Unlikely Queen (Crystal Castle 1)

I nod my head and look around because I don’t know what else to say, but I don’t want to be out there anymore either.

“They’ll calm down,” he says, nodding his head in the direction of the gathering outside.

“Can’t really blame them for being angry. I did kind of just fall into your territory without warning.”

“Technically, you fell on me.”

I nod my head, smiling at him. “I did.”

“So, you and the Angel of Death, eh?”

I’m not sure what he’s asking..

“Come, Talia, we need to go into the woods to call the demon,” Tatiana says while walking into the room. Both Patrick and I turn to look at her.

“The woods?” I ask, remembering those strange voices that spoke to us earlier. I don’t want to be anywhere near them.

“Yes, we need to go. Come on, we’ve wasted enough time as it is.” She leaves as she’s speaking, clearly expecting me to heed her direction without question. I look to Patrick, who offers me a shot. I want to take it, but I can’t. I shake my head and follow her outside instead.

I hear Patrick behind me and turn to face him. “You should stay. You don’t have to come,” I tell him. The fewer people I put in danger now, the better.

“Don’t be silly. Let’s go.” He walks past me, slipping on his jacket as he goes, and I manage to take a deep breath and follow him out.

As we walk past all the wolves who are still arguing, I try not to look their way. But I can hear their vicious words.

John walks up to us, looking back to Patrick and myself before he stepping right up next to Tatiana. She side-eyes him but doesn’t speak. It’s as if she knows it’s a losing argument. He doesn’t plan to leave her alone at all. I smile at them as we walk deeper into the woods, away from the other wolves. The last thing we need is to make the wolves even angrier by summoning in a demon right in front of them. That would surely make them hate us more.

The moon is high, and the sky is dark blue when Tatiana stops and looks at me.

“Umm, so how do we summon him?” I ask.

“Say his name. He said you had to call out to him.”

I nod. “So, what was his name?” I ask.

She tries to fight her smirk by shaking her head. “Valefar!” she screams. “Valefar,” she says again. When nothing happens, she crosses her arms over her chest. “Valefar is considered a god among thieves. He tempts people to steal,” she explains.

“How did he grant the queen anything, then?”

“Oh, that’s because the little thing caught me in a trap,” a voice snaps back from behind us. We all turn to the well-dressed demon standing there, looking rather dashing.

He looks at Tatiana. “Your voice is considerably annoying.” He tsks at her, then turns to me. “He agreed?”

I nod.

“Good. Now, I grant you two questions. Use them wisely.”

I look to Tatiana and go to speak, but she says my name quickly.

“Do not ask him a thing,” she says. “It will be considered a question even if it’s not one.”

“Clever little witch,” Valefar praises.

“Why?” I ask, Tatiana. She groans, and it’s not her who answers. It’s Valefar.

“Because we like to trick people into getting what we want. And I always get what I want, Wings.”

I’m about to ask him why he calls me that before a hand wraps around my mouth, stopping me from speaking.

“What deal did you make with the queen?” Tatiana asks as Patrick releases his hand from my mouth.

“She is needy, that one. She wants power. So much power, I could only give her a fraction of what she wants. She needs someone even more powerful than me to reach for what she desires most,” he says, his lip curling. “I’m going to give you this one for free.” He winks at me. “She got the power, but someone else made her a queen,” he says. The second it leaves his mouth, he is gone.

Chapter Ten

“Do you know who?” I ask Tatiana as she starts walking back toward where the wolves are located.

“No idea,” she replies.

There are many demons, but not many interact with us up here. Valefar has a reputation of swindling those for more than they bargain for. “But it has to be someone more powerful than Valefar, and I don’t think it will be easy to figure out who that someone is.”

“The vampires might know,” John says, making us stop mid-step. We both turn to look at him. “She has them on her side, so they probably do know. Well, at least their sire would.”

“We can’t just walk into the vampire ward and ask them. We have a bounty on our heads now, and the last thing they would do is help us,” Tatiana argues with him.