I Raised the Demon Queen (Now She Won't Leave Me Alone)

The plan was simple: sneak into the library, stay quiet, pretend Rhea was just a very precocious half-elf child with poor fashion sense, and absolutely, under no circumstances, draw attention to ourselves.

It was a bad plan.

"Why do the shelves smell like old socks?" Rhea whispered, wrinkling her nose as we stepped into the musty main hall of the Aldelshire Library. "Is that normal for knowledge storage?"

"Books don't smell like socks," I hissed. "That's... that's parchment and ink and... centuries of dust. Knowledge has character."

Rhea looked unconvinced. "It has athlete's foot."

I elbowed her gently. "We're guests here. Respect the books."

She sniffed dramatically. "I shall try to respect the mold."

To even get in, I had to borrow the ID badge of Marvin, the half-blind record keeper who owed me three favors and still thought my name was Elric. I'd also stuffed Rhea into a hooded cloak two sizes too big and gave her my old glasses for disguise. She looked like a very small, suspicious professor.

"This hood is eating my face," she mumbled, trying to pull it down. "Why must I dress like an enchanted potato?"

"Because," I said, pushing her hand back, "you're technically illegal."

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying I'm a crime?"