Page 82 of House of Mages and Raven

He gave me side-eye. “Whatever. I’ll be back in a few days, and you’ll stay put. As I said, use this great opportunity to reflect upon yourself. Remember, the other princes aren’t as lenient. So, stop pouting and appreciate what I’m doing for you.”

“I don’t pout, no matter how bad things get. I promise you,” I said, and his aides gave me a hard stare.

I didn’t bother getting into a useless glaring match but instead surveyed the cell. It was spacious and almost luxurious, equipped with a new bed and satin sheets, with two French chairs matching a high-end ivory table. I was good as long as there was a roof above me. This jail was more than I could ask for.

My mood improved, so I smiled and asked, “May I have a cup of tea? Oolong tea would do, and I’ll take it with milk and sugar.”

The two mages stared at me incredulously.

“Matt will fulfill your orders and take care of all your needs after I’m gone.” Cade flicked his fingers at the lighter-skinned mage. “Give him a list.”

“She’s a prisoner, Your Highness,” Matt said.

“We treat our prisoners with humanity,” Cade said, then over the goons’ confused looks, he smiled. “There’s always a first, and we’ll set an example.”

He waved his wand, and in front of my eyes, a wide range of cakes appeared on the table, accompanied by an elegant set of teacups that brimmed with steamy tea. A second later, a great selection of smut books materialized on a bookshelf against the stone wall. When I squirmed in utter delight, jets of fire roared to life within the hearth.

I beamed at the prince. “Thank you, sir, thank you!”

Cade beckoned me impatiently. “Come closer, Barbie. Let’s take a picture before I go.” He whipped out his tablet and trained it toward him and me, mostly himself. “Put on a good pose, will you?”

Tits up,Sy reminded me, and I thrust my chest out. I didn’t have much, but it would have to do.

“Your Highness, I can take a picture for you and Barbie,” Fred volunteered.

“No need,” Cade said. “Everyone is doing selfies now. Now say cheers, Barbie.”

“Cheers,” I said.

In the spirit of cooperation, I pulled my lips back in a toothy grin while holding two fingers near my bruised face to signify victory.

Cade snapped a dozen pictures. As he lowered his gaze to his tablet, I tried to peek over his shoulder, but he was too tall for me to get a good look.

“Get our PR team to select the two best photos and make sure to heat it up to make it go viral,” Cade ordered his goons.“We want to show everyone how civilized we mages are, and that even our prisoner is happy.”

“One problem, though, Your Highness,” Matt said, rubbing his hands nervously.

“What?” Cade snapped at him.

“The crime rate will go up tremendously since everyone will want a vacation in the jail in our house,” Matt said.

Cade pondered for half a second before he cursed, “Fuck.”

Both of his aides nodded solemnly in agreement.

“This world is so fucked up that we can’t even show kindness.” The prince shook his red head in disgust. “Well, make sure it won’t come to that. Fighting crimes isn’t an easy task; no wonder humans just give up and let criminals run amok in their world.”

“We can replace the bed with straw and hay, like in a stable, so no one will envy criminal Barbie,” Fred suggested. He liked me even less than Matt.

“Too much work to redo everything, and I don’t like changes,” Cade said. “Let’s just go with our original design.” He turned to me, narrowing his turquoise eyes. “Think you can chill and not stir shit for two or three days until I return?”

Ever since I’d spotted the Fury curse in the mage prince, I’d started to have a better understanding of him. He often made things sound ridiculously lighthearted, which was his defense mechanism to battle the heaviness within him. He was a top predator, just like the other princes, yet there was such kindness in him.

I spread my arms. “I’m chilling now.”

He snorted and turned on his heels.

“Cade,” I called.

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