The royal city of Port Cressida has a new King.
Casper Ashe.
After spending years chained to the floor of a dungeon, haunted by visions of a beautiful woman, Casper is finally free. As Port Cressida's new King, he has two priorities: restore peace t...
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The Mountain Road
Sophie Reese
Snow drifted through the shattered windshield into the upturned wreckage. I stared at the spot where Jacques had lain seconds earlier before a bloody arm had reached in and pulled him out into the snow.
Nico and I were hanging upside down in our seats. We had been wearing our seat belts when the SUV flipped and landed on its roof in the snow.
The seatbelts held us suspended in the air, hovering over the shards of glass, blood and snow below. The gun Jacques had handed to Nico before the car had flipped lay beneath my broken legs.
I thought about trying to kick the gun towards Nico, so he could use it to distract the demon. The gun wouldn't kill the demon but it would buy me enough time for my legs to heal.
I tried reaching for the gun with my shoes, but both legs refused to work.
I stared out of the broken windshield and saw the demon holding Jacques' by the wrist and dragging his unconscious body through the snow.
Why hadn't the demon taken me?
I thought the demon would attack me first. But it had taken Jacques instead of me.
"This doesn't add up," I murmured out loud.
Nico stirred from the driver's seat and asked, "Are you injured?"
"My legs aren't doing too good, but I will heal in a few minutes," I replied.
"The other guards will be arriving soon in their cars. We will need to run when they arrive," he instructed me.
I raised both eyebrows in shock. "What about Jacques?"
"There is nothing we can do for him," he said gravely.
"I don't think that's entirely true," I countered. "I know of one person in this car who has killed a demon."
"No," Nico answered immediately.
"I hate to break it to you, but there are ten miles of treacherous icy road between us and safety. If you could give me some pointers about how to fight and use my powers, then maybe we can save Jacques," I suggested.
This was why I had burnt the ring. Nico was a skilled soldier, but he was also a centuries-old vampire who saw women as china dolls that needed to be wrapped in cotton wool and kept in a display box.
I knew there was no way that Nico would teach me how to fight out of choice. But perhaps he would do it out of necessity.
"You are a Queen, not a foot soldier," Nico growled.
"I can be a Queen and slay demons at the same time," I replied.
"That demon will destroy you."
I glared daggers at the back of Nico's head and then bit back a cry of agony as the bone in my right leg healed itself with painful pop.
