Page 58 of House of Mages and Raven

“I don’t pout,” I said. “And no one can fucking get me down.”

“That’s the Little Bob I remember.” Louis chuckled. “You’re the only female who doesn’t give a fuck about being a bride.”

And thus, I posed a challenge to the heirs and provided them with endless entertainment.

Silas gave me a look. “You need to have more ambition.”

“Nay,” I said. “Ambition can’t fill my belly but will get me killed.”

Even without ambition, I’d still be pushed to the front of the war. With ambition, the number of days I had left in this haven would surely be cut short.

“There’s more to life than filling your belly.” Silas continued to coach me. “Think big, Barbie. Dream big. Mindset matters.” The shifter prince had been reading lately.

“I’ll think about it,” I ceded just to get him off my back.

“How could this even happen that they look so alike, yet they aren’t twins?” Silas circled back to the former subject. He glanced at me, then at Grace, then at me again. “Maybe they’re twins.”

Sy growled.

“Not in any corner of the universe,” I said with disdain.

Grace would never be like me because she didn’t have Sy with her. No one knew about Sy and me, not even Killian and Rowan, who’d each been intimate with one of us. Not even the powerful Queen of the Underworld when she’d hijacked my mind to her domain.

“Lookalikes can happen, but no one can fake a magical scent,” Louis said. “The others can’t tell the difference, but I’m the most powerful vampire. Grace smells like Queen Lilith, as if she’s her extension. The blood of the Princess of the Underworld doesn’t appeal to me. And that’s a nail in the coffin. She’s just notit, unlike Barbie.”

I didn’t feel flattered. Monsters loved me; my flesh, blood, and scent were catnip to them.

“Killian is a lucky guy.” Louis chuckled to himself. “Grace can definitely touch him as well as his betrothed. Now he’s finally getting what he wished for?—”

I fought the urge to swing my arm across his handsome face.

“What wish?” Rowan asked, picking up the unfinished line.

I’d been so absorbedwith the intel on Grace that I hadn’t noticed Rowan had strolled in and crept up toward our table. Sy was torn between growling at the other females who thrust their chests out at him and drooling over her boyfriend’s beauty. I gave the fae prince a second glance. He did have the most beautiful nose, straight and noble. He was also more ethereal than the other heirs with his remarkable silver eyes, silver hair, and pale skin. He was dressed in a traditional tunic that fae males favored. His leather trousers showed off his long, powerful legs.

Look at my princeling,Sy said proudly.

What’s there to look at? He’s the same,I said, not missing the fae prince looking at me strangely.

It must’ve been Louis’s comment on Killian being unable to touch anyone else except his betrothed and now her ward. My heart skipped a beat as I recalled that he may have seen Killian kiss me when the heirs rescued me in CrimsonTide. He’d never said anything, not even to Sy.

He glanced upstairs, as if to decide whether he should join Killian or us. The fae prince was closer to Killian than to the other heirs.

He’ll stand by us,Sy said confidently.

Suddenly, Rowan tensed and sniffed, his eyes glowing silver. Then he inhaled deeply, scenting Sy as she pumped her pheromones into the air through me. Rowan darted his eyes around, searching for her. When he couldn’t find her in the crowd, he turned back toward me, zooming in on me as if he could see her through me.

Louis and Silas went wild as well, darting their gazes around, searching for the source.

“What’s that scent?” Silas called, sniffing and inhaling.

“It’s mouthwatering,” Louis said. “I’ve never smelled anything like that.”

Get a hold of yourself!I snarled at Sy.If you expose us like this, you’ll put us in danger.

I was helping you bring them to their knees.She pouted, yet she retreated. Her pheromones faded. At the same time, I no longer shielded my scent but unleashed it into the air to cover hers.

“It’s similar to Barbie’s scent,” Silas trained his amber gaze on me, his eyes glowing, “yet not quite hers.”

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