Chapter 3
Three
ORIEL
This week has been a goddamn nightmare.
Between Jasper’s sulking and KK needing space, I’m itchy as fuck.
I know my brothers are feeling it, too, because there have been more than a few dust-ups as frayed edges brush against each other.
Zav told us about the request to let Kat breathe when we finished cleaning up the field and getting that stupid potion to the doc.
He waited until Jasper took his leave to do it, and there was more than one protest, but we finally agreed.
Each of us has promised to respect her boundaries more than once, and I know that Jasper’s rejection hurt her, though she accepted it.
The dude is literally incapable of processing emotions healthily, and he can’t see the sparks for the flames.
But it’s not my place to judge either of them.
Just because most of us were farther along in our feelings for her when we were told and could handle it doesn’t mean the most damaged one of us could do the same.
Jasper will eventually get his shit together, and all we can do is hope that it’s before his cranky silence and glares cause an irreparable schism between him and our girl.
Zavida is doing his best in the background to guide the prince, but that, too, is a limited capability.
Jasper has to deal with this himself, and he has to want to see the truth rather than cradle his pain like a child.
As for KK? Once the weekend ended, she complied with her promise not to venture off alone, but she withdrew into herself.
She doesn’t chat or joke with us, even Salem.
We get quiet ‘thank yous’ for escorting her or grabbing her food that she barely touches, but not much else.
Even Dottie has huddled close to her companion, doing everything she can to soothe whatever emotions are plaguing Kat.
They’ve closed ranks, and it makes my crow anxious as fuck.
I can’t sit still, and when I’m not required to be somewhere, I’m flying about stealing anything I can get my beak on.
Which is what I’m doing today while the object of my affections is having a session with The Keeper, by the way.
I dropped her off, then shifted immediately, leaving my clothes on his doorstep so I could take to the skies.
I’ve circled the campus a couple of times, my eyes darting around to see if something sparkles or catches my gaze with no luck.
The campus is quiet as demons hunker down, cramming for exams or taking them in turn.
Exams in the schools here aren’t like what I’ve seen in the human movies we’ve watched with KK since she arrived.
They’re a part of your grades, but we take them individually, and they are based on the progress of each demon in each class as determined by your professors.
In a normal year, one without this damn Games announcement, there would be posting of scores and fanfare.
That’s not the case now, especially since the coursework has been modified for training.
The ones I’ve taken so far have been more like a review of what I’m doing well at and what I need to develop if I want to survive the stupid competition.
Demons who survive are probably going into their future careers with little to no knowledge of shit because they’ve geared our education to a test, not learning.
No one asked me, though, so I chalk it up to dumbassery by the school and the court for letting it happen this way.
All this scheming and counter-scheming is hobbling their most elite children, but they’re not worried about it in the slightest. I shudder to think of what’s happening in the less affluent schools if this is what’s going on here.
It has to be absolutely horrific, and that’s the kind of inequality my brothers and I always hoped to fix someday. Who knows if that will be possible now?
Squawking in annoyance as I do another lap around the main campus, I see a flash of light near the arena.
No one should be there now; I’ve passed it twice already, and there aren’t any exams going on in the stadium today.
Banking left, I do a U-turn and catch the airstream blowing in that direction to get there faster.
There’s too much bullshit going on here and in other realms for me not to suspect a random flash of light appearing where it shouldn’t.
I carefully approach, keeping myself hidden by flying just behind the top rows of seating until I reach the section I think the light appeared in.
I slip over the boxes, perching on one like I’m a normal ass bird so I don’t draw any attention from below.
I don’t know what this is or how good its senses are, so I’m not headed straight to the source with wild abandon.
If I could frown in this form, I would when I see a group of people wandering around the field snooping.
That’s not good at all—I have to get closer.
It takes a few minutes of quiet observation and specific movements, but I make my way to a level where I can see the figures clearly enough to identify them.
There’s a pink and purple-haired woman, a blond guy with a baby sling, and two dark-haired men examining the sidelines where just a week ago, the Major’s body was sprawled.
Recognition flares and I realize these people aren’t some investigator team sent by the crown or working for Darkstar—they’re the Gemini twins and their family.
We met them at that meeting in their mobbed-up father’s perverse playground, and for some reason, they’re now in our realm.
I want to scream in frustration; this is not the time for visitors, even if they might be on our side.
My caliphate has issues that aren’t going away anytime soon, and I’d prefer the sons of Luca Gemini not know about it.
We think they’re opposed to their traitorous dad, but we haven’t been able to fully vet that situation since our return.
Having them wandering around campus unchecked when my brothers and I are divided is not the optimal situation.
I have to get KK back to the dorm where she’s safe; that’s the only thing that’s important right now.
Taking off from my perch, I fly out of the arena and once I’m clear, I shift into a bigger, faster version of my crow.
My wings flap hard, pushing me away from the main campus area towards the edge of the lands where the Wastes begin and The Keeper makes his home.
I need to get to my phone and ask Zavida to do the thing he keeps under his hat so Kat is hustled back to safety before those people leave the arena.
I won’t know where they are then, and that makes both of my sides furious.
Can’t things be quiet for one fucking day?
It feels like it takes forever to get to the small home at the edge of campus, but as soon as I land, I pull on my clothes. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my phone and shoot a text to our non-KK group chat.
Thief: We have visitors on campus.
Chef: What kind of visitors? More assholes from home?
Thief: No. From the surface.
Enforcer: Danger level?
Thief: Unknown, big guy.
Prince: Stop dicking around and tell us what’s going on, Oriel.
Thief: *tongue out emoji*
Hacker: Come on, O. Jas isn’t wrong for asking for details.
Spy: There’s a first for everything.
Prince: Enough!
Designer: It’s true that we cannot plan if we do not know what the issue is.
Thief: I need Zav to come to Keeper-ville. I want to bring KK back where she’s safe before we address it.
Prince: …
Chef: That’s smart, O. Zav, go help them.
Prince: Until he tells us who it is, I think it’s overkill.
Thief: *angryemoji* Get fucked, Jasper. Whatever your problems, we’re supposed to make sure everyone in this group is safe.
Enforcer: Agreed. Oriel is being cautious, as we have discussed many times. Zavida should go.
Hacker: Just tell us who it is, and he’ll agree. Don’t be a pain in the ass.
Thief: I’ll tell you in person, and if you don’t come to help, you’re enabling him. I’m out.
Growling in frustration, I tuck my phone away and open the door to the house. Kat looks up from her spot at the table, and the Keeper arches a brow at me.
“Early, aren’t you?”
I nod, crossing the room quickly. “Yes, but there’s a reason.
My flights around campus were uninteresting until I saw a flash.
When I investigated, there were unexpected visitors on the field in the arena.
I don’t believe they are threats, but we haven’t fully vetted these people, nor did we invite them to visit.
I want to get Kat back to the dorms, where we’ve got security in place, while we investigate it. ”
The big, bearded man eyes me for a moment and then nods. “Better safe than dead, I always say. We’ve worked enough for today, I think. What say you, protégé?”
Kat’s face flushes at the term, and my chest aches.
She hasn’t looked that happy since the dragon snafu, and I wish I’d been the one to get that smile out of her.
But she’s barely talking to us, and I can’t force something to move at my speed if I want it to last—not with her.
“Yes, Arces. I think we’ve made Dottie and Rook do their thing for long enough.
I’ll practice with her before our next meeting. ”
My frown deepens as I look at them curiously, dying to know what she and Dottie worked on.
If Jasper hadn’t been such a jackass, she might be showing off her new techniques to me right now.
This sucks balls, and I want to steal something really big to bleed off the frustration of being in the cold.
“Okay, then. We’re staying right here until Zav—”
A knock sounds at the door and we all spin around in surprise.
Stalking over to the heavy reinforced wood, I look out the peephole before pulling it open to reveal the demon I was talking about.
He waves shyly, his tails swishing as he looks into the house.
Zav has it worse than everyone, I think, because he’s caught in the middle of Jasper’s fury and Kat’s hurt.
He doesn’t seem mad about the secret in the slightest; no, he’s just fretting constantly about how to dance amongst the flames between those two without getting burned.
“I’m here. I, uh, decided coming wouldn’t make anything worse, so…” He shrugs and I clap my hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “Thanks, man.”
Kat pushes back from the table, nodding at the Keeper as she picks up her bag. Dottie scrambles over to ride on her shoulder, and before she goes, she murmurs to the big demon, “Thank you. I appreciate… everything. It helped a lot.”
“Anytime, lass,” he says as he leans back in his chair and watches us. “Those boys better keep you pristine or I’ll be quite vexed.”
His companion makes a loud sound of agreement, shooting ice across the room in warning.
“Okay, okay,” I say as I wave my hand. “We get it. Don’t let anything happen to her. That’s why I’m here anyway, you old coots.”
Zav and Kat walk out first, leaving me to follow as the Kitsuné opens the shiny portal for us to duck through.
I know Jasper’s biggest reservation wasn’t actually about keeping KK safe; he wants Zav’s most guarded power not to be witnessed by accident.
The guy almost never uses it, and that’s always been a strategic asset for our caliphate.
We all have things like that, but since Zavida is the smallest in stature out of our entire group—until Kat—the prince is much less willing to reveal his gifts.
“Who did you see, Oriel?”
I blink in surprise as we exit in front of Canto IV, and Kat speaks to me. “Um… well, I’m pretty sure it was your friend with the pink hair. You know, the one mated to the demon twins and the other guys?”
“Rogue?” she says, her brow furrowing. “I wonder why she didn’t let us know she was coming. And why are you acting like they’re enemies?”
“KK, we haven’t fully vetted them yet. Yes, we agreed we think they’re on our side, but…” Zav shrugs as he opens the doors to the dorm. “We can’t risk being mistaken and losing you. I don’t think any of us would survive that, even with the current… issues.”
Kat sniffs, walking into the building ahead of me as she mutters, “Don’t be so sure about that.”
If she and Jasper don’t get their shit together soon, it will ruin my favorite holiday of the year, and that’s going to piss me off.