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

Chapter 26

26

Barbie

C ade put me in a basement cell that had iron prison bars.

“I feel good about putting this abandoned facility to use,” the mage prince told me, pleased with himself. “It’s been vacant for too long.”

I stared at him, my arms across my chest. The mage prince and his two aides, Fred and Matt, stood on the other side of the bars.

The dark-skinned, mid-level mage was Fred and the light-skinned one was Matt. When I was still a squire in the House of Vampires, Bea had taken me to Snowflake Café in the business district on campus, where a cluster of shops, restaurants, and the theater Mouline covered two blocks. Fred and Matt had interrupted our teatime and aggressively herded me toward their prince’s table to be interrogated by him. These two mages were bad news.

I sighed and turned to regard the spells that warded the cell. “You might want to have your higher-level minions update the spells, Highness.”

Cade shook his head. “No way. I’m not going to spend more money on upgrading the jail. You’ll just have to live with what we have, Barbie. Plus, no spells can stop you. But this solid iron will prevent you from breaking out of this jail.”

He pulled at the bars to no avail to show me how strong they were, smiling in satisfaction.

“You’ll be in detention for a week,” he announced.

I widened my eyes. “But?—”

“No buts.” He waved a hand. “Don’t give me that wide-eyed, innocent look. I don’t buy it. However, we can reduce the sentence to three days if you cooperate. I’m not an unreasonable man, but I need to show the realm how disciplined my house is. You, on the other hand, need to learn how to be less argumentative.”

“But I’m not argumentative,” I said.

“See? That’s argumentative,” he said. “Anyway, I don’t have time to clean up after you or fix your attitude issue. I have to take more responsibilities in the kingdom now, especially with the new threat on the horizon.”

My heart skipped an icy beat. Was he talking about the Shriekers?

“What threat?” I pushed.

He raised a finger to tell me to shut up. The heirs didn’t like to be interrupted.

“It was amusing when you caused a load of trouble in the other houses,” he said. “But now that you’re in my house, I won’t put up with it. I can’t afford to rush back here every time you cause shit.”

“But I don’t cause shit. I’m always on the defense,” I tried to explain.

Cade gave me a stern look, so I swallowed the long explanation that was ready to flow out.

“No one else would give you a second chance, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. You should use this precious, quiet jail time to reflect upon your actions, especially your violent actions. Well, I don’t blame you for punching Barbie 2.0. I’d be pissed too if there was a Cade 2.0 running around.” He sighed and pressed a hand to his temple as if I was the one who’d caused his headache. “If you really can’t get rid of your impulsiveness, at least try to reflect upon your attitude.” I’d kissed him to challenge the Fury in him and lied that I’d kissed him because I was impulsive. “You aren’t the only mage in the house, Barbie. I have to take care of hundreds of mages and make sure they’re fed, learning something useful, and not crossing the lines. You think my job is easy?”

“I wouldn’t know, sir,” I said honestly. “I’ve never had your job. The only job I had was being a squire, which was underpaid with long hours.”

He gave me side-eye. “Whatever. I’ll be back in a few days, and you’ll stay put. As I said, use this great opportunity to reflect upon yourself. Remember, the other princes aren’t as lenient. So, stop pouting and appreciate what I’m doing for you.”

“I don’t pout, no matter how bad things get. I promise you,” I said, and his aides gave me a hard stare.

I didn’t bother getting into a useless glaring match but instead surveyed the cell. It was spacious and almost luxurious, equipped with a new bed and satin sheets, with two French chairs matching a high-end ivory table. I was good as long as there was a roof above me. This jail was more than I could ask for.

My mood improved, so I smiled and asked, “May I have a cup of tea? Oolong tea would do, and I’ll take it with milk and sugar.”

The two mages stared at me incredulously.

“Matt will fulfill your orders and take care of all your needs after I’m gone.” Cade flicked his fingers at the lighter-skinned mage. “Give him a list.”

“She’s a prisoner, Your Highness,” Matt said.

“We treat our prisoners with humanity,” Cade said, then over the goons’ confused looks, he smiled. “There’s always a first, and we’ll set an example.”

He waved his wand, and in front of my eyes, a wide range of cakes appeared on the table, accompanied by an elegant set of teacups that brimmed with steamy tea. A second later, a great selection of smut books materialized on a bookshelf against the stone wall. When I squirmed in utter delight, jets of fire roared to life within the hearth.

I beamed at the prince. “Thank you, sir, thank you!”

Cade beckoned me impatiently. “Come closer, Barbie. Let’s take a picture before I go.” He whipped out his tablet and trained it toward him and me, mostly himself. “Put on a good pose, will you?”

Tits up, Sy reminded me, and I thrust my chest out. I didn’t have much, but it would have to do.

“Your Highness, I can take a picture for you and Barbie,” Fred volunteered.

“No need,” Cade said. “Everyone is doing selfies now. Now say cheers, Barbie.”

“Cheers,” I said.

In the spirit of cooperation, I pulled my lips back in a toothy grin while holding two fingers near my bruised face to signify victory.

Cade snapped a dozen pictures. As he lowered his gaze to his tablet, I tried to peek over his shoulder, but he was too tall for me to get a good look.

“Get our PR team to select the two best photos and make sure to heat it up to make it go viral,” Cade ordered his goons. “We want to show everyone how civilized we mages are, and that even our prisoner is happy.”

“One problem, though, Your Highness,” Matt said, rubbing his hands nervously.

“What?” Cade snapped at him.

“The crime rate will go up tremendously since everyone will want a vacation in the jail in our house,” Matt said.

Cade pondered for half a second before he cursed, “Fuck.”

Both of his aides nodded solemnly in agreement.

“This world is so fucked up that we can’t even show kindness.” The prince shook his red head in disgust. “Well, make sure it won’t come to that. Fighting crimes isn’t an easy task; no wonder humans just give up and let criminals run amok in their world.”

“We can replace the bed with straw and hay, like in a stable, so no one will envy criminal Barbie,” Fred suggested. He liked me even less than Matt.

“Too much work to redo everything, and I don’t like changes,” Cade said. “Let’s just go with our original design.” He turned to me, narrowing his turquoise eyes. “Think you can chill and not stir shit for two or three days until I return?”

Ever since I’d spotted the Fury curse in the mage prince, I’d started to have a better understanding of him. He often made things sound ridiculously lighthearted, which was his defense mechanism to battle the heaviness within him. He was a top predator, just like the other princes, yet there was such kindness in him.

I spread my arms. “I’m chilling now.”

He snorted and turned on his heels.

“Cade,” I called.

“It’s His Highness or Prince Cade to you!” Fred said. The mages were known to be the least disciplined in the realm, but they also adhered to hierarchy.

Cade turned and smiled. “When Barbie calls my first name, it’s a good sign. When she calls me ‘high sir’ or ‘high prince,’ that’s when the trouble starts.”

“You—we’ll all be fine,” I said. “Even monsters get a break, and we aren’t the true villains in the story.”

“How dare you!” Matt said but Cade waved him away, nodded at me, and strode away whistling the theme music from Supernatural , an old American TV series.

I blinked. Cade actually looked a lot like a younger Dean.

“I have better things to do than babysit wicked Barbie,” Fred said.

“Me too,” Matt said.

They nodded at each other, bumped fists, then turned to trek down the hallway without sparing me a second glance. A moment later, the upstairs door slammed behind them.

I lost track of time after a while, but a day or two must’ve passed. I was even looking forward to visits from some assassins. It was either that or I’d die of boredom.

When I finally heard footfalls coming my way again, I rolled from my bed and perked up. Matt and Fred paused on the other side of the bars, eyeing me warily.

“Hello.” I smiled at them. “May I have coffee? At this point, I’ll even take a black one.” Ever since I’d heard that only serial killers drank black coffee, I mostly avoided drinking it like that.

They looked at the table, littered with empty plates and teacups, then back at me.

“You had tea yesterday,” Fred said. “The whole table of food should’ve lasted three days. Blame yourself for not rationing it.”

They had no idea that I had to consume a lot more food than other supernaturals to stop myself being a danger to others.

“You do know this is detention, not vacation, right?” Matt asked rhetorically.

Fred shook his head in disgust. “I’ve never met a prisoner who demanded three meals a day.”

“But I gotta eat!” I barked viciously.

“All right, all right.” Matt put up his hands. “We’ll bring food tomorrow night. That’s the best we can do.” He gestured at the table. “We didn’t expect you to eat it all, so we came empty-handed. We’re just doing a quick check to make sure you’re up and about.”

“I have enemies,” I said. “Don’t you worry they’ll come to assassinate me since you aren’t doing your job properly?’

“Only high mages can pass through the warded door that leads to this basement,” Matt said confidently. “Any intruder will leave a magical signature. No one is foolish enough to mess with our mages. Also, His Highness issued a no-visitors order.”

“And just your luck, Barbie,” Fred said. “His Highness has to delay his return. So instead of three days, you’ll have to stay here for a week.”

The mage aides rushed off.

“Wait!” I shouted. “Wait a fucking second!”

Matt turned, inserted his hand into his pocket, and took out a protein bar.

“Here,” he said, tossing it at me, and followed Fred out of my sight. A second later, the sound of a door clicking indicated their departure.

He was a bad aim. The protein bar had landed outside the cell, nearly beyond my reach.

We’ll eat them when they return, Sy offered.

“Maybe we should,” I said, and slumped into a chair as I glanced at the empty plates. I should’ve rationed the cakes.

But at least I still had a protein bar. I peeled off the wrapper and nibbled it, not even bothering to check the label to see if it’d expired. My thoughts drifted to Killian. I didn’t get why he hadn’t sided with Grace after the duel. Hadn’t he turned cold toward me as soon as she showed up?

I should not think about him; it only got my panties twisted. As I clenched my teeth to push him out of my mind, Grace’s malicious smirk surfaced, and her parting words echoed sharply in my mind. “You’ll wish you never stayed. The second trial of the Brides Selection is coming.”

It wasn’t merely a threat she’d issued. She knew something about the coming second trial, and it’d be worse than the first that had nearly done me in. The druid had poisoned me with the Seed. Just remembering the inhuman agony made me shudder all over again.

I dreaded going through a trial again, but I wasn’t a quitter, even though I couldn’t care less about being a Bride. I wouldn’t be too sad if I was finally kicked out of the Selection. I just hoped that Cade would still house me. He had establishments in the U.K. I could stay there, and I would even set myself up as an influencer.

My stomach chose that moment to groan in hunger while I pictured myself as a successful BookTok influencer, but there was nothing else to eat, as I’d finished the protein bar in two bites. Should’ve rationed it. In a sour mood, I scrambled to my feet and padded to the shelf to check out the selection of smut books.

A dark fairytale romantasy paperback caught my attention right away. A memory swirled back. Killian had come to my room as I sobbed over a heartbreaking scene.

“The billionaire dragon shifter heir and the virgin can’t be together,” I had told him.

“Who is the fucking billionaire and who is the virgin?” he had growled in confusion, then picked up a book—the wrong book—from the table and flipped to the page that I’d dogeared and read the line aloud. “‘want to fill your tight cunt with my cum.’”

He might’ve teased me about my reading taste, but I’d seen the heat and lust burning in his gaze. He’d looked at me as if he wanted me more than anything and anyone in the world. As if I was his whole world.

It was ironic that what had happened between us was like a twisted version of the dragon and the maiden. In the book, at least the star-crossed lovers fought to be together. In reality, Killian had dumped me, not for someone younger and prettier, but for my “upgraded” version.

My mouth tasted like ash and sulfur, yet I couldn’t get the picture of our last morning together out of my mind. I’d woken up with his head buried between my thighs, his mouth feasting on my pussy, his tongue lapping my swollen clit. The searing pleasure had nearly undone me.

And he’d told me that I was the first woman who’d ever slept overnight in his bed.

“ Mine! ” he’d growled.

I’d demanded, “But are you mine too?”

He was a liar and a fucking seducer. He’d never been mine. Never would be. I’d fallen for him, only to be throw away like an old shoe.

I wasn’t retired but replaced.

A sudden, inconsolable rage leapt into my belly and kept rising.

A flood of heat flared in my chest, and with it, images of the chaos prince and me fucking like savages pounded into my mind. I didn’t want that. I tried to shove them away, but they kept coming, wave after wave, crashing into me unceasingly, until the heat sank into my veins and coursed in my bloodstream.

Before I knew it, my panties were soaked and my pussy throbbed.

What the fuck?

The heat turned to liquid fire, licking and burning the tender flesh between my thighs. The need turned into an ache, then pain. At last, I was writhing in terrible agony.

You’re in heat, Barbie, Sy said.