Page 26 of House of Demons and Bones

My eyes swept the hall. Same scene, different players. Princess Medea, my old nemesis, was gone for good, roasted by my dark flame. Now her former attack dogs, Bellona and crew, had found a new master in Grace.

The demon princess had rolled in claiming to be Barbie 2.0, but she’d flopped at replacing me. That didn’t mean she’d quit yet. Surprisingly, Lady America hadn’t joined Grace’s crew. The redheaded fae, niece of Headmistress Ethel, stuck with her fae noble friends, still commanding one of the prime tables.

Dixie kept to her group too. The shifter beta used to be my friend before the Shriekers had killed her lover, Luna. Dixie wouldn’t look at me, and I didn’t blame her. That wound might never heal. I’d even let her beat me once to let her vent but promised to hit back next time.

Sy kept telling me off for shouldering the blame for every person that my father’s abominations killed. She was right. I couldn’t bring back the dead, but I could stop him from bleeding this realm dry and protect the rest.

Bea and I walked the aisle to our table amid a thick silence. Not the normal kind—this was deliberate. My heart stumbled, as the quiet was more unnerving than the crowd’s usual hateful words and mocking comments. The suspense of what waited ahead made my skin crawl.

“Shush!” My super hearing caught the whisper perfectly. “Don’t look at her. Don’t give the attention-seeking whore what she wants.”

Me, an attention whore? I almost laughed. They had the wrong chick. That was Sy.

Sy smiled.

I shrugged at the new silent treatment. Let them pretend I didn’t exist. It meant I could eat in peace.

Bea caught the shift too—it was the first time no one had even glanced my way, as if I were a ghost. We kept walking, our chins held high. Ever since I’d cleared her magical block, Bea had found her inner warrior. She no longer cracked under pressure. She didn’t even blink when shit hit the fan.

But I hated that my friend took heat for sticking with me. We’d fought about it, and she only got pissed when I tried to talk her out of it.

“We’re in this together, Barbie,” she swore. “I’m with you to the bitter end.”

I’d let her join the fight, but that bitter end was mine alone. Not even Sy could follow where I was headed. Not even Killian. My chest burned with longing every time I thought of him. In my blood, I’d always known he was mine, and now my mind had started to catch up.

Bea’s gaze landed on Jinx and our old geek crew. Jinx had tried to recruit her to Grace’s side, promising her the moon. Bea had shut her down cold, dumping an old friendship that predated my arrival at Shades Academy.

The trio—Jinx, Bea, and Drusilla—had been the real muscle behind the underdogs campaign after I’d kicked things off. Now Bea rode with me, and Jinx had hopped the fence to chase greener pastures. Two-thirds of the underdogs had trailed after her and switched lanes to follow the Underworld princess.

They were surprised, even disappointed that I didn’t crash and burn like Grace had promised. Instead, I sailed through a murder trial without a scratch. Sure, the House of Chaos booted me straight into the mage prince’s backyard. When they accused me of beating up another student, I got a luxury cell with a roaring fire and fancy tea service. Shit, I even scored a selfie with the mage prince and went viral. Instant influencer status.

The top dogs got madder, and the traitor underdogs just stood there scratching their heads.

“Fucking turncoats,” Bea spat. “They joined the machine, the collective bad. They’re nothing but a bunch of socialists, fascists, and religious cultists.”

My once-meek friend’s cussing still threw me. A decade of exile, powerlessness, and unfair crap had turned her into a tiny rage monster.

“Did you pick up those terms from human politics?”

“I picked up my ailing nana from a broke human town,” she said, tears burning behind her eyelids. “I saw how much they all suffered.”

“I have to ask you this.” I steeled myself to ask what I’d been dodging. “Did your nana put that magical block in you?”

“I never asked. Doesn’t matter now,” she said, shooting a glare at the former underdogs. “What matters is fighting back. They slander us, and we slander them!”

“If we fight lies with lies, we lose all credibility,” I said. I had nothing to lose—not even my reputation—but Bea didn’t need to join me in the gutter.

“Screw credibility. It’s overrated,” she snapped. “One week in the human world taught me that all truth is skewed. Everyone is a liar.”

“Shit.” I gaped at her. “You’re more cynical than me now.”

Since birth, Bea had been at rock bottom. Everyone stomped her down, but now that her magic ran free and she’d proven her power, she would no longer take their crap. Years of bitterness had made her a mage bulldog.

I got it, but my role hit different. My goal didn’t align with their annoying, petty games. I had to take down my father and save the realm. For that, I’d have to sacrifice my wants, needs, and any shot at a future.

We reached our table.

“The underdogs’ campaign is in the past,” I said. “Leave it in the dust and move on, my friend.”

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