Aftermath
Jasper
W hen the shrimp wakes up, everyone but X is staring at him. He looks panicked as his eyes roam over us, then to the doctor. It seems like the doc gives him a tiny head shake—which is odd, but at least there’s someone Kit feels safe enough to trust. It certainly isn’t me, though I’m not surprised or upset by that. I haven’t decided how I want to proceed with the things inside my mind in regards to him, and though Zavvie is trying to help me, I don’t know how long it will take me to muddle through it all.
But he should have people to trust if only because his admissions prior to the curtain being drawn lead me to believe he never had any before in his past life.
Unfortunately, I’m perfectly aware of how isolating that is, especially if you have bad things happening to you. Until I bonded with my brothers and accepted Zavvie… I was alone. I dealt with my father’s fits of wrath and subsequent efforts to regain my affections and respect through gifts and praise. He wielded his favor like a weapon and still does—something that breaks you down over time until you barely recognize who you’ve become. I didn’t end up with Kit’s neuroses, but I’m aware I have plenty of my own.
“Where did you go?” I ask gruffly.
Oriel glares at me and Salem follows suit, but I cannot treat the shrimp with kid gloves. I don’t want to appear to show favoritism, nor do I want him to think he can work me as easily as he does the others. The crow shifter grunts, shaking his head in annoyance. “Don’t interrogate him, Jas. He’s coming out of a blackout, for fuck’s sake. Let Kit Kat acclimate before you start the gulag treatment.”
“How long was I out?” The shrimp squints, looking at all of us curiously. “Was I like… completely dead to the world?”
An interesting question and one that was definitely phrased to seem innocuous.
“You passed out while I was completing the healing for today,” Dr. D says as he moves to peer at the kid closely. “Perhaps ten or fifteen minutes… nothing that is too concerning or I would insist you remain here for the evening.”
Kit’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “No, no. I’d much rather go back to my room. It’s… familiar. I’ll have trouble sleeping if I’m not in a place where I feel comfortable. And where’s Dottie?”
“Right here, KK,” Salem says as he lifts the small rodent off the bed where he was sitting before we all hurried to the shrimp’s side. The damn furry little shit chitters as it scampers up the bed to nuzzle Kit’s face, making his expression turn to one of relief.
Okay, fine, I get why he and Oriel cart that thing around like a Ming vase. It’s a lifeline for the kid.
“Thanks,” Kit mumbles as he leans into the small arms and eager noises of the kinkajou. “She helps me regulate like a support animal and this is very… Well, today has been a lot .”
“No shit,” Slash says as he pats the covered feet with his hand lightly.
He’s getting really fucking weird about this kid and his insouciance earlier makes me very suspicious. I’m going to have a private conversation with my second soon, and he’d better explain his fucking bullshit. My eyes move to Zav, and he gives me a knowing look. Just great, now he expects me to say something comforting to help the shrimp and I have no idea what that would be. Everything is quiet for a moment until I clear my throat. “I think we can get you back to your dorm so you will get the rest you need. That is, if the doc can make sure we have instructions and perhaps a note to excuse you from classes tomorrow?”
Zavvie rolls his eyes, telling me that wasn’t quite what he hoped for, but he nods. “I’m sure we can, Jasper. Slash can carry him, and we’ll make sure Dottie is taken care of… and Salem will help, right?”
“I definitely will. I mean, I’ll set alarms and stuff so I don’t forget if I get sleepy, and?—”
“I’ll help him keep to whatever schedule you need,” Oriel interrupts. “Anton will be busy taking care of Xerxes, I assume.”
“Xerxes will need to be monitored for several days, but he will make a full recovery,” the doctor says as he looks at me. “The young master burned his powers too brightly to fight the madness that took over the arena—according to his account. Master Salem did the opposite—he embraced it to help defend the injured with Master Kit.”
I blink, looking at Slash and Oriel for confirmation. They both nod, and I file that away for our discussion once we’re in the privacy of our rooms. It seems there is much about this giant clusterfuck that I missed because my dragon took free rein. We will need to rectify that once we’re not in this office and it can’t wait until morning. Kit and X might not be going to their classes, but the rest of us will have to face the masses. If we don’t have a singular, streamlined version of events prepared, it will be too easy for the administration to pick at us.
I refuse to give Darkstar the satisfaction of punishing any of my brothers for a perceived slight.
“Understood.” I look at the shrimp, but he’s busy cuddling the rat like it’s the one thing keeping him sane. Sighing as I run my hand through my hair, I turn to my general again. “Slash, you will need to get him to their room since Salem will be leaning on Oriel. Zavida will come with me.”
The doctor reaches for his mask, settling it back on his face before he speaks. “I will assist Master Anton with getting Master Xerxes to their room. The latter is still too weak to be moved without using a portal, I fear.”
“You promise he’s going to be okay, right, Dank?”
The fear in Kit’s tone even hits me and my dragon growls in frustration inside. He doesn’t like that at all. “He knows better than to lie to the Prince.”
A rough, rusty sounding laugh comes from behind the mask. “I would not lie to any of you, especially about the welfare of one of your caliphate brothers. That bond is sacred and easily as old as I am—no one wishes to find out what happens if you betray it, not even your father, Prince Jasper.”
That was a very odd thing to say, but the doc never says anything but exactly what he means.
The portal opens in the hallway of our floor of Canto IV, and I lead the group out one by one. Salem and Oriel head for the panda’s room, followed by Slash with the shrimp in his arms. I don’t understand why Kit lets that big, toothy demon cart him around without batting a lash. He’s easily as brutal as I am, but somehow, he’s wormed his way into an inner circle that seems to grow every time I turn around. Grumbling in irritation, I wave Zavvie in, then move so the doc can guide a floating X and intensely focused Anton.
“Take them to the main room. We will be able to care for them better if everyone is in the same place.”
“What? No!”
Slash turns, allowing the kid to look at me in exasperation as he exclaims. “Jasper, come on. I need… space. Having everyone in our room will not give me that.”
“He’s not wrong,” Zavvie murmurs under his breath. But he knows why I’m ordering this, too.
If I can see them all, I can convince my dragon they are all okay.
“Don’t be ridiculous. We reconfigured that room to give everyone appropriate space, and Annie can work a little of his charm to make those who need the most rest comfortable.” I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at the shrimp. “Plus, we can keep guard over the injured in one centralized location.”
The shark shifters snorts, muttering, “That could be the reason.”
“It is the reason, Scrum,” I shoot back as I jerk my head at the doc. “Move him down the hall to the room where Oriel and Salem went. We’re hunkering down until everyone is healed.”
“Kill me now. Just kill me,” Kit groans as he hides behind his hulking ride to the room. “I cannot survive a room full of you douches twenty-four hours a day for who the fuck knows how long.”
“Some people would die for the privilege,” I retort as I shoulder my way through. “Hell, they’d pay us to kill them if it got them in our room before they kicked it.”
A loud sniff comes from my second’s arms as the shrimp says, “I could care less about your desperate conquests, Jasper Eversore. The sun even shines on a dog’s ass some days, you know?”
The rusty cough followed by a hacking wheeze signals the plague-masked doctor having a good laugh at my expense and I try not to let them all see me fume. Kit is funny, but he’s terrible for keeping my brothers and the staff in line. His constant pot shots would get him killed with other demons and caliphates, yet I allow each one with little more than a sharp response and occasionally, a good verbal jab.
It ’s quite baffling to me, even though I recognize that my verbal sparring is meaner than a punch at times.
“Jas, you wouldn’t be thrilled with a bunch of people invading your room and taking up all the oxygen.”
Scratching my chin, I look at Anton curiously. “Prior to moving our meeting area, you all invaded my space constantly.”
“But you allowed it and in fact, encouraged it for good ‘order’ or whatever the hell you told yourself to make it less obvious that you dislike being alone.” The peacock shifter gives me a knowing look, then a shrug. “Kit Kat struggles with boundary issues and lack of private spaces and neglect from foster homes. Having everyone there for an extended time period will stress him out. If you insist on it, then at least stop being a jackass for a bit.”
“You love to stick the knife in and twist, don’t you Aldaric?” His grin is unrepentant and I’m about to give him a piece of my mind when the soft voice of the fallen cobra shifter prevents it.
“Don’t be a jerk to him, Jasper. He protected me and Zav when his powers got out of control. Not from him, but from the juiced up opponents no one was ready for. We owe him and Salem a lot—more than you know.”
Frowning as I process that statement, I lean down to look at X. “You’re certain that is true? It’s not an exaggeration to keep me from being angry about his lack of control?”
Anton snorts as we head into the living area of the shrimp’s dorm. “Uh, no, he’s sure, and so am I. I doubt you’ll find anyone here who blames the kid for not knowing how to manage whatever that was. None of us even know what the hell he did; how could he know how to use it properly?”
Sighing as they hover Xerxes until he’s on the couch, I nod for Dr. D to take his leave. His service has been excellent and I’d tell my father, but then I’d have to recount things I’d prefer to keep out of his purview for the moment. Besides, I’m not sure the ancient demon gives a shit what my father thinks of him; in fact, I think he much prefers being here as our physician to being at court.
I should find out why that is and what he meant by his earlier jab when I have time.
For now, I have a roomful of caliphate to wrangle into telling me what happened on that field and how we’re going to prevent it from occurring again outside of the Games.
The last thing we need is to be surprised when our lives are on the line—again.