Page 71 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series
Five against one. The deal was done, the spell pulled off easily—which said a lot for Margarite’s popularity now.
The queen’s mouth dropped open, her body listing to the side. She broke down in tears, curling herself into a ball.
“No…” I heard her whisper. “Not this…”
A part of me hurt for her, for the woman I’d once been so wrapped up with. Everything she’d ever been unraveled within minutes, her years on the throne done.
Just like that, the world would change. Again.
“And now for the second vote,” the man said.
“Second?” Piper wheezed, ready to be on the floor herself.
Darcy scuttled over to me, taking the moment to get onto his favorite spot—my shoulder. I reached up and stroked his little body. He licked my neck, whiskers tickling my skin. His white fur was stained with Butterfly’s black demon blood.
I sidled closer to Xavier, taking his hand, our fingers interlocking.
My bestie and my potential boyfriend were safe and here and I wanted to scream with relief.
I held my shit together, crying on the inside. They were all I needed. My boys, my happiness. My hope.
“The vote for our new queen,” the man responded to Piper.
Tonight? Whoa. But then she was next in line.
“Those in favor of crowning Piper, Crown Princess, as the new queen, speak now.”
Bizarrely, all six said yes. No ‘nays’ this time. I guess the woman in the gown didn’t fancy her chances of being a lone voice in this.
“Then it is decided. We hereby declare Piper, Crown Princess, to be Witch Queen of the United Kingdom. All hail the queen!”
“The queen!” the council cried as one.
“The queen!” Darcy and I yelled together.
“The queen,” Xavier added softly, taking me by surprise.
Margarite wept in her ball, power officially stripped. She’d still be a powerful witch, but with zero authority.
The Queen Mother.
Man, how she’d hate that.
You could say this whole removal of authority was similar to demons and their monarchs, only without the lake business. Because this spell was so rare, I hadn’t really thought about it.
“A new era has begun,” the stick of rock man declared. “Let the realm know! Sing for the new queen!”
Vehicles screeched outside. The cavalry had arrived. Within less than a minute, royal soldiers flooded the room, calling Piper Majesty.
The spell ended, the council fading away. Piper staggered forward, a woman grabbing her before she hit the floor.
“Are you okay?” I said, stepping forward.
Those words always sounded so diluted in these situations.
“Not really,” she said. “I need to sit.”
The guard helped her back to the chair. “Fetch water for Her Majesty. Call a doctor!”
Guards busied themselves with their tasks, ignoring us, handing Piper tissues and antibacterial wipes, more vehicles and bodies arriving. Margarite was removed, carried away weeping.
“Please help my friends,” Piper finally said.
Cold, confused looks came our way. Xavier hid his demonic eyes and self, just a hot guy in a robe again.
It made no difference.
“The demon is here?” a man asked.
“You’ve only just noticed?” the new queen wondered.
He bowed, offering a load of apologies, then fired off some orders to get us blankets and water.
With the windows blown out, it was super cold in the room. When a guard handed me the softest, fluffiest blanket I’d ever encountered, I wanted to sing about it as if I were in a musical.
They brought in chairs, tea, water, and left us alone while they fussed around the new queen.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, buddy,” I told my bestie. “Really, really sorry.”
“You owe me a Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie movie marathon,” he replied, licking my neck again. “I’m talking a few days’ worth of movie goodness.”
I stroked his head with my little finger. “Deal.”
“Thank you for coming, though.”
“I’ll never leave you behind, Darcy. Never.”
“Likewise. Now tell me what happened.”
“Not the best place for a catch-up.”
“Fine. Later. For now, let’s continue having our minds blown.”
A doctor arrived. He checked the new queen over, then things went into overdrive.
We were all moved out of the castle, Xavier included, at Piper’s insistence.
So cool of her considering she didn’t know him and with him being a demon.
We were hurried through corridors with scorched walls, more broken windows, paintings and artifacts destroyed, bodies covered with white sheets.
Butterfly and his army really did a number on this place.
What was he trying to achieve? I thought he was smart, not some gung-ho demon flinging himself into the fray.
Oh, well. He was gone. Back to the demon realm, back to his time.
I let that sit with me as we passed survivors—injured guards and castle staff who’d taken down demons and humans in defense of their queen.
It was over.
This was really over.
Piper thanked the survivors as they praised her, wishing them good health and speedy recoveries. Eventually, she was put into a black SUV, us in one behind it.
Could this really be over?
The vehicles sped away into the night.