Page 87 of House of Demons and Bones

“I have some questions too, Lady Maiden,” Rowan chimed in. “If you don’t mind.”

“Oh, I mind,” Moirai said. “There’s a reason not all oracles should be revealed. We should not tempt the fates and risk making things worse, should we?”

“What could be worse?” I shrugged. “You already dropped all your terrible truth bombs.”

“What I told you is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

A clamor rose from outside the study.

“Go, Barbie,” Moirai urged. “I’ll be waiting here for Lilith.”

She said it like they were best friends.

“Let’s go,” Rowan said after giving Moirai a rueful look. “Time to return to the party. I promised Sy the last dance.”

We went into the closet again, and this time, a bridge shrouded in mist stretched before us. Together, Rowan and I lifted our feet.

23

Barbie

The bridge collapsed beneath us, a scream erupting from my throat while I cursed Moirai. Rowan shouted for me, twisting to grab me, ready to take the impact when we hit the ground. His earth magic lashed out, vines and greenery shooting forth to catch us.

A blink, and we touched down instead of falling on our asses. Music, laughter, and chatter swirled around us. We had materialized at the courtyard’s edge, crouching in shadow, the cathedral with its obsidian walls and hellfire nowhere in sight.

“Are you okay? Is Sy okay?” Rowan asked as we stumbled to our feet, still dizzy from the transition.

A hand snaked around my waist, another clamping over my mouth, smothering what might have been a whimper—or a scream.

“I’ll take it from here,” Killian told Rowan. “You need to join the dance with our target.” He added drily, “The others are running out of moves.”

“Just so you know, Sy and I will have the last dance before the night ends,” Rowan said before striding toward Queen Lilith and Cade.

Cade didn’t seem to mind holding the queen in his arms. He’d gladly hold any woman to celebrate his freedom after we helped rid him of the Fury and her death curse.

Killian’s darkness twirled around me, hiding us from view. My back pressed against the stone wall, with Killian’s arm anchoring me in place. His other hand tilted my chin up as he inspected me to make sure I didn’t have a single scratch.

“Are you all right, my little scorpion?” he asked.

“Not exactly,” I said, ready to complain.

“Why do you have Rowan’s scent on you again?” he demanded, rage starting to rise. “And it’s the scent of sex!”

“You don’t want to get me started,” I said, annoyed. “We were searching the place and got nothing. Then we heard someone outside the door and had to hide in a tiny closet. Sy took over, and she and Rowan fucked like fiends right there in the demon house.”

“Unbelievable,” Killian said with disgust. “I sent him to guard you!”

I nodded. “Those two have no shame. They don’t care what anyone thinks. They’ll screw each other in public if you let them.”

“I’ll have a word with Rowan,” Killian growled. “He should know better than to drop his pants wherever he pleases.”

“Good luck with that,” I said. He’d need it.

“Forget them,” he said. “I was worried sick about you, my brave little scorpion.”

“But I failed the mission,” I said.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “I’m on your side, no matter what. You know that, right?”

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