8. The Competition
The Competition
Rez
Heading into the living room, a delicious aroma assaults my taste buds.
Yes, I ate lunch, but it was hardly filling and was ruined by Emer and her minions.
Not to mention that ‘guy’, whoever he was.
That reminds me, I need to find out who he is and get all the information I can about this gauntlet that we seem to have found ourselves in.
For the first time, I find the kitchen table set up with food. We usually sit and eat at the island or in the living room around the fireplace and TV.
“Is there a special occasion I missed?” I asked, spotting the guys grabbing a seat around the table.
“Nope, just wanted to cook and prepare a family meal now that we’re home and all together,” JP explains, pulling out a chair for me.
“Aww, thank you.” I stretch up and give him a quick kiss before taking my seat.
“Are you kidding me? Of course this is a special occasion, and we’re celebrating,” Zeke cheers, coming around with Fae wine and pouring everyone a cup.
A sudden bout of nausea hits me as I rub my stomach, and I take an uneasy look at the contents as he pours me a cup.
I don’t say anything, just smile pleasantly, and silently question if my stomach can handle it.
Is this the effects of God’s Trumpet? Knox comes up behind me and sets a glass of water next to the wine and leans in to kiss me on the cheek.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” he whispers.
Aww, my Alpha is always taking care of me. I send him gratitude and love down our link, and he winks before taking his seat once again.
“Celebrating what?” Knots quirks an eyebrow before pulling his hair into a man bun.
“What aren’t we celebrating? We survived the Road of Worth and saved Hell,” Ryker announces, thanking Zeke for his drink.
“I lost my V-card finally. If that’s not a special occasion, I don’t know what is,” Lynx smirks.
“Of course you would celebrate that,” I point out as the guys all chuckle and Ryker high-fives Lynx. I swear, I need to keep those two away from each other.
“It’s not every day that you find out that you're the heirs of Hell and your father wants to be in your life,” Moni singsongs before taking a sip of her Sparks cup.
“Got that right, princess.” Chester leans over and kisses her hair.
“We’re done with school and about to run The Gauntlet. That’s a special occasion and a new record, if you only count the few months Nerezza was actually here,” Levi points out.
I somewhat pout as I see he’s no longer in his corsets but back into his normal suit.
Glancing at everyone else’s attire, I notice they’re all in lounge wear like they plan to hang out all night, but Levi is dressed to go out after dinner.
What’s the deal? I guess that’s something else we need to talk about.
Now that we’re back and in this relationship, we need to actually talk about what’s in store for us.
“I guess we do have a few special occasions to celebrate, huh?” JP laughs, taking his own seat. “Bon Appétit.”
“Is there such a thing as being too stuffed to fly?” Moni whines, rubbing her full tummy as she waddles over to the sofa. “I’m too fat to fly! Thanks, JP, this is all your fault,” she grumbles, but as soon as she sits down, she pulls out the banana split JP made for dessert and starts to dig in.
“Anything in particular anyone wants to watch on the TV?” Chester asks as he flops down next to Moni and reaches for the remote.
“I’m not really in the mood to watch TV if you ask me,” I announce, cuddling up against Knox’s shoulder.
He kisses my forehead before running his fingers through my hair.
Holy Orgasms. Only Knox could find an erogenous zone by playing with my damn hair.
He’s going to make me start purring. By his deep chuckle and amusement that floods down our link, he definitely knows what he’s doing to me, the jackass.
I walk my fingers up to his pec and trace one of the nipples that has the Demstone Swords piercings in it, and watch as his eyes go molten before I turn my head into his neck and gently bite down into his soft, fleshy shoulder.
“Behave,” I whisper as I give his nipple a sharp twist, causing him to grunt.
Turning to look back at the group, I notice my little stunt didn’t go unnoticed at all, as there are multiple looks of amusement and some aroused expressions on their faces.
“Um…” I start, but I go blank.
“Did anyone hear from the Leaders as to what type of Demon was after Levi?” Knots asks, sitting down by the fireplace, facing everyone.
They trade questioning glances around the room, but they’re all answered with head shakes.
“I’m sure we’ll hear later on this weekend when Lilith gets here. She will be able to tell us, right?” Moni says hopefully, and I groan.
“How much do you want to bet she will still be off her rocker?” I ask.
“No sane person would take that damn bet. She will be up here with her whole torture room in her S.I.N. box,” Lynx agrees.
“Nah,” Zeke disagrees. “Mom is the torture room; those tools are just her props.
“That’s terrifying,” Moni says, as her green bark drains of color to white.
“Well, hey, think of it this way. At least she will be around her mates, and if anyone can handle Lilith, it will be them, right?” Chester encourages Moni, rubbing her back.
She pauses and thinks for a moment before nodding and melting into Chester’s touch while her green slowly returns.
“How about we talk about the Gauntlet since I think I need a refresher on what the hell it is,” I throw out, and it’s as if I told everyone there’s no Easter Bunny.
Speaking of, I swear I think I saw the Easter bunny, or at least Purgatory’s version of it, while we were walking into lunch today.
He was as big as me, and his basket was holding something that looked like eggs, but he wasn’t as cuddly.
Instead, he had spurs on his hind legs, and he was sitting at the edge of the woods, his attention divided between something in the woods and a group of students I’ve never seen.
Either way, that’s one creature I don’t want to run into in the dark.
“What do you want to know? I mean, we don’t know much; we get all the details tomorrow at the meet-and-greet.” Ryker leans back, stretching out his bare chest across the sofa, showing off his tattoos.
“Well, that! What happens during a meet-and-greet? Is there a dress code? Is it like a dance? Dinner? Assembly? There’s so much I don’t know. Are we going strapped?” I throw out questions one after another until Knox floods our link with love and calming vibes.
Is he trying to say I’m nervous or anxious? How dare he?
Okay, I might be a little anxious, but still, to point it out like that… geez, can’t a girl have secrets anymore?
“That I should be able to answer,” Levi finally speaks up.
He’s been quiet all through dinner, and it kills me to know he sacrificed himself to find out what Angel did to me. That bitch is going to pay. Hopefully, when Lilith gets here, she’ll be stable enough to help answer what he took and how to reverse it.
“To answer your questions about the meet-and-greet, think of it as a ball-like affair. You can be as dressed up as you like. Most women will be wearing dresses, skirts, fancy pantsuits, whatever they feel comfortable in. The men, in their best suits, tribal wear, and such,” Levi explains, not focusing on one person in the room.
“The official meet-and-greet will take place in Nova, but a small introduction for students will be held in the quad on campus before the meet-and-greet. That’s where we will get the rundown of how the Gauntlet will work and learn which schools will be a part of the final this year. ”
“The only school that I know that’s here is obviously Cyanide Conservatory,” JP’s voice drips with disdain.
I guess there’s no love lost there.
“And I’m through!” Zeke whoops as he sets a laptop on the coffee table so we can gather around to see.
When the hell did he grab one of our laptops? Actually, isn’t that mine? Didn’t I have that locked? Ugh, does that mean I need to change my password?
“Yes, Rez, you did, and yes, you need to,” JP answers my unspoken question.
Well, fuck me.
“Later,” JP winks, and I smother a smirk.
As we gather around, Zeke pulls Reaper into his lap and pulls up a webpage all about the upcoming Gauntlet. The main page lists all the attending academies and their specialties.
A bone-numbing chill that has to be one of my symptoms runs down my back and into my arms, and I wrap my arms around myself without thinking. Within seconds, a heavy blanket is draped across my back, and I look over my shoulders, but I can’t tell who did it.
“Thank you,” I mumble to whoever is watching me like a hawk.
“This is Cyanide Conservatory,” Zeke says, as he clicks on the first link, pulling up a class picture of students wearing a combination of light-green uniforms and dark-green capes and a small school bio underneath.
“Cyanide Conservatory is an academy that is proud to specialize in poisons and herbs. We accept all supes, along with the unique plant shifters and angels, but we have higher attendance of witches and Fae,” Zeke reads off.
“Think of assassins,” Ryker adds, nodding at me.
“And snakes, like Jules,” JP snorts.
“Bad blood?” I question, arching an eyebrow.
“We’re considered princes here, but unlike us, Jules is a fae that uses his powers to manipulate everyone to get what he wants.”
“Is that what I felt down in the cafeteria?” I ask as anger rolls down my link with Knox.
“Yes,” Knox growls.
“It’s best to stay away from him, unless you’re prepared to counter his effects,” JP warns.
Oh. Well, that’s good to know.
“Angels?” Knots perks up. “You mentioned Angels? How did the angels go through? I thought they were only allowed to attend Purgatory Prep; that’s what’s written in the Accords,” he insists.
Levi gives Knots an accusing glare. “How do you know about the Accords?” he asks, his tone cutting but firm. Knots gives him a knowing look.