Quiet Burn (Discordia University #2)

Trouble

Slash

S omething was off about the little demon after the meeting last night. He tried to play it off as being tired—which is believable given what Jasper told us about the fire in that study room. Kit’s powers are emerging very slowly and until they’re fully settled, he needs a lot of rest and fuel. That’s part of why I’m so focused on making sure he doesn’t burn himself out with poor self-care. A demon that is coming of age is like an energy vampire—every bit they use has to be replaced with twice as much to balance out the exchange.

I have this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that it wasn’t simple exhaustion, though.

Glancing over at him, I tune out Professor Wormwood’s lecture on the basics of magical spells and how they resemble math equations or cooking recipes. I’ve been constructing spells, hexes, and curses since I was a kid playing in the pee-wee version of magical battles. The mage-dhampir hybrid is well versed, but this lesson is way beneath my capabilities. Lucky for me, that means I can watch our newest caliphate member closely.

“What’s going on with you?” Anton murmurs from his place on my other side. “I know you’re above this level of discussion, but I feel the tension in you, man.”

I grimace, looking at my sensitive friend with a shrug. “Intuition. Something’s off.”

Kit stops taking notes and elbows me in the side. “What’s off? Is someone going to cause trouble?”

Definitely not the result I was looking for.

Patting his hand lightly, I shake my head. “No, Kit. No one is targeting us at the moment. You can focus on the lesson without worrying.”

Anton grins as the tension even I could feel amping up in the air fades, and once Kit is distracted again, he whispers, “You can tell me later. But I’m not going to let it go now that I have the scent of a secret.”

“ Mr. Stryker !”

The sharp reprisal comes out of nowhere and I have to stifle a groan when Kit turns red and gives Salem a mean-looking pinch. It’s only nine a.m. and somehow, the panda shifter is asleep at the wheel. You’d think the professors here would make accommodations for the biological natures of hybrids, but Hell doesn’t have an ADA law. My need to move—sharks don’t stay still—and Salem’s sleepiness are just some of the problems they pretend are misbehavior instead of instinctual traits.

“Shit,” Salem says with a yawn as he stretches. “You fell down on the job, Kit Kat.”

A bolt of magic sizzles past our friend’s ear, and we all turn back to Wormwood. “I’ll thank you to not use my lecture as nap time from now on or you’ll get dungeon detention for a month.”

“He didn’t do it on purpose!”

Damn it, Kit. That fucking humanity is going to get us all detention.

“Mr. Camponella, no one asked for your ill-informed opinion. Now if we can all?—”

The kid stands and glares at the mage, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not ‘ill-informed’. Anyone with an internet connection can research pandas and his snoozy issues are common even in non-demon hybrids. It doesn’t deserve an admonishment or a punishment. Obviously, you could have used magic to get him up without even telling the rest of class.”

Wormwood’s teeth lengthen and his scent changes as he heads for the stairs to come up to the seats where we’re camped out. “Since you’re so well versed, Mr. Camponella, perhaps you should serve as the proxy for his punishment. You clearly feel powerful enough to intervene.”

“That seems rather unfair,” Anton says as he shifts in his seat. A fluffy feather floats past my face and I groan inwardly.

His peacock doesn’t like the character of people he’s fond of being challenged—Wormwood just insulted two in one go.

“Jasper’s going to fucking murder me,” I grumble to my companions. “But fuck it.”

I rise to my feet, my bulk shielding Annie from people’s view. His bird is too much of a draw not to cause a damn crowd, and I need to shut this shit down before it gets worse. My eyes cut to Salem, who’s trying to get his sleep-addled brain back to non-hibernation mode so he’s useless. Putting a hand on Kit’s shoulder, I wait for the professor to get closer. If I need to block something, I will, but I’m not going to attack unless I have to.

“Mr. Scrum, are you vying for dungeon duty as well?”

Giving him a half-shifted, shark toothed grin, I stay quiet until he’s within range. “I think this has escalated far enough. We should move on.”

“As long as Salem isn’t getting in trouble, I’m fine with that,” Kit mutters as he leans into me slightly. “But once I figure out what the fuck I’m doing, I’m hexing this fucker’s dick twelve ways from Tuesday. What a douche.”

“What did you say, Mr. Camponella?” The dhampir’s fury is increasing, and his speed is an issue if he uses that rather than magic. “Would you like to repeat it for the entire room?”

Kit snorts and shakes his head. “I highly doubt you want me to do that.”

None of us do because it will get us sent to Darkstar’s office for certain.

“Texting this mess to the group,” Anton whispers from behind me.

That’s helpful. It means if Wormwood decides to fuck with us via administrative complaints, Jasper will have it handled before we’re out of our second class. “Again, we should move on.”

“The time for moving on has passed, Scrum. Your puny recruit is now the proud recipient of my first month of dungeon detention.” He turns to Kit, his fangs protruding creepily as he eyes the small guy. “Make sure you’re wearing clothes you don’t mind throwing away. I have very special tasks in mind for you.”

A shiver runs through him, and my eyes widen as Kit grabs my hand to squeeze it. “I can take anything you throw at me, asshole. You’re nothing more than a bully using your position to treat demons who are better than you like shit. Bring it on.”

Is this kid trying to give me a fucking heart attack?

By the time Wormwood settles down and class continues, the word has a spread.

Prince: What the hell is going on? There are three of you who are supposed to be watching him.

Enforcer: Calm down.

Chef: I fell asleep. Something threw my internal time clock off yesterday. Wormwood was being a dick.

Designer: In other news, Kit Kat is happy to stick it to professors as viciously as he does with you, Jas.

KitKat: …

Prince: Who changed his name?

KitKat: I’m not stupid, Jasper. I know how tech works.

Thief: Good on you, Kit. Don’t let these idiots grind you down.

Hacker: Can we get back to what happened in class?

Prince: You’ll see him in a few minutes in Mythology. He needs to tell me.

KitKat: He’s right here, assholes. Look, the fucker was being mean to Salem and you said we stick up for the people in the caliphate, right?

Everything goes quiet, and I chuckle to myself. The kid has a way of knocking the knees out from under my best friend, and I enjoy it more than I can let on. I look up from my phone, checking to make sure that the irksome mage isn’t monitoring us anymore. Jasper will have to fix Kit’s detention now that he’s pointed out it was in defense of our brothers.

Prince: Who the fuck knew you were listening, shrimp?

Chef: The point is, he stood up and gave Wormwood hell for being a dick to me, then Slash joined him, and in the end, he muttered something creepy as fuck about his punishment.

Sparkle Skirt: What? No way.

Thief: Now we know how Kit Kat changed his name. X has been playing with the chat.

SparkleSkirt: Whatever, O. Tell us about the creepy punishment.

KitKat: Look, I’ll take my licks; I earned them.

Enforcer: Something about dungeon detention and needing clothes he doesn’t mind throwing away. I am not comfortable with this situation.

Prince: Fuck.

Enforcer: Yes.

KitKat: Is every teacher here a goddamn predator?

Thief: Probably.

Designer: Definitely.

Hacker: Depends on what kind of predator.

Sparkle Skirt: Unfortunately.

Enforcer: We’re not leaving him to that shit, J.

Prince: Fine. Get to your next class. I’ll handle this.

“I don’t want him doing me any favors,” Kit grumbles. “I meant it when I said I can handle myself.”

Anton snorts and shakes his head. “No one in this group or the chat is going to allow that shit, Kit Kat. You’re one of us, and an idiot like Wormwood isn’t going to traumatize you. When you can defend yourself, then we’ll talk.”

That makes him hunker into his seating, cursing under his breath as he pretends to pay attention to the end of class. I’m not concerned about that as much as making certain Jasper keeps his word. Something about the way Wormwood went from zero to a thousand on the creep scale bothers me. It’s like there’s some sort of… compulsion for bad people to come after him when he stands up to them. I know that’s far too complex to be an effective hex or spell, but there’s something drawing the evil out of people when he’s about.

I need to discuss this with X and Oriel; they’re very good at hidden shit like this.

“Little demon, you need to let the Prince help as Salem allowed you to help. It is what we do.”

He sighs heavily, his lip curling as his rodent comes out of the bag so he can put his books into it. “Fine. But you need to quit logic-ing me out of funks, big guy. People will think I’m soft on you.”

Salem snorts. “People are supposed to think you’re soft on all of us, man.”

My eyes light up and I wait for him to get his stuff, then grab his small hand again. “It is my turn, then, it seems.”

Anton gives me a wry look. “If you say so, big guy. I think it’s mine, and we have class together next. X and Zav will be waiting.”

Blast, the bird is correct , and Weapons is too far from where Mythology is held to detour.

“Don’t worry, “ Kit says as he squints up at me with a smile. “You can get us lunch again if it makes you happy.”

“It very much does, little demon.” I turn to Annie and nod, letting go of his hand. “Anton can escort you to Mythology. You must not irritate Darkstar before the Prince has a chance to speak to him about the detention.”

Salem gives me a wry expression. “I’ll be surprised if Annie and Zav can keep him calm, but maybe we should be prepared, just in case.”

I nod, considering his suggestion. “Agreed. Hopefully, the Headmaster will get a TA to cover the class since he is busy with the Games now. That would be the best outcome.”

“Holy shit, that would be fucking amazing,” Kit mutters as he takes Anton’s arm. “It would be the best news I’ve heard all week.”

It’s too bad the annoyance is Lucian; I’d happily make the thorn disappear to get him to look this excited again.

“Okay, we’re heading for Mythology now. Everyone say ‘good-bye’ to Kit so we won’t be late for Professor Dickbag,” Anton says.

Leaning in, I pat the small animal on his shoulder, then Kit’s head as well. “Please do not get yourself in trouble in the next two hours. Running in armor will be difficult.”

“Aw, you do like me!”

I roll my eyes as the others laugh, turning on my heel to leave. They’re still snickering as I walk towards the Arena, leaving Kit to Anton, and my brothers to head for their own classes. I’ve never worried about them quite as much as I do our newest addition, but he’s also much more breakable. Even Zav has the power to zip in and out of places as a kitsune, so I’ve never thought he was too exposed when he’s off in his geek classes.

Kit being alone, however, bothers the fuck out of me and I don’t quite know what to do about it. Obviously, I need more time to strategize so he’s never in danger—the more I plan, the more likely I will be to succeed . This is what I’ve been taught since Jasper and I were small demons. My role in the new court will be to ensure everyone in the kingdom and my Prince are safe. I can keep one unemerged demon hybrid safe, right?

It’s in my blood to protect those I care about, after all.