“It’s all right,” Bea said, giving me a grateful smile. She was the third pea in our pod. “I understand. The realm is in peril, and everyone is on edge. I have several vials of Barbie’s blood in storage, but I’ll need blood from every heir here as well. Sy’s, too. I’ve seen the power your merged blood creates. To counter Ruin’s army, this weapon must be forged with the most powerful blood magic.”
“Time to make a donation,” I called.
“Fine,” the other heirs agreed.
“When will the prototype be ready?” Louis asked.
“A week,” Bea said.
“We might not have a week,” Killian countered.
A faint sheen of sweat appeared on Bea’s brow.
“We’ll get it done, Bea,” I assured her.
“And you’ll have my full support,” Sy added. “I’ll even donate this pink necklace Sugar Rowan gave me to fund the war effort.”
I beamed at her. “I’m proud of you, Sy.”
“And you should donate all the jewelry in your shoebox, too,” she replied.
“The heirs are more loaded,” I pointed out. “Louis and Silas are practically overflowing with gold. Cade claims his court has a tight budget, but mages are actually filthy rich. There are plenty of poor white men, but you’ll never find a poor mage.”
Cade frowned at me.
“I can have the sword in two to three days,” Bea interjected.
“Make it two,” Cade ordered.
Chapter
Seventeen
Barbie
“We have two armies under direct control,” Killian said, his lips brushing the crown of my head. “Mages are allied. Fae hostile. Vampires?”
“Split,” Louis said, swirling his blood wine. “My esteemed sire remains convinced this is merely another game of thrones. However, I can rally half our forces when it matters. Maybe more, if I challenge him directly and survive the attempt.”
“When you challenge the old vamp, I’ll be there,” I offered.
“I go where Barbie goes,” Sy added. “Your vamp daddy needs a power demonstration?”
Louis frowned. “You two say ‘vamp’ like it’s a dirty word.”
“It isn’t?” Sy grinned and grabbed my hand. Power erupted between us, her white light colliding with my dark destruction. A portal whirled to life in the middle of the room, its gravitationalpull sucking in two chairs and an expensive sofa set before I yanked my hand away. It sealed with a loud snap.
“Those sofas were expensive,” I scowled at Sy.
“Can you two open portals to anywhere?” Louis asked, his pale blue eyes glinting with dangerous greed.
“We’re not sure yet,” Sy admitted with a shrug. “My creation power is still new. There’s a learning curve.”
“If you can open a portal and send Ruin somewhere he can never crawl back from—” Cade started.
“Like into the sun! Or a black hole,” Silas chimed in.
“Or New Jersey,” Sy said.
