Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Sy
The House of Chaos loomed ahead, violet steel and glass glinting in the dawn light.
I’d seen it a hundred times through Barbie’s eyes and felt her giddiness, her anticipation, her annoyance every time she approached.
Three things occupied her mind most often: Killian, sex, and food. My sister was shallow like that.
Now standing here myself, feet planted on the gravel path, eyes tracing the sentient lines of the building, it was different. Everything felt sharper. Colors more vibrant. The scents of earth, pine, and magic hit my nostrils like a waking spell.
Rowan’s hand tightened around mine, his broad shoulders tense, radiating fierce protectiveness as we neared the perimeter. My fae prince, always so composed, was fighting to hold himself together after the bloodshed in his own court.
The sentinels of the House of Chaos peeled away from the shadows, weapons drawn and magic ready at their fingertips. They wore the black-and-violet uniforms of the House of Chaos, all emanating controlled violence and efficiency.
For a heartbeat, I tensed, claws extending, ready to paint the courtyard red if they tried anything stupid. Instead, they formed a protective wall around us.
“Prince Rowan.” The squad leader bowed, formal despite the blood dripping from both of us. “This way, please.”
His brown hair was regulation short, practical for a soldier who didn’t want enemies grabbing it in close combat.
His hazel eyes tracked our injuries with professional assessment, not concern exactly, but the cool calculation of someone deciding if we’d make it to shelter before collapsing.
Square jaw, clean-shaven, with the kind of face that could blend into the crowd.
Buck. I recognized him through Barbie’s memories, and he eyed me with curiosity. With Rock and Cassius absent, Buck was clearly in charge.
Only the heirs and Killian’s tight circle knew that Barbie and I shared the same body, and now only Rowan knew that Barbie and I had separated.
He hadn’t had time to process all this as we were on the run.
It would come to him later, and I’d relish the look on his face as he registered that he could have me to himself, all day and all night.
No one questioned why the former fae heir was bloody and tattered, nor did they ask who I was. I had a feeling the entire House of Chaos already knew about the bond between their prince and the other heirs.
We were escorted to the front steps like royalty. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Rowan had just been stripped of everything and marked for death by the fae king, yet here he was, receiving more respect than he ever had in his own court.
“We seek refuge in the House of Chaos,” Rowan said, his voice rough. The formal request was an admission that he had nowhere else to go. His humility only made me prouder.
I, however, lifted my chin. “Where’s Barbie?” I demanded. Even when I had been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Rowan, a part of me had been terrified for my other half. A hollow ache, the space where she used to live inside me, flared with sudden panic. “Is she here? Is she safe?”
I was already calculating how fast I could get to the Kingdom of Chaos. My newly separate body might not move in sync with hers anymore, might not feel her heartbeat, but the primal need to protect her hadn’t faded. If anything, it had grown stronger.
Then Cami, Killian’s cousin, stepped out of the house, her dark Viking braids cascading over her shoulders.
Cami took in our blood-soaked appearance with her usual coolness.
“King Killian and Queen Barbie are on their way back,” she said. “Prince Rowan, as Killian’s sworn brother, you will always have a place here. And Sy, as Barbie’s sister, this is your home, too.”
Relief hit me so hard I sank my fingernails into Rowan’s knuckles; he squeezed my hand, his relief and joy echoing mine. Barbie was safe. She was coming back.
Then my brain caught up with the words. Queen Barbie?
I was doomed to exile with my prince, and she had landed herself a throne? We’d been separated for an hour, and she was already doing so well for herself.
Then another thought struck me.
“You’re Cami, right?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the Underworld with the other bride candidates?”
“I withdrew from the Selection a while ago,” she said. “I’m royalty. They can’t force me when my cousin has my back.”
The door to the House of Chaos swung wider. Rowan and I climbed the stairs, hands still entwined, and crossed the threshold. All five houses at the academy were sentient, and outsiders who tried to trespass would be maimed or killed.
Barbie and I, however, had never needed an invitation.
An ancient ward pressed against my skin, tasting and testing my magic. This time, it felt different. Barbie wasn’t with me, and I had been reborn through the inferno. The house’s magic pulsed not with resistance but with recognition. With love.
The last drop of old magic. Finally returned.
A blur of motion caught my eye. Before I could fling up a shield of light, Pucker materialized before us, his phantom form flickering.
The House of Chaos used to have two ghost guardians. His female counterpart had sunk into a long slumber due to depression, and Pucker had mostly neglected his duties ever since becoming Barbie’s familiar.
“Sy, you look like shit,” he announced. Barbie had tried to teach him to mince his words, but it never penetrated his century-old ghost brain. “What happened? Who beat the shit out of you?”
Rowan growled low in his throat.
“We beat the shit out of them,” I corrected.
“Good, good,” Pucker said. “My, where are my manners? Welcome to the House of Chaos! Not that you’re a stranger.” He inhaled deeply, giving me a greedy look. “Barbie isn’t with you anymore, is she? Your magic is equally amazing, if not more so.”
“Take a sip from me and I’ll unmake you,” I warned.
He shrugged. “I’m bonded to a goddess. I don’t need scraps from anyone else.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You should’ve followed us to the Underworld. We could have used you.”
“I couldn’t,” he said. “I’m a dead man. If I go there, I can never come back. I don’t think you and Barbie would want that.”
“Come, Prince Rowan and…Princess Sy,” Cami said, turning toward the stairs. “Let’s get you settled. Our house healers can tend to your—”
“We’re fine,” Rowan interrupted. “Sy healed me on the way.”
Cami’s gaze shifted to me, her eyes sharpening with reassessment.
I was sure Killian had told her that Barbie and I had shared a body, but she couldn’t have known about my creation magic.
The heirs had seen my white light when we took down the Fury who cursed Cade, but they didn’t understand its full scope.
Even Rowan had only seen a fraction of it.
Truth was, my own power was still new to me.
We followed Cami up the familiar stairs, but they felt strange under my feet. Each step was a reminder that I was walking them alone now, without Barbie stomping ahead while I hitched a ride in her.
Killian’s cousin led us to her suite and then through to Barbie’s old room. The house magic trailed behind me, twining around my ankles just as it had always done to Barbie.
From the window, we could see the dark forest of Underhill.
“Clean clothes and food will be brought to you,” Cami said.
“Don’t send anyone,” I countered. “We need privacy. The house magic will bring us anything we need, just like it did for Barbie.”
Cami rolled her eyes. “Right. And last time, it stole everyone’s valuables for her with no discrimination. Half the house lost a treasured possession when Barbie lived here.”
Without another word, she left, the door clicking shut softly behind her.
The moment we were alone, Rowan’s composure shattered. He sank onto the bed, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent, suppressed emotion.
“I’m sorry, Sy,” he choked out.
He never would have called me Sy if he weren’t completely devastated.
“Hey.” I climbed onto his lap, taking his face in my hands. “Look at me.”
His silver eyes met mine, filled with a loss so profound it made my own chest ache. I knew this was a devastating blow. Everything—his identity, his home, his future—had been stripped from him in a matter of minutes.
“It’s official,” he said, the word cracking. “I’m a bastard. No throne. No kingdom. No home. Just a price on my head and—”
“But you have me,” I said. “Am I not enough?”
“You are more than enough,” he vowed, his voice raw. “I don’t care about the throne or any of it for myself. But I wanted to give it all to you. I wanted to give you the moon, and now…now I have nothing to offer.”
“You can offer you,” I said fiercely, framing his face with my hands. “You’re all I want!”
He gazed into my eyes, and I let him see the absolute truth in them. I meant every word.
“You have to shift your mindset, sugar,” I whispered. “We have each other. We have Barbie. That’s an empire right there.”
He nodded, his mouth finding mine in a hungry, claiming kiss. I met him with everything I had—lips, tongue, fangs, and passion no other man could match.
I was just starting to rock against the hard ridge of his massive erection when somebody cleared their throat.
“Food will be here soon,” Pucker announced, his phantom form phasing through the closed door with zero regard for privacy. “And don’t stop on my account. I’ve seen worse. Or, well, better, depending on your perspective—”
Rowan tore his lips from mine and turned, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “Fuck off, poltergeist, before I find a way to make you regret it!”
“This shit is getting old,” Pucker said, looking offended. “I’m not a poltergeist! And Barbie never minds when I pop in here.”
“I’m not Barbie,” I snapped.
“This is Barbie’s old room, isn’t it?” he protested. “Well, I’ll see myself out then. I know when I’m not wanted!” He drifted toward the door, pausing for a final, dramatic lament. “I miss Goddess Barbie terribly!”
He let out an exasperated huff before vanishing.
I shrugged and turned my focus back to my mate. Only he mattered. Especially when my prince—he would always be my prince, no matter what title some asshole stripped from him—gazed at me with the heat of a thousand suns.
I peeled his bloodied tunic away. The fabric was stuck to wounds that had already sealed, thanks to my magic and his own rapid regeneration, leaving only rust-colored stains on his skin.
My eyes traced the ghost of every blow, every place they’d tried to break him.
Many had died in the attempt. I vowed that no one would ever hurt him again; I would make sure they were dead before they got the chance.
My fingers found the faint, silvery line of a gash across his ribs, and my rage spiked.
“That’s in the past, little monster,” he said, his voice soft. “You’re here. I’m here. We’re fine. We’re together.”
He kicked off his boots, and I shredded his leather pants with a flick of my claws, dropping the ruined pieces on the floor.
He returned the favor, undressing me with hands that grew steadier with each revealed inch.
I could have snapped my fingers to vanish my clothes, but I loved the sensuality of his touch, the intimacy of his hands moving with pure male need.
When I was finally bare before him, his fingers brushed the hollow of my throat, and I arched into his touch.
“You’re different,” he murmured, his silver eyes tracking over my nudity with reverent hunger. “Still you, but…”
“But mine,” I finished, my voice low. “This body is completely mine.”
He swallowed, his gaze bright with love and possession. “And all mine now, little monster. Every perfect inch of you.”
I guided his head to my breast. I could feel the hard press of his cock against my thigh.
I needed him. I needed to feel him inside me. I wanted to be fucked so badly.
“Not yet.” His voice was rough, his control hanging by a thread.
“Shit, Sy, I want to bury myself in you and forget the world. But you deserve better than this.” His thumb brushed a smudge of dirt from my cheek.
“Let me get you clean. Let me take care of you. And then I will spend all night fucking you senseless.”