Page 47 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

DARCY

T he front door banged open, coming off its hinges.

I squeaked, almost rolling off the side table next to my best friend’s armchair.

Couldn’t a rat have a moment to enjoy a snooze?

“What’s wrong with you?” I got ready to rip Roman a new arsehole. What was he kicking the door in for?

Only, Roman wouldn’t do that to our front door. He liked our front door. It served him well. It kept the world outside, the shitheads at bay.

Just not Queen Margarite and her royal guards.

She spotted me, giving me a wave.

A wave full of not much fun.

“Hello, you,” she said, striding down the hallway.

I gulped. “Y-Your Majesty?”

“Yes, yes,” she responded. “I don’t suppose Roman is home?”

“N-No. H-He’s out.”

She nodded, running her finger down a wall, checking for dust. “Indeed, he was out. At my palace, to be precise. Only, he decided to stun me with a magic trick. Teleportation, I’m assuming.” She stopped in the living room doorway. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Roman teleporting?”

“Yes. Does he perform it often?”

“No. I don’t think so. He was at the palace?”

She clapped her hands together, a ripple of Synth ribboning through the air toward me. It struck, paralyzing me.

“I’m disappointed in our boy, dear rat.”

Dear God, Gods, Master of All, Whoever is Up There: Please make Roman come home right now with his new demon pal to kick her arse.

“He will come for you, though,” she said.

My prayers were not answered.

She patted my head. “I know he will. He wouldn’t abandon a sweet little thing like you, would he?”

Shitty McShit.

“Come, let me show you a glimpse of my world in the meantime.” She scooped me up.

Help me, Roman! For the love of God, Gods, Whatever!