“My sire will be pissed,” Louis laughed. “I can’t wait to see his face. Fuck him and his medieval politics.”
“We have two kings among us now,” Cade added, gesturing at Killian and Silas. “The power balance has shifted.” He motioned to Rowan and Louis. “Your parents can rage all they want, but we hold the real power now.”
“Yes, babe.” Silas winked at Louis. “I’m a king now, and your father still treats you like a bitch.”
“Fuck you, dog,” Louis shot back.
“No, thanks,” Silas said, still laughing.
“Hey! Guys!” Cade stepped between them.
“This is good shit,” I said, nodding to Bea and Sy. “They didn’t even need us to lead a rescue. I don’t miss that maze one bit.”
“And I don’t miss facing off those murderous trains,” Sy echoed.
“The heirs are master politicians when they want to be,” Bea observed, her voice full of admiration. “And their merged power is off the charts. They’re now more powerful than any monarch in centuries. Did you feel that when they…?”
“Shit, they’re coming back,” I called, noticing the heirs starting to move toward us. “Quick—hoard the food!”
Sy and I sprang into action with the efficiency of career food thieves. Our favorite dishes vanished into the kitchen counter, saved for us to summon later. Bea just managed to snatch a loaf of bread before it disappeared.
Just as predicted, the heirs swung their cocks and stalked back to our table. They resumed their seats, their eyes scanning the suspiciously bare surface.
“What happened here?” Silas demanded. “Who ate my burgers?”
“What’s our next move?” Louis asked, picking up his glass of blood wine—no one had touched it.
“War strategies and coordinating our armies,” Killian stated. “The next wave of Shriekers could be at our door at any moment. Now that we can’t count on support from Lilith and her demon army?—”
“That’s the main reason we came back early instead of helping the other candidates,” I cut in. “My father and Lilith areallies. Maybe more than allies.” I grimaced. “We already ran into some Shriekers in the Underworld.”
The room fell silent, the only sound the soft noise of Sy chewing.
“Shit. It’s worse than we thought,” Rowan said, his jaw tight.
“So now the two biggest bads control the largest supernatural army in existence,” Silas spat.
“Shit’s about to hit the fan,” Louis muttered. “I don’t feel good about this.”
“The fan is already covered in shit,” Silas said. “It’s just going to get messier. We can’t fight this war conventionally. If we do, we’ll lose.”
“What’s your idea of ‘unconventional,’ Silas?” Louis asked.
“King Silas,” Silas retorted.
Louis snorted. “You have no idea, do you?”
“Our next priority is to forge weapons that can kill Shriekers,” Killian said, redirecting the conversation.
“I agree,” Rowan said. “We can’t rely on channeling all our magic through Barbie. Last time, it burned us out. We need every able body armed and ready to fight.” He turned to Cade. “What’s the progress?”
The Mage House had been tasked with forging new weapons for the coming war, and Bea was leading the project. I glanced at my friend as she cleared her throat and rose to her feet.
“My team and I have studied the demonic weapons extensively,” Bea began. “Prince Cade has been instrumental in designing the runes, and I’ve also had the chance to examine Deathsong whenever Barbie summoned it.”
“Get to the point, witch,” Silas ordered.
I shot him a glare. “Bea is a high mage and an extremely talented spell master. She’s been working tirelessly on this and has barely slept. Show some respect.”
