Page 62 of House of Demons and Bones

“Drop it, Killian,” Cade said. “No one knew she was your true mate until now.”

“I never got a kiss from Barbie,” Louis complained. “I courted her properly, brought fancy gifts. She even advised what gifts she’d accept in advance.”

“I sent expensive stuff too and got nothing back,” Silas said, looking wounded.

“I got all of them,” I said. “And I gave you the receipts.”

“The handwriting was illegible,” Louis grumbled. “And what do I need a receipt for?”

Killian laughed. “Barbie hoards like my dragon.”

Tyson growled proudly.

I always accepted gifts gracefully, with a big grin on my face. I also split my treasures between the House of Mages and the House of Chaos—I never put all my eggs in one basket.

Pucker warned me that gathering wealth from the heirs would bite me in the ass. I shrugged, as I didn’t see any harmin collecting riches. I’d developed a taste for nice shiny things. It was more than a hobby now. It was an addiction.

Human mothers used to say, “Don’t take gifts from strangers.”

But the heirs weren’t strangers. Entitled predators, sure, but Sy and I could handle them. We just had to stand firm when accepting gifts.

“I’m not a fairy grandmother handing out kisses,” I said.

“Fairy godmother,” Rowan corrected me. “And that’s not what they do.”

I raised a hand to stop anyone from interrupting me again. “If you’re so pissed, Killian, Cade can steal back the kiss to make it right.”

“How?” Silas asked.

“By kissing me to cancel out the first one,” I said. “Then we’re even.”

Cade laughed, the other heirs joining in. They enjoyed seeing me make the chaos heir squirm.

“That’s not happening,” Killian snarled, lightning coiling between his fingertips, the air sharp with ozone. His jealous rages were legendary, and if this one turned lethal, it could end badly for everyone.

But then, it wasn’t my business, so I just shrugged.

“Asshole, we’re all in the water!” Rowan warned.

At Sy’s urge, I sighed and touched Killian’s arm, absorbing his lightning. The buzz felt pleasant on my skin. He couldn’t harm his mate—I was starting to accept that reality.

“It wasn’t romantic,” I said. “I was just testing if I could break Cade’s curse.”

“Cade’s curse?” Killian blinked at me, his jealousy fading to concern. “But you shouldn’t risk yourself. Not for anyone.”

Cade glared at him before turning to me, his turquoise eyes dark with dismay. “No wonder you gave me that look when youkissed me and claimed to be impulsive,” he said, ignoring Killian narrowing his eyes. “You’ve known about my curse for a while.”

“I couldn’t see it until I joined your house,” I said. “The house magic wanted me to help you. You know that you’re cursed, but you don’t know that you’re being haunted as well. Unfortunately, your curse isn’t a common one—I couldn’t rip it out like I did with those goddamn offensive spells your high mages slapped on the bush fences. When I touched your lips, they were ice-cold.” Cade’s fingers drifted to his mouth. “And I saw her phase out of you, but she failed to kill me. Anyone else who kissed you would’ve dropped dead on the spot.”

The other heirs gaped at me, knowing that I’d even survived the Seed of Heaven.

“Who’s haunting me?” Cade asked before recognition flashed in his eyes and he drew a sharp, pained breath. “Elle.”

“Who’s Elle?” Silas asked.

“My first love,” Cade said. “I was fifteen when I fell for a servant girl, and she fell for me too. Our first kiss was in a closet to avoid getting caught. As soon as my lips touched hers, she froze to death.” He swallowed, pain welling in his eyes, before he forced himself to continue. “My parents’ people covered it up, said she ran away, and threw money at her family.” His hands trembled. “If she’s been haunting me all this time, I deserve it.”

“What did Elle look like?” I asked. “Her hair and eyes?”

---