Page 5 of House of Mages and Raven

“She’s obviously targeting you,” Pucker said. “She has the looks and the brain.”

I glared at him. “You must go spy on them right now.”

He winced. “We’ve established that I’ll spy on anyone for you except Prince Killian. I can’t be on his bad side.”

I thinned my lips. “Everything I’ve built here is at stake.”

“You didn’t build anything,” he said. “It’s more like you took advantage of everything.”

“If the oracle outs me, the best case is I’ll have to flee the realm,” I said. “I don’t even want to talk about the worst-case scenario. Either way, it’ll affect you. You’re smart to play safe. I’ll sever the familiar bond and set you free.”

“There’s no need to be dramatic.” Pucker raised a hand. “I’ll risk the prince’s wrath. Sit tight and lie low. Don’t do anything reckless before I return.”

He zoomed through the wall in his phantom form.

4

Killian

Istrolled into the common room on the ground floor. Rock had thrown everyone out before my arrival. Cassius parked himself near the door to prevent anyone, especially Barbie, from stumbling into the room, where Queen Lilith was waiting for me.

Barbie had a knack for diving into trouble headfirst. My mind lingered on my true mate before shifting to my betrothed, torn between the two women in my life—one I’d tried to commit myself to and the other I’d betrayed.

In the center of the luxurious room sat the Queen of the Underworld and her guest. My gaze alighted on Queen Lilith as courtesy required. In her presence, I’d always look at her before sparing anyone else a glance. For a brief breath, I wondered if I’d be able to do so if Barbie was in the room.

I’d taken care to disguise my scent with my shadow and starlight, the power I’d inherited from Hades as his grandson, so Lilith wouldn’t smell Barbie on me. I hated carrying thisdeception, but Lilith was more dangerous than any other. I counted on my magic holding and that she wouldn’t suspect another woman could brush aside the magical chastity belt she’d imposed on me. The “mating bond” she’d forged and chained me with was part of the house deal after my father sold me out and put me at the mercy of the demon queen so he could gain more power.

I reined in my dragon as he snarled at my betrothed, my face remaining impassive.

She wore a white designer shirt and dress pants of excellent material. Everything about her was chic, precise, and beautiful. She was the most powerful woman in the realm, surpassing any other queens and kings.

“Queen Lilith.” I nodded respectfully.

She smiled stunningly, although it held a slight irony that no one but I could detect. “Shouldn’t you call me beloved?”

She was no doubt a great beauty, almost unmatchable. My thoughts flickered to Barbie before I dragged my mind back to the here and now. I shouldn’t think of my true mate now.

Why not?my dragon challenged me rudely.She’s our mate, not this woman whom you call beloved and betrothed.

Shut your hole,I growled inwardly.You don’t want to draw her attention to Barbie and paint a target on our girl’s back.

That shut him up instantly. Barbie had become the beast’s weakness.

No man could resist the Queen of the Underworld, who had had a swarm of lovers. I admitted that I’d almost surrendered to her as well, but I was no ordinary man. I was the true heir of Hades, the death god.

I’d also bonded with the last dragon, though he didn’t always see eye-to-eye with me. He offered me his strength, loyalty, and infallible instincts. And if he said the Queen of the Underworld was not our mate, then he had the final say on it.

Not if!he snarled again.

As I didn’t fall all over Queen Lilith like other males, her interest in me only increased. To her, our engagement wasn’t merely political. She wanted me in her bed. More than she’d wanted any other male.

“I heard that you brought an oracle,” I said, and sat down on a cushioned chair across from the white leather couch where she’d made herself comfortable.

A silver-haired woman of uncertain age in a seashell-colored gown perched on an accent chair next to the couch. I could see that Lilith expected me to sit with her on the loveseat, but I refused to give her what she wanted. A sheen of dark light rolled across her green eyes that could shift between sapphire and emerald. She’d been amused when I put distance between us in the past, regarding it as my youthful rebellion. She’d enjoyed the challenge, even taking it as spice in our relationship, but not this time.

Something had changed.

My heart raced as a sense of uneasiness washed over me. Lilith had hijacked Barbie’s mind not long ago. If my true mate hadn’t beaten the demon queen at her own game, and if I hadn’t been able to pull her out of the phantom realm of the Underworld, my mate would’ve been lost forever.

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