Unlikely Queen (Crystal Castle 1)

Tatiana.

She’s awake, not asleep like Patrick was, but she’s bound by the vampire holding her. I don’t hold back this time. I charge straight for the queen, moving as fast as I can. I grip her hair before I’m pulled backward by two strong hands, Bronik caging me against his body, and I scream, not removing my hands from her hair.

“You little witch,” she hisses, but I refuse to let go. I will take her fucking hair from her scalp.

“Witch,” the vampire barks at me, and I turn to see his fangs are out and right at my sister’s neck. “Let her go before I take from her.” I do as he says, immediately releasing her hair. The queen takes a step back from me and closer to the vampire who is holding my sister. I hate that vampire, hate him. I will kill him, end his life for what he did to Patrick, but not before I kill the queen.

“See, you can listen to orders. Now bring in the chairs.”

Two chairs are brought in and Bronik moves me to sit on one, then the vampire sits Tatiana on the other directly in front of me. She blinks a few times, but she can’t speak. Her mouth is gagged with a red scarf. Bronik ties my hands together but leaves my feet free. When he moves, I can feel that my hands aren’t tied as tightly as they were last time.

Bronik stays behind me, and the queen keeps her distance from me but stays directly next to my sister.

“Now, let’s play game two. I wonder who you will break for,” the queen says and pulls the scarf from my sister’s mouth.

The minute it’s free, my sister speaks, “Veronica, you little bitch. You know I will kill you for this.”

The queen laughs, ignoring me for the moment as she looks at her old friend. “I have a feeling you may have a lot of trouble even leaving your seat today, Tatiana.”

My sister licks her lips, then looks at me.

“Valefar!” Tatiana screams, which makes the smile drop from the queen’s lips as she leans over and covers Tatiana’s mouth with her hand. My sister bites it, drawing blood.

“Bitch!” the queen screams, pulling her hand back.

“Valefar, I know you can hear me.”

“Bloody hell, woman, you are awfully annoying, you know that, right?” Valefar says, finally appearing. His eyes land on me tied to a chair and he smirks as he looks to my sister, then the queen. “Seems you’re in quite a pickle. How interesting.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“You aren’t welcome here, demon,” the queen says as a bunch of vampires enter the room.

“Please, as if they could make me leave.” Valefar clicks his fingers and removes every vampire from the room, then looks to Bronik who is standing behind me. “Knew you shouldn’t have trusted him,” Valefar says while shaking his head.

“I’ll give it to you,” my sister says, which in turn brings Valefar’s eyes back to her. “Release us and I’ll give it to you.”

“You will do no such thing, demon. Leave,” the queen spits, her powdered face reddening.

I’m confused.

I assumed it was Valefar who the queen has been using for all her powers. But she doesn’t seem to know him at all just his name.

“You know who built this room, and you know you are not welcome in it.”

Valefar turns to look at the queen. “What price you pay for such a low demon deal.” He smirks, and his teeth look almost razor-sharp.

“I don’t make deals with low-level demons.”

Valefar clucks his tongue. “But to me, they are just that.”

“Bronik,” the queen says.

Bronik goes to move toward Valefar, but in a click of Valefar’s fingers, Bronik disappears and the four of us are now locked in this room. The queen is as powerless as we are right now. “How dare you disrespect me in my house.”

Valefar ignores her and walks over to me. “So interesting you are.” He sniffs my hair and then pulls back and turns to face my sister. “We have a deal.”

“Yes, a deal.”

Once I manage to get my hands free, I move as fast as my body will allow and go straight for the queen. I wrap both hands around her neck and push her back until we land on the floor, me on top of her. I choke her, and her hands claw at my wrists, but I don’t remove them. I smile when she starts to whine and her skin goes bluish-purple, the air not getting to her stupid fucking brain, and I bend down, so I am nose to nose with her.

“I’m going to watch you pass out, then I am going to tie you down and make you watch as I start to tear your insides out piece by piece, waiting for you to regain consciousness every time.” The smile on my face is true—okay, maybe a little evil—and I see the shock in her eyes.