Page 84 of House of Demons and Bones

I wondered if Queen Lilith had chosen this spot—pressed against the Veil’s edge—for tactical advantage.

“Maybe we’ll find something useful inside,” I murmured, sliding into the inner study.

The air was cooler than the outer room, carrying the scent of brimstone and ethereal flowers that didn’t grow on Earth’s surface.

The only furniture was a midnight-blue chaise longue and a towering glass cylinder perched on ebony stone like a sentinel.

“The sixth house doesn’t plan to stick around,” Rowan murmured.

My attention snapped to the glass cylinder, cloaked in writhing shadow and hellfire.

“That might be what we’re looking for,” I said, prowling toward it.

I wiped the blood from my wounded palm—courtesy of breaking through that ward—and thrust my hand toward the shadow. The moment my fingers touched the glass, shadow and hellfire peeled back like dark curtains, revealing what lay within.

I staggered back as if I’d been punched.

What the fuck?

Inside the glass, a holographic picture displayed a baby with chubby cheeks, golden curls, and two-toned eyes—one green, one sapphire.

“That’s not Princess Grace,” Rowan said, sucking in a breath. “That’syou, Barbie.”

I didn’t even know I had a baby picture, yet here it was in the Queen of the Underworld’s possession. A foreboding feeling swirled in my head, and chills filled my bone marrow.

“How did Queen Lilith get a baby picture of you?” he asked, frowning deeply, worry darkening his eyes. “Does she know about Sy too?” he demanded.

The sound of a turning doorknob echoed through the room. Rowan and I locked eyes, alarm mirrored in our faces. My heart skipped a beat. Queen Lilith was supposed to be at the party, dancing with the heirs.

Shit. Shit!

My gaze landed on the closet door, and I yanked Rowan’s sleeve before he could shift into a fighting stance. In one swift motion, I wrenched the door open, shoved him inside—earning a startled blink at my strength—and slipped in after him, pulling it shut behind us.

We heard someone enter, then move around in the outer study. I pressed deeper into the closet, only to hit the wall that was the fae prince’s hard chest. I gestured for him to move further back to give me more room, but he shrugged. When I raised my gaze in annoyance, I realized there was no more space. We’d gotten ourselves into a closet that wasn’t exactly a closet—more like a hole in the wall. Then it hit me—this door hadn’t been there when we first entered the inner study.

The hellcat had made it temporarily so we could hide.

I appreciate it.I mind-talked to the hellcat.And I’d appreciate it even more if you could make the closet bigger?

Only a low chuckle answered in my head. The hellcat had done this intentionally.

I didn’t feel the demon queen’s presence—her powerful magic was too distinctive to miss. Someone else was here,someone just as powerful. I held my breath and extended my senses to feel the new arrival, but their magic was cloaked. Not many beings could hide their magic signatures from me, but I restrained myself from poking further to avoid revealing our presence.

We were fucking stuck here until that person went away.

I peered up at Rowan, and he gazed down at me as we squeezed against each other in this confined space. It got more and more awkward as seconds, then minutes, trickled by. The intruder had no intention of leaving soon—I could hear them browsing pages loudly. Where had they even found a book?

The longer I held my breath, the more I wanted to sneeze.

The fae prince’s body heat felt like a torch. We tried to push away from each other, but there was nowhere to go, and our elbows kept getting tangled.

Sy’s lust poured from me in waves, and Rowan’s nostrils flared, his eyes glowing like mercury behind his mask. The scent of his arousal filled our hidden space.

Fucking hell!

Let me take over,Sy demanded.

This isn’t the time,I snapped.

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