Magic Rises

Beast Lord and nobody is good enough for me, you mated with a human? A human? You’re just like them.” She waved her arm at Hibla and the djigits. “You don’t give a fuck about what happens to your human wife if she’s challenged. Why don’t you just leave?”
    Muscles played on Curran’s jaw. “Think what you want, but I’ll stay here and I will protect you.”
    “Do you really think they’ll give you panacea for it? Come on, even you’re not that stupid.”
    Gold flashed in Curran’s irises. I had to stomp on this fast before it spiraled out of control.
    I put my hand on Curran’s shoulder. “I think it would be best if you gave us a little space.”
    He glanced at me.
    “And if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you sent Doolittle up here.”
    Curran shook his head and looked at Derek. “Close the room. Nobody comes in unless Kate says so.”
    “Yes, my lord,” Derek said.
    Curran strode out of the room.
    “That’s right!” Desandra called out. “Walk away!”
    Derek parked himself in the doorway.
    I surveyed the bedroom. I’d seen this kind of mess before in Julie’s room, when she went through an “I don’t want to go to school” stage. “Hibla, why is this room dirty?”
    “The lady won’t permit us to clean it,” Hibla said. “Her father ordered it cleaned once, and we did. The lady returned it to its previous state within a week.”
    Just as I’d thought. I turned to Desandra. “May I come closer?”
    She stared at me.
    I waited.
    “Sure.” She shrugged.
    I crossed the room, stepping on clothes—there was no choice. Something crunched under my feet. I sat next to her on the bed.
    “I get what you’re doing. You don’t feel in control of your life, but this bedroom is your space and you can do whatever you want here. Here you’re in control. Unfortunately, having food on the floor isn’t healthy. It rots. Mold grows on it and gets in your lungs.” And the mess made her that much harder to guard.
    She sneered at me. “I’m a shapeshifter.”
    “Shapeshifters are resistant to disease but not immune. Rotten food also gives bugs a place to breed, and it smells bad. Broken glass isn’t safe for anyone to walk on. People who bring you food may not always be shapeshifters. They could be hurt, and they’re only doing their job.”
    “I don’t care.”
    “Having a dirty room doesn’t really help you regain control over your life. That fight is out there.” I pointed at the open door. “The mess just makes you appear deranged, which signals to people that it’s okay to treat you as if you’re not a person.”
    Desandra dug her hands into her matted hair. “What do you want from me?”
    “May I have your permission to clean this room?”
    “Why do you care?”
    “Because I take pride in my job. Right now my job is to take care of you and keep you safe. This bedroom is unsafe for you and your future children. The mess also makes it difficult to protect you.”
    Desandra stared at me. “And what if I rip out your throat?”
    I dug through my memory to fights with Julie. “Why would you do that? I didn’t do anything mean to you.”
    “What if I say no?”
    Andrea shrugged. “If you say no, then we won’t clean the room. But I do have to tell you that the room smells bad, and that smell has settled in your clothes and hair.”
    At least in the United States, telling a shapeshifter they smelled bad was the ultimate insult. If that didn’t motivate her, nothing would.
    Desandra growled in my face.
    “I’m on your side,” I told her. “If you want to demonstrate that you’re in control of yourself, you might want to take it into consideration.”
    “I don’t want you to clean anything.”
    “Very well.” I rose.
    I made it ten steps to the door before she said, “Fine. Clean it.”
    “Thank you.” I turned to Hibla. “Please bring trash bins, cleaning supplies, and hampers.”
    Desandra growled. “Are you always such a doormat?”
    “Yes.”
    “So you always ask permission for everything?”
    “She’s the alpha of the Atlanta Pack,” Derek said without turning. “She killed twenty-two shapeshifters in eleven days to be one, and she has the same power as the Beast Lord. She doesn’t have to ask anyone’s permission to do anything.”
    That wasn’t exactly helpful. “I’m here for one purpose only: to keep you safe. I act in your best interests. I don’t care who is born first and I won’t be taking any bribes. I will do my