They all stood when I entered, but I waved it off and motioned for them to sit back down. They did so, and I sat across from them.

"I have to admit," James began with a small smile, "I wasn't entirely surprised to see you had sent all of the officers away."

I returned his smile. "Really? I thought you might become angry with me over it."

James laughed. "Angry? No, I would never be angry with you over something like this. Annoyed? Confused? Frustrated? Maybe."

I looked down at my hands. "I'm sorry, I just didn't feel comfortable with them here."

I saw James lean forward, trying to meet my gaze. "Yes, but that isn't the whole reason, is it?"

I looked up at him, hoping he could see in my expression that I was telling the truth. "It was at first. My mind wouldn't let me relax because I was surrounded by more potential threats. Later, I realized that with the police surrounding my house, the attackers weren't going to come back. I needed them to return so I could catch them and put a stop to whatever is going on."

James was silent, but after a moment of reading me, he nodded.

The officer seated to his right, a woman with a long black ponytail and bright brown eyes, spoke up. "Has anything happened since our officers were told to leave?"

My brain immediately went back to this morning, when I found Sebastian coming back into the house after fighting off a lesser demon. I shook my head. "No, it has been rather quiet."

She didn't seem to believe me, but didn't pry. I was thankful for that. I wasn't a good liar, and if she had continued to ask me questions, they all could have found out about something they had no business knowing.

James, however, gave me a half smile while speaking to his coworker. "Even if something had happened, she wouldn't tell us. She wants to figure out what's happening and stop it before anyone besides her can get hurt." He directed his attention back to me. "That's admirable, Chrystal, believe me. I wish half of our officers had your courage. But I would also put your courage under the category of stupidity. You need to make sure you're alive when your family returns home. They've proven how much faith they have in you by agreeing to go on this trip."

"That's not it," I said. "They all decided to go because they knew I would focus on myself if they were out of the way."

"And they trust you'll do just that."

I didn't answer, not knowing how to respond. I knew they trusted me. If they hadn't, they wouldn't have left.

James stood. "I'm going to walk around outside, see if there is anything we may have missed the last time we were here. Lisa, you stay here with Chrystal. Dan, come with me."

The man who had been seated to James's left stood. James waved to me, then they both made their way out of the room.

Lisa, as James had called her, stared at me with an amused smile. "You don't want him to know anything, do you?"

My gaze shot over to her as she spoke. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Of course, I can understand why you won't tell him. It's hard to explain to ordinary humans, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked cautiously.

She smiled, and I watched in shock as her eyes brightened to a brilliant crimson.

I jumped in surprise and sudden fear. A demon? Why? Wasn't she working for the police? Was she just under cover until she could find me and kill me? I was alone with her now, with no way of defending myself. What was happening?

As she sensed my fear, her smile faded to a frown. "Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you. If I was, I would've done it by now."

Although her words sounded truthful enough, I didn't let my guard down, nor could I calm my racing heart. "Then why are you here?" Surely Sebastian knew she was a demon when he'd seen her, unless he wasn't paying attention because he was too worried about me.

Lisa turned her head to gaze out the window, I followed her eyes, and saw the man James had called Dan searching the edge of the woods beside the house. "I wanted to help protect you."

So that was it. Did Sebastian know her?

"What? Why?"

"The prophecy is a dangerous thing. There have been others before you that fit the description quite well, and they were all found and killed before they could finish their trial or find their lover."

"You know about the prophecy?" I asked carefully.

She turned her eyes back to me with a soft smile. "Every demon knows about it, dear. We are searching for our next queen, after all."

That made sense. "Why me? I mean, why do you want to help protect me?"

"You are the closest thing we've ever had to someone who fits the description. Plus, you've almost finished your trials and you've found one to love. Our world cannot wait much longer for its ruler. It has already began to plunge itself into chaos."

"Your world is in trouble?"

"Without someone to guide us, yes. It has been thousands of years since the king perished. Without authority, many people have taken it upon themselves to do whatever they so desire."

"But why does it have to be me?" I asked her. "I don't want this. I just want to live my life here with my family."

Lisa gave me a gentle smile. "None of us get to choose our fate, Chrystal."

My gaze fell to my clasped hands. "I understand. I can't escape this. I either become a queen or die to the ones who want to prevent that from happening." I closed my eyes and sighed. "It sounds like a lose-lose situation, if you ask me."

Lisa's gaze turned puzzled. "So you don't wish to have power? You do not want people to love and worship you?"

He words made me picture thousands of demons bowing down to me like I was some sort of god, and I visibly cringed. "No, I don't. I don't want anyone to worship me. I just want to live my life as normal. I can't become a queen of your demon world or whatever it is and be with my family."

Lisa's ruby eyes sparkled. "Who said you can't?"