Page 65 of House of Mages and Raven

“As soon as the underdogs saw Grace as a better option to power them up, they jumped ship. It must hurt,” Pucker said. He could feel the hurt I buried within me as my familiar.

“It’s fine.” I shrugged. “I’m no one’s hero. At least the underdogs won’t be bullied while Grace leads them.”

“She’ll discard them and stomp them as soon as they aren’t useful,” Pucker said. “Their only use is as a weapon against you. You’ve always been the target. First, the kidnap failed, then the maiming and poisoning failed. Even the Queen of Kingdom of Chaos couldn’t off you. I’m impressed. You’ve proven to be very hard to put down, Barbie, so your primary enemies are waging a new war against you by stripping you of protection first, a war they’re skilled at and you’re clueless about.”

“Clueless?”

“It’s the war of the courts.” He nodded. “Court intrigue is above your pay grade, since you are basically from the streets.”

“I am not from the streets.” I ground my teeth. “I came from the pit of the God of Ruin!”

I would never have blurted out my origin if not for Pucker riling me up by pushing me down and lifting my enemies. I was insecure, all right, but he didn’t need to kick me when I was already down, considering he was my familiar.

“Well, you might have three-quarter goddess power, but you’re still but one person.”

“The other heirs stand with me,” I argued. “Didn’t you see them side with me during lunch?”

He lifted a phantom finger. “One lunch, girl. Your counterpart will be working double hard to win them over.”

My Rowan will never go to that tramp,Sy said.Lay a paw on what’s mine, I’ll pluck her claws out one by one, then feast on her eyeballs while she’s watching.

I’d stop her though, as I didn’t want any part of my doppelgänger to be in my stomach.

“She’ll make moves to get them to change sides as soon as she secures Prince Killian—your once biggest backer,” Pucker said, looking at the ceiling.

“She already secured him by batting her same-colored green eyes,” I said bitterly.

“Your dual-colored eyes aren’t a defect,” he said. “Your goddess power is veiled within them. You should not let ignorant talk get to you.”

“It’s hard not to when I’ve been replaced,” I said.

“They might’ve set you up to fail, but no one can replace you, Barbie. No one! No matter how fucking hard they try. And you’ll be more powerful than anyone when you reach your full potential.”

I hadn’t shown all my cards, and nor had Grace. She hadn’t gone toe-to-toe with me like Medea had done. I had no idea what her strengths and weaknesses were, but she didn’t seem worried.

“Your power needs a trigger—a big, bad one—to reach its full strength,” Pucker said.

I eyed him warily. “When did you become my life coach?”

He smiled. “I’m a smart dead guy who was extremely knowledgeable even centuries ago, and I’ve retained some of my foresight here and there as a former clairvoyant, especially nowthat I’m bonded to you and boosted by your goddess essence.” He nodded in appreciation that I didn’t reciprocate. “While you aren’t a powerhouse yet, your opponent brought in a new player who has the upper hand over you in every way, or so it seems. No wonder the underdogs flocked to her. You aren’t above them, since they believe that you came from nothing, but she is legit royalty. They think she can give them what you can’t—more power. All you can offer them is rebellion, and in the end, it’ll be stomped down when your novelty wears off and all the heirs are fed up with you, leaving you high and dry. In the past, the heirs have always chased the hottest things, and now Princess Grace is the new shiny. It’s safer to join her than stick with you and fight an uphill battle. No one wants to end up on the losing side, and in their eyes, you’re doomed to be a loser.”

“You’re a party pooper,” I murmured.

“Thank you. And now Princess Grace, the new ‘favorite’ of Prince Killian, a ‘better’ version of you”—Pucker made air quotes with his phantom fingers—“has invited everyone, except you, to the party. Who’s going to turn it down?”

“No one,” I said sourly.

“What the hell is going on?” Prince Cade stood in the doorway. Neither Pucker nor I had noticed him coming until it was too late. I stared at the mage prince while he widened his eyes at my transformed room. “What the fuck did you do this time, Barbie?”

“Huh?” I asked sheepishly. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

Pucker mouthed at me,Good luck,and zoomed toward the doorway, squeezing through the space between Cade and the doorframe and vanishing.

A phantom wind caused by Pucker’s exit stirred Cade’s fashionable scarf. That was how powerful my ghost familiar had become. Bonding with me indeed gave him perks.

Cade patted down his scarf in annoyance. “What the fuck? Did that poltergeist from Killian’s house just visit mine?”

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