“The ones in the shoebox?”
“Shush!” Barbie’s gaze darted around nervously.
“My shinies are bigger,” Sy boasted, holding up a pink diamond necklace for Barbie to admire.
I made a mental note to give Barbie a set that outshone anything Rowan had given his woman.
Just then, Rowan appeared beside Sy, nodding at me as if acknowledging I was giving the sisters their moment.
“Killian,” he greeted, his expression serious. “We need to talk.”
“We will,” I replied, meeting his gaze. “All of us.”
“What the fuck?” That eloquent observation came from Silas, who’d frozen in the doorway as if someone had hit pause on his brain. Behind him, the other heirs crowded in, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.
“Shit, two of them now,” Louis said, darting between Sy and Barbie like he had a hard time putting two and two together. He’d never been good at math anyway. Even as a kid, he’d been more interested in sinking his teeth into necks than studying equations. “Two separate bodies. Two sources of superpower. Two?—”
“Marvelous!” Cade beamed, looking utterly delighted.
Enough of this!My dragon’s bark rattled through my mind, smoke puffing from my nostrils as he reminded me for the hundredth time.Mate needs food. Now! Then sleep. And a bath. And?—
I know what our mate needs!
Then why aren’t you moving faster?
“Inside, brothers,” I cut in. “My penthouse.”
Barbie and Sy broke apart. My mate came to my side, while Sy moved to stand with Rowan.
We filed through the house like the world’s most dysfunctional parade.
Chapter
Sixteen
Barbie
Killian’s penthouse sprawled before us, a testament to expensive taste and paranoid design. Vast windows dominated two and a half walls: one looked out over the valley of mist, its perpetual fog hiding the shimmering leylines; another half-wall framed the forest of Underhill; and the third offered a sweeping view of the campus, the Ivory Tower standing tall in the east.
My gaze drifted across the blooming gardens and gleaming buildings below. I remembered the awe I’d felt when I first stumbled into this realm. I never imagined I could belong here, especially after Louis tracked me down and sank his fangs into my neck.
Now it was Killian’s lips brushing my throat as he pulled me into his lap, the heirs gathering around the central leather sofas. On the far wall, an antique console displayed an array of deadly weapons.
Bummer!Pucker’s voice echoed through our familiar bond.Still can’t get through. Your boyfriend’s paranoid, Barbie!
Of course he was. Every inch of wall and glass glowed faintly with protective runes.
Let him through, House,I told the chaos house magic.
The magic swirled around me, bright and eager, happy I’d returned. It reached out toward Sy, wanting to play with her, too.
Pucker’s phantom form slid through the door, translucent and grinning.
“What the hell?” Silas shot to his feet, instantly on edge.
Louis narrowed his eyes. “Why is the poltergeist here? He only causes trouble.”
“Quit calling Pucker a poltergeist. He’s sensitive about it.” I glared at the vampire prince. “Pucker is my familiar. That makes him family, and you’re being rude.”
