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Elf Queen: The Crystal Kingdom: Clean and Sweet
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Elf Queen
The Crystal Kingdom: Clean and Sweet
Milly Taiden
M. Taiden
Latin Goddess Press, Inc.
Contents
Elf Queen
A Note From Milly
Attention Readers
About the Book
1. Avery
2. Avery
3. Avery
4. Tylen
5. Avery
6. Avery
7. Avery
8. Avery
9. Avery
10. Avery
11. Tylen
12. Tylen
13. Avery
14. Avery
15. Tylen
16. Tylen
17. Tylen
18. Avery
19. Avery
20. Tylen
21. Tylen
22. Avery
23. Avery
24. Tylen
25. Tylen
26. Avery
27. Tylen
28. Tylen
29. Avery
30. Avery
31. Avery
32. Avery
33. Avery
34. Avery
35. Tylen
36. Tylen
37. Avery
38. Avery
39. Avery
40. Tylen
41. Avery
42. Tylen
43. Avery
44. Avery
45. Avery
46. Avery
Epilogue
The Crystal Kingdom Series
About the Author
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Also by Milly Taiden
Elf Queen
THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
Writing as
M. TAIDEN
A Note From Milly
This is a CLEAN and SWEET version of The Crystal Kingdom Series.
If you’ve read the adult versions (Fae King, Elf King, Dark King and Fire King) then you don’t need to read this.
This version is for younger audiences that would enjoy a clean and sweet fantasy series.
You might be asking yourself why I did that and the answer is simple. I have a teen boy who would like to read my books and share them with his friends. He likes fantasy and I decided to have a young adult version of the Crystal Kingdom for them.
If you have read the adult version, there is no need to read this one. I appreciate your support, but I don’t want you to feel I’m putting out the same book twice.
Thank you for your understanding.
Milly
Attention Readers
If this is your first time picking up one of my books and are a clean and sweet reader, please know I am working diligently to have more of my books available to you.
For now, I ask that you stick to the Crystal Kingdom and sign up for my newsletter to know when new books are out.
Look for the Clean and Sweet sticker on my covers for these types of books.
Thank you!
Milly
About the Book
Tylen Wyndove
I’m the Elf King. I also have a whole kingdom to keep safe. When I save the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen at a slave market, I realize I’m in big trouble. I know I’ve found the woman I want and no wizard, orc or legend will take her from my side. And my shifter fully, one-hundred percent agrees. I have no idea what a video game or levels are, but I know Avery’s meant to be my queen.
Avery Lotusmist
I’m a pro gamer. I went on a camping trip to celebrate my friend's birthday and ended up kidnapped. Maybe? I think I’m really in a dream-like video game simulation. The catch? In order to wake up and go home, I have to beat every level! This is gonna be awesome. Being sucked into a game is a great way to test my skills. Unless it's not really a game. But it has to be, right?
My levels get harder by the second. Meet the sexiest man at a slave auction: Check. Marry said sexy man, who's also the Elf King: Check. Fake seduce a madman to save a bunch of people: Check. Wear a crown that won't come off my head: Double check. Realizing I’m not stuck in a video game and I really am in love with the Elf King: Say what?
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://millytaiden.com
Elf Queen
Copyright © 2019 by Milly Taiden
Edited by: Tina Winograd
Cover: Jacqueline Sweet
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
August 2019
Created with Vellum
—For my son, Aiden
I knew you’d have fun with a gamer. Enjoy!
1
Avery
I lifted my battle axe and threw it into the back of the ogre in front of me.
“Sorry, bmooner46,” I said, adjusting the mic on my gaming headset. “Never turn your rear end to the landscaping.”
Bmooner46 snorted loud and clear through the speakers. “You stupid bush-camper. Only a chicken hides in the bushes, santa’s_helper.”
I smiled. “Maybe,” I replied. “But who’s dead and who’s going to kick everyone else’s butt?” Well, not this go around. As soon as my mother got home from her ER shift, she was dragging me shopping for “proper” office attire. My post-graduation corporate job started next week, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. In fact, I dreaded it.
“I wouldn’t be too proud about that, santa’s_helper,” bmooner46 said. “It’s a Friday night and look where we are.”
So I didn’t have a boyfriend, wasn’t in a relationship. Most of my interactions with guys my age was done in virtual reality. Big deal. Having a man in my life was not a necessity, but it sure would’ve been nice at times. Like every night and weekend.
No, I reminded myself. If I had a significant other, he would demand too much of my time, and making money as a professional video game player took a lot of hours.
Shifting position in the leather recliner my parents bought for my return home from college, I moved my character through the game. Up ahead were mythicals which called for swords and big-butt blades to take down. Usually, fantasy monsters were easy to kill, but sometimes they were a pain in the neck. Humans were easy. Just shoot them ‘til they died.
Bringing up a hand axe, my character threw it from a hundred feet away. It landed in the dead center of a green skull. As I ran across a bridge, half a dozen more creatures jumped over the sides from below, ambushing me. Sneaky, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Selecting a long knife, I jumped and came down, sinking the dagger to the hilt into an eyeball.
My fingers were a blur on the controller as I battled my way through, barely thinking about which buttons to push. When I was in the zone, mostly during big competitions, I
could fight my way through an entire level in record time and not remember how I did it. Only the best of the best of the best made it to the Gaming World Championship.
On the side table, my phone rang. That had to be my mom telling me she was on her way home.
I looked forward to spending quality time with my mother on our girls’ night out, since my father was at his office in Washington. Growing up, my parents were seldom around.
My father was a politician who spent most of his time either in DC or campaigning. And my mom, being an ER doctor on her way up, had to work late hours to prove herself in the male-dominated profession. I was left alone most of the time after we’d moved away from my friends Kaia and Jen. Thus, my addiction to video games had begun.
Now I was back but didn’t want to live the adult life. Everything had always been taken care of for me.
I had few complications, almost no worries in my life. The only battles I had ever faced were on the screen. Winning those online fights also cured my loneliness. In my virtual reality, I was surrounded by foes and friends.
I picked up my phone and tapped the green icon. “Hi, Mom. You on your way?”
“I’m sorry, Avery,” my mom said. “A busload of kids were in an accident. Several are on their way in via LifeFlight. The trauma unit requested everyone..” She sounded winded, as if she was hurrying down a hall.
“Oh my gosh, Mom,” I said. “Stay as long as you have to.” I hated to say those words, but these people needed my mom more than I did.
“We can go shopping later this weekend.” My mom hollered hospital jargon to those around her. “Sorry, honey.”
“It’s okay,” I replied. I was used to this situation. “But this weekend I’m going camping with Kaia and Jen. We’re celebrating Kaia’s birthday and watching the blood moon.”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, hon.” More shouting of orders. “Look, Avery, the helicopters are landing. I need to go. Love you, bye.” The line went quiet.
“Love you, too, Mom.” With a sigh, I laid my cell to the side and picked up the controller, glanced at the monitor, then tossed the handheld device on the table. I should’ve expected something would come up. It was all too good. Disappointed and mad at myself for being upset, I let out a breath.
Closing the recliner in my remodeled bedroom, I got to my feet and schlepped to the kitchen.
Since we weren’t eating out, I might as well find something at home. The cook, a woman I’d known since my childhood, had just retired. I was on my own for food.
I searched the fridge shelves, pulling out a take-out Chinese box. After a sniff, I wrinkled my nose and dropped it in the trash.
Sushi rolls didn’t look appetizing nor did I feel like cooking a fillet. Not that I knew how. I could boil water and that was about it.
Instead, I pulled open the fruit drawer and grabbed an apple. In the pantry was an opened jar of peanut butter. And voila, dinner was served.
In my bedroom, I plopped onto my memory-foam mattress and turned on my favorite streaming service. This was the fourth night in a row of binge-watching TV and eating subpar meals. Nothing had changed much in my years away.
Just once, I wished something interesting or fun happened in my life. I scrolled through the serial killer movies and laughed. Those were my favorites.
I always found something silly at the worst times that made me laugh instead of being scared. I thought about my upcoming camping trip and sighed, leaning back into my pillows.
Someday I’d live an adventure, but it wouldn’t be while hiking with my friends, and not at Briarleaf Park.
2
Avery
I opened an eye, sunlight shining into the room from the curtains I’d left open. Man, I hated that. The apartment my parents rented for me at school had black-out blinds in the bedroom, so I never had this problem.
Peeking at the digital clock, I was shocked it was so late. Binge-watching all three Lord of the Rings movies last night, I fell asleep during the third. I’d seen them a hundred times and read the books. My secret crush on the elven prince Legolas had endured since my teenage years. Now, my brain just accepted him as my absent lover—my heart was married to him, but he was never around. Kind of like my parents.
Hearing pots and pans clinking, I made my way to the kitchen where I was surprised to see an unfamiliar face. Well, I hadn’t seen his face. His back was to me, but his backside sure was a glorious sight. Plump and round. I bet he did a hundred squats a day to get that shapely. Who the heck was he and why was he in my mother’s kitchen?
“Good morning, honey,” my mother said as she passed me and took a seat at the breakfast table. The man stood in front of the oven, looking over his shoulder.
“Oh,” he smiled at me, “I knew she wasn’t talking to me.” He back stepped to me and held out his hand. “I’m Henry.” He pronounced his name Onree in a French accent.
“Sorry, Henry. I forgot,” my mom said. “Avery, this is our new chef, Henry Lemaître. I hired him after Delia retired. This is his first day.”
“Ah,” I shook his hand, “nice to meet you.”
“And you, mademoiselle,” he replied before returning to the stove. I was quite glad to have a cook back in the kitchen. Cereal, pizza, eating out, and apples with peanut butter were getting old. But I’d miss Delia; the woman had been a second mother to me while growing up.
“What time did you get in?” I asked mother.
“Around three.” My mom yawned.
“How are the kids?” I was almost afraid to ask. I’d seen some horrific cases come through the emergency room on the rare occasion I accompanied my mom.
“No deaths,” she said with a smile on her face. “The bus had seatbelts. The ones hurt were those walking around when the truck hit them.”
“I’m glad it turned out better than worse,” I answered. “I need to leave around eleven thirty. You want me to do anything before then? We’ll be back Sunday night.”
“The maid will be here shortly. If you’ll put laundry in your basket, she’ll take care of it. She’ll clean your room and change the sheets.” She sipped coffee from the mug Onree set in front of her. “Oh,” she said, “I bought you something.”
Why wasn’t I surprised to hear that? Not that I was ungrateful. I came to the realization a long time ago that my parents’ guilt for practically abandoning me was appeased with gifts. The more the gift cost, the more their conscience was relieved. I had every material object I could possibly want, most of which I gave away to friends and charities.
Being the dutiful daughter, I smiled and asked what it was.
“It’s in the back of the Mercedes. Keys are on the counter.”
Wondering what my mother purchased this time, I grabbed the keys and went to the garage. There wasn’t anything I wanted that could be bought. All of my wishes were intangible. Popping open the SUV’s liftgate, I gawked at the product picture on the square package. What do you know? My mother actually got something I really did sort of want: a Big Agnes tent.
I laughed. Kaia and Jen were so going to love this! We had yet to let Kaia in on the secret we had cooked up for the weekend. It was going to be a surprise!
3
Avery
I pulled out of the five-bay garage in the new red Fiat my parents bought me after graduation. I didn’t need them to purchase me a new vehicle, but apparently, they didn’t like the used car I paid for with winnings from the last video game championship. I donated the older vehicle to a charity who sold it and used the funds for educational purposes.
Hands on the steering wheel, the ring my grandmother gave me for my twenty-first birthday sparkled in the sun. The gemstone was unique, cut in a square shape. I never took it off. It reminded me that one person in my life truly cared for me. The gift hadn’t been one of guilt, but love.
After parking at Cookie’s 24-Hour Diner, I flipped down the visor mirror to make sure my hair covered my ears. I never wore a ponytail or pulled my hair back for
fear that others might see my ears. Tipped on top, I looked like Spock’s daughter or an elf.
Maybe that’s where I got my fascination about the fictional creatures. That and all the elf stuff my grandmother collected. My elder had an entire room dedicated to figurines, dolls, dishes, ornaments and anything else that had elves on it.
Satisfied that my dark strands were doing their job, I went into the restaurant. Standing by the front door, I looked for one of my two best friends, Kaia. My friend had always worried me. The girl couldn’t buy a break even if she had the money. Her parents were self-centered idiots who paid little attention to their daughter until they wanted something.