Page 98 of Tortured Royals

We stay like that for a little while until my tears dry. “Uh Shade, your nipples are poking me.”

Grinning, she wipes her own tears and peers down at her naked human body. “Yeah, weird huh?”

“You didn’t know?” I ask her, even though that’s what Reselle said. That Shade knows nothing about the curse placed on her.

She shakes her head. “No one is more startled than me. I have to say, though,” she inspects her body, twisting from side-to-side. Not bad, right?”

I laugh. “Not bad at all. Though, we are going to have to figure you out.”

She gives me a cheesy grin, though I see the inkling of fear and uncertainty in her eyes. “I’d like that,” she says softly, and her smile lifts again. “Hey, who knows. Maybe I have mates out there, after all.”

“Of course, one of your first thoughts would be about finding your mates,” I chuckle.

“Hey, you can’t have all the fun,” she teases.

Prince Callan flicks his hand, and a moment later, a curtain flies over to us, carried by a gust of wind. My archangel smiles at me, and I grab the fabric from the air. “Here,” I tell Shade, helping to wrap it around her like a toga. I’ve just finished tying a knot at her shoulder when cheering sounds from the ground.

My mates, Shade, and I step to the edge of the roof, peering down at where the soldiers and witches are on the ground. Golden light still flies around me and my mates, and my heart squeezes as everyone falls to their knees before us. Witches. Demons. Even the archangels, beast shifters, and water monsters. They all show their respect, laying their weapons on the ground before them, and clenching their fists, slamming it to their chests.

I spot General Josek surrounded by demons, and I could be imagining it from this distance, but when he stares at me, all I feel is approval. And all I can think is that I finally feel…at home.

Chapter

Thirty-Two

~ Queen Blake ~

One week later…

Dante adjusts the demon crown on my head, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear before he kisses me on the forehead and steps back. After the battle was over, things moved quickly. A grand funeral was held for my parents where they were buried in a brand-new gravesite with a large statue erected to honor them. Gone are the days of having to protect the demons’ horns, and it feels right to have Dad’s power flowing back into the land like it had in ancient times before the witches arrived.

The coronation followed that, and because they’re my bonded mates, Alaric, Dante, Callan, Mason, and Nate became kings of the demon realm, standing by my side.

They wait for me now, dressed in neatly pressed black suits with black ties, their matching golden crowns positioned on their heads.

“I don’t get why we have to dress up for this,” I grumble, smoothing my hands down the long black lace dress that hugs my body.

“Because you’re a queen now,” Shade says, bouncing over to me and adjusting one of the small violet roses that has been woven into my dark hair. She has fussed over me for the past two hours, and I’m seriously starting to grow suspicious of my friend. “You need to act the part,” she adds. “Everyone will expect it.”

Nate clears his throat. “Yeah. What she said.”

I narrow my eyes at them. Now that I think of it. They’veallbeen acting suspicious.

Mason comes forward, his hand sliding down the curve of my back. “This is a big day for my kind,” he tells me. “It can’t hurt to look good. Let Shade have her fun.”

Shade beams at me, and while I’m still adjusting to her new face, it still feels like I’ve known her forever. “Okay, fine, but don’t expect me to dress like this every day. I’m ademonqueen, remember? No one is going to expect me to wear dresses all the time.”

“Gotcha,” Shade says.

She works on some final touches, and we exit the Coilan Clan house heading into the garden. With the castle under repair, we’ve been staying here for the past few days, and I don’t mind one bit. The scent of apricots reaches my nose, and I move toward the closest fruit tree, reaching for an apricot.

Shade quickly diverts me. “Uh, no you don’t, girl. I didn’t just spend the last two hours getting you ready, only for you to get sticky apricot juice all over yourself. I don’t care how tasty those suckers are.”

“You know, I think I liked it better when you were a crow,” I point out, dryly. “At least then, there was less chance of you dictating my eating habits.”

“You’ll thank me later,” she says, patting my hand sympathetically.

We stop in the middle of the garden, and Mason reaches his hand out, the portal ring shining on his finger. A moment later, flames flicker to life, a portal opening up before us.

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