, but he quickly clears his throat. “Usually, we can barely get her to drink blood at all … Remember that one life cycle she got sick because she refused to drink blood?”

  “Yes, that was an awful life cycle,” my mom whispers shakily. “I hated seeing her so sick.”

  “She’s been through so much,” my dad adds. “I just wish this could all be over.”

  “We all wish for that,” Rhyland says. “Kingsley and I were talking, and he has a theory that perhaps our torture won’t be over even when the curse ends. And the fey queen also paid a little mind visit to me and said something about us all losing, anyway.”

  “What?” my dad says. “How can we lose if the curse ends? And why do you two think the curse won’t really be over if it does end? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “We’re not talking about the curse we’re stuck in now, but a different one,” Rhyland explains. “A war.”

  “You mean, with the rebellion and the created vampires?” my mom asks worriedly. “I always figured those would disappear if Raven broke the curse.”

  “Kingsley’s been talking to sources who seem to think otherwise,” Rhyland replies. “It would explain why the population of created vampires grows every time a life cycle resets. She might be using the curse to build an army.”

  Strange they’re just figuring this out when I wrote about it in my journal. Or well, that the rebellions grew more and more each life cycle because of the curse.

  Huh. Maybe Kingsley was the one who stole my journal and that’s how he attained the information?

  “If that’s the case, then we need to break this curse now,” my father demands. “There are too many of them already, and if they’re still around when the curse breaks …”

  “We’re screwed,” my mom utters hoarsely.

  I gulp down the shaky breath begging to leave my lips. If what they’re saying is true—my gaze drops to where dragon fire marks my flesh—then this is going to be a problem for a lot of other creatures.

  “I wish it were that simple,” Rhyland mutters. “But she seems to hate me more and more each life cycle. And the bolder she gets, it seems to strengthen her restraint. Usually, she’s at least stolen a taste from my vein by now, but she’s been really stubborn this time. That’s not a good sign.”

  Wait? Does that mean I need to drink from Rhyland’s vein to break the curse? Could it be that simple?

  Is that even simple?

  You’ve done it before, Raven. Remember?

  “Well, maybe if you’d quit stopping her from doing it and knocking her out with sleep spells, then she would,” my mom tells him. “You never give her a chance.”

  “You know that’s not how this works. I’m supposed to try to stop her. Not help her,” Rhyland grumbles. “And this stupid ability I have this time around to cast witch magic has complicated things even more. I don’t know why she added that this time, but I don’t like it at all.”

  “Oh, please,” the witch sneers. “There are worse things in the world than having the gift of Wiccan magic.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Rhyland snaps. “You’re not the one stuck in a stupid loop that forces you to watch the vampire you love die repeatedly.”

  “She’s not going to die this time,” my mom insists firmly. “We’re going to get her to break the curse this time—she’s stronger.”

  “Yeah, well, apparently, so is the curse, since that damn smoke is showing up already,” Rhyland growls in frustration. “We’re lucky we outran it. I’m sure she’ll find us. She always does, and then …”

  “It all starts over again. Yeah, we know the speech,” Kingsley speaks for the first time. I can practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “You’re all forgetting one important detail about this life cycle.”

  “Which is?” my mom asks.

  “You all said it yourselves. She’s stronger. Bolder. Her reactions are different. She’s less of the curse’s puppet and more like her old self,” Kingsley announces with a hint of pride. “And the old Raven was sneaky and clever and wasn’t afraid to break the rules.”

  Was I?

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t seem to be helping,” Rhyland tells him. “If anything, it’s only sped up the reset.”

  “Has it?” Kingsley speculates. “Or has the curse tried to speed up because she’s getting closer to breaking it?”

  They grow quiet.

  “Kingsley, whatever it is you’re trying to say, just spit it out,” my mom finally demands. “We don’t have time for you to drag out the anticipation.”

  As if trying to torture my mom, Kingsley lets a beat of silence tick by before he says, “Did you know I caught her eavesdropping on you and Rhyland the other night right after the fey queen left the castle?”

  “What?” Rhyland
, my dad, and my mom say simultaneously.

  “But that’s against the rules,” my dad adds. “At least, it has been in the past.”

  “Has it?” Kingsley muses. “Or was she just not the type of vampire to eavesdrop until now. I mean, the old, pre-curse Raven would’ve eavesdropped in a heartbeat. Let’s all just admit it; the prior cursed Raven didn’t even have the balls to do much of anything. Even stand up to Nadine.”

  I scrunch my nose. Man, some of the past lives make me sound really pathetic.

  “She did this time, though,” Rhyland says with a wistful chuckle. “She even told me off.”

  “I know, and it was fucking beautiful,” Kingsley remarks, the smile evident in his tone. “Just like old times.”

  “And there you go with that beautiful shit again,” Rhyland grumbles under his breath.

  “Relax,” Kingsley says. “I’m not going to do what you suggested.”

  “What did you suggest?” Ava asks curiously.

  “That’s none of your damned business,” Rhyland snaps.

  Silence stretches between them until Rhyland clears his throat.

  “Look, you all may believe we’re progressing this time, but I think we’ve taken a huge step back. She can barely stand being in the same room with me, let alone wants to touch me.”

  “For the love of all stupid vampires, you’re all idiots,” Kingsley gripes. “Seriously, have any of you been paying attention to this conversation at all? Because a particular thing is happening right now that no one, except apparently me, seems to be noticing. But I was always the smartest in the group, wasn’t I?”

  “Oh, shut up,” the witch gripes. “You’re such an arrogant prick. I sometimes question how in the magical world you and Rhyland can be twins.”

  “Rhyland is equally arrogant as me, Ava. You’re just too lovesick to notice,” Kingsley taunts. “Which is kind of pathetic, seeing as how you’ve watched him be in love with another vampire for centuries and centuries of life cycles.”

  So, the witch is Ava …

  Wait, hold on. Am I the vampire Rhyland is in love with?

  Back the hell up. Centuries and centuries of life cycles?