Page 23 of Madness of Her Mages

Ember sat up, hugging her doll to her chest, the look in her eyes making her far wiser than her four years. “I know, Auntie.”

Drae sat beside us, his weight dipping the bed. “Ember, be on the lookout for demons and tell us if you see any.”

She sat up, blinking at him. “Yes, Uncle.”

“She needs a code word,” Blaze said as he crawled behind me, kissing my shoulder while wrapping me up in a warm, feathery hug. “She can’t just blurt out when she sees a demon.”

Mm. I could’ve melted into Blaze and gone back to sleep for the whole day, but I needed to make sure we had a safety plan first. “What do you see when you see a demon?” I asked Ember.

She twisted the end of her doll’s sash around her finger. “I see their dark shadows.”

“Where?”

“Spilling out of them like an inkpot,” she answered, her voice taking on a far too somber tone for a child her age.

Creepy.Drae’s voice echoed in my skull.

I repressed a shudder.Yeah, definitely. My poor niece to have been cursed with such dark magic.

“Alright.” I tucked a loose strand of Ember’s hair behind her ear. “If you see someone with a demon, just tell us they’re dirty.”

She gave me a funny look, like our old hound whenever he was looking for the origin of his flatulence. “Dirty?”

“Yes,” I said. “That’s code for demon possessed.”

She covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “Okay.”

“Shiri,” Drae interrupted as he leaned toward us with a frown. “We have to get ready.”

I sat up on my knees. “I must feed the children first.”

“Your aunt should be breaking her fast in the dining chamber.” Drae fluttered to his feet, holding his hand down to me. “I’ll take you to her.”

I clutched my roiling stomach at the thought of starting my day with the sorceress queen. I nodded toward the small table with exactly six chairs beside the hearth. “It will be easier if I could feed the children in here.”And I can avoid my aunt’s hawkish gaze,I thought to myself.

Drae gave me a knowing look. “You won’t be able to hide from her forever.”

I swallowed back my unease. “Let us have this one last moment together.” I nodded toward the girls. “Please,” I mouthed.

He gave me a look of pity before nodding. “I’ll have the servants send breakfast in here. In the meantime, you and the girls need to get dressed.”

Nikkos and Blaze helped the girls from the bed, carrying them into the bathing chamber with me. I washed and dressed them and tied back their hair. Then I quickly readied myself, ignoring the dark circles beneath my eyes while plaiting my hair. There was no turning back. Today I joined my aunt’s army. Goddess protect us.

Chapter Six

Nikkos

After a few inquiries, I found Mrs. Euphemia in the kitchen kneading bread with the other servants while her brother cut roots and onions nearby, a roaring hearth at their backs. The servants, mostly human and Fae hybrids, jumped to their feet when they saw me.

I bade them sit back down and went straight for a basket of fresh, warm cinnamon rolls. I popped an entire roll into my mouth, thanking a servant when she handed me a cup of coffee. I sat on a stool and savored the sweet bread and then swallowed a few gulps of coffee before reaching for another roll. I’d been too busy to break my fast. I knew I’d need some nourishment before embarking on the flight to Thebes. While I ate, my hungry gaze drank in the sight of the kitchen, for I knew it would be a long while before I saw my home again.

Though the kitchen was partially built underground, the red-brick room was always kept warm and cozy from the hearth and adjacent bread ovens. A wide window above the sinks in the shape of a lemon sliced in half let in ample sunlight. Despite the low ceilings that prevented me from flying too high, this was by far my favorite room in the castle. The room that most felt like home. I couldn’t count the number of times Blaze and I had snuck down here to snatch a tart or else sit with Mrs. Euphemia and drink cocoa by the fire. Drae had rarely been with us, as he was too busy learning how to be the Lord of the Manor. After Ember had told us about our mother’s spirit, I wondered how many times our mother had watched us. Knowing that she was here brought a small measure of comfort while simultaneously itfelt like an inferno was incinerating my heart. How I wished I’d known her, but I’d been just a babe when she’d been murdered.

I fluttered up to a row of glass jars sitting on the top shelf against the back wall. I reached into the tallest jar and filled up my pockets with ginger candy. Though I’d always had a sweet tooth, these candies were for the girls, and not just as a form of bribery, but because I was shamelessly buying their love through candy. Okay, so maybe it was bribery. What could I say? I was fueled by their smiles. And when they smiled Shiri smiled. I would do anything to make my mate happy.

After I pocketed the candy, I flew back toward Mrs. Euphemia while she watched me with a keen eye. “Mrs. Euphemia,” I said while landing on a stool beside her, “may I ask you something?”

“Yes, Master Nikkos.” Averting her gaze, she sniffled and wiped flour dust on her apron.

---