Page 21 of House of Demons and Bones

“High sirs,” I said. “I’m very tired. It’s good to see you all here, but I need to get to bed. I already missed out on my beauty sleep. Did you know if you don’t crash before eleven, your yin ruins your yang?”

“That’s bullshit,” Silas snorted. “We shifters live for the night.”

Louis narrowed his eyes at me. Right, vampires were creatures of the night by definition, duh.

“Well,” I said. “I tried.”

“Tell us what went down on that rooftop,” Cade ordered me. “We waited here to hear it straight from you, and as a gracious host, I won’t let the other heirs be disappointed.”

I blinked, putting on an innocent look. “Didn’t Sir Rowan fill you in?”

“He ranted, but it made no sense,” Louis said. “Then he told us to ask Killian, saying that the ‘chaos asshole’ had all the answers. We searched Killian’s house, but he wasn’t there. He might be with his women in the demon house. Storming the sixth house would look bad for us. We gotta respect this delicate diplomatic thing until we’re kings.”

My heart stuttered, even though I knew for sure that Killian wasn’t with his betrothed and her ward. He’d promised to end things with her. I’d kept quiet when he made the vow, but I’d watch his actions later. Before I left, Sy, the idiot, had urged me to give Killian a blowjob to make sure he’d do what he’d said.Give him a sample to remember you by,she’d said.

I eyed the heirs warily as they all stared at me, waiting for answers. They wouldn’t let me off the hook until I gave them something to chew on.

“By the time I got to the rooftop, they were wrapping up,” I said.

“Hold that thought.” Cade raised a finger, and I knew what was coming. He always fixated on the technical aspects of spells and wards. “How did you get past their blood ward?”

I shrugged. “You all know wards, spells, and magic don’t work on me.”

“But this was a blood ward cast by two of the most powerful heirs,” Cade pressed.

“So I used my blood to negate theirs,” I offered, showing him my hand. “See the scar from the cut? Hurt like hell.”

Louis nodded. “I smelled your blood when you sliced your palm.” He’d barely kept his shit together as I made it to the elevator.

“My potent blood’s worth more than diamonds,” I said.

Silas and Cade gaped at me incredulously, but Louis nodded knowingly.

“Tastes like a goddess’s,” the vamp prince said, making my heart skip. If he only knew he’d drunk from an actual goddess—the daughter of the God of Ruin, the realm’s greatest enemy.

I still owed him that promised sample. He’d almost gotten it, fangs at my neck, before Killian intervened.

“Now that Barbie’s in Cade’s house, you won’t get another drop from her,” Silas growled at Louis.

“Our house could use your talents,” Cade said, regarding me, his eyes distant, wheels turning in his mind.

Shit! The mage prince was too clever. I couldn’t let him suspect my origin. I flashed him a carefree grin.

“I might be many things,” I said. “Con woman, thief, liar, murderer, shifter, wanderer, or whatever, but I’m always a mage first and a defender of our house and realm.”

Cade gave me a long look. “Of course, and I’d expect no less.”

“So what happened on the rooftop?” Silas cut in. Subtlety had never been his strong suit.

“Total disaster, sir,” I said, and the heirs nodded. They’d seen the aftermath when Killian, Rowan, and I fled. “Repairs will cost millions.”

“Who gives a fuck?” Silas said. “It’s Killian’s money.”

“I give a fuck,” Cade countered. “I invest in his business. Insurance better cover it.”

“It won’t,” Louis said. “Clear vandalism.”

“Killian can be convincing, though. Everyone in the mortal world worships him,” Cade said. “If insurance won’t pay, it’s on him. I won’t take the loss.” He fidgeted with his designer scarf.“I’ll meet with him tomorrow to ensure he handles it properly and keeps his investors, mainly me, happy.”

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