Page 78 of Sugar, Spice, and Magical Midlife

“Luciella.” Shu turned toward me, staring at me as if seeing me for the first time. “You were just a tot last I saw you. Wh-what happened to your parents?”

I swallowed back my sorrow while pushing out the words. “A succubus killed them when I was fifteen.”

Shu turned from me, biting down on his knuckles. “Then I failed them.”

“You didn’t fail them,” I reassured him, squeezing his other hand. “They lived another twelve years thanks to you.”

He smiled up at Des. “And this is your son?”

“Yes.” Pride warmed my chest as I beamed at my son. “This is Des.”

Shu heaved a shaky breath. “He’s the phoenix.”

“Yes.” I tensed, watching Des’s reaction.

My son blinked at us but didn’t say anything. What I wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking.

“He’s a very special boy,” Shu said.

“He is.” I didn’t know Shu yet, but I liked him already. “Now that you’re feeling better, would you prefer to go by Shu or Sparkles? It’s your choice.”

“My choice?” Shu tapped his chin. “I think I’ll go back to Shu if that’s okay.”

“It’s perfectly fine,” I said to him.

“Did you defeat the demons?” Shu asked us.

Serena frowned while leaning back on the table. “We uncovered the nest and killed several Vindicti and one succubus, but the queen wasn’t there. We have Insurgi watching the nest in case she returns.”

Shu’s eyes widened then narrowed. “Get them out of there. The queen will kill them all.” He shot Des a look. “The queen’s magic is stronger than your average succubus. No amount of sugar can repel her mind-control magic. Only the phoenix will be powerful enough to defeat her.”

I tensed, curling my hands into claws. “My son is twelve. He’s not fighting demons.”

“What about a sphinx?” Serena asked. “Can a sphinx defeat the queen?”

I knew where Serena was going with this, and though I wanted to resent her, she was right to want to save Ric. I still felt like a bucket of troll dung for wanting to leave, but my son had to come first.

Shu rubbed his chin, now smeared with patches of green mask. “I suppose, but the sphinx race has gone extinct.”

“No.” Serena avoided looking at me. “There’s one left. The Tribunal jailed him.”

Shu jumped up with a gasp. “He must be freed.”

“We’re trying.”

I felt like sinking beneath the sofa cushions when my aunt gave me an accusatory look.

“The Tribunal has accused him of murder,” I said to Shu, a note of desperation slipping into my voice. “I already helped him get acquitted for one murder, but I can’t disprove the one that happened eighty years ago.”

“The succubus queen hasMagaSagredo under a very powerful spell,” Serena said. “She will make sure he’s never freed.”

A loud squawk sounded outside, followed by a rattle on the door. Serena got up and quickly opened the door, and a giant owl swooped into the room. But no, it wasn’t an owl. It was a harpy, a birdlike creature with a woman’s face, one of the rarest of the unseen creatures. Like Puffy, they were known to have disappearing abilities, which probably helped them spy for the Insurgi.

The creature flew above the stand where Puffy was resting and let out a shrill squawk. Puffy jumped from the stand with a huff, flying to Des’s shoulder. He glared at the harpy while angrily ruffling his wings. Though I’d read about harpies in books, this was my first time seeing one in person. She was about the size of a six-year-old child and had mesmerizing eyes with bright golden swirls.

“GeneraleSagredo.” The harpy let out more strange squawks, sounding like a cat trying to cough up a furball. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“What is it?” my aunt asked.

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