Page 47 of House of Mages and Raven

Rowan narrowed his eyes on me. “What is this about?”

“You called me mate, didn’t you?” I asked. I didn’t do subtle. Either you were with me or against me. There was no gray area.

He flicked the tip of my nose. “So you heard. I thought you weren’t paying attention.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I miss nothing, even when I orgasm. Now that I’m your mate, as you said, your interests are also mine.”

“Then we’ll go out as a couple.”

I hesitated for a few breaths, as I wasn’t sure how much more time Barbie was going to give me at the wheel. If you couldn’t keep a promise, then you had no business promising anything. While I couldn’t exactly make a full commitment, I decided to turn the gunfire on him.

“Will your king approve of me?” I asked. “Will he approve of your choice?”

He blinked. He hadn’t thought it through.

“Was calling me mate a slip in the heat of passion?” I asked.

“You’re my mate. I felt it in my bones.”

“Words and feelings mean nothing without actions,” I said, remembering the futility of the chaos prince’s feelings for Barbie. His strong feelings shattered like pretty glass as soon as his fiancée queen stepped in and kicked Barbie to the curb.

Barbie might be a goddess, but no one knew what she was or appreciated her real worth. And she was but one person. Even with my backing her up, we had no social status. The underdog crowd she’d built had rushed to the new power. And our rival was the Queen of the Underworld, who had ultimate power and an army behind her.

We needed political power to win the fight. Barbie might be out, but she still had me—and Rowan was key to making a permanent home for us here. When he was king, I’d be his queen. With me as the Queen of Kingdom of Fae, we could gotoe-to-toe against the demon queen. We could have a fae army fighting off Ruin and his Shriekers.

I must start to scheme now and create our own future. What wouldn’t I do to protect Barbie?

“I’ll fight for you,” Rowan said roughly. “First step, I’ll show you around so everyone will know you’re mine. Next, I want you to move in with me.”

“It isn’t that simple,” I said. “Every decision you make, you’ll have to go through your king father. I’ve heard that he isn’t exactly fond of you. Maybe deep inside his cruel black heart, he knows you aren’t his. I’m nobody in everyone’s eyes. I have no riches and no title. All I have is a brilliant mind, a gorgeous body, and some power no one knows about. Other supernaturals will laugh at you for choosing me.”

“I don’t give a fuck if those fuckers laugh at me,” he said. “I don’t even give a fuck what the other heirs think.”

“But when your king orders you to forsake me, there’s nothing you can do.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. I’d hit a nerve.

“I said I’d fight for you, and I meant it,” he said. “I won’t give you up.”

“Lip service is easy, sugar,” I said. “And what about the Brides Selection? Your court is expecting you, the heir, to find the One from the Selection.”

“I never plan to find a mate from the pool of the Selection,” he said. “I’m just go with the flow until it’s over.” Then his eyes brightened at an idea. “Why don’t you join the Selection like Barbie?”

“Barbie was dragged into the bride trials,” I said, hearing a rude yawn from her. She was waking up, and now she was pricking her ears to listen.

“But you’ll join the Selection willingly, little monster,” Rowan said eagerly. “So I can just pick you by the end of the day, and no one will be the wiser. Even the king won’t be able to object.”

One technical issue, though. I couldn’t, unless Barbie bowed out and pretended to flee the realm, and then I took over and entered the scene as me. It would never happen. Barbie might slumber, but she would never give up the reins completely. She was too dominant, even though she kept a low profile for now. Dominance was in her goddess blood.

“I’ve told you that I can’t join the Brides Selection,” I said quietly.

“Why not?”

“Even if I get into the pool, there’s no guarantee that we’ll end up together,” I said. “If you truly want me, you’ll go with my plan. You aren’t exactly safe either, princeling. You do not have a say in anything while your king father sits on the throne. Tell me that you’re absolutely safe in your own kingdom, and don’t lie to me.”

He was silent for a long beat before he said, “No one is absolutely safe.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said.

---