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“Killian, be reasonable,” Rowan called. “We’re here to make you see reason! If you refuse, you’ll face the consequences. We’ll block your every move in the future. This isn’t just your house affair, man. A bride candidate got kidnapped and nearly killed on campus! It’s as much our duty as it’s yours to?—”
“You’ll have to give an inch, Your Highness,” Pucker chimed in eagerly with a big, ghostly smile on his face. “We can escort the other prince to the common room and have Barbie waiting in the inner room. Each prince can have five minutes alone with Barbie under my supervision. Nothing will happen to our Barbie. The princes want a date? Let’s give them a speed date! After that, Barbie will have no obligation to go on a date with any of them, if Your Highness prefers it. The house and I will take care of this, and the other princes won’t get a minute longer with Barbie, I promise you.”
I squinted at Pucker. He was always full of ideas, but I wasn’t sure about dangling myself like a carrot in front of the princes, who were sharks.
“I don’t see any benefit for me in doing this!” I protested.
Calculation glinted in Killian’s eyes.
“I like how Pucker thinks,” he said, and Pucker puffed his chest out. “Let’s get it over with, then we can send those pricks on their way.” He gave the house a nod and used the house magic to send Rock a message. “Escort the heirs to the common room and tell them that Barbie and I will meet them there.”
The chaos prince then turned to Pucker with a predatory grin, all perfect white teeth. “Make sure none of the heirs overstay their welcome.”
11
Pucker
It was my time to shine, even though Barbie was a handful.
I picked her a gown that was suitable for the lady of the house, but she gave me shit about it not covering her tits. After tiresome arguments back and forth, I backed off, and she wore a modest flowery dress with no makeup. I pinched her cheeks to give her a rosy hue and received a punch in the jaw.
Barbie wasn’t a nice girl. Sy was even nastier. Lucky for them that my specialty was handling high-maintenance ladies.
I walked Barbie to a spacious room and got her settled down on the other side of the table that could easily accommodate sixty-plus folks. A prince would meet her on this side. There would be no crossing over to her side, as all the space was blocked by large potted plants with thorns. Prince Killian didn’t want anyone to sit too close to Barbie.
I had the house magic bring Barbie a mug of steaming coffee with a lot of sugar in it and a plate of pumpkin seeds to occupy her. The house hinted at bringing cakes, but I vetoed the idea for fear the princes would enjoy them too much to leave.
Then I phased through the wall to the outer room to eavesdrop on the princes’ chats.
“I’ve set up everything for each of you to have five minutes with Barbie,” Prince Killian said.
“Is this a kindergarten or what?” Prince Silas snorted.
The shifter prince was most disagreeable. He ridiculed and countered everything Prince Killian proposed.
Prince Louis narrowed his eyes on the chaos prince. “Five fucking minutes?”
“That’s why it’s called speed dating.” Prince Killian spread his arms. He was never patient, except with Barbie, and Barbie wasn’t patient either, so the two of them were a match made in Hell.
“It sounds ridiculous!” Prince Louis insisted.
“I’m actually intrigued,” Prince Cade said, tracing his jawline with his thumb. “I’ve never done it. Speed date? It might be my jam.”
“We all know about your commitment-phobia, Cade,” Prince Silas said cruelly, “even though you try to hide it at every turn.”
“I hide nothing!” the mage prince said with anger, his face darkening, unlike his usual self. “Get the fuck off my back!”
“Let’s not point fucking fingers.” Prince Killian stared hard at Prince Silas. “Which one of us is a role model at commitment? There’s no shame in enjoying flings.”
Prince Rowan and Prince Louis both nodded. Even though all the princes were racing to find their fated mates to produce the prophesized one so that the successful heir could ascend to the throne of High King, none of them wanted the actual commitment. They were just under unbelievable pressure and had to put on a show.
“Says the man who’s engaged,” Prince Silas said.
Prince Killian ignored him and turned to the other heirs. “You don’t even need to pay for the drinks and snacks for your date. It’s all covered.”
“You think us that cheap?” Prince Rowan growled.
“I still don’t like this.” Prince Silas shook his head too. “This whole idea of a speed date is dumb.”
