“Sit down,” my father ordered, his voice calm but firm.
I couldn’t sit. My feet carried me to the windows, then back toward my parents, then to the fireplace. The words I needed to say had been locked inside for so long that finding them felt like trying to cast a spell with broken fingers. I’d start with the most urgent event.
“The bride candidates have been taken,” I began, still pacing, a habit I’d picked up during long study sessions. “An unscheduled trial, initiated without warning. It violated every protocol!”
“It was a last-minute decision among the monarchs,” my father said. “Three votes against two approved pushing the trial forward without informing the heirs. Headmistress Ethel and the Council presented the idea to us. There’s been concern that the heirs have grown too attached to a certain candidate and would compromise the trial’s integrity.”
“And you trust Ethel?” I demanded, my nostrils flaring. At my father’s chiding look, I tried to calm down, running a hand through my wine-red hair. “Father, she can’t be trusted! We should have tossed her fae ass out after she consorted with the druid.”
“That wasn’t exactly proven, and she has the support of the majority of the Council,” my father sighed. “I voted against breaking protocol, but the realm is under severe threat. The Selection must continue. Without the One who will bring back the old magic, we won’t last this century. The trial was set in motion immediately after the vote. Not even I could stop it.”
“The One—orOnes—are already here!” I insisted. “There’s no need for the bride trials anymore. This second trial was designed to eliminate her, just like the first!”
I recalled how the druid had forced the poisonous Seed of Heaven down Barbie’s throat. If she weren’t a goddess carrying the oldest magic within her, she would have been unmade.
My father’s gaze sharpened, but it was my mother who voiced the question. “Clarify, son. What precisely do you mean?”
“We’ll get to that later,” I said, reining in my frustration. “We have a lot to discuss. First, tell me—where did they take the candidates?”
“The Underworld,” my father said.
“Just as we suspected,” I replied, fighting to keep a level head. “Lilith is leading you all by the nose.”
“Killian broke the trust first,” my father said, his jaw tight. “In this realm, vows mean everything. Yet he broke his betrothal to Queen Lilith and declared Barbie, a nobody, his mate. Killian has always been the wild card, the most unpredictable of the heirs.” Father’s eyes narrowed. “Somehow, he even managed to shatter the mating bond with Lilith, his original mate.”
“He never could have broken that bond if Barbie weren’t his true mate!” I countered. “Her bond to him overrode the false one the demon queen forced upon him. Do you have any idea how rare it is to find a fated mate?”
“Stop lecturing us. We know how impossible it is to find one’s true mate. Now sit,” my father ordered again, his tone leaving no room for argument. “This will be a long conversation.”
“It won’t be long,” I said.
I needed to get back to the other heirs as soon as I’d gleaned all the intel on the trial. But for now, I sat in the chair across from my parents. My mother poured a cup of red tea for me, and I drained it in one go.
“Isn’t the girl the new mage in our house at the academy?” my mother asked. “She certainly left an impression during the murder trial, and your father approved your petition to bring her into our house.”
Father nodded. “Ethel claims every heir is under her spell.” He regarded me closely. “You defended her in the chaos court. In fact, every heir defended her as if she were the brightest jewel. Are you in love with her, son? Has she bewitched you?”
I let out a humorless laugh.
“She doesn’t need to bewitch anyone,” I said. “Do you have any idea who is among us? Barbie is the One. Barbie and Sy.”
“Who is Sy?” Mother asked, her brow furrowing.
“Sy and Barbie share the same body,” I revealed, lowering my voice. “What I tell you now stays within these walls. Barbie is the only Earth goddess. She is the daughter of the God of Ruin, and she walks among us.”
My mother shook her head slowly. “It can’t be.”
“Do you doubt your own son’s credibility?” I demanded. “Who else could enter every house without being initiated? Who else could command Underhill’s allegiance?” I pressed on, my voice rising. “You saw a mere fraction of her power in the chaos court.”
“If she is indeed the daughter of the God of Ruin,” my father said, his expression grim, “then she poses the second greatest threat to this realm. We may have no choice but to eliminate her.”
“No one touches Barbie or Sy,” I said, shooting to my feet and meeting my father’s gaze head-on.
My father rose as well, his presence imposing. “You are under her spell, son.”
“No. Look at me, Dad,” I said. “Really look. Do you see any difference?”
Both of my parents stared at me, studying me intently. My mother even waved her wand, its tip glowing as she checked for any trace of enchantment.
