what kept me alive.”
“Riley helped you?” I question, not believing it. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” he tells me. “It surprises me as much as it does you.”
“When I was escaping the prisons, Riley threw a sword at me, and Masita jumped in front of me. He would have killed me, and he did kill her,” I explain, and I kiss his cheek when he stares at the ceiling, anger shaking his whole body. When he finally calms down, his heart rate returning to normal, he brushes my cheek with his hand.
“Aala?”
“I’ve sort of adopted her. Aala might have problems with separation anxiety, but who could blame her? I want to show her that not everyone is killed in her life. Is that okay?” I ask, and he cups my cheek.
“I will love her as my own because you love her,” he responds. “You have a beautiful soul, my queen.”
“And you know how to flatter a girl, my king,” I reply, hooking my leg around his waist and rolling on top of him. He grins and slowly unpeels my towel.
“Only you, Kaitlyn. Only you.”
Chapter 11
Glancing at myself in the reflection of the river near my feet, I wonder what the queen of hell will think of the vampire king and queen who are dressed in casual clothes. Not a crown in sight. My black T-shirt hugs my curves, hanging just over my skinny jeans and knee-high boots. Thankfully, Madi is just as casually dressed as I am, but she has a blue cloak covering her shoulders. Myles, Thallon and Henry stand just behind me and Ren, and Madi is stood to my left, while one of her mates, Warren, stands in the river. The water crashes around his waist as he closes his eyes and grips a staff in front of him. A wave of black coloured magic spirals out of the staff, infecting the water around him, and then it happens. The water crawls onto the shore of rocks and spreads until it makes a large shimmering portal, and slowly the water clears to reveal the queen of hell on the other side.
“Lexi!” Madi cheerily greets her, and she grins at Madi until her eyes drift to us. There is a big pause, then a look goes between Lexi and Madi that can only come from a deep friendship.
“Madi, are you sure?” Lexi asks her, and Madi glances at us.
“The vampires have never had leaders as good as they do now. Their race should not be destroyed because the angels want to keep their secrets. Vampires are born from angels,” Madi answers, and a rush of emotion fills me. Madi is a good person, and I hope we will be friends one day.
“As are demons,” Lexi adds in, her eyes finding mine. “In some ways, that makes vampires and demons siblings. Family.”
“We need your help,” I say and bow my head once before meeting her eyes. “And we will offer you a deal in repayment for an army, the deal that there will be peace between us all, forever, and if you need the vampires’ help in the future, we will come.”
Lexi looks back at her mates, who stand behind her. They talk quietly for a moment, and I glance at Ren, hoping I said everything right. He winks at me. “I chose the best queen. I knew the second I met you.”
“Sweet talker,” I whisper back, and he chuckles softly. Lexi takes her sweet time talking with her mates before turning back to the portal. At this point, I feel sorry for Warren, who must be freezing in that river.
“The angels have forever seen us as scum, and no doubt this would have been our war in the future. The demon army will rise, and we will fight at your side. We do not want the angels to be destroyed, but they need new leaders. They must change their ways and promise peace with every race,” Lexi says. “I am bound to hell, and I cannot leave, but some of my mates will lead the army, including my mate, Javier, who is a wolf shifter and will fight with the wolves alongside the alpha and your man, Myles.”
Glancing at Myles behind me, I see him grinning, and I turn back as Ren starts to talk.
“History will mark this day as one of unity,” he says, and the statement lingers in the air as we all take it in. Somehow he is right. All of us have our own stories that shaped who