Page 65 of To Love a Dark Lord

But it just didn’t feel right.

As for all the other elementals? They probably viewed Zoe with a mix of fear and loyalty. And Gwen had to admit that she herself hadn’t won any favors with them since her time in Avalon. Siding with Mordred would do that.

But that didn’t mean they should all die.

If she did manage to become queen, though, that would be her problem to solve. She’d need to find some way to try to keep the peace without damning everyone to an eternity trapped inside the Iron Crystal or sentencing them to death.

There had to be a way. There had to be. That was why Avalon had chosen her, she was sure of it. If anybody was going to be able to figure it out, it’d be her. Not like she had any clue about where to start. Hopefully, it’d come to her when she needed it.

That didn’t solve her immediate problem, though. She was asleep. And if she waited for Mordred to wake her up, the massacre would be done. Walking through the dream, she transitioned from the mall parking lot to a campsite she used to frequent with her family. There was a small river with a rocky cliff along one side, and she used to love to follow the trail along the river, skipping stones across the surface when it was calm enough.

She felt like Winnie the Pooh. “Think, think, think!”

A heavy, beleaguered sigh came from the cliff above her. “I’m afraid to say that’s something you’re clearly not capable of doing. You might as well give up.”

She knew that voice. Stopping in her tracks, she looked up. And there, perched atop the cliff, lying like a panther on a branch, was a huge, catlike demon. Two glowing red eyes peered down at her.

Grinn.

It was Grinn.

But he was whole. He had his horns, his eyes, his fangs. His lion-esque tail flicked in annoyance, the tuft of hair at the end thumping against the rock.

“This—this isn’t possible. You’re not real. This is a dream.”

The demon shrugged and peered off into the dream, his lip curling in disgust. “Certainly not one of mine.”

“You’re dead.”

“I died. That part is accurate.”

“Are you—are you really here?” Gwen couldn’t help but gape in disbelief. Even in the dream, she felt her heart race. Was it possible? “Did you make it back to hell?”

“If I said I did, would you believe me?”

Thinking about it for a moment, she shook her head. “You could just be my mind telling me what I want to hear.”

“And if I told you I was just a figment of your idiotic mind, what then?”

“I’d probably think you were really Grinn but that you were fucking with me.” She shrugged. “So I guess it doesn’t matter if you’re real or not, I wouldn’t believe you.”

“Exactly. So don’t waste my time on stupid questions.” He stood, stretching, his long claws digging into the rock, leaving trenches in the stone. “What foolish mess have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Mordred has lost his mind. He—wait—wouldn’t you already know this if you’re part of my dream?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Or, you think I wouldn’t know, so I don’t.” He shook his head with a heavy sigh, smoke curling from his nostrils. He sat, wrapping his tail around his front feet. Paws? Hands? They were kind of both, she supposed.

“Right.” She placed her own hands over her eyes. “I’m betting this is just my inner sarcastic self-loathing taking the shape of the asshole demon to talk myself through what’s going on.”

“Whatever makes you happy. Now, will you hurry it up? I hate you, and I want to be done with inane conversation as soon as possible.” That sounded like Grinn, all right.

“After you died, Zoe took Mordred prisoner. He stood trial. And was condemned to being imprisoned in the Iron Crystal.”

Grinn burst out laughing. A kind of real, jovial humor that she’d never heard from the demon. But she supposed that tracked. He’d love Mordred’s suffering, that was easy to predict. “That is amazing. Of course I wasn’t around to see it. Avalon wouldn’t do me that favor. Instead, I had to die with you slobber-crying all over me.”

Rolling her eyes, she tried not to be offended. “Yeah, sorry I felt bad that you died.”

“You should be.”

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