Page 24 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

I bowed to my queen, uncomfortable with her bypassing the street door.

If you’re a queen, I suppose you can ignore any door you want.

Her Majesty wore black jeans and a black duffel coat, a black beanie hat pulled low to blend her into the crowd. For anyone else, her disguise would work because why would the queen be walking around Soho alone?

“Hello, My Shadow,” she said.

I stepped aside, allowing her to sweep past me.

“What a surprise, Your Majesty,” I responded.

“I’m not alone.”

“Oh?”

“I have guards outside, so please do not worry.”

My main worry was Xavier returning at this moment. “What?—”

She cut me off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “ He has a concubine, the adulterous filth.”

“Who, Your Majesty?”

“King Basile. Who else?” Her lips drew back in a snarl, revealing her perfectly white teeth.

“He does?”

“I’ve known for some time,” she continued. “I forgot to warn you.”

“Warn me, Your Majesty?”

“To be on alert for this male paramour.”

“I will, of course.”

She shook her head. “Queen Sophie doesn’t even care. She allows it.”

“Does she have a paramour of her own?” I tried.

“Probably.”

“I’ll be vigilant as always, My Queen.”

“Excellent.”

Is that all she came to tell me? “Can I?—”

She reached out, cupping my chin. “Have you been crying, My Shadow?”

“Sorry for my appearance, Your Majesty.”

“Why the tears?”

“Too much time to think.”

She dropped her hand. “About your grandmother?”

“That’s right.” I really didn’t want to go into it with her. “Can I make you some tea? Something stronger?”

“I hate to see your lovely eyes so full of sorrow.” Her voice was a sympathetic whisper.

“Who’s at the door?” Darcy called.

The queen looked around me. “Do you have company?”

Darcy appeared in the living room doorway, rearing up, sniffing. “Who’s this?”

The Queen’s wide smile lit up her face. She clapped her hands together in delight, showing off a gleeful side to her personality I never knew existed.

“A talking rat? How charming.” She hurried over, crouching before him. “You are adorable.”

“And you look familiar,” Darcy countered.

“This is Queen Margarite,” I said.

His whiskers twitched. “For real?”

The queen chortled. “For real, my dear rat. Pleased to meet you.”

Darcy switched to arse-kissing mode. “It is an honor to be in your magnificent presence, Your Majesty.” He bowed in his ratty way. “Your beauty is unparalleled.”

Excuse me while I groan.

“Such a lovely creature.” Queen Margarite rubbed his head with her little finger. “May I pick you up?”

“It would warm my soul to its deepest core, Your Majesty.”

What the hell was in those treats of his?

She scooped him into her hands, cradling him as if he were precious cargo.

He kind of was, even if he’d decided to become some lord in a regency romance novel.

“Can I get you anything, My Queen?” I tried again.

She shook her head. “I will not be staying. I simply needed a break from everything.”

And you came here? “Understandable, Your Majesty.”

Her eyes met mine. “There will be a news story breaking soon.”

My chest contorted, choked with knots of terror. I buried it, keeping the reaction internal.

“Did you know a human woman and a demon were the cause of the riots in Wood Green?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “They were having an affair, sleeping together for a long time. Apparently, they tried to cover it up with a few weak lies, but the truth is now revealed.”

“Lies, Your Majesty?”

“Something about her not knowing he was a demon, other things. They’ve been together for six months, her partner discovering the truth last night.” Her eyes narrowed. “The demon killed him.”

I know. “That’s terrible.”

“Now they are both in my custody. The other scorpion demon has also been dealt with and will not be part of the next steps.”

The knots in my chest tightened, threatening to cut off my air supply.

“It is a complex situation,” she said, her attention back on Darcy.

“What with the peace talks. However, there is much public anger over the slaughter perpetuated by those scorpion demons, and for the human. To copulate with such a beast is unforgivable.” Eyes back to me.

“I am sure much of it goes on behind closed doors.”

Oh, God. Did she know about Xavier?

“Do I make an example of this couple? Or do I move forward in a peaceful way? The demon must pay for his crimes. But how to deal with the woman?”

Please just go!

“How are you feeling?” she asked, nodding at my hands.

“I’m okay, thank you.”

“Pain?”

“It’s pretty much gone,” I lied.

Hopefully by tonight it would be.

“Good.” She handed Darcy over. He ran up my arm, settling on my shoulder. “I will leave you and your adorable friend to it.”

“Okay, Your Majesty.” I got the door for her.

“I will see you after your French adventure.” She smiled, sweeping down the stairs with perfect elegance.

I closed the door, resting my forehead on the wood. “Did that really just happen?”

“It did,” Darcy said.

“Am I still standing up?” My legs were set to give in.

“You are.”

“What if Xavier had been here?”

“Then you wouldn’t be standing.”

“Shit.” I could barely breathe, those knots still strangling me.

“You’re walking on thin ice,” Darcy added. “And that’s putting it mildly.”

He didn’t ask me why the queen would show up here.

Man, I hated keeping secrets from my bestie.

Eventually, I peeled myself off the door and batted off buzzing terror.

Who else received visits from the Witch Queen of the United Kingdom while a demon popped in and out of their flat?

I paced my bedroom, eyes on the clock. Counting time was the worst thing to do, along with chewing my fingernails.

Unable to stand my stomach’s constant lurching, I decided to go for a walk. The sun was starting to set, the sky a mysterious gold fringed with faint pink.

The cold air would do me good.

“I’m popping out,” I told my furry buddy.

“Could you pick me up some of that roasted corn, please?”

“Yeah.”

“Make sure it’s really salty.”

I pulled my jacket on, fixing a baseball cap on my head. “Anything else?”

“Be careful.”

“Always.”

I opened the door to be greeted by Xavier.

“You’re wearing different clothes,” I blurted.

Navy jeans and a tight-fitting black T-shirt.

“Because I shifted,” he replied.

“Oh.”

“Disappointed?”

“In what?”

“My lack of nudity.”

Yes. “How long have you been standing there?”

“I was about to knock.”

I looked down the stairs behind him. “How did you get through the street door without shifting?”

“It has an easy lock to pick.”

I felt my brows pinch together. “Seriously?”

“At least for me.”

I put replacing the lock on my to-do list. “I’m just popping out.”

He did not look remotely pleased. “I see.”

“Need to clear my head.”

He nodded.

Okay. He may as well know the score. “The queen paid me a visit.”

“When?”

“About twenty minutes ago. Apparently, she must’ve picked my lock, too.”

Doubtful.

“She was here?” He glanced over his shoulder.

“An unexpected visit.”

His frown barely creased his forehead, his skin too smooth for many lines. “What did she want?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“I see.” Danger in his tone.

Alarms went off in my head. Would he attack me, demand I reveal every last secret? I’d been too forgiving, too stupid.

Screw his apologies, his roses. If he tried anything, I’d spill his guts over my floor. Fuck the cleanup. Fuck everything.

A shame to slice such pretty abs…

“It’s rattled me, as you can imagine,” I said, braced for a scrap. “Big time. I have to walk it off.”

His penetrative stare made my toes curl. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

No attack came. Only confusing silence, my heart beating that bit faster.

“Get inside,” I said.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“What about your walk?”

“Wait in the hallway.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

He did, folding his arms as I slammed the door closed, hurrying down the stairs, darting into the convenience store beneath my flat.

“Hey,” Mr. Cole greeted me.

“Hi!” I called over to the counter, finding the roasted corn for my little buddy.

Who was I to deny Darcy his joy?

“How you been?” Mr. Cole asked. A man in his fifties, married to his husband for twenty years.

“Not too bad,” I replied, cool sweat rolling down my back. “Yourself?”

He scanned the corn and the strawberry bon bons I suddenly craved within the past ten seconds.

“Good, thanks,” the shopkeeper replied. “Did a roaring trade last night.”

“Nice.”

“Sold so many snacks.”

Can I go now? “That’s booze hunger for you.”

“And hangover supplies.” He chuckled. “I remember those days of too much drinking and too much snacking.”

“Is there such a thing as too much snacking?” I joked.

“I suppose not.”

I handed over the cash. “Keep the change.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I better run. Got a bit of an evening ahead.”

He nodded. “No worries. Did you see the king’s memorial stuff?”

I edged toward the door. “Yeah. So sad.”

“I’m worried about that riot in Wood Green. Hope nothing like that happens here.”

“Me too. Fingers crossed it never does. I’ll pop in again next week for a proper catch up.”

“Cuppa?”

“Absolutely.”

“Looking forward to it.” He waved me off and I returned upstairs.

Xavier waited for me in the hallway, standing in the same position I left him in, the only difference being Darcy standing by his left boot.

“Where have you been?” the rat demanded.

I rustled the packet of corn at him. “Making you happy.”

He sniffed the air, then rushed me, getting up to my shoulder. “Thanks, but did you have to leave me with the demon?”

“It took me three minutes.”

“Three minutes too long.”

“You slept in the same room as him last night.”

“Not the point.”

“Thank you, Roman,” I said. “Oh, you’re welcome, Darcy. Thanks for acknowledging my thoughtfulness over your salty cravings.”

Darcy squeaked indignantly. “There’s no need for sarcasm.”

“I think there is. Anyway, back to the living room.”

“And what if the queen shows up?”

“Let’s not think about it,” I countered.

“Actually, some serious thinking needs to be going on.”