Quiet Burn (Discordia University #2)

The Room Where It Happens

Kit/Kat

S alem is humming under his breath as we put the final touches on the dinner. I’ve been watching him while I carefully follow his instructions on each task I’m given, and it’s adorable. He’s got more energy than I would have expected for this time of night, but he did snack while he worked, so that might have helped. I grab the dish full of veggies I just finished and climb down from the stool he made appear in our kitchen earlier in the week. Walking over slowly so I don’t drop my cargo, I step into his field of vision so I don’t startle him.

The panda shifter gives me a big grin, pausing his rendition of ‘Shake It Off’ to take the platter. “You’re a natural in the kitchen, Kit Kat. I swear, every single one of these is the same fucking size. I don’t know how you do it.”

My face heats and I shrug when the praise makes my body tingle with happiness. “Hell if I know. I’ve always had pretty good spatial awareness. It helps you figure out where to hide and how to squeeze your shit into small areas.”

“Fuck, man,” he says as he dumps the plate into the boiling pot then turns to face me fully. “It kills me when you say stuff like that. I want to… smash shit, and that’s Slash and Jasper’s departments.”

What do I say to that?

“Um, I’ll try not to?—”

His hand waves at me and he shakes his head quickly. “No, no. I don’t want you to stop sharing with me, man. I just hate that you’ve had to make yourself so small for this long. It makes my bear pissy and he’s normally a pretty laissez-faire dude. I don’t know how to handle it.”

Flexing my hands at my sides, I feel my anxiety surge as I try to figure out what to do so I'm not upsetting him. My gut is clenching as he runs his hand through his hair in frustration and all I want at this moment is to make him feel better. “What can I do?”

“Aw, Kit Kat. You don’t have to do anything; I promise.”

Sure, he says that now, but I’ve heard things like that before.

I chew my lower lip for a second, then back up, deciding a little distance might calm my frayed nerves. “I’m… I’m going to change out of my uniform so I’m comfortable for the meeting. Are we good here?”

Salem looks at the counters and the place settings, then nods. “It’s good to go. Thanks for helping me get everything done. I never get this much done so fast, especially at night. You’re good company.”

Now I’m pinging between happy flutters and guilt, so I give him a weak smile before I head to my room. The sound of tiny paws on the floor tells me Dottie is following along, so I wait for her to scramble inside before I shut the door. Once I’m in, I lean back against the wood and close my eyes. Calm doesn’t rush through me like I expect it to, and I frown.

Why am I not calming down now that I’m alone?

It might be anticipation of the meeting we've been preparing for; that’s definitely been on my mind the entire time we cooked. Jasper’s mood is never predictable, and I have no idea what he’ll do. The rest of the guys have been fairly supportive since my attack, so I’m not worried about them. I assume he’s going to fill us in on whatever the staff has been told that students aren’t privy to. That, I want to hear because the low hum of fear thrumming through me every time the Games are mentioned is driving me up the wall.

“They were supposed to be telling us what’s expected of us, but all I’ve had so far are normal lectures and shit. It’s ridiculous,” I grumble as I push off the door and head over to my dresser. Opening it, I pull out a set of the sweats I was given and walk over to the bed. “I get that they’re demons, but this feels evil even for them.”

Dottie climbs up the bedpost, sitting next to me and looking up at me sympathetically. She makes soft sounds that I think are meant to be soothing and I smile as I run my fingers over her head. For a little rodent, she’s surprisingly supportive of my condition.

“Yeah, I know, girl. This entire place is a death trap and I’m surrounded by beings I shouldn’t trust as far as you could throw them.”

Sighing, I tug off my clothes, tossing them into the hamper before I reach for deodorant and body spray. I need a refresher after the day and you can bet Prince Assface would be the first person to tell me I stink if I don’t make sure I’m good. I pull on the sweats and rise to my feet, putting my laundry in the small hamper. I’ll need to find the damn facilities for that this weekend without a doubt.

Fuck knows the spoiled brats coming to our room won’t have a clue where it is, so I’m on my own with that.

I take my tablet out of the bag, my compulsive nature demanding I have the ability to take notes for later. Walking over to the mirror on the wall, I use one of my towels to wipe off the eyeliner, then brush my short hair so I don’t look like a frumpy mess. My eyes focus on my reflection, so different from a couple weeks ago when I didn’t know any of this even existed.

“You can do this, Kat,” I whisper. “You are a survivor in every sense of the word, and these rich kids aren’t going to take away this opportunity. Everything you’ve done so far proves that determination and stubbornness trump everything else in the end.”

I just have to keep telling myself that until I believe it—fake it ‘till you make it, Kat Camponella.

When I gathered myself enough to leave my room, I discovered everyone but Anton and Slash lounging on our couches. Jasper is sitting in the big armchair I like and every time I look at him, my lip curls into a sneer of annoyance. Of course he’d choose the place I want to sink into to feel safe and surrounded without the slightest compunction. I’d be mad at Salem for letting him, but he doesn’t seem surprised by the choice. That might mean I’ve been sitting in Prince Twatwaffle’s seat when he’s not here, but I seriously don’t give a fuck about that.

This is my room, too, and I’ll sit wherever the hell I want.

Oriel tilts his head, studying me for a moment. “You okay, Kit Kat? Your aura is… wavy.”

The crow shifter doesn’t see auras, so whatever vibes I’m putting out that alerted him to my discontent aren’t that. “Super awesome, thanks for asking.”

A loud snort from the kitchen gets everyone’s attention and when we look at the panda demon, he shrugs. “I’m not stupid. That sarcasm practically dripped on our pristine floor.”

The Prince fixes his gaze on me, his eyes flashing with the dragon. “What are you irrationally angry about now, shrimp?”

What the hell? Irrationally angry? That motherfucker… he promised!

“I am not irrational. Every complaint I’ve lodged so far has been in direct response to someone treating me like shit and not respecting my boundaries. I’ve been exceedingly willing to compromise despite repeated dickish behavior, if you ask me.”

Zavida looks up from his spot on the floor next to Jasper, pushing his glasses up as his fingers cease flying over the keys of his laptop. “I think that’s true.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Jasper grumbles as he shifts in the chair with an eye roll and a dissatisfied expression. “He knows you’re sorry, Zav. Don’t kiss his ass just because you want him to forgive you.”

I blink. He thinks that was kissing my ass? “Jasper, someone admitting you’re wrong is not sucking up to the other person. It’s just agreeing with the facts.”

X winks at me from their perch on one of the barstools. “To the crown prince of Hell, that’s exactly what kissing ass is.”

“Can we move this along?” Oriel says as Salem brings a tray of drinks over. “I’m hungry as hell and the second the big man gets here, he’s going to have a tantrum when he finds out Kit Kat hasn’t eaten.”

Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes and look sullen. Jasper isn’t alone.

“You’re right,” my roommate says as he hands me a glass of oddly sparkly liquid. “But this should help.”

“Huh?” They all laugh as I look at the rocks glass, studying the contents. “How does it do that?”

Oriel scratches his chin, looking thoughtful before he speaks. “It’s hard to explain what Sparkling Styx Tonic does because it affects us all differently. It’s definitely good for our health in small doses like this, but when mixed with various demon alcohol it’s euphoric.”

“So it’s both a medicine and a party juice?” I arch a brow as I look at each of them carefully, searching for signs of deceit. I’m not drinking anything they can quantify if I’m not certain their motives are pure.

Zav smiles shyly, then takes a sip of his to encourage me. “It is, Kit. I’m surprised Dr. D didn’t give you some after he treated you.”

“He didn’t, but it seems like Salem has some on-hand so I should be okay.” I watch them all drink theirs before I put my glass to my lips. It tastes amazing though I couldn’t describe what the flavor is like if someone asked. All I know is that it feels like my entire body is humming with energy and light in a really good way.

Damn. If this affects humans the same way, someone could be making a fortune putting Big Pharma out of business.

“Better now?” X tilts their head and I nod. “Fabulous. Jasper, get it rolling. I have stitches to do.”

The dragon waits until we’re all looking at him and clears his throat. “The staff wasn’t fully briefed earlier, except for the changes to our curricula. I don’t know if that’s because I was present—though I wouldn’t discount that possibility—or if they’re determined to hide as much as possible until the moment we need to know.”

“That means nothing has changed,” I say with a frown. “Which, in turn, means we can eat and get to our damn homework.”

“Hold your horses, Kit Kat. There has to be more,” Oriel murmurs. “He’s being a dramatic asshole.”

Zavida snorts, then looks up from his screen to address the group. “I’m scanning a fuck ton of history to find Games lore and info. Once I have it all together, I’ll email each of you a section to scour through and report back on.”

“More homework? I’m going to die,” I groan. “I’ll never catch up at this rate.”

“Now who’s being dramatic?” Prince Asshat smirks and I have to resist the urge to fling my glass of happy juice at him in retaliation.

The door opens and Slash stomps in with Anton in tow. The shark shifter gives the smug royal a dirty look, then ignores the group to head for the kitchen. Anton drops his bag and makes a beeline for X, curling up with them as usual before he smiles at me. Together, their gaze on me is intense and I almost miss the big hand shoving a small plate of the cubed cheese and meat from the appetizer tray under my nose.

“Eat.” I make a face at him, but I pick up a piece of cheese to nibble on and he grins toothily.

“You owe me fifty bucks,” Oriel says to X. “I knew he’d do it, just like I knew Kit Kat would give in. Pay up, sucker.”

“Get fucked,” I mutter at them before chewing on one of the pieces of meat. “If I say I’m going to do something, I do it.”

“Oh, good. That promise makes this part much easier,” Jasper says with a pleased expression.

I take a sip of my drink, not wanting him to see how that ominous declaration affects me. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Lucian has scheduled a Samhain ball to celebrate our most revered night of the year and the return of the greatest competition in Hell. It’s in two weeks, and attendance is mandatory.”

Salem groans. “That means he’ll invite all the universities. I hate when they mix us up.”

“Other universities?”

X and Anton whisper for a moment, then Xerxes looks at me sympathetically. “All of them. Brimstone included.”

I wait for them to explain, but no one says a word and it finally becomes clear: Brimstone must be where the rich female demons go to college.

Oh, shit.