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

Chapter 6

6

Barbie

P ucker zoomed out of the wall.

“Barbie, Barbie!” he shouted.

“Why are you panting like a widow?” I asked. “A ghost doesn’t need to breathe.”

“That’s not even a good simile,” he said. “They’re coming for you. Prince Killian’s girlfriend is onto you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, not thrilled about his calling her Killian’s girlfriend. While my mood soured, fear and anxiety solidified like lead in the pit of my stomach.

Once the oracle saw me, it’d be over. I’d be done.

It was one thing if I told the prince my dangerous secret, but it was another matter if he heard it from a stranger’s mouth.

“You gotta get the fuck out of here!” Pucker urged.

Let me take over. We can hide in Underhill, Sy chimed in. Even the bitch queen can’t get in there.

No, I said.

You want to take her on toe-on-toe? Sy asked in excitement.

Not yet. You can take over, but we need to hide in plain sight, I said. When Killian comes looking and finds the room empty, he’s going to send his men to Underhill to flush us out. Let’s not give them the satisfaction of being predictable.

Sy surfaced right away and took over. Pucker gave Sy an appreciative once-over.

Don’t waste time eyeing Sy, I said. I want you to go back to spying on them.

It’s too risky, he protested.

What isn’t risky these days? I need you to be on top of this, I pushed.

You owe me. He sighed, and then he was gone.

I peeked out through Sy’s golden eyes as she adjusted her outfit—her breastplates in an Amazon warrior style that covered only half of her big boobs and a short leather skirt down to her toned thighs. I didn’t understand why she never wore underwear. It was a small mercy that her tits weren’t out.

At my insistence, she reluctantly went to the closet and put on a pair of panties the house had stored for her and boots that I’d stolen from somewhere just for her. I didn’t like to see her barefoot. She hadn’t even trimmed her toenails that looked like claws.

We’d leveled up, so I wanted her to act like it. The fae prince might be enthralled with her savage beauty, but the novelty would wear off eventually, and then she’d be out of a job. When push came to shove, we’d need more diamonds to flee the realm and go our own way. The appearance of the oracle had just reminded me how quickly shit could hit the fan.

When we didn’t spot anyone looking in our direction, Sy went out through the French door and climbed up like an overgrown lizard. A blink, and she pulled herself onto the rooftop.

The dark forest of Underhill stretched out in the northwest, its ancient trees waving in the wind, its wild magic beckoning me. I sent a message through our connection and told it to stay put instead of coming here to join me. The House of Chaos wasn’t safe for us with the Queen of the Underworld here. I didn’t want my foes or the oracle, who might be in league with my father, to learn about the wild magic in this realm.

Sy perched on the edge of the rooftop, her long legs crossed. The morning breeze brushed her face, and she threw her head back and inhaled the fresh air that carried the scent of jasmine, pine, and lemon.

She seldom had moments like this. When she was permitted to come out, it was always to sate her basic needs to feed, fuck, or fight to protect me. A tsunami of guilt slammed into me. I swallowed. I needed to do better by her. At the moment, I vowed that if we survived all this, if we beat Ruin, I’d find a way to set Sy free, so she could have her own life.

Yet I hid that thought from her, for now.

A new wave of sadness came over me. Mist of Cinder was the first place we had called home. How long could we hold on to it before we were torn away?

We stay, Sy said, turning her clawed hands into fists. And we fight to keep what’s ours. We won’t run again.