Page 2 of House of Demons and Bones (Shades of Ruin and Magic #5)

1

Sy

T he looks on both heirs’ gorgeous faces were priceless—pure gold.

Rowan and Killian stared at me, their eyes smoldering with shock and disbelief, like they’d been sucker-punched by reality itself.

I sympathized—couldn’t blame them for the mental whiplash.

One second, Barbie had charged between the dueling figures, golden curls bouncing, eyes blazing with determination to break them apart. The next, I stood in her place, grinning with confidence and radiating savage beauty.

Watching sweet Barbie transform into me wasn’t your everyday entertainment, especially given our stark differences. Barbie was lovely, all rosy cheeks with lingering baby fat, but I was something else entirely. It wasn’t only that I was a good head taller than her. A decade of fighting, eating intelligent beings, and sex feeds had sculpted me into an apex predator. Pure danger wrapped in deadly curves.

I flaunted myself before the two most powerful heirs, thrusting my double-Ds out. Their predatory focus fueled my excitement, so I flashed them my signature grin, all fangs and zero apologies.

I was done living as Barbie’s shadow. Here in Mist of Cinder, I could finally be Sy in all my wild, cunning glory. The human world had its limits, but here? I belonged. A few stolen hours with my sugar some nights wasn’t cutting it anymore. Neither was commanding attention at the occasional party. I wanted the spotlight full-time, no more hiding in the dark.

I basked in the princes’ attention. Even the chaos prince saw me. It was time to seize more opportunities.

“Hello, hello, lovers,” I purred.

We don’t want to rile them up further! Barbie’s voice rang sharp in my head as she watched the heirs like a hawk, braced for the shitstorm. They’re dangerous.

No more dangerous than us. I brushed her off, too pleased with myself to snap at her constant doom-and-gloom. They aren’t even snarling. And no one dies today, not on our watch. So I consider it a win. Think about it—we stopped a death duel between the two most formidable heirs.

The air, thick with blood and violence moments ago, now hummed with mystery, all orchestrated by me. The thrill of power buzzed in my blood.

And look, they’re both so smitten with me that they’re speechless, I pointed out to Barbie.

They aren’t smitten. She tried to claw her way to the surface, but I held firm. They’re having a hard time processing this shitty reality.

Nothing shitty about me shining, I protested.

“What the fuck?” Killian spat, darkness flashing in his bloodshot eyes.

“You disappoint me, Prince Chaos,” I said, eyes half-lidded. “That’s all I get after saving your royal princeling butts?”

“Sy? Is it really you?” Rowan stuttered. “What’s going on?”

“Sure is, sugar,” I said, giving Rowan a little sultry wave.

He tried to walk around me to insert himself between the chaos prince and me, but the second they faced each other, these two would be at each other’s throats again.

We wouldn’t want that, Barbie agreed.

I threw up a hand sharply to stop his advance.

Wild cat’s out of the bag. Barbie pressed her fingers to her temples. Fuck.

“Wild cat’s out of the bag, fuck,” I echoed, delighted. “And I’m the wild cat who’s been sleeping with sugar Rowan while Barbie watched in fascination from the sidelines.”

Barbie kicked my shin, and I dodged.

“Barbie and I are like day and night,” I drawled, twirling a finger for dramatic effect. “We’re two badasses sharing one body. Two peas in a pod. To keep these gorgeous forms”—I gestured at my body— “we need constant feeding.”

The killing rage in Killian’s eyes dimmed, and the furious rumbling from his chest faded. He glanced at Rowan, who glared back. But both heirs’ murderous intent had drained away.

They finally got it.

Rowan’s silver gaze slid from Killian to me. “So every time we fucked, Barbie was watching?”

“Watching in fascination,” I purred. “But she always cut our fun short. Had Underhill kick you out, even when Underhill told her you weren’t finished.”

“Cockblocker.” Rowan’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper, his eyes darkening.

Shit, he was so hot when he got like this!

I flashed him a wicked smile. “We had to bribe her with pink diamonds just to get some peace. See, Barbie only speaks one language.”

Rowan and Killian both raised an eyebrow, waiting.

“Gold,” I drawled. “Or in our case, diamonds.”

Barbie’s lips curled into a sulky pout.

“Now I get why my house let you in,” Killian said, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. “It mistook you for Barbie.” He shook his head with a dark laugh. “And here Silas thought Barbie was a shifter.”

“Not his kind of shifter,” Rowan said, running long fingers through his dirt-and-glass-speckled silver hair. “I’ve had my suspicions ever since I first scented Sy on Barbie.” He shot Killian a hostile look, old anger flickering. “Like you said, who’d have thought they were sharing one body?”

“I need to talk to Barbie,” Killian said, his icy eyes sharp as glass. “Change back.”

“Sy stays. Period,” Rowan countered.

I preened at my sugar’s defense, but Barbie rolled her eyes at the alpha male showdown.

Do they really think they get to decide for us? she huffed. Assholes.

The building shuddered, and it wasn’t our princes doing the shaking. Another tremor hit, and my enhanced hearing caught the whine of the glass elevator.

“Fuck,” Killian growled. “The other heirs broke our blood ward.”

“Barbie must’ve weakened it when she came up,” Rowan said.

“We need to move before those pests get here,” Killian said. “We’ll sort this mess out somewhere else without their drama.”

Rowan nodded, his eyes locked on me, fierce and protective. “And we must keep Sy’s secret—Barbie’s too. They saw Barbie come up, and now?—”

“Now I am here.” Barbie’s voice ripped from my throat before I could stop it.

I wasn’t ready to give her back the reins, but a flash of dark light exploded in my head, hot pressure crushing my chest—the usual shit when Barbie took over. Two blinks and I was falling as she surged forward.

My claws touched soft grass, but I had no time to settle. Heart pounding and aching for my sugar, I pressed close to Barbie’s skin, peering through her eyes as both heirs stared at us. Yeah, watching Barbie and me swap would take some getting used to.

“Little scorpion.” The chaos prince exhaled, his face softening at the sight of his true love.

He melted for her, but Barbie’s bright eyes held no forgiveness as she met his gaze.

“They’re coming,” Rowan called. His eyes darted to the elevator as he stepped in front of Barbie, shielding her just like he would for me.

“I’ll handle it,” Killian said.

The air rippled, hot and tight, before lightning sliced down from the sky and carved out a shimmering door.

“What the fuck is this?” Rowan demanded.

“A door to where we need to go.” Killian shrugged.

“And where the fuck is that?” Rowan’s voice dripped with distrust.

But Barbie gave the tear one look and dove through it swiftly before my sugar could do anything about it.

“Where Sy goes, I go.” With a sigh, he stepped through after her.

The elevator dinged.

“Where the hell did they go?” Silas’s shout reached us just as Killian slipped through and sealed the tear behind us.