Page 79 of The Mage and His Stolen Prince
Kill them.Wilde showed no hesitation, no remorse. He’d be happy to see the Lord of Grimnight dead. Maybe that was why he was here, to make sure we finished the job this time.
While stuck in my own head, I’d ended up back at the inn. I needed to apologize to Delilah and Wilde for chaining them together while I sorted things out. Halfway up the stairs to my room, I heard a persistentscrape-thumpas something clawed at one of the doors. The noise stopped for a second, replaced by a tiny, pathetic mewl.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open.
A fluffy brown cat shot past me down the stairs.
What the fuck?
At the bottom, the cat turned around and raced back up. It stopped at my feet and rubbed against my legs, meowing at me.
I bent down to scratch the cat behind the ear and discovered a bright pink leather collar, like Delilah’s, only smaller. I felt around the circle until I found the clasp and unhooked it.
As the collar fell to the floor, the cat disappeared, and Delilah appeared in its place. She was still on all fours and one hand pressed hard into my foot.
“Meow—and then I couldn’t turn back!” Delilah blinked. “Oh!” She hopped to her feet, her elbow colliding with my stomach and her head with my chin.
I swore and stumbled away from her, grabbing the doorframe to hold myself up. “What the fuck, Delilah?”
“Oh, Trey! I’m so sorry, I forgot how large I usually am.”
Since she was barely five feet, ‘large’ didn’t really describe her. I rubbed my chin and put a healthy distance between us. “Why were you a cat?”
“I’m always a cat,” she replied flippantly. “Just not quite so literally.”
I still held her collar, so I offered it back to her.
She shuddered and clasped her hands protectively over her neck. “No! Not until he fixes it.”
‘He’ must have meant Wilde, who was conspicuously not handcuffed to my cousin. “Where did he go?”
“Probably back to the—” she caught herself and lied, “I don’t know.”
“You were supposed to look after him. What if he overexerted himself again and passed out somewhere? What if we can’t find him?”
“What did youexpectme to do? My paws were too small to fit in the cuffs!”
“Iexpectedyou not to pressure him into improving your collar—”
“I didn’t! He volunteered!” Then she grumbled, “Which I now realize was only a means to get away from me.”
A door opened and Angelica peeked around it, hiding everything but her face. A pale lavender sleep mask was pushed up against her forehead and thick curlers tied up her hair. “Do youmind? I’m trying to enjoy my last night in a bed.”
Another door opened and Fitz stumbled out. “What’s going on? Are we being attacked?” Without his glasses, he fumbled around the hallway,one hand out to guard off the non-existent attack, the other pressed against the nearest wall.
“It’s nothing,” I said, trying to wave him back to sleep.
Maximus lingered in the doorway to the room he shared with Fitz. He hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on, leaving his toned muscles on display. Both Angelica and Delilah gave them an appreciative once over before turning their attention back to me.
“Where’s Wilde?” Maximus asked in a quiet challenge.
“Here.” Wilde stepped out from the room behind us.
“Wherewereyou?” Maximus corrected.
Wilde arched an eyebrow and said calmly, “I went home.” Then he lifted his arm, showing a stuffed pack. “The clothes Angelica picked for me didn’t quite fit.”
Angelica scoffed. “That’s not my fault. I bought clothes based off the measurements I was given.”
