The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 33

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 33

The dinner hall was not ornate in any way, and it was sized appropriately for the long, simple wooden table in the middle that looked like it could seat 20 people. Luna and I were the last to arrive, so I had the joy of seeing 18 powerful nobles all turn their heads and watch us enter.

"Should I let loose with some kind of powerfully motivating proclamation or something?" I whispered to Luna.

She looked aghast. "No!"

"Fine, you don't have to yell."

She muttered something under her breath and stabbed a rigid finger at a chair. "Sit there."

I muttered under my breath that she didn't have to act like she had a stick up her butt, to which I heard a chorus of muted chuckles around the room. I had forgotten how keen the Cha'el ears were.

Luna sat down, her lips thin and her eyes blazing death threats at me. I nodded solemnly to her. It didn't seem to help.

I glanced around at everybody, wishing Chan and Kiera were here with me. So I wouldn't be so alone, in this unknown place.

Talia, at the head of the table, stood as soon as I sat down. Total silence fell as everyone focused on her.

"Tonight we will eat dinner with a Traveler. The first Traveler to our realm in over 800 years. Please welcome Rahvin, my newest son, and our new Prince."

Every head in the room swiveled from Talia, to me. I opened my mouth and did a fairly solid impression of a fish out of water. After a few moments of haphazardly gauging a variety of filthy words to be spat, I chose the clearly more intelligent route and went with a wheezed out  "What?"

Talia looked irritated. "What part of that don't you understand?"

That changed my shock over to anger in a quick flash.

"The part where you call me your son, when I'm not even Cha'el. Along with the part where you proclaim I'm the new prince, where, as previously noted, I'm not even Cha'el."

Talia didn't seem affected by my vehemence. In fact, I thought I saw a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes.

"Kavik is dead. Without him, with no other heir to the throne, we face certain war with the Kahlraugh. You are Kavik. So it matters not that you are not Cha'el. All that matters is if you're strong enough to hold the Bond."

"What bond?"

Talia looked at me, then over to Luna.

"The Bond between the Cha'el and the Kahlraugh. Which you will be able to withstand as soon as you're married to Luna."

Luna gasped and bolted to her feet, her eyes wild.

"What! He's not-" She cut off as Talia pointed at her chair.

"Sit. Down." It was an order ringing with Power, a direct command, woven throughout with unmistakable threat. Luna sat.

"You don't get to choose who I marry." I told her evenly. I mentally congratulated myself for keeping my voice so calm, when inside I felt like screaming at her.

This moment was horribly familiar. It was so familiar it hurt, like an ache in the center of the bones. I remembered the Council, their words. The way I was nothing more than a meat tool to them, a warm, walking object to use as they saw fit. I had never felt more worthless in my life at that point, even though I had been living for years on the streets like a rat. A rat that at least still had a sense of self, a sense of human worth.

"No."

Every head in the room whipped towards me. I heard the shocked intake of breath around the room. Apparently, here in this world, one simply did not disobey the Queen.

"You do not have a choice." Talias voice was low, but it sounded as dangerous as steel on steel.

I let the Touch Of the Cat flow into me, allowing its power to shine in my eyes. "I always have a choice."

A subtle change around the table caught my attention, and I looked at the noble Cha'el warriors seated around the table. Every one of them was either smiling at me, or looking very satisfied. I hadn't the slightest idea what could be going through their heads, and it grated on me. I hated facing an unpredictable group-think mentality.

"What are all you sheep smiling about? You think I'm here to do your bidding? You have no idea."

Talia glanced around at everybody, then shot me a bright smile. The smile confused me, but the way her entire body language shifted from threatening challenge, to relaxed and happy, in a split second, made me wonder if she was more than a touch insane.

"Ok, excellent, we See you, Rahvin. Thank you for convincing my Court that you are the right one to hold the Bond. Now let's eat and we can discuss details."

She sat and began to load her plate with food, along with everybody else. I stayed standing, watching her in confusion, unsure what my next move should be.

Talia frowned up at me. "Please. Sit and let's enjoy a meal together. Now is not the time for action."

Her reasonable tone, her polite "please", all had me wondering if maybe it was me that was a touch insane. At that moment, I felt more out of my element than I could ever remember.

In the end, it was the dizzying array of delicious scents flooding into my nose that decided it for me. Living on the streets had taught me to eat when food was available, that everything else could wait.