House of Mages and Raven (Shades of Ruin and Magic #4)

Chapter 4

4

Killian

I strolled into the common room on the ground floor. Rock had thrown everyone out before my arrival. Cassius parked himself near the door to prevent anyone, especially Barbie, from stumbling into the room, where Queen Lilith was waiting for me.

Barbie had a knack for diving into trouble headfirst. My mind lingered on my true mate before shifting to my betrothed, torn between the two women in my life—one I’d tried to commit myself to and the other I’d betrayed.

In the center of the luxurious room sat the Queen of the Underworld and her guest. My gaze alighted on Queen Lilith as courtesy required. In her presence, I’d always look at her before sparing anyone else a glance. For a brief breath, I wondered if I’d be able to do so if Barbie was in the room.

I’d taken care to disguise my scent with my shadow and starlight, the power I’d inherited from Hades as his grandson, so Lilith wouldn’t smell Barbie on me. I hated carrying this deception, but Lilith was more dangerous than any other. I counted on my magic holding and that she wouldn’t suspect another woman could brush aside the magical chastity belt she’d imposed on me. The “mating bond” she’d forged and chained me with was part of the house deal after my father sold me out and put me at the mercy of the demon queen so he could gain more power.

I reined in my dragon as he snarled at my betrothed, my face remaining impassive.

She wore a white designer shirt and dress pants of excellent material. Everything about her was chic, precise, and beautiful. She was the most powerful woman in the realm, surpassing any other queens and kings.

“Queen Lilith.” I nodded respectfully.

She smiled stunningly, although it held a slight irony that no one but I could detect. “Shouldn’t you call me beloved?”

She was no doubt a great beauty, almost unmatchable. My thoughts flickered to Barbie before I dragged my mind back to the here and now. I shouldn’t think of my true mate now.

Why not? my dragon challenged me rudely. She’s our mate, not this woman whom you call beloved and betrothed.

Shut your hole, I growled inwardly. You don’t want to draw her attention to Barbie and paint a target on our girl’s back.

That shut him up instantly. Barbie had become the beast’s weakness.

No man could resist the Queen of the Underworld, who had had a swarm of lovers. I admitted that I’d almost surrendered to her as well, but I was no ordinary man. I was the true heir of Hades, the death god.

I’d also bonded with the last dragon, though he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with me. He offered me his strength, loyalty, and infallible instincts. And if he said the Queen of the Underworld was not our mate, then he had the final say on it.

Not if! he snarled again.

As I didn’t fall all over Queen Lilith like other males, her interest in me only increased. To her, our engagement wasn’t merely political. She wanted me in her bed. More than she’d wanted any other male.

“I heard that you brought an oracle,” I said, and sat down on a cushioned chair across from the white leather couch where she’d made herself comfortable.

A silver-haired woman of uncertain age in a seashell-colored gown perched on an accent chair next to the couch. I could see that Lilith expected me to sit with her on the loveseat, but I refused to give her what she wanted. A sheen of dark light rolled across her green eyes that could shift between sapphire and emerald. She’d been amused when I put distance between us in the past, regarding it as my youthful rebellion. She’d enjoyed the challenge, even taking it as spice in our relationship, but not this time.

Something had changed.

My heart raced as a sense of uneasiness washed over me. Lilith had hijacked Barbie’s mind not long ago. If my true mate hadn’t beaten the demon queen at her own game, and if I hadn’t been able to pull her out of the phantom realm of the Underworld, my mate would’ve been lost forever.

The last thing I wanted was for Lilith to set her eyes on Barbie, but it’d proven to be inevitable. My little scorpion burned too brightly wherever she went, leaving footprints and stirring shit. She couldn’t help it, as chaos was in her nature. In her wake, disasters followed.

All I could do was aim for damage control while keeping her safe.

I dulled the calculating light in my eyes and put on my usual blank, cold mask. Lilith schooled her expression as well. She was a master at controlling her emotions. Tilting her head and gracing me with an enigmatic smile, she offered her hand for a kiss.

I stiffened. I might’ve refused her bed, but I hadn’t pushed her away whenever she planted a kiss on my cheek or even on my lips. Brushing her knuckles with my lips should be easy, yet it felt like I was betraying my Barbie.

But I couldn’t refuse my betrothed’s reasonable request, so I told myself it was merely etiquette. I dipped my head, my lips touching her fingers. Her skin was icy, in stark contrast to Barbie’s lava-like heat. Every touch of Barbie’s skin excited me as if it burned my soul, and I craved her more and more.

My dragon snarled as soon as my lips touched the skin of another woman that wasn’t our mate, and I jerked my head up at his nastiness.

I had to play along, asshole, I snarled back.

Keep telling yourself that, my dragon warned. But I’ll be watching, and you won’t cross the line. Just remember, if you betray our mate and hurt her, you’ll lose her. And then you’ll have me to deal with. I won’t allow you a moment of peace for the rest of your pathetic life.

Fuck off, I told him. That fucker was always so supportive. More often than not, I regretted bonding with him. At the time, I’d thought it was a good deal to have a dragon at my disposal. I’d been young and stupid.

You’re still young and stupid. He snickered.

I ignored him. I didn’t have time for his bullshit, especially when I had an enemy queen and an unknown oracle in my house. My gaze slid to the oracle, who had been watching me like a hawk the entire time. Her dark hair was pinned atop her head like a mushroom. A sheer black veil fastened to a bone comb on top of her hair covered half of her face.

“Who do I have the honor of welcoming to my house, my lady?” I asked politely.

I always held a healthy suspicion toward oracles. The prophecy of producing the One offspring who’d bring back the old magic had created a rift between us heirs and caused endless rivalry among us. My father had used it to press me to marry Queen Lilith immediately. They’d have gotten their way if I hadn’t refused to budge and insisted on a date after my graduation.

The oracle’s magic flared. My skin tingled, awareness ringing in my head.

Lady Moirai, a member of the Wicca triunity—the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone—was sitting in my house. Moirai was the fabled Spinner of the thread of life. The Wicca hadn’t shown themselves to the world for over a millennium.

“You’re at the crossroads, Heir of Hades.” Moirai’s black lips moved, her veil swishing in the phantom wind.

I stopped cold. Even my father didn’t know about my mother’s true origin. That part of my heritage had always been a secret, and I’d revealed it only to Barbie. Lilith had probably sensed my hidden bloodline, and now she finally had the confirmation. A sheen of gold rolled over her green eyes at the revelation.

“Truth won’t always set you free, prince. Unfortunately, sometimes, there’s no better option,” Moirai continued, her veil tearing down the middle, revealing her glassy eyes. As I peeked into them, their bottomless depths stared back.

She was blind.

“Follow your head, lose your soul. Follow your heart, lose everything else. Magic fades. Mist reveals. The cursed shall become the blessed. She brings destruction, but she’s the last kernel of hope. Let the golden scorpion find her home, but trust must be betrayed and promises must be broken. There’s a fate worse than death.”

A sudden chill sank into my flesh, and icy fear for my mate pounded into my heart. But I remained still, my face blank, as I knew Lilith was watching me.

“Quick now! Turn the Wheels of the Fates before all is lost.” Moirai was full of tears and fear. “He’s coming. Ruin’s coming for her, for you, for all of us. He’ll consume her and then feast on us. Push her to the breaking point so she shall rise, or everything will fall, and the world ends.”

She fixed her unseeing eyes on me.

“The Maiden found me,” Lilith offered. “She asked me to bring her to your house. There’s no conspiracy on my side, my prince.”

“Of course,” I said, shielding my troubled mind and heart in the presence of the oracle and my betrothed.

“Sounds like the war that will start all wars is coming, and it’s inevitable,” Lilith said, her gaze lingering on me.

I pretended not to register the heat in her eyes. She always looked at me like that, but to her credit, she hadn’t tried to force me into her bed. She was waiting for me to initiate it. In the meanwhile, she brought other males to warm her bed. My network was just as extensive as hers. The bond between us prohibited me from touching any woman other than her, but it hadn’t the same power over her. The only one who could bypass her magical bond in me was Barbie, because she was my true mate.

No force in any corner of the universe could counter the power of a true mating bond, even though Barbie and I hadn’t fully formed one. It took intention and a ritual to solidify it. Mere sex wouldn’t suffice. I wanted to forge a true mating bond with Barbie more than anything, but I knew what was at stake, and I had to fight my primal male need to mark her as mine. I was treading on thin ice above dark, treacherous water hiding my relationship with Barbie.

“A threat unlike any other is coming to the realm,” Lilith continued. “No ward is strong enough to stop it from invading Mist of Cinder.”

“There’s been unrest north of Russia, where the threat first started,” Moirai said, her eyes remaining unseeing. “Blight spread to most of Europe, then across North America. Magic was drained from those lands, but it stopped eight years ago.”

Lilith nodded. “Which matches the reports I received.”

Only lately had I gathered intel on the crisis of the mortal world due to the threats outside the Veil. Most supernaturals still had no clue about the danger we were facing, as they were fixated on the power struggles between the rival kingdoms. They refused to see the unfavorable reality—what transpired in the human world would eventually affect us.

I had to give it to Lilith that she had a much better grasp of the situation than the other monarchs. The mortal realm was part of her jurisdiction, after all.

“What happened eight years ago?” I asked.

“The daughter of Ruin vanished from the North Kingdom,” Lilith answered, something dark glinting in her eyes. “The girl is believed to be able to eat magic and drain the lands.”

“Ruin is one of the three original gods,” Moirai explained. “He has another name—eater of the world.”

My mind drifted to Barbie as something clicked.

“Weren’t the gods all dead, or in an eternal slumber?” I asked, and kept my expression bored.

“The other two gods disappeared after the final Battle of the Gods, but Ruin, the worst of the three, managed a return, aided by his daughter,” Moirai said. “The princess fled the North Kingdom. She’s come of age now. My coven and I believe that she has come to your realm, hiding in plain sight. She might even have joined the Brides Selection.”