“Drop the sword, Hazel,” Mason ordered, his eyes crinkling with his smile.

I licked my lips and clenched my sword’s hilt, pressing the wrappings into my palm. I took a breath and intended to lower my inner gates, opening me to magic, when I heard the rumblings of a car.

It backfired three times in a row, making a few of the House Tellier wizards jump, as it puttered along the road.

I risked a glance over my shoulder and watched in confusion as a battered, banana yellow Volkswagen bug screeched to a stop, parking on the curb.

The front door swung open, and the Paragon popped out, carrying a picnic basket and wearing one of those cloth baby slings. Only instead of a baby, a hairless cat with judgmental blue eyes peered out at the world with an expression that communicated her general distaste for the place.

“Hazel—hi-hi!” The Paragon set his basket down so he could wave to me. “I’m so glad I made it in time!” He bustled to the sidewalk gate, then kicked it open.

I thought the House might react, but the gate didn’t even creak as it swung open.

A quick peek at Mason showed he was just as shocked and confused as I was. “Paragon?”

The Paragon set his basket down again and pointed at his bald cat. “And Aphrodite, too!”

The cat yawned, showing off her needle-like teeth, then meowed.

“She insisted on coming with to see you—she has become rather fond of you, I dare say!” The Paragon flipped the basket lid open and pulled out a full sized kitchen stool (how?), and a folded-up easel that he began wrestling with.

Once it was assembled to his liking, he set it up in front of him and plopped down on the stool, camping out on the patch of sidewalk just outside of his non-gate-hindered view of House Medeis.

Mason relaxed his hold on Great Aunt Marraine. He even went so far as to pat her benevolently on the shoulder. “Paragon,” Mason began in his most charismatic voice. “Please allow me to extend an invitation, and explain what—”

The Paragon shoved his hand out in front of him and waved it, cutting Mason off. “Ah-ah-ah—that is not necessary.”

Mason glanced at the House Tellier wizard, who had discreetly peeled the water off Momoko’s face and was trying not to grimace as she ground her heel into his foot.

“You see, I am not here as the Paragon—the spokesman for every fae Court in the United States of America, the ambassador for every fae creature, and the highest ranking fae in our country. No, not at all.” Though the Paragon kept his voice sunny and bright, Mason and the House Tellier wizards turned progressively paler as he rattled through his list.

“I am here as an observer.” The Paragon dug into his picnic basket again. This time he pulled out a sketchpad and a fistful of pencils. “Hazel Medeis has received unconventional training which has made her use of magic something of a throwback to our more ancient of days. I’m curious to see how she faces off against her own kind, so I am here to record it for educational purposes.”

He smiled, showing surprisingly white and perfect teeth, and no one present believed a word of what he said.

The Paragon was throwing his political weight around, without strictly doing anything per se. I didn’t think he’d step in and help me fight, but his sheer presence would keep Mason from threatening one of my family members as a way to subdue me.

Mason seemed to realize the same thing, because some of his charm faded away as his eyes flicked to me, and I saw anger in the lines around his mouth.

“You are going to fight, are you not?” the Paragon asked.

Mason’s smile returned. “I believe you have misunderstood what’s going on, honored Paragon. This is a simple dispute between Hazel and me, there is no need for a—”

“Because if you’re not going to start right now that will give me a chance to phone up the Elite. I imagine he’d be interested in observing Hazel’s unconventional use of magic as well!” The Paragon smiled so brightly I could see his fae nature.

It wasn’t that he sprouted wings or shed pixie dust, it was in the way his words seemed so harmless and sincere.

Fae were masters of deception.

Granted, the Paragon wasn’t doing much to screen his threats, but he appeared so genuine his words almost seemed logical.

Of course he would want to watch me use my magic. Of course the Elite would want to see, too. It took me a few moments to realize there was nothing logical about this, and how had he even known what was going on? Our only connection was Killian—who obviously hadn’t called him after he wouldn’t even let his people drive me back to the city.

Name-dropping the Elite’s title wasn’t because he really wanted to chat with the wizard, but because he was again indirectly blocking and herding Mason into a fair fight—or as fair as I would get without my own backers.

I eyed the Paragon with new respect, but he was more proof how out-of-my-league I’d been with Killian and the Drake Family. I had allowed his odd cat, his complaining, and his cheery facade to sway me, covering up his fae nature and his own maneuverings.

At least he was helping me. No one could accuse him of favoring me given that all he intended to do was sit there, but it was more than any of the other wizarding Houses had done for me—more than the wizard subcommittee had done.

Mason slightly tilted his head. “Perhaps we could put on a play fight for your sake—”

“Winner takes House Medeis,” I said, blasting through the pretty veneer of his words.

“Until first bloodshed,” Great Aunt Marraine said in a quavering voice that made my heart twist.

“No.” I narrowed my eyes. “Until the other is incapacitated. We’re settling this today, Mason.”

“It seems rude to settle such personal matters in front of our guest.” Mason’s gaze strayed to the Paragon, who was arranging his sketchpad on his easel.

“Adept Mason,” the Paragon said. “If you think the community as a whole is unaware of your feud with Hazel, and believe you can hide this, you are as stupid as you look.” The Paragon’s eyes glowed, and for a second he looked a century younger. “Fight,” he ordered in a terrible voice that reverberated in my bones.

Aphrodite meowed, and in the blink of an eye the Paragon was once again a harmless old fae as he fussed over his pet. “Oh my, Aphrodite—are you cold? Do you need a sweater?”

It took Mason several tries before he was able to swallow. “Well, then,” he smiled. “It seems we will fight. But since you are the challenger, Hazel, I believe my allies should be allowed to help me.”

“That’s not fair!” Felix shouted.

“Naturally, those belonging to House Medeis will remain neutral parties,” Mason continued in his charming voice. “We couldn’t expect them to choose between the two of us, after all.”

Mr. Baree growled like a bear. “Coward!”

Mason narrowed his eyes at him, and I made a quick inspection of Mason’s allies.

Nine from Tellier and two from Rothchild—and Gideon the Idiot, AKA the Heir of House Tellier—was one of the nine. On top of Mason…could I handle them all at once? He clearly didn’t think I could.

I opened my inner gates, letting magic swim through my bloodstream and burn my skin as my wizard’s mark surfaced. “It sounds like you’re not going to give me a choice.”

Mason morosely shook his head. “We don’t have to do this, Hazel. The House’s prestige has risen. Isn’t that more important than a few petty squabbles or disagreements? The House comes first, after all.”

I looked past Mason, at the tired and hopeless expressions of my family, and something in me broke.

All my life I’d heard that horrible phrase. I hadn’t ever liked it, but it seemed logical—the House was necessary for our survival.

But did we really want to survive if our existence was going to be miserable—like this?

“No,” I said. “The House doesn’t come before everything, at least not for me.”

A gasp whirled through everyone gathered as House Tellier, Rothchild, and Medeis wizards gaped at me.

Gideon—who had been ambling across the lawn, abruptly retreated, and almost everyone turned to look back to House Medeis to see how it would punish me.

The House was still.

I smiled as I straightened my wrist, bringing my katana into a guard position. “Right now, I don’t care about the House. I’m here because you’re terrorizing my family. To me, they are my top priority. You can have the House if you want it that badly—but you won’t take it. Because what good is a House without any wizards? So let’s finish this disagreement.”

Gideon looked to Mason. The Medeis traitor nodded, and Gideon ambled across the lawn again. “House Tellier, let’s go!”

Mason swiveled to look expectantly at the two House Rothchild wizards—two women.

The women nervously looked from Mason to me. “It seems to me, that although we are allies, one House shouldn’t interfere with the inheritance of another House,” one of them nervously said.

Mason narrowed his eyes. “Are you afraid of her? Why? There are no vampires at her back.”

The second House Rothchild wizard rocked back on her heels. “It doesn’t matter if she’s supported or not. We stayed out of it when you made your move. We’ll continue to stay out of it now.”

Lightning zipped up and down the blade of my katana. “Stop worrying, Mason, and get down here.”

Mason smiled brightly and shook his head. “I think House Tellier can handle you.”

I stared incredulously at him. “You’re seriously not going to fight? What kind of a—” I cut myself off when Gideon summoned his favorite attack—a fireball—to his fingertips.

This changed things. I couldn’t take them all out with one massive attack like I’d hoped. If I did that Mason might try to run or delay the fight, and I couldn’t afford that since I had the element of surprise and the Paragon’s presence to keep things at least halfway fair.