Page 16 of House of Demons and Bones

The High Queen’s crown was never her goal. She came for Ruin’s daughter, hidden in plain sight. Facing her own flesh felt strange, yet they remained strangers. She couldn’t risk attachment. The first phase of her experiment had come to pass, and she needed her emotional distance to ensure her grand scheme would succeed.

What wouldn’t she sacrifice for the greater good, for the safety of her starlit home?

Everyone knew the Queen's Suite awaited the chaos heir's bride. Only Lilith's bloodline could unlock its sealed doors. The oracle spoke of something hidden inside—a piece of prophecyshe refused to reveal. A crossroad. A buried truth that would change everything.

Lilith had breached the House of Chaos’s wards and reached the red door. When she’d touched it, icy flames had scorched her hand, denying her entry.

“It’s not meant for you!” Ancient voices, older than even hers, had screamed through the cold flames. These beings shouldn’t be there. Monsters. Gods. Prisoners. “Only she enters. Only the daughter is welcome.”

Barbie was the only key to unlock the door and retrieve what Lilith needed, then she must take her place on the sacrificial altar like a lamb, destined for this great purpose.

Lilith searched herself for emotion, for pain, but found emptiness. Archangels didn’t feel the way mortals and immortals did.

The Wheel of Fate spun faster as Barbie drew closer to its center.

Lilith’s gaze tracked to Shades Academy, then the House of Mages, seeking her target. A small yet radiant figure—as bright as Lilith had been before her fall.

Lilith nodded. Soon, this would be history. She began her descent, her wings vanishing. Weightlessness gave way to crushing pressure. Gravity dragged her earthward.

She fell again.

6

Sy

We crossed back to this side in my form, with Barbie sulking inside me.

Back in the dragon realm, the scorching sexual tension between her and the chaos prince could’ve melted those snowy mountains. But Barbie played the hardass, refusing to cave in just to spite him, watching him suffer with his obvious hard-on. Well, her pettiness backfired, as she didn’t get laid either. Now she was even more frustrated, giving off bad vibes like a champ.

I had to block her out before her foul mood poisoned mine. One of her self-help books warned about not engaging with narcissists, so I kept my focus up instead of down, letting her brood in her corner and biting my tongue. You couldn’t help those who didn’t want to be helped.

I inhaled deeply, savoring the fresh air. This was what freedom felt like—moonlight on my face, wind in my hair, a fresh start before dawn.

The world slept on. Indigo and ash gray smeared across the sky. Sentinels prowled the campus perimeter; the security was tighter after the battle with the Shriekers. All five kingdoms had shipped in small troops to bulk up Shades Academy’s defenses. But none of those soldiers ventured into this restricted zone.

The portal had spat me out at Underhill’s edge, and boom—I felt Rowan. Our connection zinged to life, and I knew he sensed me too.

I strode into the dark forest, my pulse racing at the thought of seeing my prince.

Underhill still blocked Rowan from its depths, but he didn’t mind camping out in the cabin.

Two shadow beasts flanked me like bodyguards on escort duty.

“No work today,” I told them. “Just visiting my mate.”

The beasts looked stumped, Underhill’s confusion bleeding through. Then they bailed, trotting off, guard duty over.

I pushed open the cabin door, swaying my hips with a grin.

“Little monster,” Rowan called, already moving before I got a good look at him.

He pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. We’d been apart less than an hour since he had been booted from the dragon realm, but he acted like it’d been months. We were just that desperate for each other.

“Hello, stranger,” I purred.

“I’m not a stranger,” he growled. “If you need a reminder, I can show you.”

His mouth claimed mine, hot and demanding. I parted my lips for him right away, and he invaded my mouth with his tongue. His minty breath mingled with mine, and soon we were panting with searing lust.

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