Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,129

comfortable. We have a deal. Keep in touch.” Ryleigh hung up, and I returned the phone to Sandro’s mother.

“Well?”

“The Voodoo queens will deal with the choir, but I have to put up with them for six months, and my pet will be taught some new tricks of his trade as well. We’ll be expected in New Orleans as soon as it’s safe for me to travel.”

Sandro’s mother raised a brow. “I didn’t pay nearly enough for you. What’s this about a pet?”

I pointed at Sandro. “He’s my pet. In New Orleans, music mages are either killed or they’re the pet of someone with the favor of a Voodoo queen. If he wants to go into the city, he has to be collared, tagged, and leashed when he’s not in our bedroom, and he will be expected to share my quarters. To the Voodoo queens, he’ll be considered a guardian, especially since he can disrupt other music mages. They’ll like him for that. The collar can be any form of choker or snug necklace, the tags can be in any style we choose, but it must include certain information, and the comments about the leashes are literal. The leashes can be no longer than five feet, and there are set rules regarding when I can unclip it. For example, I can unclip it to let him into a stall in the men’s bathroom, but I must accompany him into the bathroom and keep a close eye on him.”

Sandro’s mother burst into laughter. “That is harsh. Why are the rules like that in New Orleans?”

Sandro groaned and leaned his head back. “It’s because music magic is exceptionally potent in New Orleans. Magic is dangerous, it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to in the hands of a musician, and I learned how to master discordance purely because of New Orleans. In case I needed to ever go in for a job, I needed to make sure any music around me wouldn’t create a problem. I’m at my best in the South because of it. Think of New Orleans as a mini quadrant, and the boundary is right outside of the city.”

“You’ve been to New Orleans?” I asked.

“Once. And yes, I’m familiar with the collars. I’ve worn one before, as I needed to test my training. I stayed in the city only long enough to confirm I had full control over my magic. I don’t know any queens, though.”

I snorted at that. “Obviously, you do, else you wouldn’t have gotten a collar or been allowed to test your magic. Collars are not issued without the blessings of a queen, Sandro. They control everything about New Orleans. If you were allowed into New Orleans, one of the Voodoo queens knew who you were, decided you were interesting enough to keep around, and let you in.”

“She’s probably right,” his mother said.

“She probably is, but I’m still annoyed.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“I wanted to meet a Voodoo queen.”

“Well, you’ll get to meet one soon enough. I just committed us to spending six months in New Orleans learning from one.”

“It can be a honeymoon—or like a honeymoon, if I haven’t convinced you to marry me by then. Or we can get married in New Orleans. That would be romantic.”

I supposed New Orleans, despite its quirks, classified as romantic… assuming we survived through six months of living there.

Sandro’s mother laughed. “Now you’ve done it, Jade. You’ve gone and challenged the boy, now he’s never going to let you go. I remember when I decided I was keeping his father. I acted the same way. He really won’t quit, not now. I’m sure you’ll get used to him—or find yourself ensnared by his charms eventually. Hopefully. If I call this woman, will she kill me?”

“She won’t kill you. Introduce yourself, tell her you’re the one who bought me at auction, inform her that I, for some reason that’s still a mystery, actually like you, and that you’re handling the details of us reaching New Orleans. If you praise me, she’ll probably give you less of a hard time about buying me at auction, and since one of her sister queens approved of the purchase, she’ll only give you token trouble. She’s reasonable, but she will only address Sandro as my pet. He hasn’t earned a name for himself, and he won’t until he’s acknowledged directly by a Voodoo queen. Beyond that, you probably know as much as I do, and I only know as much as I do about the pets because