Unlikely Queen (Crystal Castle 1)

“Vampire,” Patrick says in a fast voice before he jumps and turns into a wolf mid-air. His mouth opens, and as he closes it, a vampire appears between his teeth.

How the actual fuck?

The head rolls and lands before my feet as Patrick turns back, wiping the blood from his face and looking down the hill.

“Any more?” Tatiana asks, walking over to him.

I turn to Bronik. His silver eyes become darker, and it all happens in slow motion—his hand reaches out, he touches my arm, and boom! We are no longer standing on the edge of the forest. We are now in a white room with nothing else but him and me.

“Bronik.” When my head stops spinning, I manage to rise to my feet and stare at him. This room is not unlike an empty, white box. “Where am I?”

He takes a step back and watches me. His eyes on me are unnerving as he takes me in, not responding to me.

“Bronik.”

“No one should have the power to control angels,” he states.

I nod my head in agreement with him, feeling like I’ve made a grave mistake by listening to his direction. Something isn’t right.

“And your power, well… it’s natural, stronger. If she can control us… the most powerful beings on earth… what does that mean you can do?”

No. No way.

I would never do that.

But before I can speak, he goes on, “She wants me to bring you to her, but every part of me is saying otherwise. I don’t know why I can see you so clearly when none of the other angels can. I don’t know why they haven’t broken from whatever spell she has put us under, but I believe I have. We are not meant to be down here. We had one job… create order, then leave. Yet we are still here years later.”

This is all new information. I know nothing of this. I always assumed everything was as it seemed.

“The queen is not aware I can see past her spells, but I think you form part of that reason.”

“Me?” My voice squeaks unusually high.

“Yes. It seems the more time I spend around you, the more it’s breaking and the more I am seeing.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No, I don’t think you did.” He walks in circles around me. “But that still doesn’t make this decision easy. Either I kill you, or she does.”

“Don’t kill me,” I beg of him, my legs now trembling.

“Do you think he would save you if I tried?” Bronik stands stock-still as he asks me the question I have no idea about, so I reply, “I don’t know.”

“I feel he wouldn’t let me kill you. We both know he knows when it’s your time to die, and I don’t think it will be at my hands.” He turns, and with a quick movement of his hand, the wall of one of the white rooms shows what looks like a television screen.

“She is very determined to keep you all alive.” He eyes the screen where my sister is shown digging her hands into the earth and casting spells. The whole process is tiring her quickly. “One of you will die. It will happen.” Then he snaps his fingers, and I am gone. I reappear standing near my sister. Once she sees me, she collapses with a soft smile on her face.

“John is going to kill me,” Patrick mutters as he reaches for her.

I almost laugh.

Almost.

Chapter Eighteen

We wait because we have nothing else better to do. Patrick stands at the edge of the hill, making sure no more vampires come out to play as we wait for my sister to regain consciousness. Trying to find me after Bronik took me, took a lot out of her.

“Where did he take you?” Patrick asks, looking back at me.

“A room. I don’t even know where it was located.”

“Wings.”

My back straightens, and before I can say anything back, he appears in a cloud of dense, almost-black smoke in front of me.

“Oh, how I have missed you. I am glad to see you did not die.” He notices my sister and raises a brow. “She could have died and I would have been none the wiser.” He smirks.

“I think it’s best you shut up now,” I bite back.

“Oh, Wings, why would I? I did help you, after all. Come on, Wings.”

His black suit fits him well. Valefar is older, and from what I am aware, he likes to make deals. And with that knowledge, I know I should watch my words around him.

“We can always make a bargain. You know I can get your sister out of the castle. For a price, of course.”

“What price?” I ask.

He looks at my sister and smiles. “A life for a life. She will do just fine. Powerful, that one, but not as powerful as you. Though, I do love to collect the souls of witches. They are always the feistiest.”