Page 20 of House of Mages and Raven

“I have no family, so it’s just Barbie, high sir,” I said.

Some whispers came from the audience seats, but I didn’t need their pity. If they knew who my father was, they wouldn’t want that family name attached to them either.

“Where are you from, Barbie?”

“The mortal realm,” I said. “I don’t remember the name of the exact city, though. Maybe it’s S-Sussex?” That was a lie, but I wasn’t here to tell the truth but to throw them off the track.

More whispers. I didn’t think these supernaturals had ever heard of Sussex, and Cade frowned at me.

“It’s in the U.K.,” I added, trying to educate them.

“The daughter of the God of Ruin, who is suspected to have infiltrated our realm, also comes from the mortal realm.” Queen Lilith’s silvery voice rang from the balcony. Blood rushed to my ears. I jerked my head up, our gazes clashing, a smug and menacing light glinting in the demon queen’s green eyes. “Lady Moirai, the Maiden, spinner of the thread of life, shall unveil all things. I’ve brought her to the court to provide insight on the trial.”

Shit! Shit!

My heart rammed into my ribcage wildly while blood still pounded painfully in my ears. Icy fog filled my vision. This was it, then. The oracle would reveal everything about me in front of everyone, and then it’d be over. I wasn’t going to wait for them to come for my blood.

Before I could bolt, Pucker appeared beside me in his ghost form and tugged my sleeve.Hold your horses, Barbie.

We don’t run,Sy agreed.We’ll see this to the bitter end.

“The triunity —the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone—haven’t shown themselves to the world for over a millennium.” Whispers of awe spread across the hall.

“Isn’t Lady Moirai the first oracle?” asked King Vasiliy, a greedy, calculating light coming alive in his hazel eyes.

“Yes, King Vasiliy,” Queen Lilith said fondly, tearing her eyes from me and fixing them on the king. “And I’ve brought her. The first oracle also revealed that the God of Ruin is on the move toward the realm and that his daughter is trying to pave the path for his arrival.”

My heart nearly jumped out of my throat while my blood iced over.

Bitch!Pucker murmured.

“I’ve heard enough of these whispers and rumors of the ancient gods,” the shifter queen, Silas’s mother, sneered in her projected form sustained by magic. “They’re but a fear tactic. The gods are long since dead.”

Know thy enemy and read the room,I told myself.

I’d studied Queen Lilith before she hijacked my mind. She was more powerful than the other kings and queens in the realm. The monarchs of Mist of Cinder had been wary of her, but King Vasiliy saw the benefits of aligning with the Underworld and pushed his son’s engagement to the Queen of the Underworld. I bet if Queen Lilith had nodded at him, the chaos king would’ve abandoned his adult doll queen and chosen Queen Lilith as his new queen. I’d noticed the lust in his gaze when he looked at Queen Lilith.

The alliance between the House of Underworld and the House of Chaos created a power imbalance in the realm, and none of the other kingdoms were thrilled about it. The shifter queen was openly showing her distrust. I should use it to my advantage, if and when I had to refute the demon queen’s claim that I was the enemy, the daughter of an ancient god.

“Hey,”I would say with a mocking smirk,“do I look like a goddess to you?”

The audience would agree that I didn’t look it. Politics were a messy and dirty business, and I could play dirty too.

“One of the three original gods is making a comeback,” Queen Lilith said coolly. “He’s been active for the last twenty years, mostly in the north, where he formed a kingdom and built an army. His influence has spread to this continent of late, following his daughter’s footsteps.”

“You think the remaining old god is going to invade?” asked the fae king.

“The God of Ruin might just mind his own business,” the vampire king said hopefully.

“Ruin is the worst threat to all of us,” Queen Lilith said. “You have all seen the blight outside the Veil at Shades Academy, which I believe was his daughter’s work. He’s coming, and believe me when I say that Princess Ruin is already here.”

Princess Ruin?

I tried to put on an innocent look, but my heart was leaping to the back of my throat then plunging to the pit of my stomach. Queen Lilith knew who I was, and she was toying with me before her final pounce.

Everyone started talking at once. All the noise made my head spin.

“Then who’s the daughter?” the vampire king demanded.

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