Page 21 of House of Mages and Raven

“Do you seriously expect that we’ll just trust what you said about the God of Ruin and his aggressive movements, Queen Lilith?” the fae king challenged.

“It’s a fear tactic, as I said before,” Silas’s mother called again.

“You’ll say anything to gain more power, won’t you, Queen Lilith?” a vampire from the Council asked. “Everyone knows that you have your sight set on the seat of the high queen.”

“Enough!” King Vasiliy’s voice thundered across the hall, but everyone ignored him and kept arguing. No king or queen from the other kingdoms respected his authority.

“We’re reviewing the bride candidates from house to house.” Queen Lilith raised her voice above all, her potent power vibrating in the air. “The process is slow due to resistance. I’ll need all of your support to purge the enemy among us. And today, the oracle will show us the path.”

The Queen of the Underworld had come prepared, ready to pin me to the wall like a fly.

“How do we know she’s the real deal?” asked the fae king.

“You’ll see for yourself soon, King Emyr,” Queen Lilith said with a bright smile, looking around the court. “To ease your doubts, we can test it first. Lady Moirai will reveal one of your secrets that no one else knows about in front of the court of Kingdom of Chaos. Is anyone up to it?”

Silence fell over the hall.

“I see no one is volunteering,” Queen Lilith said. “I have an idea. How about let’s test it on Barbie, the girl on trial? No one knows about her origin, and she’s quite a mystery in the realm. Why not let Lady Moirai have a read on her? Nothing and no one can hide from the oracle’s sight.”

I froze. My bones felt icy cold. Everyone’s attention snagged on me. I hoped these powerful supernaturals didn’t hear my pounding heartbeat. They all had superior hearing, and they could smell the scent of fear as well.

Killian glanced at me, his face unreadable, then stood from his audience seat.

“That’s unnecessary,” the chaos prince said. “This trial is about finding the truth and proving that a member of my house is innocent. All the other heirs and I witnessed that Princess Medea used a forbidden artifact made of black magic on Barbie, but the dark spells consumed her instead. We haveevidence that Princess Medea was working with the druid. We’re still investigating how he recruited her and who else are were involved. But that’s not our focus today, and neither is a psychic reading. We’ll proceed with a proper trial.”

Rage rolled off Queen Lilith, hellfire flashing in her eyes at Killian’s defiance. The Council traded glances. The golden royal couple weren’t exactly presenting a united front. King Vasiliy cleared his throat in warning to his son. Queen Odette hadn’t taken her venom-filled eyes off me, the pit of snakes in her hair hissing at me. I gave her a fearless look. Not even her ancestor Medusa could freeze me and turn me to stone.

“Indulge me, beloved, will you?” Queen Lilith said with a honeyed smile, no trace of her fury visible. “I promise this won’t be a psychic reading but will unveil the truth. It won’t take long. If Barbie is innocent and has nothing to hide, you should not worry about her.” She nodded at a dark-skinned, horned archdemon standing behind her seat. “Usher Lady Moirai in.”

“Yes, my queen.” The archdemon bowed and slid from the gallery.

Killian stood very still, the calm before the storm.

A long moment passed. The archdemon returned without the oracle in tow. His queen stared at him sharply. He bent over and whispered into her ear, his wings fluttering behind his armored shoulders, and with Sy’s superior hearing, I caught his words. “The oracle’s gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?” Queen Lilith demanded in a hushed, annoyed voice.

“Vanished, my queen.”

Queen Lilith quenched the spitting hellfire in her eyes as she realized everyone’s attention was on her.

“My fellow sovereigns,” she announced, “unfortunately, Lady Moirai foresaw an emergency and had to depart.” She gesturedto Cade. “Let’s proceed with the trial. The oracle will return at a later date.”

That is an anticlimax,Pucker mocked.

Be careful what you wish for,I warned him, my breathing coming easier.

12

Barbie

Cade sighed. “Where were we before I was interrupted?”

I decided that I’d had enough. I was never a sheep.

“How long am I going to be stuck here?” I demanded. “I didn’t do anything wrong, yet I was mercilessly dragged here in the middle of my breakfast. I’m tired and hungry. I’m feeling very dizzy due to my chronic low blood sugar, a medical condition that you lucky and healthy people might’ve never heard of. It’s getting worse ever since my brutal kidnapping. I wonder if Headmistress Ethel filed it in her report or not, but I don’t mind telling you that I was maimed and tortured before the brave heirs rescued me.

“If you want proof, you can ask the amazing heirs for the evidence—the chains that pinned me down in the dungeon, the iron mask forced over my innocent face, and the unholy torque made of dark material and black magic. The trauma is still so raw and terrible that I don’t wish it upon any of you here. The professional investigation team led by the capable andcompassionate heirs tied the kidnap to the one and only druid, who used to be Headmistress Ethel’s most trusted right-hand man and secret BFF, short for best friends forever. However, I cannot say for sure if they’re also closet lovers or not, but they were inseparable before the druid showed his true colors.”

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