His Despised Stray Is A Hidden Queen

Cristina Acosta POV:

I led Greyson through the noisy main hall of the local portal tavern. The wizards inside, hunched over their drinks, eyed us with open curiosity. I ignored them, heading straight for the brick wall in the back courtyard. With my Spirit Wand, I tapped a specific sequence of five bricks.

The wall rippled like water, an archway opening into a world of impossible color and light. Greyson gasped, his hand tightening in mine as we stepped through. The noise of the mortal world vanished, replaced by the excited chatter of Star-lantern Alley.

I flagged down a Star-Night Carriage, a rickety purple vehicle that appeared with a bang, and gave the driver Collins Black's address.

The carriage ride was bumpy, but it delivered us to a sprawling, vine-covered manor. Lord Collins Black, a highly esteemed scholar of the Magical Congress, was already waiting at the gate. His perpetually worried face broke into a relieved smile when he saw us.

"Master Cristina, you are finally here!" He hurried forward, his demeanor so respectful it bordered on frantic. He was a prominent member of the great Black family, yet he bowed deeply to me, completely ignoring pureblood restraint.

I nodded, but before I could speak, a woman in a lavish crimson velvet robe swept out of the house. Denton Shannon, Collins's wife.

Her eyes, sharp and cold, raked over my worn jeans and Greyson's scruffy appearance. Her brow furrowed in disgust. "Collins, is this your honored guest? An uneducated little charity case and her bastard?"

Greyson shot back instantly, baring his teeth. "You are the uneducated old hag!"

I put a hand on his shoulder, my gaze turning icy as I met Denton's. "Mrs. Shannon, my brother is just brutally honest."

"You!" Denton's face paled with fury, but Collins cut her off with a voice like cracking ice.

"Denton, be quiet!" I had never heard him speak to his wife with such force. The brass lanterns around the gate flickered wildly with his magic. "Apologize to Master Cristina. Now. Without her, you would be a widow, and my children and I would be dead."

The raw fury in his voice stunned Denton into silence. She shot me a look of pure venom, clearly unwilling to accept that a girl in faded clothes was her husband's savior.

I didn't let her get away with just a glare. I didn't even bother to draw my Spirit Wand. With a subtle flick of my index finger by my side, a silent, wandless hex darted across the air.

Instantly, the silver fox fur draped around Denton's neck animated, tightening like a vice. Denton gasped, clawing at her throat as her expensive diamond hairpins shattered one by one with loud cracks, sending her meticulously styled hair falling into a messy, humiliating bird's nest.

"What is happening?!" Denton shrieked, stumbling backward in absolute terror, her previous arrogance completely obliterated.

"A bit tight, isn't it?" I remarked coldly, my voice slicing through her panic, carrying the undeniable weight of an apex predator. "Next time you bark at me, I will make sure it chokes you completely."

Collins's magic flared again. "If I hear one more disrespectful word from you, Denton, I will freeze your discretionary vault allocations!"

Denton's face paled with absolute fear and fury. She clutched her ruined fur and stormed back into the house.

Collins, looking exhausted, apologized profusely. "I am so sorry, Master Cristina. She holds a deep prejudice."

"It doesn't matter," I said, cutting him off. I was used to it.

He guided me into his inner study. Instead of taking his usual place, Collins offered me the high-backed leather chair behind his massive oak desk. He preferred to stand respectfully before me, like a subordinate reporting to his commander. The contrast was staggering.

"Collins," I began, my voice calm but carrying absolute authority. "I am here because Greyson and I require immediate enrollment at Stellaria Academy. We need an unassailable pureblood sponsorship to bypass the board's background checks."

"Of course, Master Cristina!" Collins answered instantly, bowing his head. "It would be my absolute honor to sponsor you. I will have the highest-tier educational resources arranged by tomorrow morning."

"I don't take favors for free," I said, leaning back into the leather chair. "In exchange for the sponsorship and your absolute discretion, I will cure your mother's necrotic blood curse. I know the St. Heal's doctors have failed miserably."

Collins's head snapped up, his eyes wide with profound shock and overwhelming gratitude. His hands actually trembled. "You would personally intervene? The Magical Congress Healers are completely baffled. They call it an ancient death weave. If you are willing to step in, she is saved!"

"I need one more thing," I said, pulling my encrypted rune tablet from my bag. "I need your gilded invitation to The Empyrean Vault auction tomorrow night. My broker told me there is a pristine Dragon's Breath Amber up for grabs. I suffer from severe insomnia, and that amber has the absolute best calming properties."

"Take it, please," Collins said, hurriedly retrieving the invitation from his safe and presenting it to me with both hands. "I will prepare a secure laboratory for your medical preparations immediately."

He trusted me completely, a trust I had earned when I had pulled him back from the brink of a curse that should have killed him two years ago. He immediately had the best guest rooms in the manor prepared for us.

Once inside our quarters, Greyson was still fuming. "Sis, that old witch is awful! Why are we staying here?"

"Because I need a secure laboratory to brew the antidote," I said. "And Collins, for all his weakness regarding his family, is a man of his word."

While Greyson explored the room and eventually fell asleep on the plush bed, I connected my tablet to the Shadow Matrix.

My fingers flew across the glowing runes as I sent a message to my top information broker, Holli Warner. "I have a gilded invitation to The Empyrean Vault tomorrow. I need you to come with me. I am getting that Dragon's Breath Amber."

Holli's reply was instant. "You are crashing the Vault? Half the purebloods in Atheria are eyeing that Amber. It is going to be a bloodbath of Glowgold."

I looked out at the moonlit grounds of the manor. Denton's disdain was just the beginning. The real battle would be at that auction.

"Get ready," I replied to Holli, a cold smile playing on my lips. "We have an auction to crash, and I don't care which arrogant pureblood thinks they can stand in my way."