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“That’s a pity. Dreams can shape your future.”
“Ishape my future,” Raven said, bringing a finger to her chest. “Not dreams. Not wishes. Do you know how many nights I wished for my life to be different? Guess what? Wishes do nothing. The only person who changes my life is me. You can take your dreams and shove it.”
“Why—”
They were cut off by a knock at the door and Kellen turned, distracted.
“We must go. It’s time to speak with my people.”
13
Raven
“You should bethe one making the announcement.”
Raven raised an eyebrow at Devlin, who had pushed her behind him and stood next to his son while King Callum addressed the crowd of Fae.
“Why? He’s our king. Callum has every right to address our people.”
“It makes you look bad. Weak.”
“It certainly does not.” Kellen turned away from where Callum spoke to the crowd and glared down at his father. “Why?Whyare you always putting me down? You question every decision that I make, you’re breathing over my shoulder everywhere that I go. Don’t you trust me to take care of our people?”
Raven looked around, vaguely wishing she had a bucket of popcorn, and waited to see if Devlin would react predictably. In her experience, men like him rarely reacted well when confronted.
“This isn’t about trust. It’s about being a leader, Kellen. You need to show everyone that you’re the one in charge.” Devlin deflected the question.
“You don’t, do you? You don’t think that I can do this? That I can lead our people. Do you honestly think that mother didn’t train me well enough for this position?”
Raven pursed her lips, studying Devlin’s face when Kellen brought up his mother. For a moment, a hint of pain shadowed the man’s eyes, and then his emotions were hidden once more.
“Of course I think you can do this job, Kellen. Why do you think I push you so hard? It’s because of your mother, not despite her. I want you to honor her name. She was a great leader, and I want you to be too.”
“But you don’t think I am yet.”
“Nobody is when they first start out.” Devlin dismissed Kellen’s statement. “But if you can’t handle me questioning you, well, perhaps you’re not ready to be a leader. Because every great ruler will be challenged at some point. I’m the least of your worries.”
Something flashed in Devlin’s eyes, causing Raven to tilt her head and study the man more closely. He reminded her vaguely of a guy she used to know on the streets. He was a grifter of the greatest level, wheeling and dealing with all the charm of a movie star. Most people never even knew they’d been taken advantage of. Devlin had that same look in his eyes. So, what was his game? Did he want to be ruler himself or did he just want to be the one pulling the puppet strings? Either way, Raven could feel Kellen’s frustration radiating from him.
“I need you to be an ally, father. Not a hindrance.”
“A hindrance?” Devlin scoffed and turned back to the crowd where Callum was finishing his instruction. Raven could no longer see his face. “Hardly. My greatest wish is to see you succeed.”
Liar, liar.
“Then you’ll have no problem coming to battle with us.”
“What?” Devlin turned, shocked. “I’m an older man. I should be staying here to protect the women and children.”
“Half the women are coming with us. They’re equally as capable in battle as the men are,” Kellen pointed out as he turned away from the crowd. He surprised Raven by hooking his arm through hers, and she resisted automatically pulling away from him while Devlin was watching. “Let’s go find Bianca and Lily.”
With that, Kellen all but dragged Raven away, but she couldn’t help turning back to look at Devlin who watched them leave with an undecipherable look in his eyes.
“Do you think he means that? Is he just one of those stage manager type fathers?” Raven asked as Kellen pulled her easily through a winding maze of tunnels.
“I have no idea what you’re saying to me.”
Raven realized that they probably didn’t have talent shows and the like in the Fae realm.
