Page 57 of House of Mages and Raven

He was purposely redirecting my anger.

“You’re upsetting Barbie,” Silas growled. “She isn’t easily impressed by anyone, and I’ve just gotten her to open up. It was going so well until you crushed our good time. Why the hell don’t you go back and sit with them?”

“Them?” Louis narrowed his eyes. “When did it become us and them?”

“You and I aren’t us,” Silas said dismissively.

“Hold the thought,” I chimed in, eyeing Louis with suspicion. “I second Prince Silas. Why didn’t you stay withthem, Prince Louis? Grace has the same face as me, and her hair is shiner. Furthermore, she doesn’t have the attitude all of you complain about.” I annoyed people even on my best day. “Highness Silas was sharp enough to ask, why you are with us? I bet the new chick’s blood is sweeter.”

“Now I know what this is about and why you have such a sour look on your face,” Louis said, and flashed me a knowing smile. “I kept wondering how nature could produce someone who looks exactly like you, yet more refined and a lot politer.” He licked his lips, amused laughter in his pale blue eyes as he regarded my scowl. “Everyone can see that Princess Grace was made to replace you. Now that she’s here, Killian’s eyes don’t need to wander.”

My heart skipped a beat. The heirs were more observant than I’d given them credit for. They’d noticed Killian’s interest in me. Well, it’d shifted toward Grace. I swallowed the bitterness rising to the back of my throat.

“I get it, Barbie,” Louis continued. “No one understands rivalry more than I. The other heirs are like my brothers, except Silas of course, yet we’re constantly in competition, pushed byour courts. You couldn’t understand the fucking weight of peer pressure, which would smother a lesser rival.” He glanced at Silas meaningfully, and the shifter prince growled. “You don’t need to feel insecure, Barbie. Killian might be smitten with the new girl, but I have your back. I’ll never abandon you and go for some new hotshot. She looks like you, but she isn’t you. Her magic is different, and she doesn’t have your scent.”

“Care to elaborate on the scent thing?” I asked.

“I’ll explain it to you in detail on our next date,” Louis said. “I’ll even give you tips as to how to counter your doppelgänger and regain your lost ground.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, mirroring Silas’s expression of annoyance.

Louis chuckled. “Admit it, Barbie. You became unpopular overnight as soon as Grace showed up. Killian might be fooled—after all, he’s a shallow guy like many others here.” He sent Silas another pointed glance before smiling at me cozily again. “But not me. I’m a ‘deep well’ kind of guy.”

“Deep well my ass. You’re the shallowest guy ever,” Silas retorted. “And were you upstairs spying on them?”

“I don’t spy,” Louis said. “I investigate. I don’t like leaving puzzles unsolved or mysteries undiscovered. However, I won’t reveal my trade secrets to unworthy ears.” He turned to me. “I’ll tell you more on our next formal date, as I promised.”

“Back off, vamp! Barbie has set up a date with me,” Silas said.

“This isn’t first come, first served,” Louis said. “Haven’t we all agreed on ‘may the best man win’?”

So their bet on who’d be the first to get into my pants was still running. No wonder someone said that once the heirs marked their target, they never gave up their hunt. They were born predators.

But on the other hand, it comforted me that both heirs had decided to stick with me while everyone else, even those I’dthought were my friends, turned their backs on me. I hoped Bea would stay my friend after she came back. I missed her so much. I tried not to bite my nails as a wave of anxiety washed over me. I hoped her grandma was fine. Bea hadn’t had time to tell me more before she had to return home. I wished I could be there for her as she’d always been here for me.

“And now everyone’s talking about this Barbie 2.0, an Underworld princess as hot as coal,” Louis drawled. “Why don’t you take a chance with her, Silas? Grace is more welcoming, while Barbie doesn’t even care about table manners.”

I glared at the vampire prince.

“Hard pass.” Silas shrugged. “I know what I want and who I want.”

“Barbie isn’t even your type,” Louis tried again. “She has no status and is as poor as dirt.” He forgot that I was no longer as poor as dirt, since I’d gotten a handful of gold coins from him. “You’re the most snobbish son of a bitch among us. As the most sought-after bride candidate, Grace is exactly what you’ve been looking for. You always go for what Killian wants. So, court Grace, since she might be your fated mate.”

“Fuck off,” Silas said. “And you should return upstairs.”

“I’m going nowhere,” Louis said. “I’m right where I want to be.”

Despite both heirs trying to get the other to go after Grace, neither of them made a move. I’d thought that they’d abandon me as soon as they saw Grace, but surprisingly, they’d picked me over her. And the one I’d thought was most solid switched sides as fast as farting.

“Out of curiosity, do you think Grace is more powerful than Barbie?” Silas asked. “Killian seems to think so, since he now constantly shows up here for her.”

Not even the heirs understood the depths of my power. Most supernaturals still thought of me as an Echo, which mightbe rare but didn’t carry much weight. Some students might’ve seen me levitate into the air and burn a group of Legion of the Brotherhood cult soldiers, but they pretty much refused to believe that I had that kind of power. In the end, Killian had arrived to save the day when he joined forces with the other heirs. People saw what they wanted to see, and everyone accepted that the heirs had led the fight and won the battle.

“The two of them look so much alike, you can barely tell them apart if you don’t check out the color of their eyes,” Louis said. “But their powers and scents are vastly different. Grace’s power comes from the Underworld. I think she also has some archangel blood in her veins. No one can pinpoint Barbie’s power. It seems that our Barbie just crawled out from under a rock one day, and there she was, in the realm. Grace, on the other hand, has a legit background and a solid record of her royal heritage.” He darted a glance at Grace before regarding me again. “No offense.”

I shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Don’t pout, Barbie,” he said. “Don’t let what they said get you down. You aren’t a pale copy of someone else. You’re too unique to be anyone’s copy.”

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