Sever the Crown: Vampire Reverse Harem Complete Series

by Mysti Parker

  I slid to a stop and let him catch up while the thick black fog whisked out across the forest floor right toward us. “No! I mean fucking run! And use your senses. All of them! We can make it to the helicopter.”

  The thing was so dark, it seemed to devour all the light around it. And it would likely devour us if we let it.

  “Go!” I pushed him forward.

  Zac finally picked up his speed and blurred ahead. If I had to, I’d try to fight this thing – maybe I could distract it long enough for Zac to escape unharmed.

  As it closed in, black fog brushed icy cold tendrils across my back. I took off, dodging trees and leaping over logs at full speed. Zac was staying ahead, but I was quickly gaining on him. That meant he still wasn’t up to full speed.

  And then Zac did something utterly stupid. He looked over his shoulder to see if I was behind him while he ran.

  “Watch out for –”

  He crashed into a massive tree trunk. The impact cracked the wood and knocked him flat onto his back. I was going so fast, I passed him, so I slid to a stop and blurred back to him. The black mass flew straight through the trees, totally obscuring them from view. The chill from its proximity chattered my teeth.

  Zac groaned, but I dragged him to his feet and shook him. “Don’t look back. Just run. I’ll be right behind you.”

  He nodded and blurred down the path. I took off after him and ran like the devil himself was on my heels.

  Because he was.

  As I dodged trees and boulders, a memory surfaced. Mama running with me in her arms. I’d never seen her so scared – up until then at least. I couldn’t understand what was so bad about the black fog that floated behind us nearly as fast as she ran. I’d reached my fingers out to the dark, smoky tendrils that stretched toward me. The cold tickled my skin, and I giggled.

  Mama held me tighter and ran faster than I had ever seen her run. “Don’t touch it, Wren!”

  Suddenly, the thing shifted its course and darted to the left.

  “It’s gone, Mama.”

  She slowed down and looked over her shoulder. That’s when it materialized in front of us. She was going too fast to stop. And then we were engulfed in pitch darkness and cold that made Antarctica feel like the tropics. My muscles seized. My eyes froze. I couldn’t feel my limbs. I tried to cry out, but my lips had sealed together.

  A voice boomed out, the sound coming from everywhere as though it orbited us. “We had a deal.”

  Mama’s voice was a mere whisper as her teeth chattered. “I n-never p-promised y-you my d-daughter.”

  “You promised your firstborn. Your firstborn is dead. So I will have her as my compensation.”

  “N-never.”

  Frigid cold fingers grabbed my sides and almost ripped me from Mama’s arms. I clung to her and cried. But it was so strong. I could barely hang on to her coat with my numb fingers. I turned to see the most hideous face form from the cloud. His glowing eyes were blood red, his skin black and scaled. Two horns twisted up like vines from his head. A forked tongue flicked out between a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and licked my face, leaving a trail of burning cold on my cheek.

  Mama pulled something from her coat. A bright flash of light followed. I squinted and could barely make out what Mama held. She thrust it toward him. The monster screamed and let go of me. It sank back into the fog and floated away enough for Mama to break free. She held me tight and zipped us away toward a train going at full speed. Somehow, she managed to jump and landed in an open boxcar. I tumbled out of her arms, as did the thing she held.

  A thing I now possessed. The queen’s scepter.

  But it had rolled across the floor of the train car and out the open door on the other side. Mama tried to grab it but lost her balance. I caught her by the hem of her coat just in time and yanked her back inside, where we both fell onto the floor. She gathered me in her arms and cried.

  As the memory faded, I wondered how my father had found it. But then Zac and I broke into the clearing where the helicopter was supposed to meet us after an hour. Had we outrun the devil?

  Nope, we weren’t that lucky. The demon materialized in front of Zac. He skidded to a stop, and I collided with him, which knocked us both down. Zac flipped over, shielded me with his body, and hissed at the creature. The black fog condensed into a solid shape with arms, legs, and…a three-piece suit?

  The man now standing over us had a Greek god’s face, wavy black hair, and cinnamon eyes. He looked very familiar. Like an older version of Marlowe… Surely this thing wasn’t his father?

  He brushed a stray leaf off the lapel of his jacket. “Ah, there you are. I knew you’d find me eventually.” His voice was deceptively deep and smooth as velvet.

  “What do you want?” Zac demanded.

  “I’m not talking to you. I’m speaking to the little queen. She belongs to me.”

  “Like hell she does.” Zac lunged at him.

  With one little wave as though swatting away a fly, the demon sent Zac soaring over my head. He landed on the ground and slid up against a tree, looking at me with a mix of helplessness and fear. As though I could do anything with a demon this powerful.

  I didn’t have the scepter in my pocket either.

  As I sat up, racking my brain to figure out how we could escape, a familiar voice resonated in my head. It scared the shit out of me as it usually did when our friendly neighborhood celestial spoke telepathically to me.

  Stall him. I’m on my way.

  I resisted the grin that pulled at my lips as I rose to my feet and faced off with the devil. “Hang on a minute. You at least owe me an explanation. Why exactly do you think I belong to you?”

  “Oh, of course, how silly of me.” He grinned with way too many teeth. “You weren’t even thought of when your mother and I made the deal. I’m Mephistopheles, Agent of Soul Recruitment and Repossession. It’s quite a mouthful, so you can call me Phil.”

  “Phil. Sounds terrifying. She’d never make a deal with the devil, much less the likes of you.”

  “What wouldn’t a queen do to protect her throne?”

  “By offering me to a demon? I don’t see how that’s supposed to protect her throne.”

  “It’s quite simple.” He rolled his eyes like he was dealing with a fool. “If you get a loan from the bank and purchase a car, but don’t pay it back, the bank can repossess it. That’s how these things work.”

  “You loaned my mom money?”

  With a long, loud sigh, he shook his head. “No, darling. I loaned her my help. A little throne insurance.”

  “Wow,” I deadpanned, crossing my arms. “You sure were a big help.”

  “Oh, but I was.” He laughed, but the sound made my hair stand on end. “I do love your sarcasm. But a deal’s a deal. She promised her firstborn to me if I would help her secure the throne.”

  My jaw dropped. “She’d never promise me to a demon like you.”

  “You’re not her firstborn. Devin’s child was. But that didn’t work out, so…you’ll have to do.”

  His statement brought back what Marlowe had told me he’d seen back in Scotland. My mother had appeared to be pregnant. Had she really promised her and Devin’s child to the devil?

  I had to keep stalling him. The static building in the air hopefully meant we were seconds from help arriving. “And you just now decided to come for me?”

  “I suspected you’d be dead long before now, so I figured why bother? I’m a busy guy, and the pretty boy celestials keep getting in my way. But the boss insists on one hundred percent job success. If I don’t collect on overdue balances, it reflects on my yearly performance report.” He gestured to Zac. “You get me, right?”

  Zac just glared at him.

  “Well, this has been lovely,” Phil said, rubbing his palms together. “But come along now. Let’s not make this difficult.”

  A loud boom sounded from the sky followed by a sparkling circle with mystical symbols. Zac scrambled to his feet and pulled me o
ut of the way just before the celestial landed in a crouch right where I’d been.

  “It’s about time,” I said.

  Angelo folded his black and gold sparkling wings, which wrapped back around his arms in the form of feathered tattoos. He flicked his hand. A machete engulfed in green flames appeared, while a shield materialized in the other hand. “Sorry. Imp infestation in Malaysia.”

  “Must have been some fight.” Several bite wounds formed crescent shapes on his arms and neck. Even his leather pants were torn.

  He grimaced. “You have no idea.”

  The demon flicked his gaze between us as his expression grew steadily angrier. “Give me a fucking break. Why are you helping vampires?”

  “Because it’s for the greater good.” He glanced at me and winked. “And Wren’s a cool chick. You mess with her; you mess with me.”

  “Oh, puh-leeze.” He flicked a finger toward us. A stream of fire flew straight at me.

  Angelo moved faster than a vampire and blocked it with his shield.

  The demon threw his arms up. “You’re not kidding. You’d actually protect an unholy creature. I mean, I thought I had her when you offered her that celestial feather deal.”

  “Not even close.”

  “You intervened,” Phil said. “You broke the rules.”

  Zac and I looked at each other. He seemed just as confused as I was.

  “Won’t your goddess be pissed?” The demon slid his cold glare toward us.

  “She’ll understand. Now leave,” Angelo ordered, squeezing his machete tighter. “You can’t win this.”

  “We’ll see about that.” The demon looked over Angelo’s shoulder at me. “We’re not finished. I will get what I am owed.”

  He waved his arm and dissipated into a black fog that whisked back into the forest, leaving a trail of strong sulfur stench in his wake.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” Zac looked me over. “Are you okay?”

  I waved him off. “I’m fine.”

  Angelo sighed and flicked his wrist. The machete and shield poofed out of sight. He ran his hand through his dark hair and came over to us. I wondered if all celestials were as hot as this one. He looked like a souped-up version of Ricky Martin. It didn’t hurt that he wore tight leather pants, army boots, and a black T-shirt that hugged his muscles in all the right places. But I’d have to drool over sexy celestials later. Or not at all, given that I already had five hot vampires. No need to be selfish, Wren.

  “You should get back to the bunker,” Angelo said.

  “Not until you tell me what the fuck he was talking about. My mother would never have given up her child to a demon.”

  Angelo twisted his mouth to one side and looked away.

  “No. You’re mistaken.” I shook my head hard, unable to even consider it. “There’s no way she would have done that.”

  He heaved a big sigh and finally met my gaze. “Things were complicated back then. She was different. With different ideals. Her mother before her was ruthless. She drilled that into her daughters. Bronwen did what she did at the urging of her mother. Ravana and others were poised even then to steal the throne.”

  “But the baby? What happened to the baby?”

  “She lost it,” he said softly and frowned. “On the ship back to America with Albert. Devin was devastated. But he didn’t know about her dealings with the demon. At least not for a while. Not until just before the coup. That’s when he sided with Ravana.”

  My knees wobbled from shock, then anger. Zac wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  I tried to keep my voice calm, but I gripped Zac’s arms to keep myself from punching the shit out of the celestial who up until then I thought had been totally trustworthy. Not to mention, it would probably just piss him off.

  Finally, I managed to speak without punching anyone. “I have three questions for you, and you better not lie to me. One – why didn’t you tell me this before? Two – what did he mean by you interfering in our feather deal? And three – is that demon Marlowe’s father?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Zac

  "Yes," Angelo said, drawing out the word like a snake. He might be a celestial, but his smile suggested he liked to tease the devil too.

  Wren blinked hard. "What?"

  "Yes to which question?" I demanded.

  "The last one.” He jerked his head in the direction the demon smoke had blown off to. “That demon is Marlowe's father."

  My mind slipped a little, and I briefly wondered if I were dreaming. Vampires and witches and Ricky Martin celestials were one thing, but demons too… I guess I should’ve seen that coming, but I hadn’t.

  “Damn,” Wren whispered, staring at Angelo in bewilderment. “I’d hoped that his father might be a cool demon, like a motorcycle guy or something.”

  Angelo hummed in agreement. “Most demons are lower-level and relatively harmless. Phil is another story.”

  “Poor Marlowe,” Wren said. “We’ll have to tell him about this.”

  "Anyway,” Angelo continued, ignoring her. “I suspect it won't be a happy reunion between father and son should they ever meet. Dear old Dad doesn't have a lick of empathy anywhere in that black soul of his."

  "Neither did Marlowe’s mother…" Wren said.

  I hadn't heard about Marlowe's past, but I could fit his scars and these new pieces together. I felt bad for the guy.

  "And yes, I interfered in your celestial promise to me so you could get one of my feathers.” He shrugged. “If I hadn't, you'd still be in eighteenth century Scotland, and the future without the true queen is bleak. You're welcome."

  "Oh. Thanks,” Wren said.

  Marlowe had mentioned once that this celestial hated vampires, but he sure seemed to have a soft spot for Wren. I couldn’t blame him. He probably knew her heart better than most.

  “And my last question?” she asked. “I mean my first since you appear to be working your way backward?"

  “I guess I am, huh?” He chuckled. "I didn't tell you about the deal your mother made with Marlowe's father regarding her firstborn because I don't like to interfere unless I absolutely have to. You have the scepter, Wren."

  "Not on me."

  "Well, fix that. It's important. It’s the Swiss Army knife of true queens."

  "So that's how I get rid of that demon?"

  "It's how you do a lot of things.” He fixed her with a hard stare and then ran his hand through his dark hair. I had a feeling he did that on purpose to make him look sexier or whatever. “So…those imps in Malaysia aren't going to take care of themselves." He glanced at me, the first acknowledgement of my existence since he’d arrived. "Fly's open, newbie."

  "No. It isn't."

  He grinned. "Then you're getting the hang of things. Later, Wren."

  His tattooed feathers unfurled from his arms into real black and gold ones and grew into massive, shimmering wings. Then he flapped them once and was gone.

  Wren looked up at the sky where he’d disappeared. "Yeah…later." Then she met my gaze, her mouth tight with worry. "I have to tell Marlowe."

  "Did he have any idea who his father was?"

  "None. His mother was…” She shook her head hard, tears glistening in her yellow eyes. “She wasn't a mother at all."

  "Hey.” I traced the line of her jaw, feeling her pain like it was my own. “Are you all right?"

  "It's a lot to wade through. My mom offering up her firstborn in exchange for the throne puts a new, darker light on her. The person you thought you knew everything about…” She frowned at the forest ground. “I shaped her differently in my head."

  Gently, I tilted her chin up so she’d look at me. "You were eight. You couldn’t have possibly known all there was about her. She had a few hundred years on you. And she was still good, Wren. A few bad choices don’t change that."

  She shrugged one shoulder. "But when compared to Ravana, isn't everyone good? They're sisters. Maybe they had more in common than I thought."


  "Ravana sets a very low bar. I wouldn't compare anyone to her, least of all you. We all make mistakes.” I smiled, but it was too sad to last. “I shaped you differently in my head, too, and that was my biggest mistake."

  She slipped her hand in mine, the one that had still been caressing her cheek. "I'm glad I changed my shape in your head."

  "Me too." With her hand still in mine, we began walking in the direction of the old logging road.

  "I'm sure it took a long time," she said, her arm brushing mine.

  I moved closer and gripped her hand tighter. There was something about her skin that made me want to never stop touching it. "It was such a gradual thing, I didn’t even notice it happening right away. After Sasha died, I couldn't even imagine loving someone else, because I hated everyone and everything, not just you. But then I got to know you…"

  She pulled me to a stop, her eyes filling with tears, and touched her finger to the dimple in my chin. "That's the sweetest, most heartbreaking thing I've ever heard, Zac."

  "It’s the truth." Nothing but the truth from now on, no matter how painful or embarrassing. I owed her that.

  We started walking in comfortable silence again. I kept my senses sharp and moved us toward where the trees grew thicker together since that gunshot earlier indicated we weren’t alone out here. A creek burbled from somewhere to the left, and a faint bullfrog croak punctuated the sound. Amphibians were too cold-blooded for my tastes, though.

  Wren kept stealing glances at me, her arm flush with mine as she gripped my hand tight. "I wish I knew what I said or did to change your mind about me."

  "It wasn't just one thing.” I met her gaze and smiled. “It was everything."

  “Wow,” she said, touching her chest. “That’s… Wow.”

  "You're not like Bronwen or Ravana,” I told her. “You're just you, and that's more than enough."

  Her lower lip trembled, and she blinked hard as she looked away. "Coming from you, that's the best thing anyone could ever say to me."

  "Good. Do you believe it?"

  "Uh, depends on the day?" She gave a teary laugh and then moved in to wrap her arms around me. “But thank you.”