Page 62 of House of Mages and Raven

“Why?”

“You know all I ever want from you is respect.”

“A lie.”

As I opened my sapphire eye as well, a forlorn feeling swept over me. I hadn’t gotten used to the new bed in the House of Mages, and I missed my old bed in the House of Chaos.

Rubbing my eyes, I rolled off the bed while Pucker inspected my new room. Like a deflated balloon, I padded to the small window, looking out and hoping none of the mages had seen Pucker sneak in. No one knew that he was my familiar, not even Killian and Rock, and I’d like to keep it that way.

“I’m not your dirty little secret,” Pucker protested.

From the window of my corner room, I could see part of the lime-and-gold building in the pale rays of dawn.

“How did you get in?” I asked as I glanced at the pentagon courtyard on the west side, fenced by dwarf burning bushes. I’d once stripped the offensive spells from the bushes, but Cade’s mages had put the spells back and added a few more, so the bushes had turned dark crimson again.

Mages appeared laidback, but they were just as paranoid as other supernaturals. I’d never seen so many spells until I came to the mage house. They’d warded every brick, every pane of glass, and every inch of steel, spells woven through them like impenetrable spiderwebs.

Pucker might be the guardian of the House of Chaos, but he had no business being in other houses. “There was resistance,” he confessed, “but I pushed through. Being a familiar to a goddess has its perks, though more often, trouble follows me because of you. Remember that time I got dismembered by Medea’s chains?”

“Yeah, you saved my butt,” I said, turning away from the window. “But could you not constantly bring it up?”

He smiled at me, puffing out a perfect ring of smoke, the strong smell of weed drifting across the room.

“I like the mage house’s casual atmosphere,” he said. “But they should get rid of half of the potted plants in the common hall. Also, the shelves of old books are overkill.”

“Take it up with Cade, then,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to listen to your criticism early in the morning.”

“I can’t let other houses know that I can now travel to their houses easily, since I can follow you anywhere,” he said. “Anyway, I’ve come and seen. The room is not up to standard, Barbie. In fact, it’s an insult to your status as a three-quarter goddess. You should return to the House of Chaos.”

“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll never return to that house.”

“Maybe you should shout out your origin aloud, so everyone will start to treat you as you deserve,” he offered. “You deserve better.”

I wondered why he and Sy kept handing out bad advice like spoiled milk. Well, I knew, because no one wanted it even though it was free.

“Sure,” I said. “I can see from a mile away how everyone would react to my association with Ruin. And I’d welcome all the hate and fear, more than I’ve already received.”

He squinted at me. “Is that sarcasm? With you, I can never tell. Anyway, I want you to know that no one has touched your old room. The chaos house magic and I make sure of it.”

“I’ll make myself at home here,” I said. “And I’ll decorate my new home when I’m not too busy.”

My room was small, but it had a twin-size bed, a desk, and a chair. I even had a closet.

Just then, a windchime sounded at the doorway. In front of my eyes, the room started to shift, the wooden floor stretching, the small window turning to two large ones, and the four walls expanding. I leapt away from the window in alarm, as did Pucker. I had to duck as the old furniture was tossed out likejunk. When I blinked, my bed sank down into the floor and vanished.

“Shit, the mage house is throwing a fit at my criticism,” Pucker said, eyes wild.

“Look what you’ve done.” I stared hard at him. “You know that all five houses in Shades Academy are sentient. They’re very sensitive. Must you bring negativity everywhere you go?”

Sy scowled at Pucker too.

“I’m sorry,” Pucker said to the house. “I didn’t mean it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You need to mean it when you say sorry.”

A blink, and a lanai appeared with a newly added French door. A king-size bed emerged from the floor, and a crystal chandelier dropped from above and hung from the ceiling.

“Shit,” I called, my eyes wild. “Cade is going to kill me. I think the house magic just dragged in the chandelier from the grand hall. The bed must belong to a high mage. If they find out?—”

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