The entire room grew quiet when Matilda announced that Queen had arrived. I wasn't aware if we were yelling surprise or not at that point due to all the streamers and a large welcome banner hanging across the room. Julius had decorated the entire palace as though the child was having a birthday party.

I glanced at Xyla and saw her scowling with her arms crossed. If I was a nicer person I would've checked on her, but I didn't give a shit about her.

I needed to work on that...but not today. I wasn't sure if I truly could pretend that well.

We heard a soft voice outside the dining room and I listened quietly. "I can carry that, it's alright," a girl's voice sounded.

"It's okay your Majesty, I will take it to your room." I immediately recognized Sergio's voice. He was the castle's chauffeur of almost thirty years; yet another human that worked in the palace that was against immortality for some odd reason.

"My name is Queen," she said.

"What a strange name for a child," Sergio whispered in what sounded like awe. She said something else that we couldn't really hear, but it made Sergio burst into a spur of laughter that sounded like a donkey was dying. Queen laughed along with him, and I furrowed my eyebrows at the sound.

It was rare that I heard a genuine laugh around here from anyone besides my mother and her close friends. Everyone else oozed royalty and petulance that for some reason entailed having a fake laugh and smile. I couldn't quite do such things myself, but from observation, I'd become a pro at reading people.

"Everyone is in here. Are you ready?" Sergio asked.

"I was ready until you asked if I was ready," she whispered. "Is there a reason I shouldn't be ready?"

"No. You're only a human walking into a room full of supernatural creatures," Sergio joked.

Human?

I didn't realize I had said that out loud until my mother glanced at me with a focused squint. "Behave yourself, Syn." I rolled my eyes and she turned to Felix. "You as well. She is our guest, not a blood bank. Control yourselves."

"I'm always in control," Felix muttered, adjusting his blazer.

A small giggle erupted from Xyla who seconds ago was scowling at the door, and I raised a brow. It wasn't that funny, was it? I thought to myself for a few moments, but settled my instincts to focus on the moment at hand.

"Was that supposed to calm me down?" I heard the girl ask Sergio from the other side of the door.

Julius scoffed, Xyla rolled her eyes with Mia, and everyone else burst out into quiet laughs. Xavier tried his best to hold down his laughter, but failed when my mother began. I looked away from everyone that was busy with their own reactions, and I shook my head at the conversation that continued on.

"Also, they have heard every single word we have spoken since we walked in," Sergio murmured.

We heard a small shocked gasp that we assumed was from Queen and she spoke up in a shaky tone. "Even about the-"

"Shh. Not about that," Sergio said, laughing again for the umpteenth time.

The door to the dining room opened and Xavier, Jess, and Genesis all yelled, "Surprise!"

Wow.

I shook my head at them and looked at my watch. I didn't want to be here any longer than I had to. I had better things to do than watch some little girl eat cake. I was hear on business for fucks sake.

A small scream escaped from Queen's mouth, causing me to finally look up at her. I was shocked to see that Queen wasn't a teenager as I thought. The way everyone talked about her as Xyla's little sister I assumed she was maybe fifteen...

But a woman stood in front of us.

She was wearing a ripped denim jacket and a short lace black dress that ended in the middle of her thighs and complimented her caramel skin. Her black heels matched her dress, and her curly black hair was tied in a ponytail, loose curls spilling onto her face.

Complimented-what are these words? You noticed the material of her dress, Syn? What. The. Fuck...I wanted to look away from her, but I felt like I'd miss something. She was obviously attractive, but there was something about her that I couldn't quite figure out, and it was beginning to nag at me.

I was able to tell within seconds of meeting someone whether or not I'd be cordial with them, but I couldn't with her. Everything in my mind was telling me to hate her and act as though she didn't exist, but something else...a very very small part of me was intrigued. And I did not like that. At all.

I didn't realize that I had been looking at her for so long until Xavier nudged me and gave me a knowing smile. "Stop staring."

"I am not," I muttered and glanced back at Queen.

"You didn't expect her to be hot either, did you?"

"Xavier...shut the fuck up." I whispered. He gave me a smug grin and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms as he looked back at the woman.

"Hi everyone," she said with a nervous smile and wave.

My mother and her best friend Jess squealed and ran up to Queen as if she was a friend they hadn't seen in years. They pulled her into a hug, and their deafening pig squeals continued. Jess's pregnant belly made the hug look uncomfortable but nonetheless, she hugged her back.

Queen jumped along with them and hugged them back with a large grin. "Why are we so happy?" She asked in the same ear piercing screech that they had. Great.

I tore my eyes away from the scene and glanced around the room. I found Xavier looking at me again with a smirk and a raised brow expressing his nosiness.

"What?"

"You're staring." He said.

"Xavier, I will kill you if you don't leave me alone. I am not staring." I groaned. I looked at the girl once-maybe twice, but I wasn't frothing at the mouth. She was pretty, but a lot of people in the world were pretty. I didn't want anything to do with her.

"Mhmm." He hummed. "I just don't want you to get caught. That's what best friends are for." He grinned. I so badly wanted to punch it off his face at that very moment, but I resisted. My father would have a heart attack if he knew that we had gotten into a fight.

My mother began introducing Queen to everyone in the room one by one and I glanced at Xyla. I would think that she would be the first one to greet her sister, but here she remained, sitting next to Mia and rolling her eyes every two seconds.

My mother finally got to me after everyone's long and drawn out introductions, and I remained standing still, making no effort to reach out.

"Queen, this is my son, Syn. Syn, Queen," She said as she looked between us. Queen reached out to shake my hand, and I raised my brow, looking into her eyes. They were the most mesmerizing and deepest shade of brown I had ever seen, and I was even more shocked to see her looking back into mine. What are you hiding? I wondered. Frozen in confusion and at a loss for words, I looked down at our hands that were now somehow clasped.

"Nice to meet you," she said. As she spoke, I became alert to the sounds around us. The still silence in the room due to the creatures of the night was intercepted by the heartbeat of the woman. I noticed then how her heart didn't beat fast around me. It remained steady, like a sort of pendulum, drawing me in, and slowly making me lose focus of the things around me.

I wasn't used to the sound considering what I spent my time doing along with my reputation, and as I caught a grip of myself...I realized I didn't like it. Not at all. I nodded at her introduction and immediately removed my hand away from hers, proceeding to walk away from them. Steady heart rate meant no fear, and that made me feel-...no...it physically felt as though spiders were crawling into my skin.

I walked to the bar in the dining room and poured myself a glass of whiskey, ignoring the bartender's unsettled gaze. I welcomed the familiar burning in my throat as I drank the alcohol and sat alone on the barstool.

I turned in the chair to watch what was going on and I saw Felix staring at Queen. He watched every movement she made and smiled whenever he heard her laugh. Why? I didn't know what he found so entertaining, but he looked at her as if she were some spectacle.

My fist clenched at his gawking and an unforeseen urge to pound him into the wall crept up inside of me. I let the wave of anger course through me and dissipate. I was confused as to why and where it came from, but I ignored it and tore my attention away from them and poured myself another drink. I chalked it up to the fact that his face annoyed me, and shook my head, downing the drink.

If I knew my brother, and I did. He'd see something in the girl and try at no avail to gain her interest. If the past were any indication, she'd fall for his facade sooner rather than later, making her no different than my mind was trying to make her.

I sat at the bar for what felt like an hour just letting the time pass by. After a while, the chair next to me screeched and I turned to my side to see Xyla attempt to sit on the chair as she pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "Two shots of tequila," she ordered, throwing up three of her fingers.

The bartender rushed to pour her drinks as she riddled off a list of incoherent demands, and placed them down in front of her. She poured one drink into her mouth swiftly, and did the same with the other.

"More."

The bartender continued pouring her drinks as she requested, and I didn't bother trying to stop her. She tried to speak to me multiple times about something random, but I ignored her and answered "emails" on my phone. Emails being typing random keys on my phone to look like I was occupied. I didn't even have an email.

After watching her take about eight shots, I felt Xyla lay a hand on my shoulder, pressing her body against my side and making me tense. "I dressed all nice and he won't even look at me."

My ears caught her words, and I raised my brow at her. I damn well wasn't looking at her and I never did so who was she talking about? Looking for the answer to that question, my eyes whipped around the room, eyeing anyone who may have been paying a little bit too much attention to us. Everyone seemed to be busy with Queen, and nothing inconspicuos stood out to me, making me realize I could only get answers from one person.

Her; my future "bride".

I leaned closer to Xyla, and gently tilted her chin to look up at me.

"Who?" I asked softly. Her eyes landed on my lips and I noticed the shift in her position on her chair. Oh? My eyes glanced down between us to see her legs clenched together through the sheer material of her dress, and I knew I'd have no issue getting the information I wanted out of her. "You can talk to me, I am your fiancé after all."

I ignored the bile rising in my throat, and let Hell be my driving force for still being around her. The goal was to use her to take over Heaven; it'd be useful to know her deep secrets. I knew I was taking advantage of her drunkenness and flapping gums, but I didn't care. It would be hypocritical for me to be opposed to liquid courage.

"Felix," she whined.

"Why would you want Felix to be looking at you?" I asked.

"He did for years before she came," she spat. "I knew this would happen." She swayed in her seat but caught herself, using my shoulder to steady herself.

"You and Felix are together?" I asked. This was golden. If this was the case then they were both now under my thumb. I was sure my mother and Julius didn't know about this, let alone her parents- they'd strictly forbid it on the grounds of it being sinful. They hated Underwolders-shit, they hated me too but for the sake of the treaty I was an acceptable and necessary sin in the long term aspect.

"Yes," she mumbled.

After I got the information I wanted from her, I shrugged her hand off my shoulder. She swayed in her seat and tried to hold on to the table for support once again, but missed and went crashing to the floor along with the chair. I sipped my drink as I glanced down at her.

Hmm, not very graceful for an angel.

I could have caught her if I wanted to, but I did not. I was not responsible for saving her from herself, plus she was miserable. I had zero respect for her when I met her, yet it somehow dwindled when I passed her room earlier and heard how she spoke to the staff. I wasn't the nicest person myself, but the people who worked here already had a dick King antagonizing their every move. They didn't need some spoiled brat making them feel like shit on top of it

The loud crash from her fall made everyone turn, and Felix rushed over, confirming what Xyla had told me was true. I stood up from the stool, and looked down at Felix attempting to pick up a passed out Xyla.

I took a step towards him, and spoke low enough so only he could hear me. "Your girlfriend is quite the talker, brother."

I raised a brow as I noticed his jaw clench at my words, and a glare directed at me. Great. Anger was good. It was the goal. People tended to fuck up when they were angry, and their fuckups would only benefit me. With me here, it'd only be a matter of time until I made them reach their breaking points.

I stepped away from him and walked back to the dining table, leaving him to carry his drunken girlfriend.

"What happened?" Julius asked me, clear concern in his eyes.

"She got drunk and passed out."

Julius sighed and immediately walked out of the room, following Felix and Xyla. My mother scoffed and rolled her eyes in response to his rushed exit, downing the rest of the wine in her glass. Weird. My mother wasn't a spiteful person. She was normally the most obnoxious life of the party, but right now, she seemed irritable. I couldn't let myself wonder why much longer as I got distracted by someone else.

Queen looked up at me with a worried look on her face. "Did she mention me at all? I tried speaking to her a few times, but she's ignoring me."

"No," I replied. I knew I was lying, but for some reason, I didn't want Queen to know Xyla's true feelings about her. Why?...Only because it'd become another secret in my vault that I'd use later.

She nodded and gave me a small smile.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Xavier asked. I didn't know why he always insisted on inviting me to do things when I always said no, but this time, I did something neither of us expected and sat down. I focused on the plate in front of me so I wouldn't have to hear Xavier mouthing off about me "staring", and listened in on the conversation everyone was having with Queen.

They shot questions at her, and she answered them the best she could. I found myself glancing at her a couple of times, but I caught her looking back at me several times. She would smile at me and quickly look away, and I'd be left with questions as to why she was looking at me in the first place.

After an hour of listening to aimless conversations and watching everyone eat, I decided to step out to get some air. As I did, my mind went to a place I didn't want it to. A place where I was trying to spend the evening trying to stop my mind from visiting:

Queen.

It was odd to me that she wasn't afraid. Everyone in all realms knew who I was, and the things that I did. My reputation preceded me so far that I could be an angel for one hundred years and still maintain it. I was the boogeyman, a nightmare, my victims' stories were told to people's children as cautionary tales.

I was sure there was a myth that if someone were to throw salt at me I'd melt or some bullshit. Someone tried it once, and that was all it took to stop anyone else from daring to do it again. The man went home with no arms, and I was ruffling through my hair to get rid of the white substance all night.

I sat at the bench near the fountain in the garden, and the fairies that were floating around let out tiny screams, flying away at my presence. The sky that was previously lit up with the bright beings was now black with only the light from the few visible stars.

I took out the pack of cigarettes from my pocket and lit one with my silver lighter, tracing the upside-down cross engraving with the pad of my thumb. I shoved the item back into my pocket before taking a long drag of the cigarette, then blowing the smoke out into the air. The few fairies that were passing by began coughing, and I rolled my eyes.

After my long quiet moments in solitary, I heard the sound of heels against the stone trail in the garden. I paused my smoking and looked up to see Queen of all people. I sighed in disappointment that she not only managed to invade my personal thoughts, but now my private time. She walked around, unaware of my presence, and I rested my arm behind the bench.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She jumped at my voice and stopped her steps, her eyes landing on me. "I needed air."

I nodded in understanding. Saying that those people in there could be overwhelming was a grave understatement.

"Smoke?" I said as I flipped the mouth of the cigarette between my fingers and up at her.

She shook her head and gave me a shy smile. "No, but thank you."

I shrugged at her response and placed it back between my lips. I let my eyes roam over her curvy body and I was sure she was uncomfortable, but I paid no mind to it. I needed to analyze her.

"Sit," I said.

"I should actually go-"

"Sit there. Now." I ordered as I pointed to the bench across from me. When I saw that she hadn't made a move to sit, I looked up at her and cocked my brow, challenging her to do otherwise. When she met my eyes, and noticed my seriousness, she cleared her throat and sat where I instructed her to.

Good girl.