Page 77 of House of Demons and Bones

“What the fuck?” Silas jumped.

“As it said,” I shrugged, “it’s the evil blade, but it can kill Shriekers. Better to be useful than nice. And it’s loyal to me, even though it was forged by my father.”

You’re more fun than that old god, mistress,Deathsong said in my head.And I love to betray him. I’m an amazing evil blade.

“May I?” Cade asked, stretching out his hand. I passed Deathsong to him.

Good to see you up and about now that the evil Fury’s gone, Prince Cade,said Deathsong.

“How did it learn my name?” Cade asked in a tense voice.

I know all about you, all of you,Deathsong said.And before you went to rescue my mistress, she had a very low opinion of all you princelings, her mate included.

Don’t overshare,I commanded the blade while stuffing cakes into my mouth at rapid speed, washing them down with champagne from two glasses.

“Slow down, little scorpion. Don’t choke yourself,” Killian murmured, kissing my frosting-coated lips. “There’s enough. There’ll always be enough for you.”

I smiled at him. “I won’t choke myself.”

Cade studied the evil blade while Louis and Silas leaned in to examine it too. Deathsong preened at the attention.Look your fill, princes,it said.Take your sweet time.

Bea scooted over to join Cade. “I think we can use Deathsong as a model to forge more weapons like it, but we’ll need Barbie’s blood for the runes on the blade.”

I nodded.

“No!” Killian and Rowan shouted in unison.

“We’ll trade with Queen Lilith for a supply of weapons,” Killian said.

“Your betrothed and her demon army aided us,” Silas said, pushing on despite my snarl at him calling her Killian’s betrothed, “but it doesn’t mean they’re our friends. You know that, right, Killian? Queen Lilith still wants to sit upon the High Queen’s throne.”

“It’s not a good idea to have so many demons roaming our realm,” Cade said, worry creasing his brow.

“And what are you going to do about Queen Lilith?” Rowan pressed. “She’s still officially your betrothed, isn’t she? You need to do right by Barbie.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Killian growled. “Right now, we need to focus on bigger issues than my love life.”

I shot him a hard look. For me, his relationship status was a big issue, but then again, I couldn’t offer him a future. Soon, I’d leave him behind. So as long as he stayed true to me while I was around, I wouldn’t push for anything official. But if she came near him again…well, I was just as territorial and dominant as him and his dragon.

“Queen Lilith knew I was the daughter of the God of Ruin,” I said. “She’s been targeting me, and I’m certain she’s allied with Ruin.”

“None of us trust her,” Cade said, his jaw clenched. “But she came through today while our own armies left us hanging.”

“Every kingdom sent mere hundreds of warriors,” Rowan said, disgust dripping from his words. “They’re all hoarding their main forces to guard their own territories. Face it—they’re just waiting for Shades Academy to fall.”

“We’ll get to that later,” Killian said. “If things keep going this way, we’ll have to take the thrones from our parents.”

“That’s treason!” Silas exclaimed.

I didn’t want them diving into politics, as the debates would drag on forever.

“I have every reason to believe Queen Lilith is the mastermind behind kidnapping me,” I said loudly. “Remember my duel with her ward and how Grace struck me down in the first round?”

“That was a brilliant strategy.” Louis smirked. “You let her think she defeated you, and then you lured her into a trap.”

I shook my head. “I was down, but none of you saw her use the knuckle guards made of the same dark material as the chains and torque the CrimsonTide kidnappers used on me. That’s how I put two and two together and connected Queen Lilith with the kidnappers.”

“Lilith did hijack my mate’s mind after the druid poisoned her with the Seed of Heaven,” Killian said, his voice tight. “And how else would a druid get his hands on a heavenly weapon? Only one being has a connection to the celestial realm—someone who was once a star.”

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