Page 25 of House of Demons and Bones

Barbie

Bea and I ambled out of the House of Mages, which was mostly empty, all the students crammed into Jubilee Haven for lunch. A handful of mage guards loitered in the pentagon courtyard, side-eyeing me.

I flicked away a spell from the crimson dwarf bushes as we passed the fence. I’d stopped yanking them off—the mages would just slap new ones on, and then Cade would haul me into his office for another chat. The mage house was my last shot at making things work. Annoying Cade enough would probably land my ass on the street.

We can always crash at the House of Fae. My sugar won’t turn us away,Sy piped up.Or there’s the House of Chaos. You’re Killian’s true mate, after all. Even before your prince dropped the bomb, that chaos werewolf said your room there was permanently set aside for you.

It’s not just about having a place to crash,I said.House politics are a whole other mess.

“How’s your grandmother, Bea?” I asked. “I thought of seeking you out at the border before I talked myself out of it.”

“Nana wasn’t at the border,” she said as we walked the cobbled path along the edge of Windsong Woods. The scent of pine and oranges blew with the wind. “She was stuck in a human town, and the absence of magic there was killing her slowly.” She paused. “I never told you why my family was banished to the mortal realm…but it was because of my mom’s crime. Now, Nana is all I have left.”

“Shit.” I blinked, then grabbed her arm. “I’ll talk to Cade and get him to revoke the exile. I won’t rest until your nana’s safe here!”

“Prince Cade already took care of it,” Bea said, her eyes wet. “He got the king to pardon Nana before I left. She’s recovering in the mage city, thanks to His Highness.”

I smiled in relief. Now Bea could visit her grandmother whenever she wanted.

“Cade’s a good guy when he’s not being a ruthless ass like the other heirs,” I said.

The heirs were all predators in their blood, no matter how much kindness they bothered to show. I opened my mouth, then shut it and bit my tongue. I almost said something about Cade’s curse. His secret wasn’t mine to spill. However, I’d hunt that Fury down and take her out.

“The kindest prince heir,” Bea said with a sigh. She still watched him with stars in her eyes from across the room. “I’m so glad we’re together in the mage house.”

I nodded, my thoughts drifting to Killian. A sudden need for him hit me like a barrage of hail.

Jubilee Haven loomed ahead. My stomach groaned, yet I slowed my pace as dread settled in my chest.

Killian had broken my heart when he played cozy with Queen Lilith and her ward in front of everyone. It’d been a ruse, adistraction to keep them away from me, and it hadn’t worked since his “women” came for me every chance they got. Now he was changing his strategy, and declaring me his true mate in private with Rowan there to witness seemed to be the first step.

I didn’t know where we’d go from here, but I dreaded seeing him with them today, even if it was an act. It would wreck me. I stopped in my tracks, suddenly struggling to breathe, panic icing my lungs.

“You okay, Barbie?” Bea asked.

She didn’t know about my last night with Killian. The worry on her face told me she thought I was dreading another show of him with his two women.

“Whatever happens,” she said, her quiet voice steel-hard, “I’m here for you.”

I nodded and squeezed her hand in thanks before squaring my shoulders. Sy pumped strength into me, and Bea and I slid into the dining hall, heads held high, after checking the entrance for traps and nasty spells.

We headed to our corner table, our shoes clicking softly on the marble floor.

A quick glance told me Killian was nowhere in sight.

I reached out with my magical senses, and I didn’t feel him around either. The relief lasted two seconds before my gut twisted. Queen Lilith wasn’t around either. Were they together somewhere? There was no way to know, and the uncertainty burned in my bones.

If he ran back to her after telling me that I was his fated mate, I wouldn’t be able to come back from that. It’d break something fundamental in me.

And if/when the mating fever returned, I’d be helpless against its primal pull. And thinking that I’d have to go to him like a puppet on a string, regardless of his betrayal?—

My stomach churned. I shook my head, shoving away the poisonous thought, refusing to let it take root.

Another survey of the room told me none of the other heirs were around either. That was new, as if they’d finally gotten bored with the endless drama and moved on.

The bride candidates slumped in their chairs in disappointment, and honestly, I felt it too. Everyone had gotten used to the sexy heirs strutting in like they owned the place—well, they did own the place. Who knew what those guys were up to anymore?

Most tables were occupied, everyone in their usual spots. The seating chart might as well be a map of Shades Academy’s pecking order. I’d tried shaking up their hierarchy once. It lasted all of five seconds, but I’d at least disrupted their order during my brief stay.

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