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

There was something about early autumn in Velden that made everything feel like it was holding its breath.

The leaves had only just begun to turn, gold brushing the edges of green. The air was crisp, not yet cold, like it couldn't decide if it wanted to stay summer a little longer or give in to the approaching frost. The sky above Elias's cottage had turned the color of old parchment, streaked with pinks and oranges as the sun yawned on its descent.

It should've been peaceful.

But Rhea had just put a frog in his soup.

Again.

"What," Elias said, holding the wooden spoon like it had betrayed him, "is this?"

Rhea, perched across from him at their low dinner table, gave him the most innocent expression she could muster. Which meant she wasn't even trying.

"That's dinner," she said sweetly. "You always say I should try helping with the food."

"Yes," Elias said, calmly removing the now very confused frog and setting it back into the garden through the open window. "With vegetables. Not with—what was that, Gregor?"

"He looked like a Gregor," Rhea said with a shrug. "He said he wanted to swim in something warm."

"You... talked to it?"