Page 6

The vehicle took a left and I knew we were pulling up at The Fort already.

“Remember,” Mother said. “There will be a ceremony where you’ll be introduced to them all. They’ve been asked to show you a skill in front of your clan members and then the party begins.”

Papa Connor leaned down, a teasing smile on his lips. “You can tell a lot about someone by the way they dance. For instance, Papa Nicolai is terrible at it. How he won your mother over, I have no idea.”

I laughed, and Papa Connor followed suit. Papa Nic turned around to glare at us just before he opened the door and stepped out. We’d stopped in front of The Fort already. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. It was showtime now. The whole clan would be watching.

My fathers scooted down to the open door and left one after the other until it was just Mother and me. She leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek. “I don’t know if I told you how proud I am of you lately.” She swallowed. “Your gifts take a lot from you, but I think in time you’ll find this one a blessing. Hopefully, you’ll find the ones who fill your heart among these. If you do not, don’t settle.”

I nodded. I wouldn’t settle. I couldn’t if I wanted what I grew up in.

Four hands reached down into the car for my mother. She smiled at them and then peeked back at me. “You’ll never be want of a hand, that’s for sure.”

I smiled as she took two hands, one in each of hers. If she’d had four hands, she would’ve taken all four, but unfortunately, we were limited to only two in this life.

I scooted to the end of the seat and took a deep breath. A hand waited for me too. It would be Papa Christian’s. As head of The Council, it would seem fit that he walk me into the party. No matter how many times they told me what it would all look like when we got here, I wasn’t prepared. He pulled me out, and I blinked once before remembering to smile.

A carpet of blue awaited us, taking us up to the main entrance. We only did things like this during ceremonies and it always made me feel like a bit of a celebrity. When I was younger, I used to enjoy it a lot more. Now, it just seemed like so much pressure to not trip or make a fool out of myself or my family.

A cheer rang out around us. People from our clan among many others would always come out to these things just to get a glimpse of my mother. She’d done so much good for our whole world throughout the years that just getting a glimpse of her was well worth it to most people.

For the first time though, I felt as if they were cheering for me as well. I hadn’t heard the crowd until I stepped out and maybe that was because I was blocking things out to concentrate on not tripping, but it was also possible that this time, everyone had come out to see me. I was Ariana Ravana’s daughter, their future queen.

My parents always said the vampire world would be curious of me being the half breed that I was. This was the first thing I’d done to step into the light. The first thing I’d done to carry on my mother’s mission of uniting the clans. People were as yet unaware what might befall us, but that was for me to know and to prevent, so they would never have to find out.

Papa Christian squeezed my hand. He smiled down at me with perfectly straight teeth and his gray-blue eyes, helping to ease the sudden surge of nerves that kicked up when I heard the crowd. “Steady now,” he said. “They’re just curious about you.”

He looked forward and smiled as we walked toward the main entrance and I followed his lead. I waved to the crowd a few times as I saw my mother doing ahead of me. She held onto Papa Connor’s hand with a fierce grip, much more steadily than I held onto my own escort. When the doors closed behind us, I let out a breath.

Some of the tension eased out of my mother’s shoulders as well. She was much more comfortable in action. She didn’t do the speeches and the crowd-greeting with ease, but put a weapon in her hand and she was something else. That was why people loved her so much. Her main goal was the safety of the clan, not just to sit around and talk about progression and think up ideas. She actually went out there and did them. It may seem like such an easy notion now, but not back then. I’d heard all the stories more than a few times.

We walked through the stone arches to the large hall. When school was in session, this was used as an assembly area, but tonight, it was decked out in the Ravana Clan colors. Strips of burgundy fabric hung from the ceiling. On the stone pillars throughout the room, our great family crest was displayed. The fierce firebird spewed fire of orange and yellow everywhere I looked. On the far wall was a row of gothic windows. Just underneath them sat a long, ornate carved table. My mother would sit in the middle on a rather large, equally ornate chair. I would sit to her right with Papa Stephan and Papa Connor to my left. On the other side of Mother would sit Papa Christian and Papa Nicolai.

Chattering noises rose as we got closer until one of the guards called out our arrival in a smooth baritone. “Clan Ravana.”

The talking ceased. Not just died off but stopped at once. Bodies turned from their tables and rose as we walked in. I noticed many familiar faces of our clan members as we moved toward the center of the room. However, it wasn’t until we reached the last set of guest tables that I saw my first possible mate up close.

My heart beat once in my chest. When Kai Iona stared at me, his lips pulling back into a smooth grin, I could barely keep from looking back at him. He moved forward and before I knew it, he’d dropped to a knee in front of Papa Christian and me. “Princess Isabelle, I am honored to meet you.”

My stomach squeezed. His mother behind him smiled, and even though a second blipped by while I figured out how to react, I said the first thing that came to my mind. “You may call me Izzy.”

“PrincessIzzy,” Papa Christian said.

Kai Iona stood. “Of course,” he answered, inclining his head toward my father. “I wouldn’t think of calling her anything else.”

Papa Christian moved us away, and I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “What?” he asked.

“Did you have to be so formal with him? He might be one of my future mates.”

“Until then, we’ll use our proper titles.” I still stared at him with disbelief, and his face softened. “Remember, Izzy, that we were calling your mother a princess well before she even took the title as our wife. Remind yourself of that when you are making your decisions. Anyone who doesn’t think you’re worthy of the title of princess, and then queen, does not deserve you.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Papa.”

His jaw locked as he looked ahead. He then allowed me to go in front of him up the small set of stairs. The rest of my fathers and my mother were all waiting at their places at the table already. Papa Christian led me to my seat and then stood behind his. It wasn’t until then that we all sat. In front of us, the others in the room followed our lead, sitting once more.

I caught Kai’s gaze again as I stared out at the crowd. His stare made my stomach twist…in a good way. He reminded me of Papa Connor. He might be the one who could always make me laugh even when we were dealing with the kinds of things that would test our strength down the road. Mother always used Papa Connor as her rock. Even when I was little, I saw how he comforted her when she needed it most. It would be a welcome addition to have someone like that.

My gaze then traveled to neighboring tables, trying to pick out another familiar face. Instead of falling on a welcome one, I stared into the dark eyes of Felix Dumont. He smirked at me, and not in an adorable way, but in a way that made my fingers tighten to fists. I was like my mother in a lot of ways. I preferred action to talking, and right now, I wanted to kick that smirk right off Felix Dumont’s face. Why even come if he was going to look like that? Why even want to be considered?