Page 14 of House of Demons and Bones (Shades of Ruin and Magic #5)

13

Barbie

H eat blazed across my palms as twin dark flames materialized, ready at my command.

“Hello, Father , long time no see.” I locked my predatory gaze on Ruin.

The sky god and earth goddess whipped their heads toward me. The sky god’s eyes narrowed, scanning me like a fresh specimen under glass.

“Ra spawned offspring?” Nephthys’s words dripped venom. “An abomination.”

“No,” Isis whispered, something registering in her blue eyes. “Our last hope. I believe our future selves summoned her here.”

My father’s full attention was on me, and he smiled, which chilled me.

“You’re the apple of my eye, little one,” he said.

Sy snarled.

“Here’s to your eye.” I thrust my palms forward, unleashing dark flames at his face. Time to scorch his eyes and blind the motherfucker.

A force slammed into me. The galaxy spun wildly, launching me skyward before my flames left my hands.

What the fuck? I snarled, shoving back the cosmic wind. Sy growled as she pumped strength into me, but each blast of wind knocked me further back until I landed on all fours, fingers splayed against the freezing floor.

A blink, and I was back in the Queen’s Suite, shrouded in dark fog. My breath came harsh and ragged.

Thrown through time again.

Rage rode me hard, and agony bloomed fresh in my chest. I fought not to double over. Something wet dripped from my nose. The metallic tang hit me before I saw the red smeared across my fingers.

There was a cost to traveling back and forth in time, and I was the one paying. Sy tried to take the pain into her, but I blocked her. Not this time. The memory of her curled in agony haunted me. It always made me hate myself and my weakness whenever she had to suffer for me.

Dark flames still danced on my palms. I hurled them at the fog, shredding it to mist. Beyond lay a void where two pulses thrummed, each screaming with rage and helplessness so raw I stumbled back.

My breath caught as recognition hit. The sky god and earth goddess, trapped between life and death. I was no stranger to that terrible existence—neither living nor dead and completely powerless, as I had been under my father’s chains.

I hadn’t gotten to toss my darkest flame at Ruin and burn him. Hadn’t seen how the battle ended. Here lay my answer—the sky god and earth goddess had been torn apart, part of their essence devoured by my father, and they remained conscious through it all.

Their every ragged breath leaked pain and misery. Isis and Nephthys, ancient deities, reduced to embers buried in ashes, echoes in the eternal emptiness. My father had done that to them.

“What was the point of calling me here?” I demanded. “You yanked me through time to face Ruin, then robbed me of my chance to destroy him.”

They’d used their last energy reserves to pull me back, and now the agony rolled off them in waves.

“You couldn’t defeat him then,” Nephthys said. His voice rasped from the void beyond the mist.

“Then why drag me into that battle?” I asked.

“One of the many battles,” Isis said. “You’re not ready. Dark flame alone won’t destroy your father. If you’d attacked, he’d have studied your power, and you’d have exposed yourself.”

“He saw me, all right. Recognized me,” I said. “You already exposed me.”

“Not your true power,” Isis countered. “It’s still growing.”

“We risked bringing you to the first god-war to study Ra’s weakness,” Nephthys scolded. “You should’ve watched under cover. But stupidity and the impulsiveness of youth won. If we hadn’t yanked you back, the damage would’ve been unthinkable.”

“Maybe slip me a memo next time? Skip the riddles and random time-jumps before I get my bearings.”

“We tried to teach you,” Isis said, “though we may be rusty at handing down knowledge.”

“Not rusty,” Nephthys cut in. “We never had a pupil. And this can’t be taught—only learned.”

“At least you’re both still coherent,” I offered, my sympathy surfacing for them. I’d suffered for years under my cruel father, but these beings had endured eons.

“Let’s hope you’re strong enough to face your father in the final battle,” Nephthys said. “Most likely, you’ll end up worse than us, girl.”

Divine beings had no grasp of empathy. I might share their bloodline, but I treasured my humanity. Years hiding among humans had shown me their worst, yet also their best.

“Darkness within light. Flame in darkness. All was lost. All will be regained,” the earth goddess muttered, slipping back into nonsense, lost in herself.

The two godly beings before me were now mere echoes of their former selves, so broken they crumbled at the edges. How could I rely on them to help me defeat my father?

My bond with Killian flared, his urgent call jolting my memory. Shit, I’d come for him, and these ancient entities nearly made me forget my purpose.

“Gotta go,” I said. “I’ll come back sometime later to check on you two, all right? Will you be here then?”

“Where can we go?” Nephthys retorted. “We’re caged in the void.”

I swallowed back a comment about them still having each other. It’d be insensitive.

We aren’t jerks, Sy chimed in.

“Well,” I said awkwardly. “Take care.”

I yanked the door open and burst out. Several beings jumped and yelped in the corridor, making me leap into the air.

“What the fuck?” I called.

“What the fuck?” Archer hissed back.

He led a team toward me, none of them expecting anyone to burst from the Queen’s Suite—a chamber reserved for the chaos heir’s true mate. Some of them believed that was Queen Lilith.

But I was his true mate. The minions just didn’t know it. They gaped at me, eyes wide. The Queen’s Suite wasn’t just forbidden—it was impenetrable. No one, not even Killian, could breach its barriers.

I faced them, releasing a shaky breath while my mind raced for excuses. Then I saw whom they escorted. My face—Grace’s face—stared back at me.

Why the hell was she here?

The shock hit like vertigo, my world tilting as I thought of her with Killian. Sy surged up, golden eyes blazing, nostrils flaring before she settled.

She doesn’t carry your man’s scent, she assured me.

And Grace looked destroyed. Tear tracks marked her cheeks, her golden curls limp. Her power of seduction felt muted. Someone had knocked her down. I eyed her revealing mini-gown, piecing together her intentions. She’d come to poach my man. Molten fury coursed through my veins.

The urgency made sense now. My bond with Killian had tipped me off—I’d felt his mood go pitch black.

The ugly copy failed, Sy said.

I bristled. Sy had come up with all those stupid names. “Ugly Barbie,” “Unwashed Bottom.”

But I didn’t have time to chide Sy right now.

“My, my, look who’s here.” I cocked my head to regard Grace. “Came begging for candies? Didn’t get any, I bet.”

Fear flickered across her face before hatred hardened her glare.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“Take a guess,” I purred, deciding to play cat and mouse, the game that she was so fond of.

She jabbed a finger at the red door. “Why were you in the Queen’s Suite?”

I waggled my brows. “Why not?”

“How dare you trespass on my queen’s territory?” Her chest heaved with rage. “That suite is for my queen, and I’m part of the legacy.”

“Try getting in then.” I goaded her. “Knock and see what happens. I dare you, cupcake.”

Grace pushed forward. Archer shrugged and let her pass, curious to know what she could do. He couldn’t help it, as he was as nosy as a cat.

She raised her hand to knock, chest puffed with entitlement. A pulse blasted from the door, slamming her into the opposite wall. She slumped down, blood trickling from her mouth.

“You should go get your queen to try,” I suggested with a smirk on my lips.

Just then, Killian emerged from his penthouse, his gaze tracking me, heat and surprise sparking in his storm-blue eyes before he took in the scene. His face turned inscrutable.

“Archer, didn’t I ask you to escort Queen Lilith’s ward out?” His tone was flat, not even using her name.

“Sorry, Your Highness. Scorpion, uh, Barbie got in the way. As usual.”

I glared at Archer, then Killian.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I said.

I shouldn’t have snuck into the Queen’s Suite—forbidden territory and all that—but I wasn’t about to mention it.

“You sure?” Rock asked, his bushy eyebrows climbing up his forehead.

He’d just materialized, probably bored after losing track of me outside the House of Chaos. Cami trailed behind him.

Someone needed to tell Rock to trim those caterpillars above his eyes. Maybe I’d delegate that task to Pucker. The werewolf had stayed clear of the ghost guardian ever since I exposed Pucker’s drinking habit.

The chaos house now buzzed with gossip about Pucker’s midnight energy-drinking sprees. Members flocked to buy protective charms from the mages, filling Cade’s already deep pockets. Those too broke for charms resorted to lining their walls, windowsills, and doorways with salt and herbs—as if that could stop a determined poltergeist.

Pucker sulked about the whole thing. He was gravely offended.

“Why is your face so pale?” Rock’s wary gaze darted between me and the red door. Yet he didn’t seem shocked that I could enter the Queen’s Suite while others couldn’t. Grace had proved that point again.

“You don’t want to know, I assure you,” I said.

“Get going,” Killian ordered his men impatiently.

“Let’s go, Princess Grace,” Archer said.

They’d forgotten about her while fixating on me.

Grace struggled to her feet. “Barbie should not be here.”

“It’s none of your business,” Cami cut in. “Now, get out.”

Grace shot me another hateful look. “You’ll regret this.”

I smiled at her. “Bye, cupcake.”

Killian’s team whisked Grace away. Soon, she was out of my sight.

Killian moved closer, eyeing my bare feet. “Where’re your shoes?”

“Lost somewhere,” I sighed. “Lost in time, literally. Luckily, I got out in one piece. Prince Cade will probably lecture me about the house budget if I ask for new boots. He wouldn’t even fix the prison cell that I demolished—claimed the court is broke.” I turned to Cami with a hopeful smile. “Perhaps I can borrow your boots?”

She frowned at me. “We’re different sizes.”

“No worries,” I said. “I’ll wear extra socks.”

“You have boots in your spare room here,” Killian said. He must’ve snooped through my old room. “I’ll talk to Cade about any supplies you need, and he can put them on my tab.”

“That’s unnecessary.” I bristled. “Everyone knows that I don’t take charity!”

I preferred stealing, and now I regretted not swiping Grace’s boots while she was down. We were the same size, and since she’d tried to steal Killian, she owed me at least that much. I had let her off easy. Well, there was always next time.

I’ll keep the score, Sy said helpfully.

“Come, Barbie,” Killian ordered me. “I need a word.”

I bit my lip, my heart pounding, as I smothered the craving in my eyes and fixed him with an annoyed look. “What for?”

But he’d already turned back to his penthouse, his men blocking my exit.