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I shuddered at my fate, as I could tell that he didn’t even seem too concerned about my dark flame.
“You forget yourself, druid. Over my dead body will I allow you to take Barbie from this spot, from my house,” Killian said without an ounce of emotion before he turned to the other princes. “Will you be with me on this, brothers, or should I stand alone when it comes to protecting an innocent, vulnerable member of my house?”
Silas looked at me, his amber eyes glowing. “I’ll stand with you for Barbie!”
“I will too,” Rowan said. “Innocent until proven guilty. Barbie can be a pain in the butt, but she’s no murderer. She doesn’t have it in her.”
Sy peeked out at the fae prince in approval and lust. But we have it in us! Too bad I can’t eat her.
Louis sidled up to Killian’s left side. “This is a house affair! No one shall take Barbie except Prince Killian, though all the heirs shall supervise the investigation to get to the truth.”
All the princes posed to defend me, their magic ready at their fingertips.
“Wait a second!” Headmistress Ethel called in outrage. “This can’t be happening!”
“You want an excuse to get your hands on Barbie by framing her as a murderer?” The chaos prince cocked his head, his storm-blue eyes turning to merciless sapphire, a predator dragon peeking out. “I’ll give you the true murderer. Look at that chain, or what’s left of it, which Medea deployed to try to kill Barbie.”
“Fuck me!” Cade said, inching closer to inspect the chain and sucking in a breath. “It’s not an ordinary chainlock but a forbidden, dark artifact, the same make as the torque the kidnappers used on Barbie.”
Finally! I’d been waiting for the princes to catch up, since anything coming out of my mouth would be discredited under the circumstances, as Ethel and her druid were hellbent on crushing me.
Louis snarled, his white fangs showing. “Princess Medea must’ve been working with the kidnappers from CrimsonTide all this time!”
Cade nodded grimly. “This artifact is beyond her power. She had no idea what she was playing with. One doesn’t play with fire they don’t understand and have no control of and expect to get the fuck away with it. When she tried to take out Barbie with the chainlock, she ended up setting fire to herself.”
The mage prince produced a satchel and flicked his wand. The remaining chains rose from the desk and clanked into the satchel. The mage grabbed the satchel and turned to Killian with a look of challenge. “I’ll take the evidence of the crime to my house for further examination.”
Killian shrugged. “I can send that torque and the iron mask to your house so your mages can compare notes.”
“You will?” Cade asked.
“Of course, brother,” Killian said.
Cade’s face lit up. He seemed to be the kindest of the heirs, yet he was also merciless to the bone.
Medea’s death hadn’t shaken any of them.
“For all we know,” Headmistress Ethel said, her face white with anger, “the kidnapping could be one of Barbie’s own machinations!”
Killian snapped his head at her, his smile so chilling that the headmistress stepped back, her lips quivering.
“Are you also accusing us heirs of conspiring on staging the rescue as well?” Silas snarled, his amber eyes glowing menacingly.
“What I meant is—” Headmistress Ethel stammered.
“Everyone knows Medea, the fucking traitor, is your star pupil!” Killian snarled. “Was she under your influence or instructions to harm Barbie, Lady Ethel?”
“You’re out of line, Prince Killian!” Headmistress Ethel’s eyes widened in fury and fear. “I won’t put up with this! I shall bring this matter to the kings and the Council.”
“Run back to them as their puppet,” Killian said coldly. “Even they can’t protect you. If you’re the mastermind behind Barbie’s kidnapping and torture, I’ll tear your throat out!”
I blinked. Killian had openly declared war on the headmistress and her organization for me.
“I can assure you that I had nothing to do with Barbie’s abduction,” Headmistress Ethel retorted. “And you, my dear prince, will have your father to worry about. King Vasiliy and his beloved new queen won’t take kindly to their daughter being brutally murdered in broad daylight.”
Chilling dread twirled in my middle. If the kings and the Council came after me, the princes wouldn’t be able to protect me. And I wouldn’t want to put them in the spot of being at odds with their sovereign parents.
I needed to have a plan B.
