Queen of Demise: The Fallen Book Three

Chapter One - Amelia

Every month, I swear, this same walk to the basement becomes longer and longer. It's early in the morning and Nolan was insisted by the school doctor to come and see him for an appointment. It's probably a little bit too early if you ask me. I peer down the stairs as much as I can to see whether or not Nolan has changed back into a human, or loose but free still inside of his werewolf form. When I eventually see the mostly naked man lying on the floor trying to catch some sleep, I let out a sigh of relief. As I grab the robe we hang conveniently next to the staircase, I go over to him and throw it over him. Grabbing the keys from my pocket next, I go to the cuffs on his wrists and his ankles to unlock them. The sound wakes him up and he gives me a gleeful smile. He always seems happy to pass an evening where he has no mental recollection of what he could have possibly done. I think even if he did manage to escape and hurt somebody, I wouldn't have it in me to tell him. Because I know it's still a painful experience the next morning. I turn and walk away, leaving him be for the time being.

It's one of those busy Friday mornings where everyone has decided to wake up and come downstairs to eat at the dining table. Between fighting over the last piece of bacon and whether or not a pancake was overcooked, I feel that I am no longer hungry. Either way, I still stand in the threshold of the door, laughing at everyone's interactions. I see Oliver, who is neither eating nor hungry, stare at me. I haven't told him as I feel that it would ruin the surprise, but I did find the ring. Well, I saw it in my vision. But the vision of black smoke still hasn't gone away. In fact, this morning it was so vivid that I thought I saw a pair of eyes staring back at me. I shook it off to my imagination, though.

That's when things start to shake. The boys stop bickering as they try to hold their cups from tipping over. I'd suggest it's an earthquake, but it's not quite the same. Hearing something in the main parlor, I dash between their chairs and move outward from the dining room. All of them follow my movements until we see inside of the parlor a fog of black smoke starting to pull together. My dreams and recollections are starting to make more sense as I see pieces of blue streaks, lightning, and fire meld into the smoke.

Eventually a pair of eyes do stare back at me, and they eventually form a human. A woman with long brown hair, with streaks of black and white. Her eyes are a piercing ember. Behind her a man that I would consider not a man at all, but a demon. One with horns, tattoos, and piercings. His very presence makes me want to quiver, but I hold my own in front of my demons. What then? By my side, I don't need to be afraid.

The woman, who looks no older than I am, stares me up and down as the smoke disappears. "Amelia, I presume?" She smirks, looking around at the boys behind me. "My name is Morgana." At the mere mention of her name, the boys around me all dropped to the floor, bowing. Who is this woman? "We need to talk."

"What are you doing here?" I question, taking in a deep breath and standing tall with my chin up high.

"I can answer that," The man behind her steps forward, holding out a piece of paper. I take it in my hand – it's an email from me.

"You're Alistair?" I query.

"Yes, you invited us."

"Oh, wow," How was I supposed to know that the person I had been conversing on the internet with was a demon from Hell? ", do demons usually go to college and seek accommodations for it?"

"Special circumstances." He smirks.

"Quiet." Morgana silences him with a wave of her hand. "We've had a long day and would prefer to be shown to our room as soon as possible."

"R-right." I stutter. I turn around and the boys behind me are still bowing. "Guys, stop that." I bite my tongue as the words escape me, it was a command I just gave them, and they have no choice but to do as I say. I've been trying very hard always to ask them to do things. I turn back to the unlikely pair. "I'm sorry, I hadn't realised that Alistair's companion he mentioned was female, I had a twin room prepared assuming you were both boys. We have another room, but I haven't prepared it-"

"Same room is fine." Morgana cuts me off, looking up at the ceiling and starting to walk around the room, I assume making herself familiar with her surroundings.

"Oh, you're a couple?"

"No." She states, turning her attention to my boys and walking toward them, slowly stopping in front of Reyes. "You're an interesting one." She smirks, her head whipping to the other half of the room, eyeing and then meandering over to Seth. Her sense of personal space is non-existent as she walks up to him, forcing him to take a step back just so she doesn't step on his toes. Despite her petite size, and the size of everyone else in the room, the general consensus is obvious, fear. "And you, the psychic who pledged to an angel. I've heard about you." How does she know about them? I never mentioned them in my emails to Alistair.

"Nice to meet you, Morgana." Seth bravely becomes the first of them to speak.

"Tell me, does any of these demons know your dirty little secret or just the one you share it with?" I blink a few times, my eyes instantly darting to Kane but he just shrugs his shoulders. Everyone knows they're together – so that can't be it. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. But if you see anything about me, I expect you to keep your mouth shut."

"Okay listen," I snap, "I don't care who you think you are-" As I step forward, Oliver catches my arm and comes to my side, whispering;

"She's Morgana, the future queen of Hell, the one who decides exactly how long your soul should burn there."

"Oh, well now I care even less." I pull my arm from his grip and step up toward the princess. "Listen, I've invited you here because you and Alistair need somewhere safe to stay during college but understand this...you're under my roof, you follow my rules, and you sure as hell don't threaten my boys."

"Hell has nothing to do with this, sweetheart." She smirks, her eyes lighting up and she turns towards me, her arms on her hips. "But I like you."

I suddenly wish that one of the boys was able to see at the back of their head. I'm not sure I'm comfortable walking up the stairs and down the hallways with Morgana and Alistair behind me. Feigning a quick check over my shoulder I can see that Oliver and Nolan are right behind them. I'm grateful. I don't want to say something I'll regret – like I already have. What has been with me lately? I'm barking and biting more than I ever have in my life.

I unlock the door to the West end room on the first floor. "Welcome to your room. Please let me know if you're comfortable here or if you'd prefer separate rooms." The couple cautiously enters the spacious twin bedroom, taking in their surroundings. The room is elegantly designed with two comfortable looking beds, two polished study desks, and an expansive wardrobe to store all their belongings. Each piece of furniture has been carefully placed to maximize the available space, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

"This room will do," Morgana declared, her eyes scanning the space as she took a few confident steps towards the first bed. "So, Alistair, which bed do you want?" she asked, turning to him.

Alistair looked up with a hint of excitement in his eyes. "Can I really have a bed?" he asked, sounding almost surprised.

"Of course you can have a bed, Alistair," Morgana replied, her tone slightly amused. "You're the one who said you wanted to experience normal things. Did you really expect to sleep on the floor?"

"No," Alistair said, quickly pointing to the bed near the window.

Morgana gave a nod, acknowledging his choice. As she settled into her bed, I couldn't help but wonder if she was messing with Alistair. Were there really no beds where he came from?

I stood in the doorway, looking over at Nolan and Oliver who seemed just as puzzled as I was. "We're going to the mall after classes today, if you'd like to join us," I offered, trying to sound friendly. But the thought of Alistair's horns made me hesitate. How would he navigate around without attracting unwanted attention?

"Maybe," Morgana said, settling into her bed. "We'll see after we get settled in."

"Yeah, sure," I said with a forced smile, closing the door behind me as I left the room.