Page 49 of House of Mages and Raven

“Does anyone else know about the God of Ruin hunting you?” Rowan asked.

“Only Barbie.”

“Is that how you became friends with Barbie? Did she help you escape?”

“Yes and no,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about Barbie.”

“Just tell her to keep her big mouth shut about you, and no more getting you clients unless she wants to make an enemy out of me.” He let out a pent-up breath. “I’ll work on getting an army ready in case Ruin and his army come knocking on our door. The heirs will join me. They’ll rally behind me to protect you, just as they defended Barbie.”

“It’ll take the whole realm and a lot more to counter Ruin,” I said. “We’ll need to have powerful allies. All the more reason that you must rule Kingdom of Fae. You must be king. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty. I’ll get rid of any obstaclesand secure your throne before the king finds out, my prince. There’re hundreds of ways to murder someone. I know most of the methods. I can be discreet, and I can even eat your fake dad.”

“You’re joking, right?” He eyed me warily. “You also have Barbie’s morbid sense of humor.”

“Barbie has no sense of humor,” I replied. “And she’s all bark, but I bite. You must be the new fae king with me by your side, of course. Right now, I can only work part-time, and I’ll decide the hours, which have to be flexible.”

He stared at me, his brow knitting. “You’re serious?”

I grinned, flashing him my fangs and dazing him with my wild beauty. “Of course, princeling. I don’t waste time on bad jokes.”

Now he appeared fazed. “We’re talking about cold-blooded murder here, little monster!”

“Power shifts. It’s the way of things. Have you studied history or even read history books?” I asked. Barbie often read them while I was half-asleep. She read everything. She used to read a lot of military books. After she met the chaos prince, she got addicted to smut. She had spent a lot of time thinking about being fucked by him before they actually fucked each other. Well, they were no longer fucking each other and had let the queen get between them.

“History has nothing to do with my situation.” Rowan drew in a ragged breath. “Unlike the other heirs, I feel like an imposter. In fact, I am a pretender. I never want to be king.”

I appreciated his letting me see his vulnerable side that he would never show to anyone else. But now wasn’t the time to feel inferior and even withdraw.

“Everyone feels like an imposter,” I said. “I feel like an imposter too.” And sometimes, it really got under my skin with Barbie being the primary. Even now, while having a blast with my lover, I knew it wouldn’t last. Barbie would eventually takeover. Even so, nothing could stop me from longing for my own identity and one day showing my superiority to the world. “But I feel amazing when I’m with you, sugar. You’re my hope.”

He kissed me. “My little monster.”

I gave him a sultry look, sliding my hand down his six-pack and going for his hard length, stroking it zealously. My fae stallion was always hard and vigorous, which pleased me. “I don’t understand why the world always paints ambitious women as the villains. Are men that threatened by the power of women?”

“Ambition is good, if it is aimed properly. But I insist on your not thinking of murdering anyone, or worse, eating them.” His gasps of pleasure turned to a growl. “Enough talk, little monster. If this is your plan to delay being fucked, your plan has failed. I like fucking in the morning.”

He spun me around and got me on all fours. The next second, he was behind me and thrusting into me, burying himself deep. I arched my back, ready for a good morning fuck. Just then, his tablet on the table vibrated loudly. He ignored it, but the tablet started to bounce on the wood. Uttering a curse, he picked it up while not missing a beat and driving into my tight channel. I looked over my shoulder as he browsed the tablet, trying to multitask.

“Fuck, they’re coming here,” he said.

“Who’s coming?”

“Who else? The obsessive idiot heirs,” he said. “They couldn’t find Barbie. She’s been missing since last night. She never returned to the House of Mages.”

“Is Prince Killian among them?” I asked for Barbie, and she sat up straighter, pricking up her ears.

“I bet he got them looking,” Rowan said. “He still thinks he’s responsible for her safety.”

“One night!” I shouted, annoyance brimming in my voice. “She was gone for only one night.”

“Last time she was missing for a few hours, and she was kidnapped,” he said.

“She’s fine this time,” I said.

He studied me. “How do you know? Where is Barbie? Where would she go? Killian also sent me a message saying that you raided Barbie’s room. He’s getting everyone to hunt for you as well. And why is it that Barbie and you never show up at the same time?”

My heart skipped a beat before I got my erratic, pounding heartbeat under control. Powerful supernaturals like my fae lover had superior hearing, and they could even smell fear and arousal.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded, looking over my shoulder and narrowing my eyes on him.

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