Demon Reform Academy, Term 2

37. Pandora

37

PANDORA

“ W hy do I have to be partnered with them?” Shadeberry whined, flicking her brown hair over her shoulder with a scowl.

“Because that’s the way you were split up,” Ashenfell answered monotoned, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling before he sighed. “Alright, everyone. Today, we're focusing on defensive instincts. You need to trust your gut and react without overthinking. Remember, in a real fight, you won't have time to plan your next move. That’s where your instincts come in.”

My senses were overwhelmed with a tang of sandstone and sweat, and the sand beneath my feet shifted as I trudged over to the red mat with Jenni.

I adjusted my long pony tail that Jenni had thrown it up into. Having my hair pulled back didn’t feel as weird as I thought it would, but I did miss being able to hide behind it. Now, I could see all of the stares from the other demons that I usually just felt, and it didn’t help that Jenni and I had been paired with freaking Shadeberry of all demons.

Shadeberry crossed her arms. “Can we just get on with it?”

Ashenfell ignored the attitude and continued. “The reason you’ve been separated into groups of three is because one person will be the attacker, and the other two will defend themselves only using their instincts.”

I took a deep breath, my fingers twitching slightly as I prepared myself for this exercise. I had to stay focused. I couldn't afford to zone out or flinch, even though Shadeberry was a shadow demon.

If something went wrong, my mates would freak out. Dex would probably kill her, and Hunter would probably kill Ashenfell for pairing us together. It was just a lot of unnecessary death. Well, maybe Shadeberry’s would make sense.

“If only daddy Death were here to teach us,” Jenni pouted, mumbling more to herself than me. “I’d definitely be paying more attention.”

Shadeberry grimaced in disdain. “ Ew . What the fuck, Inferno? That's disgusting. Who would actually want Death around? Having his daughter here is bad enough. They reek of death, and I don’t want to die early.”

Yeah, Shadeberry’s death would make sense.

“Don’t fucking talk about them like that,” Jenni snapped, pulling her dark hair into a high pony. “Just because you’re scared of stronger, demons doesn’t mean you can run your mouth.”

“Run my mouth?” She gasped. “I just don’t want to die. Pretty sure that’s normal.”

“Why are you starting stuff with me again ? Didn’t Dex mention that if you did, he wouldn’t be so…lenient next time?” I arched a brow.

“H-How do you know about that?” The color drained from her face.

“He sent me photos of what he did.” I shrugged. “Are you ready to do this or not?”

Shadeberry huffed and shifted into an offensive stance. “Whatever. Let’s just fight. I’ll be offensive.” Her shadows exploded forth toward Jenni the next moment without giving her any warning.

Jenni moved first, her movements almost graceful as she dodged Shadeberry's initial attack. “Dirty move.”

“Ashenfell said to attack, and your instincts kicked in well enough to dodge,” Shadeberry retorted, another shadow heading toward Jenni’s face. “A real attacker would never give you a warning.”

“No shit.” Jenni released a cloud of pheromones, causing Shadeberry’s shadows to falter and move toward me as she jumped back.

The shadow snapped out and turned sharp before lunging at me.

For a split second, every muscle in my body froze. Memories of being chained and tortured by Mother’s shadows flashed through my mind. I remembered the way it felt when the shadows tore through my skin and punctured my flesh. I could remember the smell of sandstone and blood.

I breathed through it all and forced my instincts to take over, pushing my past into the depths of my mind.

Shadeberry’s shadow tendril sliced down my arm, and the flesh split open, but instead of remaining frozen, I harnessed my powers from deep within.

The death smoke poured from my mouth and up her nostrils, draining a quarter of Shadeberry’s soul before coming back to me.

My magic reserves filled, and the tingle of healing spread through the gash on my arm until the flesh came back together.

Shadeberry stumbled back, gasping at the sudden weakness she must’ve felt.

Pride swelled in my chest as she fell back onto her ass.

“Oh, shit,” she mumbled, turning and rubbing her backside.

I’d controlled my powers and used them correctly again. It was a small victory for other demons, sure, but it was a significant one for me.

Jenni clapped, jumping up and down on her heels. “Great job, girl! That was seriously awesome!”

“Good control, Gravesend,” Ashenfell commented as he walked by. “You’ve improved a lot since last term.”

“Thank you.” The corners of my lips curved into a smile.

Shadeberry’s gray eyes were filled with exhaustion, but she shot me a glare as she climbed to her feet anyway.

As the session ended, a feeling of accomplishment washed over me.

I knew from my studies that demons were adaptable and made to withstand trauma, all supernaturals were, of course. Humans would never have survived what I did, and if they had, they’d never be able to cope mentally. But I also knew what I, even as a demon, had lived through had been awful. It was something that would take me a while to heal from. But I would heal—I was healing, growing stronger not only in my powers but in my soul and in my mind.

With each victory, I was moving further away from the darkness of my past. I was a demon with a traumatic origin, sure, but I’d survived it.

I was Fates-damned sure I would keep moving forward, and it helped that I didn’t have to do it alone anymore.