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I bit my lip. I’d started this underdog campaign, but eventually I would let down all the underdogs by fleeing, and they’d be in a worse state than they’d been because of me.
I surveyed the hall and looked over my shoulder at Bea and our geek friends. They nodded at me with respect and support in their eyes. They had faith in me. While warmth swam in my chest, icy dread also squeezed my heart with its claws. The last thing I wanted was to drag them down with me.
Every action bore consequences.
“Stepdaughter to my king father,” Killian said. “And if Medea had lived, she’d beg for death.”
He turned to the princes, nodding his thanks, before he called, “Rock, escort Barbie back to the House of Chaos.”
The air rippled, then Rock and the team suddenly appeared and rounded the desk where I stood. Rock held out a hand toward me. I nodded my thanks at him and slid off the desk by myself, lithe as a cat.
Instantly, the warriors from the House of Chaos formed protective ranks around me. I let them. I needed this protection, not for my sake but for everyone else’s. I was spent and jumpy and hungry. If anyone attacked me now, I might lose control and drain the realm’s magic to fill my depleted well, if my dark flame didn’t kill indiscriminately first.
Killian strode toward the exit with all four princes by his side. They might be rivals, but they always presented a united front when any outside force went after one of them.
I trailed behind them, lowering my head and trembling inside. The chaos warriors walked with me, forming a wall around me.
Right before I stepped out of Clockwork, roars rose behind me. “Team Underdogs! Team Barbie!”
Tears brimmed in my eyes, and the fear in me lessened.
They’d risen now, even without me.
Tits up! Sy reminded me. Let’s show some manners.
21
Barbie
Killian’s shoulders relaxed as soon as he got me into the steel-and-glass building of the House of Chaos.
He ordered Rock to stand guard outside my door. “No one goes into her room, and make sure Barbie stays in.”
I swallowed my usual line of, “But I didn’t do anything wrong,” and instead asked sheepishly, “So I’m under house arrest, high sir?”
“Hole up in your room until shit calms down,” he said. “Boredom won’t kill you, but many beings outside our house will want your head. I need to meet up with the other heirs to hash things out.”
“Shouldn’t I attend as well,” I asked, “since it concerns my fate? Also, I’m good at brainstorming. I assure you that I always come up with bright ideas.”
“Do you?” He snorted, yet heat flashed in his eyes. “As much as I admire your spirit, you’ve had quite a day. You can barely stand up straight.”
I straightened my back and snapped to attention while looking at him head-on.
A faint smile ghosted his carnal lips. “Stay out of trouble for two seconds while I’m not around. That’s all I’m asking.”
Cami watched us silently, but Rock chuckled. “Asking Barbie to stay out of trouble is like asking a scorpion not to sting anyone.”
I scowled at him.
“Then it’s your job to make sure that little scorpion doesn’t sting anyone,” Killian said coolly. His gaze fell on me again, alighting on my lips. I remembered the delicious feel when he’d kissed me last time. I wondered if I would get another kiss. “Promise me you’ll stay put in your room, Barbie.”
I nodded.
I wouldn’t break the promise, but Sy would. She’d need to feed soon after what we’d gone through. She was more than anxious to see Rowan, to fuck him.
“I need to hear you say it before I leave,” Killian demanded.
“But sir, I need to find Pucker first,” I said. “It’s an emergency! I need to make sure he’s okay.”
