Page 105 of Contested Crown

ChapterThirty-Four

“What?” Coral said. “You said you’d know. The stone things! That was the whole point of all this, and you didn’t figure itout?”

The fur on her arms hadn’t receded; instead, it was growing in thicker, her teeth longer. She growled and stalked away, leaving Theo to glare at Isaac and Jay.

“You said it had to be Cade. Cutting him off from house magic would fix it. That’s what you said.”

“I thought it was,” Isaac said. His face was contorted, pained. “It had to be him. His pain, poisoning the house, that was theonlything that made sense! He was so powerful, and every other mage was only being born weaker. Why else would that happen?”

Jay reached out, his hand on Isaac’s shoulder. “It made sense.”

Isaac pulled away. He fisted his hands. “No. I should have talked to him.”

I became aware of Cade next to me, not breathing, his chest not even moving. He finally gasped a full breath of air, and I half turned, tearing my eyes away from the conversation to put both my hands on his shoulders, pressing down just enough to ground him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Coral said. Her mouth was full of human teeth again, and she hissed out a long breath. “It’s done. We betrayed the prince, and now Leon’s in charge.”

“What did he do?” Isaac said.

“Instituted the old rules of consorts,” Theo said. “All of them.”

Jay inhaled a sharp breath. “Slavery.”

“Yes,” Coral drew it out in a hiss. “Among other things. No one liked it, none of the consorts, none of the masters, but they didn’t have any choice because everyone else is getting more powerful.”

“What?” Isaac asked sharply.

“The mages who didn’t have consorts forced the issue, and Leon said anyone not treating their consort appropriately would lose the privilege of having one.” She wet her lips and looked over at Theo. “That’s when Nia came up with the idea to get out.”

“And Lily? Jack?” Isaac asked. I struggled to place the names before remembering the mage who’d braced Theo’s leg before the hunt. Their mages. Their masters. “They didn’t go along with it. Did they?”

The question practically echoed in the room. Theo looked down, his hand tight on his cane. “They let us go. They released us from our bonds.”

“But they didn’t go with you,” Jay said. He came close, and both Theo and Coral closed in together. It wasn’t quite a hug, more of a huddle, the physical touch enough.

“So, we don’t actually care about who’s poisoning House Bartlett,” Coral said. “Let them rot. All of them.”

She choked on the last, the pain raw and open. She was bleeding from it still, as though losing her mage was a physical blow she’d never recover from. I glanced at Cade. What would it do to me if I’d given myself to him and he was able to abandon me so easily?

“Coral…” Jay started.

She turned, narrowing her eyes at him.

“It still matters,” Isaac said. “This is something that affects?—”

“Haven’t you learned yet?” Coral’s voice was sharp, unforgiving. “You’ve been kicked out of the house. They don’t want you anymore. You could cure the rot, the poison, whatever you want to call it, and you’ll never be a member of House Bartlett again. You betrayed the prince, and now everyone says he’s going to lead House Morrison in a war against House Bartlett. Andnoneof it matters to you because you’ll never be welcome anywhere. We just came to find out if you had any money or supplies. If you could help us get out of here. We need to get to LA or New York. Somewhere that isn’t here.”

Isaac looked struck, his mouth open. He blinked quickly but kept the sheen in his eyes from falling to actual tears.

Coral turned to Jay. “Do you have anything that will help us? We helped you put those rocks around the property, and now we’re homeless.”

“We have some cash.” Jay walked over to a couple of suitcases in the corner of the room. Isaac looked at him, his expression hurt, but Jay ignored it, instead pulling out a large manila envelope. He dug inside, taking out a handful of money.

When he handed it over, Coral said grudgingly, “Thanks.”

She turned, heading back to the window that they had pried open. Theo hesitated in the doorway.

“Why do you think it still matters that someone is poisoning House Bartlett?” His words were quiet, and he glanced at Coral’s hunched shoulders, the tense line of her back.