Page 67 of House of Mages and Raven

The Fury gave us a venomous look before sinking back into Cade, knowing she would be outmatched if she attacked first. How did a dead teenage witch turn into a Fury and curse Cade? What had he done to deserve this? I sighed. There was always a girl in the thick of the plot, wasn’t there?

Yes, there’s always a girl.Sy perked up.

I was being sarcastic,I said.Blame women, please. Always blame women.

Don’t become a bitter chick like that Fury,Sy warned.You’re so negative lately. You need to get laid asap.

I ignored my other half and focused on the mage prince and his curse. It dawned on me that Cade never dated anyone in the school, while the other heirs fucked the bride candidates like roaming lions. Was the Fury preventing the mage prince from mating?

The death curse she’d implanted in him wasn’t remotely like the magical block in Bea, which had bound her power. Bea and I hadn’t deeply discussed who had put that spell on her. She didn’t know much either, but from our talks about her family tree, I kind of suspected that her grandmother, who left her the Book of Shadows, had something to do with it.

“What did you see?” Cade demanded, suspicion darkening his turquoise eyes.

Fuck, he didn’t even know that a Fury was haunting him.

Everyone in the House of Mages knew that I’d helped Bea remove the magical block in her, and her power had grown inspades after that. She leveled up from a weak witch to a high mage overnight.

But Cade’s case was a lot more complicated. I liked him, and he’d helped me. He’d gotten me out of a pickle more than once. He’d taken me in when Killian abandoned me. I’d repay the debt, but I wouldn’t rush into anything before I knew how to deal with this Fury. I couldn’t just dive in and let Sy eat her like how I’d consumed other curses and spells.

I needed to research Furies and find out about Cade’s history with that blue-lipped witch. Before I could really assist him, it was better to play dumb. I wouldn’t want her to detect my intention.

“What?” I shot back, then blinked at him innocently.

“It’s like you saw a ghost,” Cade snarled, something dangerous flashing in his eyes.

The mage prince was just as dangerous as the other heirs, but it was the first time I’d ever seen him snarl or carry cold menace. Usually, he didn’t lose his temper, as he was the coolest heir in all the kingdoms.

For a second, I saw pain in his eyes. If it were anyone else, they’d have missed it. But Sy and I didn’t miss anything.

Who’d have thought the most laidback and lighthearted heir hid such a dark, upspoken secret? But then, all the heirs had their secrets, pain, and issues, even though they were assholes. Perhaps acting like the biggest assholes was how they coped. It was a façade, a defense mechanism.

For example, Louis screwed around because he was terrified of never finding his true mate. Silas carried an inferiority complex, so he bullied others and got into constant pissing matches with Killian. Other than having a rage issue and hiding his dragon, the chaos prince had more dirty secrets than one could count—me being one of them. He had fucked me and been unfaithful to his betrothed.

Cade still narrowed his eyes at me, waiting for my explanation and ready to pounce if I looked at him wrong again. But I couldn’t tell him what I’d seen in him and that it was worse than seeing a ghost.

“Well, what I saw is—” I started.

“Spit it out,” he barked. “I don’t have the whole day.”

“I saw something…on your teeth,” I said diplomatically.

“How dare you?”

“Is that broccoli?”

“I never eat broccoli.” The prince stared hard at me. “Nasty taste.”

“I like broccoli,” I lied. “It’s good for you, since it’s the best veggie to prevent breast cancer.”

The last part was true, but I wouldn’t eat broccoli even if it was cooked with butter. Sy hated broccoli with an unhealthy passion. I was an omnivore, but she was a carnivore. Her questionable eating habits in those early years still made me shudder. This realm was good for both of us; there was no argument there.

No argument,she agreed.

Cade was giving me the evil eye now. “Why should I worry about cancer? We don’t even get colds.”

“You shouldn’t be too cocky,” I protested, “with Covid still going on in the human cities.”

“You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you, Barbie?” he asked, dark suspicion sparking in his eyes. “What are you hiding?”

---