Cyron's words proved true as the days marched on. Jason used his demonic powers to spy on the Queen and quickly found out that she was in the eye of the murky storm. She knew that the head physician wasn't who he pretended to be. They were working together to kill King Killian as soon as possible without raising any suspicions. Which was easy, since the Queen was an Oscar nominated actress who had everyone fooled, especially her mate. The Queen's motive was obvious, as well as Selene's. The bitch almighty wanted her own son on the throne while Selene acted on the orders of Alaric. With Killian dead, Alaric would have had a puppet on the throne to do his bidding, while, at the same time, crushing the last of his enemies. Only the Vampire King remained.

"Jason!?" Mallory's voice drilled into his head. "Are you even listening to me? What's gotten into you? For the last week, something has been distracting you. What's up?." Her eyes dug into him from across the library.

For the last week, the Queen had isolated them to the east wing of the castle, keeping them as far away from King Killian as possible. Most of the time they lounged around the library and the royal gardens, waiting for the acting regent to summon them to see the Killian, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon—not until it was too late.

The grand library was any librarian's wet dream. Countless shelves lined with priceless books occupied every available wall space while dozens of comfortable leather couches took up most of the living space. A massive fireplace, gilded out in gold (yeah, more frickin gold), stood at the heart of the room, permeating the library with warmth against the biting winds that rage outside. A massive family painting glared back at Jason from where he sat. The painted Queen had the same sneer edged into her skeleton-like face. He had an overwhelming urge to burn the portrait to dust.

Ever since Jason entered the keep, a feeling of dread tugged at his heart. A warning that someone dear to him would end up dead. Even Cyron began getting antsy as the time wore on. Looking up at the painting, his eyes always found the King's. A god of a man smiled back at him. If the painting were an actual depiction of the young King Killian, Jason would die a happy demon if he could just lay his eyes on the real deal. The King's mossy green eyes turned Jason's insides to mush.

Just as his thoughts turned dirty, a book hit him on the side of the head. "Ow!" Jason cried out, picking up the copy of, 'How to kill a mocking jay.' "What was this for?" he asked, glaring at his best friend.

"You're spacing out again." Mallory glared back, but soon her eyes found the painting. "Stop eye-fucking the portrait and listen to what I'm asking."

Jason threw the book back at her, which she caught. "What was the question?"

Mallory sighed, earning a chuckle from Darren, who was on a couch reading another book. "Why are you so lost in that head of yours?"

Jason glanced around the room. He didn't want the governess to poke her snotty nose into his business, but she was nowhere to be seen. Curious. She usually stuck to them like a turd to wool.

"Oh. I've been playing Games of Thrones for the past week."

"What?" Mallory scoffed while tilting her head to the side. "Can you elaborate? I'm lost in translation here."

"I've been spying on the Queen and her assassin in disguise, trying to find out why they're currently busy killing off Killian."

The library fell silent as his friends stared at him with bulging eyes. Which was comical.

"Come again?" Ishmael said, as he rose from his armchair and stalked over to him.

Jason chuckled, shifting his gaze from person-to-person. "Really? Did the Queen also reel you in with her charm?"

Ishmael stole a glance at Astrid. She, however, didn't budge an eyebrow while sipping from her glass of blood. "Not all of us," Astrid replied. "I've been doing my own scouting, but it has been difficult to get into the west wing. They have a lot of magical wards that even I can't breach without being caught." She glanced at Jason. "Have you had any success?"

A mischievous smirk crept across Jason's face, earning a shriek from Mallory, who dashed over to him and plunged down onto his lap, earning an oomph from him. His poor dick... "Come on! Out with it, you mischievous scamp!" Mallory said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Ishmael turned around and waved his hand over the room. A shimmering veil draped over them, sealing them in a translucent bubble. "What did you do?" asked Mallory.

"It's a muffling spell that will prevent anyone from eavesdropping in on our conversation," Ishmael replied. He strode over and planted his ass in the chair opposite from Jason's. "Talk."

Astrid and Darren soon joined them in front of the hearth.

"Do you remember the first night we arrived? At the dinner table?" Jason asked Ismael.

Ismael nodded.

"Well, that night I learned three things. One, being a hellhound isn't as terrible as I thought it would be, especially when it comes with nifty party tricks."

Darren chuckled as he ran his fingers through his red, curly hair. "Party Tricks?"

"As a demon, I can see people's auras for one, and the second trick up my sleeve is that I can see through a person's deception."

"You can tell when people are lying?"

"Yes, but I can also see through illusions that would fool any other supernatural and human alike."

Mallory played with Jason's shirt collar while she said, "And what has this to do with the dinner last week?"

Jason smirked and replied, "I was getting to that. The second thing I found out is that the Queen isn't as loving and innocent as she pretends to be. We all know that she's a stuck-up noble who believes she's better than everybody else, but she plays her role as a benevolent queen to a tee."

Astrid scoffed, playing with the empty glass in her hands. "She's not that good. From the first time I met her, I knew she was a fake. That's why we've been trying to find out what she's hiding from us."

"Well, she has her mate fooled, as well as her loyal subjects."

"Well, I'm not fooled."

Ishmael leaned back in his chair. "Did her aura betray her?"

"Oh, yes it did," Jason nodded. "The only person she loves is her own son, Christopher. Most of her aura reeked of envy and pride with a touch of murder."

Ishmael's bow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"She killed before. When an aura radiates the color of black, it means that the individual killed another with malice intent, which blackens the soul."

"Do you know who she killed?" asked Darren, closing the book he had been reading.

Jason shook his head. "Who knows... Astrid?"

Astrid perked up when Jason called her. She was busy refilling her glass with blood. She placed the pitcher back on the table and made her way back to her seat. "What is it, my sexy hellspawn?" she smirked as she took a sip of blood.

"When Sir Olten walked into the dining room, did you sense something off about him?"

Astrid's glass floated before her lips. "No. Should I have?"

Jason turned to Ishmael. "And you?"

"No, I didn't," replied Ishmael.

Jason continued rubbing Mallory's back. "Tell me... Have you ever met a hedge witch by the name of Selene T'ien?"

Jason was actually surprised when Astrid and Ishmael's eyes lit up with the realization that the snake had hidden herself in the skin of her latest victim. Ishmael shot up from his feet and cursed out, pulling on his hair while Astrid's eyes turned blood red. The glass in her hand shattered to pieces. Luckily, Jason had waited long enough for her to drain the glass of blood, otherwise it would have been a bloody mess to clean up.

"That bitch!" Astrid hissed out. "It would seem that Alaric has already made his move."

Ishmael sighed and said, "It would seem so. They're poisoning the Killian—"

"So what's the plan, chief?" Darren asked.

"I have no idea. We have no evidence to prove that the Queen and Selene are trying to kill off the King. Even if we confront them, they'll deny our claims and we might end up forcing them to kill off Killian faster. They might even blame us for the deed."

Darren growled out in frustration while scratching his balls through his jeans. He always did when he got frustrated.

"Hey!" Jason shouted at Darren. "Stop scratching your balls. You're making me horny."

Mallory squealed, jumping off Jason's lap while Darren laughed. The beta flipped Jason a birdie before wiggling his eyebrows.

"Stop it, you two," Astrid jumped into the conversation. "It's not the right time to think about sex."

Darren stood up from his chair and said, "That's where you're wrong, night queen. I'm always thinking about sex."

Several chuckles broke out before Ismael got serious again. "All jokes aside. We have to get to Killian before they succeed in their mission."

"But how?" Astrid asked. "There's no way we'll get past the magical ward without alerting every guard in the keep."

Jason grinned again and said, "I wouldn't be so sure of that, my sexy bitch in leather tights." Four pairs of eyes shot to him. Jason stood up from his chair and walked in front of the fireplace. "I already have a way of getting through their defenses."

"How?" asked Ishmael.

"Look at my feet. Do you see something missing?"

All four of his friends stared at his feet with dubious expressions on their faces.

"Are we missing something here?" asked Darren, scratching his head. "I see nothing wrong with your feet."

Mallory's eyes lit up first. "Your body isn't casting a shadow!"

It was true. Jason stood in front of the flickering fire, but yet there wasn't a shadow being cast along the Persian carpet.

Darren stepped forward with his eyes nailed to Jason's feet. "How's that possible?" he murmured. Jason bit his lip, preventing him from laughing at the beta who tried to figure out how he didn't have a shadow. Poor guy.

"It's actually easy. Demon magic," replied Jason.

Darren's eyes shot up at him. "That's freaky." He rubbed his scruffy chin. "But how's your shadow going to allow us to get to Killian without the wicket bitch finding out?"

"My shadow has already infiltrated the King's quarters. And if the Queen hasn't already made a ruckus about a breech in security, I can only assume that their magic hasn't detected my shadow yet."

"How did you get it past them?" The question came from Ishmael.

"Since the first time I began spying on the Queen and her harpy, I attached my shadow to the queen of ice's body without alerting her. This way, I eavesdropped on all of her conversations and secret meetings."

Jason began pacing in front of his captive audience with a smirk on his face. For the first time, he actually contributed actively to the group, while at the same time, repaying Ishmael for saving him from Alaric's clutches. Jason only hoped that they'd save the King in time. Killing off Alaric's second in command would be a bonus in his books. He already got rid of the lump of dead meat, Ludwick, so why not go for another strike?

"Once I had gathered all the information I required, I hid my shadow under the King's bed until I needed to use it when the time came... Now here we are."

Darren cracked his knuckles and said, "So, what are we waiting for? We need to strike while the iron is hot."

"Wait," Ismael replied, placing his hand on Darren's shoulder. "We can't just jump into this situation without planning for the consequences, which will undoubtedly follow suit if we act against the Queen."

"What do you propose?"

"A distraction, perhaps?" Ishmael's gray eyes glowed mischievously while nodding at Astrid. "You know what to do?"

Astrid walked up to Ishmael and glided her fingers over his chiseled chest seductively. "Oh, I do." She walked over to the library door before turning around. "So? Aren't you two joining me?"

Darren and Mallory frowned at each other before walking over to where Astrid stood. "Good luck and don't get killed," Astrid said as she opened the door.

She was about to walk out, but Jason called to her, halting her steps. "Before you bring hell down upon the poor residence of the castle, sneak into the Queen's room and break into the hag's safe. There, you'll find a few interesting documents stashed behind her vanity mirror. It might come in handy later."

Astrid flipped her hair over her shoulder before winking at him. "Thanks, sweetie." She then strutted out of the library with the two hyenas cackling behind her.

Jason's face burned red. He grumbled, "What a cocktease..."

It was Ishmael's turn to burst out laughing while slapping Jason on the shoulder out of pity. "Oh, that she is. Now let's get started before the Queen catches on to what we're about to do."